May 1, 1900.] Supplement to the " Tropical AgrictiUwrist." ' 79^" 
In Venezuela Banana meal is specially given to 
children ; it is recommended also to aged persons, 
convalescents, to wet nurses and to all who suffer 
from disorders of the stomach. 
According to the Tropenjlanzer, Banana meal is 
put to the following uses in Central America and 
Venezuela, where it is sometimes sold under '.he 
name of Musarina. 
1. Atol commun. — A spoonful of Musarina, a 
small cup cf milk, a little sugar and salt. After 
dissolving the meal and sugar separately in a little 
water, the ingredients are mixed together, and 
after baking {cuisson) for a few minutes, the salt 
is added. 
2. Atol tonico. — The same preparation, water 
being substituted for milk ; a little cloves, cinna- 
mon, aniseed, fine herbs, or orange may be added. 
3. Chocolate or cocoa. — A small spoonful of 
Musarina is mixed with a cup of chocolate or 
cocoa to facilitate digestion of these beverages, 
and to render them more nutritious ; in this 
fashion also feeble stomachs may be habituated 
to cocoa, 
4. Sopa salada. — A spoonful of Musarina dis- 
solved in cold water is added to a cup of broth 
and left for some minutes ; a few spices may be 
added. 
5. Cordial. — The yolk of an egg is beaten up 
and mixed with 30 grammes (about 1 oz.) of sugar 
and one spoonful of Musarina dissolved in a cup 
of milk. A little powdered cinnamon may be 
added. 
6. Postre. — Three well beaten eggs, 250 
grammes lb.) of sugar, the rind of a citron, 125 
grammes (j lb.) of Musarma dissolved in a cup of 
milk ; mix, adding 30 grammes (1 oz.) of butter 
and place in an oven in a buttered shape. 
Torta d, la sartea — Sixty grammes (2 oz.) of 
Musarina, a well beaten egg, a cup of milk, a 
little salt, and a small spoonful of butter ; mix 
and cook. 
Banana meal may be utilised also in the same 
manner as the " superior " flours, except for the 
making of bread, the Banana containing no gluten. 
Banana meal is delivered at the London market 
at 27 livres per ton (ex warehouse at the London 
docks) ; but the sale is insignificant owing to the 
high price and the ignorance concerning the 
employment of the product. 
The day may perhaps come when Europe will 
have, like America, its Criglitou Campbell to 
devote himself to the diffiusion of the Banana 
as an article of food. 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
Einderpest has broken out in more than one 
part of the Island. In Colombo there have been 
but few cases so far, but the disease appears to 
have appeared with greater virulence upcountry, 
in the neighbourhood of Talawakele and Nanuoya, 
and both the Government Veterinary Officer (Mr. 
Hoole) and Veterinary Surgeon Chinniah have b«en 
in requisition in these districts, where the latter 
has been carrying on preventive inoculation. 
We trust that with the change in the weather 
the outbreak will soon disappear. 
Professor Farmer, of the Eoyal College of 
Science, South Kensington, has been appointed 
assistant to Dr. Watt, Reporter on Economic 
Products to the Government of India, to which post 
it is expected he will succeed on the retiremaut of 
Dr. Watt. 
Vi J-';.. I c ,', 
It will •I'itoniih not a few to hear of buttons 
made of milk, but this is no hoax, as the following 
from the Queensland Agricultural Journal will » 
prove: — Tho^e cieamy-looking white buttons 
which you see street hawkers in London offering 
you at twelve for a penny, one of which you may 
wear on your shirt colLir, are made of milk. Th« 
milk is that which has become sour at the large 
dairies. It is sent to three large manufactories in 
the East End of London, and there churned very 
much after the manner of making cheese, into 
buttons. This cheese is then put under enormous 
pressure until every drop of moisture is wrung 
from it, when it is passed into a chemically heated 
room. It is then, while under great heat, bleachid 
white and flattened out, ready to be punched into 
the required shapes. It is found that buttons 
can be mada in this way at less than half the cost 
entailed in manufacturing bone ones, and, besides 
never rubbing away, do not turn their colour. 
The watering of live stock is an important part 
of the farm work. But, while all animals on the 
farm require more or less attention in this parti- 
cular, none need it more than the cow giving milk. 
Many farmers fail to realise the importance of 
giving their milch cows all the pure water they 
require both winter and summer. The amount 
of water a cow will drink depends upon the kind 
of feed she is getting. Where roots or ensilage is 
fed the amount of water is considerably lessened, 
because there is a considerable amount of water 
in these feeds. Cows, as a rule, require more 
water during the winter than during the summer 
when on fresh pasture, and a cow in a full flow 
of milk requires a great deal more than one not 
in milk. In fact, a cow cannot give the very 
best returns in the milk pail unless she is liberally 
supplied with drinking water. Several experi- 
ment stations in the United States have tested 
this question with somewhat varying results. 
At the Copenhagen station it was found that 
seventy-six cows required an average of 97 "9 lb. 
of water per day, or about 12 gallons each. At 
the Pennsylvania station it was found that cows 
averaging 783 lb. in weight confined in stalls in 
the summer and living on fresh grass drank 61 lb. 
each per day, while confined in stalls at a tem- 
perature of 73 degrees and fed on dry grass 
they drank 107 lb. According to Professor Henry, 
cows, generally speaking, require about 4 lb., or 
half-a-gallon of water to each pound of dry 
matter in their food. A New York authority says 
that provision should be made for eight gallons a 
day per cow in order to be sure of a full supply. 
At the Geneva station it was found that cows in 
full milk required 4f lb. of water for every pound 
of milk. It follows, therefore, that the heavier 
the milk the larger the amount of water is 
necessary. — Scottish Farmer. 
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