664 
Supplement to tlie "Tropical AgricuUumt." [March 1, 1899. 
Hanbury, Loadon, so long ngo a8l867,butas already 
ineiitioiied its botanical iiuine was not traced till 
quite recently. 
The following interesting Notes on the collection 
of the dye at Harrar were contributed by Major 
Hunter, and imblished l)y Mr. W. T. '1 hiselton 
Dyer, c.m.g,, c.i.e., v.n.a., Director of the Royal 
Garden, s Kew : — 
"In the neighbourliood of the city ' wars' is not 
now raised from seed sown artificially, and it is 
left to nature to propagate the sliiub in the 
6urrounc.ing terraced gardens. The plant springs 
up, among jowari (A-ndropogon Sorghum), coffee, 
etc.. in bushes scattered about at intervals of 
several yards more or less. Wlien sown, as among 
the Gallas. it is planted before tlie rains in March. 
If the soil In: fairly good a Inish bear« in alwut a 
year. After tlie bt-rries (pods) liavo lieen plucked 
tha shrub is cut down to within .■-i.v inches of the 
ground. It springs up again after rain and bears 
a second time in about >i.v months, and this process 
is repeated every second year until the tree dies, 
llain destroys the berry (pod) tor commercial 
purposes ; it is, therefore, only gathereil in the dry 
season ending about tlie middle of March. The 
bush grows to a maximum height of six feet, and 
it branches close to the ground. The growth is 
open and the folinge sparse. Each owner has a 
few acres of land. 
" In the middle or February, 1884, the following 
processes were observed : — 
"The leaves [Pfruting shoots] of some plants 
were plucked and allowed to dry in the sun tor 
three or four day.s. (The picking is not done 
carefully and a considerable quantity of the 
.sourroundiiig twigs, etc., is mi.xed with I he berries 
[pods]). Tlie collected mass was placed on a skin 
heaped up to about six or eight inches high and 
was tapped gently with a short stick about half 
an inch thick. After soine time the pods were 
denuded of iluir outer covering of red powder 
which fell through the mass on to the skin. The 
upper portion of the heap was then cleared away 
and the residual reddish-green pov^ der was placed 
in a flat woven grass dish with a sloping nm of 
about an inch high. This receptacle was agitated 
gently and occasionally tapped with the fingers, 
the result being the subsidence of the red powder 
and the rising to the surface of the chaffy refuse 
■which latter was carefully worked aside to the 
edge of the dish and then removed by hand. This 
winnowing was continued until nothing remained 
but red powder. 
"Wars" is sent to Arabia, chiefiy to Yemen and 
Hadhramant, where it is used as a dye, a cosmetic 
and a specific against cold, lu order to use it, a 
small portion of the powder is placed in one palm 
and moistened with wa!er, the hands are then 
rubbed smartly together, producing a lather of 
bright gamboge colour, which is applied as 
required."' 
A chemical examination of waras was recently 
made by Mr. Arthur George Ferkin, f.r.s.e... whose 
invalual)le researches in tlie natural colouring 
matters of India arc well-known. The results of 
the investigation were communicated in a paper to 
the Chemical Society of Loudon. 
Waras lias been found to be an excellent dye 
for silk, but not suitable for linen and cotten. Its 
dying pro{>erties have beeu exiunined by Sir Thoouts 
Wardlc and Jlr. Perkin. The larger pcrcenUge of 
resinous colouring matter in waras, the ricLiiess 
of its solutions and absorptive power ob-arved iit 
the spectrum are said to indicate its superiority 
over karoala. 
The dye has been long iu the Bombay mnrket 
wliereit is principally used Ity the people of SuriU 
for irapariiing a light brown yellow colour to their 
silks which are muc!i prized and worn by the 
native ladies. The Arabs use it as un internal 
medicine in cases of leprosy and externally in 
solution as a lotion to remove freckles and 
pustules. Now tliat attention has been culled to 
the Arabian trade in waras and to the delicacy of 
the dye, it is exp<*cted that tiie collection of the 
powder will become an industry. 
MORI-: ADOUT MILJL 
Continuing u series of clear and practical papers 
on bacteria as applied to Farm Problems, Pro- 
fessor U. S. Knssel, Profes-sor of Biicteriology at 
the Wisconsin (U. S. A.) College of Agriculture, 
discourses as follows: — 
Long before he was told the reason, the prac- 
tical dairyman learned by experience that cleanli- 
ness, thoroughly carried out, enabled him to 
secure his milk in a satisfactory way. Tiie desired 
result can, however, be much easier accomplished 
if we know the sources of bacterial infection. 
Washing the udder to prevent dislodgment of dust 
particles, steaming the popils and cans to destroy 
lurking germ life, rejecting the fore milk, keeping 
the stable free from dust during the milking, are 
all practical methods that liave a rational scienti- 
fic basis. 
Where these methods are consientiously carried 
out, good results are to be obtained with ease. 
Private dairies that are engaged in supplying the 
best quality of milk, are following such methods 
with success- For factory purposes, such tcru- 
pulous care as is practised iu milk dairies would 
perhaps be considered impractical, but if our 
factory milk was handled with equally great care, 
the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are 
annually lost in this state alone on inferior dairy 
products would, for the most part, be saved. 
Suppose that che greatest care has been taken 
to secure the milk in as clean a manner as possible. 
This will reduce the number of bacteria in the same 
proportion, and yet, if no pains are taken to chill 
it, the advantage gained will be largely lost. The 
temperature of the milk as it comes from the cow 
approximates blood heat, aad, therefore, the con- 
ditions are most favourable for bacterial growth. 
At 80 degrees Fahr. a single organism will form 
120 new individuals iu four hours, while the 
development of the same germ would have been 
so retarded at 50 degrees or 55 degrees Fahr., that 
but little increase would have taken place. 
The secret, then, lies in early cooling. If the 
milk is allowed to cool naturally it loses iis 
animal heat so slowly, especiallj' in a large 
volume, like a cauful, that the bacteria that are 
contained in it are able to multiply in a vigorous 
manner. To check this development, the milk 
should be cooled as soon as possible. An early 
diminution of the temperature is much more 
