670 
Supplement to the "Tropical 4tjricuUurisl." 
[Mawjh 1, 1899. 
14th July last. There are two kinds of poison 
the one very virulent and tlie other not so. 
From the effects on the aniinuls it appeared 
that they had been inoculated with the virulent 
poison. The horse lived for a we^k, and then 
dropped down dead, just as if poisoned with 
strychnine. Two of the hybrid-i lived nine 
weeks and one eleven weeks, but one of them 
died from peritonitis. It was a moot question 
whether the zebra himself would not have 
succumbed if he had been inoculated with it. 
Summing up the results of the experiments, it 
may be said that telegony has received it deatli- 
blow, and the authoritative words of Professor 
Cossar Ewart will be wailed with interest, as 
an outsider can only skim lightly over tlie 
surface of a subject whicli he has so fully 
studied in all its bearings. 
GENERAL ITE.M. 
Tlie January number of the Qieentlan l Affn- 
eultural Journal refers to the Kckuna tr(-e of C ;ylon 
{Aleurites triloba) as being probably the best known 
our North Qui-ensland nuts- It i-* described as 
growing to 70 feet or more with a diameter some- 
times of 3 feet. The wood is said to be soft but 
saw-millers often use it for cutting into boards for 
fruit boxes, notwithstanding that is rather heavy 
when sawn. It dries in a short time and makes 
up into excellent fruit bo.tes, having 'he 
great advantage of not splitting when nails are 
driven in near the ends. It is considered, liowever, 
a pity to sacrifice so valuable a tree for fruit cases, 
and the suggestion ihrown out that the nuts 
should be collected for the sake of its valuable oil-' 
The average yield of milk from a good Jersey 
cow, fed on artificial food, and milked twice a day 
is about 450 gallons a year. Some cows give as 
much as 700 gallons a year. 
As the mango season has now commenced, many 
will be at a loss what to do witii the super- 
abundance of truit, which, of late, has been 
difficult of sale, and in many cases not worth the 
expense of gathering, packing, freight, &c. It is 
not generally known that the mango contains a 
quantity of starch which is scarcely distinguish- 
able from arrowroot. When used in the same 
manner and boiled with water, the jelly is very 
similar to that of thelatter. Mr. Watts, a chemist 
in Jamaica, reported lately on a sample of mango 
starch submitted to him by the Jamaica Agri- 
cultural Society, and he pronounced it almost pure 
starch of fairly good colour, though capable of 
being washed to a whiter condition. As an article 
of diet or of commerce, it wiil compare very 
favourably with Arrowroot ; this being so, he 
expresses some doubt whether it can be produced 
at a price sufficiently low to compare with arrow- 
root, of which the ordinary brands are selling in 
the wh )le-:i!e markets at prices rauging from 2d. 
to 4 1. per lb. We iliiiik tha mitier i» irtii a tri il 
al all events. 
An American orchardist recommends tlie fol- 
lowing miithod of causing old trees to b>jar lika 
young ones. He digs up around the tree vrithout 
injuring the roots, and lays hire all the thick njot*. 
These are split wi'Ji an iron wedg-i three or f.jur 
feet from the trunk, and a stone put in the cleft to 
keep it open. Fill in with good surface soil. New 
white feeding roots will grow from the clefts, aiid 
the tree will take on a new vigour. 
Mr. Benson, the Qiei-'UsUn 1 Governmeut, Froit 
Expert, says, referring to the abive practice : — This 
is a crude methiKl of producing new root growth, 
which will probably d > much mjre h&na to the 
tree than good, a^ it is bouud to pioduce more or 
less decay or gumtning, atid it encourages the 
attacks of root-boring insects of all kinds. A 
judicious root-pruning ftllowed by a severe top 
pruning and good manuring is the best way of 
renovating old trees, as thi^ coursb will give tli« 
tree new bearing wood and new roits. Tlius it 
will be seen that he practicilly ondemns tli© 
process as injurious instead of beneficial, and we 
should recommend owners of old trees to try Mr. 
Bens )n'8 plan b'ifore p'Jssibly running what might 
become valuable trees if properly treated^ 
The Farm and Home quotes an eminent 
Analyst as follows, with reference to " Artificial 
Eggs'': — Much has been written of the arts of 
adulteration, says an eminent analyst; but there 
is very little general knovvlelge of the extent to 
which foods are built up chemically, iitid suc- 
cessfully palmed oflf on customers a.s natural 
product^. It will be a shock to many to learn 
that millions of eggs which have been bought 
and eaten as products of the hen have n ) cotn 
nection with that useful fi)wl. Tliere are factories 
on the Continent of Europe where these " oviform 
frauds " are produced at the rate of many thousands 
a day, as simply and yet as mysteriously as so 
many sausages. Tlie yolk is first quickly fashioned 
by machinery from a mixture of maize, starch, and 
one or two other ingre lients, coloured with ochre. 
The yellow spheie is then placed in another "box 
of mystery,'" when the w-hite part of the egg is 
added. The resultant ball is frozen and moulded 
into the requisite oval shape — again by macliinery. 
It is then immersed in a third vat, which contains 
plaster of paris, and emerges with a shell which 
quickly assumes all the hardness and appearance 
of a genuine egg-shell. The process of thawing 
quickly reduces the contents of the shell to the 
consistency of a new-laid egg, and the artificial 
result is ready for the breakfast table or any of 
the uses to which eggs are put. These "eggs'^^ 
can be profitably manufactured to sell at prices 
ranging from 4c. to 12c. {2d. to 6d.) a dozen, 
and are retailed at prices which yield anything 
up to 100 per cent profit. 
