7^ 
Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist.'" [April 1, 1904. 
ever, of good feeding value, a grass, Cynodon 
dactylon. Nee?, is treated as a weed owing to the 
tufted habit it possesses, which makes it unsuit- 
able when a flnt turf is required. 
I observed in several places that the dung of the 
cattle, instead of being of help to the plants of the 
pasture, was carried off by ants. 
It seems to me that it is hardly possible to find 
a site with less advantages for a Dairy Farm, the 
only point in favour being its proximity to the 
consumer. 
The soil both on the farm and racecourse pasture 
gives no help to the feeding of the stock, and is 
little more than a mechanical holder for the 
manure and water which nourish the Mauritius 
grass, Paniciim muticum, Forsk, on which the 
cattle are fed. Excellent crops of this are produced 
at the farm, some six or eight in the year. From 
an economic point of view, the land, which 
probably has some value from its situation, is 
-wasted as dairy pasture. 
I append a list of the plants growing on the race- 
course enclosure with an approximate estimate of 
the relative abundance of those forming the bulk 
of the herbage. Those in italics have a feeding 
■value, though not necessarily at all of a high order. 
The whole question of the relative values of 
forage plants in the low-country is one upon which 
our knowledge is of the scantiest, and would well 
repay experiment and investigation. Experiments 
with a view to determining the most profitable 
food plants for stock could be carried out on the 
Government Dairy Farm without any appreciable 
loss in the return the land gives in milk or beef. 
It is probable that an inspection at another time 
of year would give a different estimate of the 
relative percentages. I have found in judging 
the relaeive quantities of the plants forming 
celebrated pastures in England (an inquiry into 
which I took part in) that at different times the 
more vigorous growth of some grasses and other 
plants makes them bulk larger to the eye than at 
Other times. 
Cyprus stolonifera, Retz. 8 per cent, sedge. 
Desmodium trifiorum, D.C. 8 per cent. " Hin- 
undu-piyali," S. 
Cyperus casteneus, 7 per cent, sedge. 
'^'Ischcemum aristatum, L, 7 per cent. 
*Eragrosti8 stmophylla^ Hochst. 7 per cent. 
*Paspalum longiflorum, Retz. 6 per cent. 
*Eragrostis amahilis^ Wright. 5 per cent. 
Fimbristylis nigrobrunnea, Thud. 5 per cent, 
sedge. 
FirrwristyUs monticola^ Steud. 5 per cent, 
sedge, 
* Andropogon ariculatuSf Retz. 4 per cent. 
"Tuttari," S. 
Fimbristylis ttcumwiata^ Vahl. 3 per ceflt. 
sedge. 
^''EremocMoa tLeylanica^ Hochst. 3 per cent. 
Anthistiria, sp. 3 per cent. 
^^Perotis latifolia. Ait. 3 per cent. 
*Xyris anceps. Lam- 3 per cent. 
*Panicum repens, L. 3 per cent. "Etoro,'' S. 
'^'Panicum indicum, L. 2 per cent. 
The other plants, forming about 20 per cent, 
of the herbage, occur in too email quantities to be 
estimated. They are : — 
■■'Paspalum scrobiculatmn, L. 
*Ischcemum ciliare, Retz. "Bat-tana," S. 
*Eleusine cegyptiaca, Desp. 
'Eleusine indica, Gaist. 
'-Eragrostos tenella var. Viscosa, Stapf. 
Wrightia zeylanica, Br. Sudu-idda " or 
" Wal-idd)i," S. 
Commehna nudifiora,\j. " Girapala," S. 
Mollugo disticha, Sn. 
Vernonia cinera. Less. "Monarukudimbiyj.," 
S. ; " Chilivyarchenkainio," T. 
Emilia rondifolia, D.C. "Kadupara," S. 
Pedalium murax, L. " Eknereuchi," S, 
Aneilema vagbiatum, Br. 
Crotolaria striata, D.C. This is a valuable 
forage plant of the order Leguminosae, and 
enriches the soil by its nitrogen forming 
nodules on the roots. I saw these in fairly 
large numbers on the few plants in the field. 
Genoisporum prostratum, Beuth. 
Genoisporum prostratum, var. gracile, Thud, 
Bonnaya tennifolia, Spreug. 
Spennacoce hispida, L. " Hingetacola," S, ; 
"Nattaichuri," T. 
Adenosina capitatum, Beuth. " Nitgona- 
kola," S 
Vandellia cristacea, Benth. 
Drosera buimannii, Vahl. Wattaressa," S. 
This sundew was growing in places where 
only white silver sand was to be seen. 
Polycarpaea corymbosa, Lane. 
Centrathera numifusa. Wall, 
Scoparia dulcis, L. A tropical American plant 
common by roadsides in the south of the 
Island, noticed first by Ferguson in 1871. 
Mimosa pudica, L. The sensitive plant (also 
introduced) occurs at the edges of the field, 
but does not spread over any distance. It 
grows freely in the surrounding ditches and 
hedgerows, and runs in from there. 
This list is not absolutely exhaustive; it was 
made after only a visit of a few hours, and it is 
probable that some plants which do not occur 
commonly, and were not in flower at the time of 
my inspection, may have escaped my notice. The 
plants marked with an asterisk are grasses. 
♦ 
THE FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF 
DAIRY CATTLE. 
Mr. John Speir is acknowledged to be one of 
the foremost authorities on dairy questions. 
Being both a practical and scientific student of 
the subject, his opinion on any matter connected 
with milch cattle is of the greatest value, and 
many are the doubtful points in the feeding and 
management of farm stock which Mr. Speir has 
helped to elucidate as the result of patient research. 
The conditions under which dairying is carried 
on in Europe are naturally very different from 
those obtaining in the East, still the main 
principles of both feeding and general management 
do not differ. 
In an address on this subject, Mr. Speir after 
referring to the importanca^of the dairy industry, 
went on to say : — 
