234 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Oct. 1, 1901. 
every animal receirfs its share. This feed costs 
about five cents a day or 6s. 3d. per month, and 
has the effect of putting on a nice clean finish to 
the animal previous to sale. 
For crossing with other breeds there is no better 
animal than the pure bred Z^bu, the cross with 
native stock giving excellent results. The half or 
three part Zebu, heifera crossed with Djvou, Here- 
ford, or Polled bulls, give rise to a very profitable 
class of stock. 
Jamaica has for yeacs been a good customer at 
the Trinidad sales of pure bred stock, and is prob- 
ablv largely indebted to Trinidad importations for 
the improvement in her herds. British Guiana, 
Antigua, Gi-enada, Hondaras, and Venezuela have 
also been purchasers, and as the export has been 
in no way restricted, the neighbouring Colonies have 
been able to take advantage of and to benefit by 
the Trinidad importations, a privilege of which tliey 
have not been slow to avail themselves. It is un- 
derstood that in Jamaica half-breeds from the Zebu 
are in great demand and sell at considerable ad- 
vantage as compared with the native cattle. The 
value" of pure bred two-year-old bulls has ranged 
from £50 to over £101) in accordance with the size 
and poiuta of each animal, the number offered 
and the number of buyers present. Pure bred 
heifers are now worth about 7? to 150 dollars, while 
bulls will probibly range from 150 to 300 dollars. 
As, however, all cattle are S'.dd by auction, this 
must must be tiaken as only an approximate estimate 
of the price they are likely to realize. 
The Government Stock Farm in Trinidad ia noy? 
entering on a wider phase of existence, and it is 
hoped that the management will be able to handle a 
certain number at least of all the most useful 
class s of stock. In a short time additions will be 
made to the Zebu, Guernsey, Bed Polled, and Here- 
ford herds, from which it is hoped to secure ac- 
elimatized progeny possessing the best characters of 
the various breeds, and that the support afforded 
will enable the Trinidad Farm to maintain its posi- 
tion of being one of the birst institutions of its kind 
and to become the stud farm of the West Indies.— 
West Indian Bulletin. 
water can be obtained at 7 feet from the surface, 
which means that the ground would hardly ever get 
into the hard, drj state it does on the plains. 
Re cultivation to form a good pasture at once. It 
requires from 6 to 8 lbs. of seed per acre. Thia 
allows for barren seeds, as there is always a 
percentage of failures. The ground may be prepared 
the same as for oidiuary pastura and seeds sown 
broadcast. Again, 2 and .3 lb. may be sown to an 
acre, and left until it ripens its seeds ; these will 
fall to the ground and germinate, with the result, a 
good thick pasture. When once establidhed it will 
choke all other weeds. Another way is to sow in 
nursery beds and transplant into drills 18 inches 
apart and the plants 6 inches apart. An acre of 
ground treated in this way reached a heignt of 5ft. 
and a test cutting produced 1-5 tons 3 cwt. Never 
sow in the dry season ; either sow in showery 
weather or just before the rains. Seeds are obtain- 
able from. Messrs. Law, Summer and Co., Swanston 
Street, Melbourne, Victoria, at 5s. 6d. per lb. 
Re your correspondent's question: — 
(1) I would advise sowing in nursery beds and 
transplanting when large enough to handle. If he 
is on the plains he will certainly have to water 
them ; it does not require a rioli soil. (2) To my 
knowledge, no experiments on a large scale have 
been carried out on the plains. The chief authori ies 
for this grass are the farmers of New South Wales 
and Victoria. The Calcutta Horticultural Gardens 
were the first to carry out experiments, but these 
would count for nothing, as the climate there is 
more genial, and they have always a supply of 
good fodder from Indian gra-ses. (3) It may be 
grazed green ; none of it being wiry, cattle will eat 
any part of it, even from the crown to the seed head. 
There is no reason why it should not make good silage. 
To sum up P- dilatatum will thrive on almost any 
soil, sandy or otherwise, provided it can obtain 
sufficient moisture. Salt water willnot effect its growth, 
and it will stand the two extremes, heat and cold. 
THE FODDER FOR INDIA. 
Mr B. F. Cavanagh, Superintendent of the Agri- 
Horticultural t Gardens, Madras, writes to us with 
reference to " Paspolum ailatitum."— Its native 
habitat is doubtful. Some authorities affirm that it 
is a native of South America while others claim 
Ceylon as its origin. The grass was first biought 
to the notice of Australians by the late Baron yon 
Muller who recommended it on account of its high 
nutritious qualities and its drought-resisting proper- 
ties A very interesting account of Mr. WilUams 
experiments with this grass is given in the Agricul- 
tural Ledger" Series No. 33 (1901) No. I. Page 3. 
But the climate of New South Wales, where those 
experiments have been carried out, and the climate 
of the Indian plains cannot be compared. The most 
northern point of New South Wales is 32 degrees 
south of the equator, and again, their experiments 
■were carried out not at sea level but at an altitude 
of from 400 to 500 ft. We have a small plot here, 
which we have to water regularly ; otherwise, it 
would shrivel up. It flowers freely, but the seeds 
are barren. There is no doubt that at any eleva- 
tion above 1,000 ft. and on any poor soil it will 
be worth cultivating and will pay, provided it has 
water. I received a letter from an Ootaoamund 
correspondent in which he says " P, dilatatum is a 
valuable grass, slow of growth at first, but when once 
eBlabliHhed it forms dense tufts 4 feet high, and seeds 
freely "no doubt seeds collected at this elevation 
would' be good." I have not heard of a single success 
on the plains. There is a small place just outside 
Bangalore, viz. Whitefield, where I believe if it was 
tried it weuld prove a auseess. There, I am told 
"Nature Teaching."— This mail brings us 
" w'th the compliments of the Commissioner 
Imperial Dcpartrnent of Agricultm^e for the 
West Indies," a copy of ;i clearly printed, 
cam pact little manual of some 200 pages in- 
cluding glossary, appendix and index, which 
should at once be revised, adapted and 
published by the (joveriinient of Ceylon for 
use in neai'ly all schools in this island. The 
full title of the book is :— 
Nature Teaching based upon the general prin- 
ciples of agriculture, for the use of schools by 
Francis Watts, F.I.C, F.C.S., Assoc. Mason. Coll. 
Birminghara, Government Analytical and Agri- 
eubural Chemist, Leeward Island.s. 
The following extracts from the introduction 
indicate the purpose and use of the little 
manual : — 
In the pages of Nature Teaching prepared by Mr. 
Francis Watts, F.i.C, F.C.S., and now is=ued as a 
Text book by the imperial Department of Agri- 
culture, an attempt is made to place in the hands 
of Teachers both in Elementary and Secondary 
schools a well selected, bub co-ordinate body of in- 
formation suitable to West Indian conditions, to be 
supplemented in each case by numerous illus- 
trations and experiments in which the pupils them- 
selves take an active part. 
By a judicious coniidnation of work in boxes 
and pots, and work in the open garden, a teacher 
should succeed in keeping a c!ass well in hand 
without confusion or loss of time. In the absence 
of a school garden a consideiiible amount of in- 
struction may be given by means of boxes and pota 
alone. 
