3^2 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 2, 1901. 
and nnpi'odnctive, With regard to facilities, there 
are j^ood roads and railways cntUng through what 
iiiight be the heart of the industry. Tlie rrarket 
vaina of the product has already heen shown, and a 
recent rise in the price of meat show.-) that, at 
pii-..s(^nt, there is little danger of oversr.pply. The 
^; ..bent meat tnide in Trinidad is open to serious 
iuueirupuons v\hi"h often rencUrsit difficult to meet 
the deaiaiid, an^J the piorer peoply ure deprived of 
wtat in coiiStqafciiC'?. It is tlieiefore very desiiable 
that a reserve supply slioiild be av.iilable. that the 
market should not continue in its present dependent 
position. 
Durin:,' the last year an experiment in breeding 
for beef was brought to a satisfactory conclusion, 
although only carried out in a small way. Tho 
subject of the experiment vvag a cross between a Red 
Poll sire and an ordinary Creole cjw. This steer, 
when turned out to grass at fou' teen ni viths old, 
v.-eighed 465 lb. He was kept und^r conditions such 
as might be expected would be given in the general 
way in ths Colony, to test the viilue of grass feed- 
ing. The season proved exceedingly severe and 
grass was scarce, At two years old, he had Ka-ined 
only 83 lb. As grass became more plentiful a rapid 
increase in growth ensued, and at the end of his 
third year, he scaled 770 lb. showing a gain of 
22Mb. for the l.itter period. This rate of gain 
wou!d piobably have continued so thit at four 
years old have would, iu all likelihood, have scaled 
1 100 lb. the weight of a prime beast in Trinidad. 
The cost of rearing this animal amounted to $4; 80 
including milk and feed. The gain in weight dur- 
in-' his last year cost two shillings, one shilling 
land-tax and one for upkeep of fences and land, 
calculated on the average cost of the herd of oxen 
running together. 
The dead weight was 381 ib. The animal was 
in a fcrfectly healthy condition, every organ sound 
and, to use a butcher's term, " cleane.1 well." The 
meat was tender and juicy and altogether snperior 
to what is generally obtainable, and realised in the 
open market, sold nnder the same conditions as any 
other beef, $32:28, which after paying for slaughter- 
ing, market dues and commission left a profit of 
$27:48 or $9:16 per annum. With a large herd, 
sufficient working capital, .md sound management 
such returns indicate the possibility of a lucrative 
ndu^try. — West Indian JJullctin. 
. • 
LIGHTNING AND ITS EFFECTS. 
The cl.ty afier one on which a thunderstorm took 
place T c' me across a chir pine f /'. longif ol iu ), "^-hich 
hao' biion been struck. The tree was mature, stand- 
. 'lie tOji of a hill, and he had no leader, 
which haJ evidently been broken or out off in its 
youth. The lightning had struck one of the upper- 
most radi itiog branches and took a straight course 
for a snort distance, when it encountered a branch 
which turned it off its course, and from this point 
the ditrectiou taken was a spiral one, the turns 
baing closer together at the top of the tree, where 
there were more branches with the fluid avoided i 
About 5 feet from the ground the electric current 
encountered a swelling, evidently caused by the 
healing np of an old wound, and at this place it 
left the tree, joining it a^ain about one foot from 
the ground. A strip of bark about 4 inches in width 
was removed the whole way down the tree where 
h3 fluid took its course. This strip was not re- 
moved in one broad piece, but in two slips of 2 
iijchyB eich in width, for iis full length, the division 
b'tji' I' exiictly iu the centre and quite clean. The 
length v-f the strips varied from 2 feet to 4^ feet in 
length Boma of them being found on the ground, 
whilst othero remained on the tree, usually being 
fixed to it at their upper ends, the lower ones 
hoinp quite free and curling outwards. The outer 
joug^ (jark was totally removed, not a single piece 
remaining cn the strips mentioned above. It was 
found lying in small pieces under the tree. In no 
cate were any actual sing? of burning to be found, 
although the long strips of undeibark were diied 
and culled up with the heat, and neither the baik 
rn either side of the course taken by the lightning, 
nor the needles :it the foot of the tree where the 
cui'-Tfit e'ltered the ground were damaged in any 
v.a;.. ±ioth the inner and outer edges of the strips 
of undeibark were quite clean as if cut by a knife. 
Curious to relnto, down the whole length of 
psssage a thin narrow layer on underbark was left, 
exactly in the middle, firmly fixed to the tree ; of 
the blaze where the separation of the two strips 
took place and at the font of the tree where the 
electric fluid joined it again, two distinct conrses 
could be traced as if the fluid had become eeparated 
in its leap. 
The tree I had cut down, and it was examined 
carefully. Judging from appearances it would seem 
that the lightning threw off. simply by shock, the 
rough outer haik which opposed its passage, thus 
uncovering the smooth underbark, over which the 
fluid passed uninterruptedly. The great heat dried 
up this underbaik and turned the sap underneath 
it into vapour, which forced it up causing to divide 
at its centre, leaving the thin line of bark where 
the separation took place, caused also by the con- 
traction of the underbark. The pressure underneath 
caused by the formation of steam, coupled together 
with the fact that the strips of underbark were 
quite (.hrivelled up and contracted, is quite sufficient 
to explain the clear way in which they were sepa- 
rated from each o'her and from the bark on each 
side of the course taken. The/e would appear to 
be no doubt that lightning, if poi=sible, will avo\d 
all serious obstacles by going round them, and this 
being impossible, it will either remove that obstacle 
or be broken itself into two or more currents by 
trying to do so. 
It would be interesting to know if in any other 
parts of India lightning has been observed to have 
had similar effects as the above 
E. RADCLIFFE, Forest Opicer. 
Camp Chocb, Mirpore, Jammoo : February 8th, 1901 
— Indian lorester. 
♦ 
CASSAVA. 
We have had many inquiries since we wrote on 
the cultivation of cassava as to its commercial valtie, 
and with reference to the method of cultivation. 
Cassava is sometimes called Brazilian arrowroot. It 
resembles arrowroot in one respect, so far as manu- 
facture is concerned, in that tubers are rasped, and' 
the starch precipitated as in the case of arrowroot. 
There are two species of the plant Cwhich is one 
of the Euphorbiaciae^ — viz., the Bitter Cassava, 
31anihot ntilis,imi, and the sweet, J/, Aipi. Both 
furn sh highly nuiritius food starches. The bitter 
contains a poisonous element, byirocyanio acid 
(prussic acid), and, as a consequence, cannot be 
eaten in a fresh state, whilst the sweet variety may 
be used as a table vegetable without any prepar- 
ation. The poison of the bitter variety is, however, 
rendered volatile by heat, after the application o£ 
which the juice may be safely used as the basis of 
cassareep and other sauces. In Brazil great use is 
made of the bitter cassava. The dried roots are 
rasped, and a kind of flour results, from which cassava 
cakes are made. 
The plant is easily cultivated and finds a con. 
genial home iu Queensland. When the land intended 
for cassava is well broken up and reduced to a good 
tilth, the rows are 1 dd off much in the same manner 
as for sugar-eane, but only 4 feet apart. The sets 
consists of portion of the stalk cut into pieces aboat 
6 inchee long. Four inches is a better length, be- 
cause the roots springing from the cut ends are 
those which produce the tubers. Like all other such 
crops, they mual; be kept clean. There is no need 
