290 
Saptjlemeni  io  iUe  “ Tropical  Agriculturist.^’ 
[Oct.  1,  1895. 
of  this  article,  by  man  anci  beast,  has  shown  its 
liigh  character.  Whether  to  be  used  as  food  for 
producing  muscle  for  labour,  or  as  a means  of 
latteniug  animals,  it  has  been  found  to  be  of 
superior  value  to  any  of  the  other  cereals  produced 
in  the  United  States.” 
Anotl’.er  reason  that  may  be  assigned  for  the 
prejudice  against  Indian  corn  as  an  article  of 
luiman  food  is  the  fact  that  few  know  how  to 
prepare  it  so  ns  to  form  a palatable  diet.  Pro- 
fessor Shelton  of  Queen.sland  condemns  the 
grinding  of  maize  into  a flue  powder  as  in  the 
case  of  wheat,  and  .states  that  maize  Hour  in  this 
condifioii  is  (jiiickly  converted  by  cooking  into  a 
sticky,  pasty  mass,  which  is  both  unpalatable  and 
indigestible.  Maize,  he  says,  should  be  ground 
into  an  even  and  rather  coarse  meal — not  flour— 
which,  when  cooked,  gives  the  light  granular 
bread  and  cakes  seen  in  maize-consuming  countries. 
He  further  recommends  that  the  maize  should  be 
thoroughly  kiln-dried  before  grinding,  and  the 
germ  afterwards  removed  from  the  grain,  e.xphai  11- 
ing  that  this  will  give  a better  and  more  uniform 
meal  that  will  keep  without  becoming  rancid. 
DAIRY  PRODUCE. 
The  following  extracts  are  from  a valuable  and 
exhaustive  paper  read  by  Surgeon-Captain  P.  W. 
O'Oorman  before  the  Indian  Medical  Congre.ss: — 
If  there  be  any  article  o*'  diet  in  India,  that 
needs  more  than  any  other  the  earliest  and  most 
stringent  regulations  to  be  enforced  against 
disease  and  adulteration,  I claim  them  for  our 
dairy  produce — produce  on  which  by  far  the 
largest  proportion  of  our  population,  European 
and  native,  of  all  castes  and  classes — infanis, 
children,  invalid!?— subsit  for  long  periods  together, 
and  these  the  most  helpless  and  voiceless.  Time 
after  time  is  disease  being  specially  trsiced  to 
this  produce;  lives  are  being  sacrificed  every  day, 
and  outcries  arise  from  every  station  in  India 
ugiiinst  the  j)resent  riyivie.  The  time  is,  there- 
fore, ripe  for  legislation.  All  European  countries 
have  laws  in  force  against  adulteration  of  food, 
and  the  last  were  passed  by  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  in  1892,  under  the  name  of  the 
“ Pure  Foo'^  Bill.” 
From  the  labours  of  Pasteur,  Koch,  Klein  and 
others,  much  light  has  been  thrown  on  the 
bacteriology  of  milk  itrodiict.s.  Schenk  describes 
25  pathogenic  and  saprophytic  micro-organisms, 
but  several  others  can  be  added.  Milk  may  be 
contaminated  either  during  milking  or  in  the 
subsequent  manipulation,  and  may  exhale  an 
odour  owing  to  the  substances  so  acquired 
(Bacillus  fcetidus  lactis),  or  become  slimy  or 
stringy  (Uacillus  lactis  viscosus),  or  take  on  a 
bitter  or  an  acid  (B.  dahil.  llankin),  sweetish, 
putrid  taste  (Bacillus  fcetidus  lactis)  or  its  colour 
may  turn  yellow,  blue  (B.  cyanogcnes,)  or  red 
(B.  lactis  erythrogeues).  Moreover,  various  patho- 
genic micro-organisms  (parasitic)  may  be  im- 
parted to  milk  from  the  diseased  animal 
furnishing  it.  Many  dangerous  organisms,  how- 
ever, may  exi<t  in  it  or  in  its  products  without 
exciting  notice. 
The  following  1.3  di.sea.Ses  have  been  discovered 
to  be  due  to  milk  contaminated,  eitlier  directly 
or  indirectly,  by  specific  germs,  viz : — 
Tuberculosis 
Typhoid  or  Enteric  Fever 
Cholera. 
Diarrluna  (Enteritis) 
Vomiting  and  Purging  (ptomaine  poi.soning.) 
Gastriti,s. 
Dy.spepsia  (acidity,  etc.) 
Stomatitis  and  Apthoe. 
Diphtheria. 
Scarlatina. 
Foot-and-mouth  disease  (eczema  ei>izotica). 
Peculiar  febrile  symjitoms. 
Peculiar  “milk  sickne.s.s”  (vomiting,  collap.se, 
etc.,  from  cow.s  sufferi.ig  from  the  “ tremliles.”) 
To  these  may  very  probably  be  added  several 
others,  including  dysentery,  malarial  fevers,  small- 
pox. rinderpest,  plenro-pneumonia,  actinomycosis, 
and  anthrax  due  to  direct  contamination  or  adul- 
teration with  befouled  water,  etc.  Milk  may 
also  be  contaminated  by  inflammatory  products 
in  nearly  every  di.'^e.ase  to  wdiich  the  cow  is 
subject.  Professor  Brown  cites  an  instance 
whore,  in  a case  of  septic  mammitis,  a milker 
actually  milked  into  a pail  a quarter  of  the 
contents  of  the  udder,  from  which  came  nothing 
but  pus,  under  the  impression  that  it  was  pecu- 
liarly rich  milk. 
It  ought  also  to  be  si)ecially  borne  in  mind 
that  cheap"  and  ‘'nasty"  av&  convertible  terms 
in  dairy  produce.  I wish  to  emphasise  this  fact 
that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  get  good,  pure, 
wholesome  dairy  produce  at  the  present  preoailing 
rates.  They  ought  most  certainly  to  be  raised 
from  one-third  to  one-half  higher. 
1 have  now,  1 think,  made  out  a very  .strong 
ca.se  for  legi.'hiti ve  interference  in  the  interests 
of  both  natives  and  Europeans.  The  .Muuicipiil 
Act  .should  be  amended  and  strengthened,  ami 
rigid  in.spectioii  and  regulations  enforced  on  ail 
the  i)oints  I have  indicated.  And  as  the  country 
at  large  is  not  yet  ripe  for  .such  me.a.-uies,  I lieg 
to  earnestly  urge  th.at  the  iimended  Adulteration 
and  Dairy  Produce  sections  of  the  Municipal  Act 
or  a new  separate  Pure  Food  Act  be  extended  to 
all  cantonments,  large  railway  .stations,  and  all 
municipal  towns,  and  perhaps  subdi visional  liead- 
quartersof  districts.  All  inspectors  to  be  properly 
qualitted,  and  be  Europeans  in  large  towns  and 
cantonments.  Atiother  thing  1 would  beg  to 
urge  on  Government  would  be  the  diivct  encour- 
agement, in  every  po.ssible  way,  of  Furopean 
private  enterprise  in  Dairy  farmhng,  iti  preference 
to  any  Commissariat  monojioly  of  such,  as  other- 
wise tiie  civil  population  can  never  Imjie  to  enjoj’ 
the  untold  advantages  of  modern  dairving. 
WATER  MEASURES  AND  R INFALL. 
In  connection  with  various  operations  in 
practical  farming,  coii.servalion  of  water,  rainfall 
and  irrigation,  the  following  me;isures  and  quan- 
titio.',  given  in  the  Agricultural  Journal  of  Cape 
Colony,  will  be  found  useful  : — 
ll'atcr  Measure. 
One  Imperial  gallon  of  pure  water  weighs  10  Ib.s. 
„ „ „ ce.ntains  277’27J  cubic  in. 
1 cubic  ft.  contains  nearly  Oj-  Imperial  gali.s.  (ti  23) 
„ „ of  water  weight  lbs.  (02’212) 
„ yard  contains  168J  gallons, 
