8ui)])lement  to  the  “ Tropical  AgriculturistT 
143 
Aug.  1,  1896.] 
more  nearly,  liowever,  approximate  to  the  average 
of  good  cows  in  lullprolit.  Jinlfaloes  on  ;in  aver- 
age  give  considerably  more  tliaii  cows  in  India, 
and  their  milk  is  also  richer.  Under  skilful  man- 
agement there  is  no  reason  why  the  milk  breeds 
in  India  should  not  be  very  much  improved.  It  is 
quite  witliin  the  bounds  of  possibility  to  breed  up 
Indian  buffaloes  to  become  one  of  the  best  butter- 
producing  breeds  in  the  world.  Tlie  be.st  results 
respectively  from  a buffalo  and  a cow  during  the 
years  1891-93  on  the  Poona  Government  Farm  are 
tabulated  below; — 
Number 
Total 
yield 
of 
Number 
Value  01 
milk  at 
of  days 
of  days 
current 
in  milk. 
vi- 
milk. 
dry. 
market 
rates. 
Buffalo.. 
,.  459 
6,f69  lb. 
127 
K4I7 
Cow 
. 471 
5,024  „ 
44 
335 
N.B. — Giving  1 lb.  butter  for  11  lb.  and  17  lb. 
milk  respectively  for  buffalo  and  cow. 
The  comparative  richness  of  milk  may  be  gauged 
by  the  following  analyses:— 
Indian 
cow. 
Water  ...  8b'13 
jUutterfat  ...  4'80 
3 ) Gasein& Albumen  3'U3 
'olMilkiSugar  ...  ubll 
I Ash  ...  -70 
Average  composition  of  mill 
Indian 
buffalo. 
82-(Jj 
7-98 
4- 00 
5- 18 
•79 
( To  be  continued, ) 
English 
cow. 
87  -20 
3- 70 
4- 00 
4-40 
•70 
{To  the  Editor,  ^^Agricultural  Magazine.") 
30th  June,  1896. 
Deak  Sib, — How  frightfully  behind  the  times  1 
am.  1 have  only  just  read  the  letter  of  “ Coco- 
palmist”  dated  the  I8th  March  ! It  is  cheering  to 
find  my  old  friend  as  assiduous  an  agriculturist  as 
he  is-of  Tamil  Literature. 
He  writes  enquiring  whether  a statement  which 
appears  in  pp.  72-73  of  “ All  About  the  Coconut 
Palm  ” which  he  quotes  at  length  is  true.  My 
experience  confirms  it.  If  he  will  call  over 
to  see  me  I will  shew  him  the  hollow 
cylindrical  tree,  the  tree  with  the  whole  stem 
less  a small  portion  of  it  destroyed,  the  barks 
less  tree  and  the  tree  with  almost  the  whole  bole 
devoid  of  roots,  growing  and  bearing  well.  The 
writer  of  the  letter  he  quotes  from  says  that  as 
coconut  trees  have  no  bark  (is  this  so,  and  what 
is  the  outer  covering  of  the  stem  which  peels  off  in 
disease  7)  planters  cannot  force  them  into  bearing 
by  ringing  the  bark.  To  force  a barren  or  badly 
bearing  tree  into  fruitfulness,  burn  rubbish  round 
the  stem.  The  bark  will  in  time  peel  off  and  the 
tree  will  be  e.xceedingly  fruitful.  Another  “ dodge” 
is  to  set  fire  to  the  top  of  a coconut  tree,  the 
result  is  the  same. 
1 wish  very  much  to  see  the  irlantation  with  40 
trees  to  the  acre  which  causes  amusement  to 
neighbours  and  yields  from  200  to  800  nuts  per 
tree  per  annum.  The  amusement  and  the  field  must 
both  be  very  gratifying  to  its  proprietor.  In 
answer  to  my  friend’s  concluaing  query,  I must 
houestl  life j 3 myselt  a secptic. 
That  individual  trees  bear  at  the  rate  of  200  to 
300  (not  800)  one  can  believe  ; but  to  be  asked  to 
bedieye  that  the  trees  of  a whole  plantation  bear 
at  this  rate  is  an  over-draft  on  one’s  credulity. 
Now  as  to  the  number  of  branches  on  a full- 
be.iring  coconut  tree-  8ome  authorities  in  “ All 
About  the  Coconut  Palm”  say  the  tree  throws 
at  a spathe  once  a month,  others  every  fotringht. 
There  are  certainly  more  than  12  bunches  on  a 
heavily-bearing  tree,  and  they  correspond  with  the 
blanches  from  24  to  3b,  but  how  is  it  that  at  every 
bi-monthly  picking  two  bundles  from  each  tree 
is  the  rule  and  three  the  e.xception  f If  a twelve- 
month  elapses  between  the  bursting  of  the  flower 
sijathe  and  the  picking  of  the  rijie  fruit,  a tree 
inust  either  have  12  bunches  or  nuts  must 
ripen  in  6 months ! “ CocopalmLt  ” says  the 
plantation  he  writes  of  bears  36  bunches  per 
tree.  Do  the  trees  yield  six  bunches  at  each  bi- 
monthly picking  ? — Truly  yours 
B. 
GENERAL  ITEMS. 
Tape-worm  in  calves  is  a common  and  trouble- 
some experience  with  stock-owners.  Veterinary 
Surgeon  D.  Hutcheon  of  the  Cape  referrino-"  to 
it  says  : — “ Tliere  are  several  medicines  vv^icli 
destroy  or  expel  tape-worms.  Turpentine,  a table- 
spoonful  mixed  with  a teacupful  of  raw  linseed 
oil.  Powdered  sulphate  of  copper,  40  orains 
(half  a teaspoonful)  mixed  with  ten  ounces  or  a 
breakfast-cupful  of  water.  Cooper’s  powder  one 
teaspoonful,  flowers  of  sulphur  seven  teaspoonfuls 
mix  thoroughly  and  give  a teaspoonful  of  tlie 
mixture.  The  liquid  extract  of  male  fern  a 
teaspoonful,  mixed  in  a little  oil.  These  doses 
are  for  calves  about  3 months  old ; older  calves 
may  get  a little  inore,  and  younger  ones  a little 
less.  1 he  do.se  should  be  given  in  an  empty 
stomach  after  a 12  hour.s'  fast  at  least,  and  a 
longer  fast  is  better  if  the  calves  are  not  too  weak. 
A correspondent  of  the  Cultivator  and  Country 
Gentleman  advises  anyone  having  a cow  with  the 
habit  of  holding  up  her  milk  to  give  a .sutfi 
cieut  (piautity  of  grain  usually  fed  to  keeii  her 
busy  for  the  time  required  to  milk. 
A cow  suffering  from  inflamed  udder  should 
be  milked  thoroughhj  three  or  four  times  per 
day  ; under  no  circumstances  should  the  udder 
be  full  and  distended  any  length  of  time.  For 
an  inflamed  and  swollen  udder  foment  frequently 
with  hot  water  and  apply  vaseline  or  lard  An- 
other remedy,  highly  recommended,  is  a mixture 
of  sullicient  cow  .s  milk  with  as  much  salt  as 
will  make  a thin  paste;  this  should  be  u.sed  to 
anoint  the  udder  four  or  five  times  per  day. 
Ihere  is  now  on  view,  at  Bombay,  a poultry 
farm— started  apparently  with  the  object  of  popii 
lari/.ing  a certain  make  of  incubators— in  which 
some  6,0U0  eggs  are  being  hatched. 
The  fodder  grass  cultivated  last  year  at  the 
Seebpore  Experimental  Farm  were  sorghu7n  rcana 
and  guinea  grass.  Sorghum  aiul  reana  lui’ve  been 
grown  for  many  years  on  the  Farm,  and  found 
to  yield  a prolitable  outturn.  Last  ye&r  sor  a hum 
was  grown  on  a small  area  (15  cottahs),  and  the 
yield  of  grass  in  two  cuttings  amounied  to  l(i  S93 
lb.  per  acre.  Itcana  wrxii  raised  on  10^  cottahs 
of  land  ; it  yielded  three  cuttings,  the  outturn 
