o84 
Supiilemevd  to  the  ‘‘  Tropical  Agriculturist.'' 
[Feb.  1,  1897. 
a party  of  young  men  thouglit  they  would  ascer- 
tain how  deep  wheat  roots  went  down  into  the 
subsoil,  and  one  of  them  held  the  root  in  his  hand 
to  shield  it  while  the  others  dug  out  the  earth  and 
gravel  to  enable  them  to  follow  its  course.  They 
dug  out  tons  of  stuir,  which  carried  their  dig- 
ging down  eight  feet  four  inches,  and,  as  they 
\)elieved,  the  root  was  then  broken  otf.  Koots  of 
onions  have  been  found  nine  feet  down  or  more, 
and  Could  be  distinguished  by  their  taste. 
Where  deep  cuttings  were  made  across  a held 
of  sainfoin  for  a waterworks  culvert,  the  roots 
of  the  plant  were  found  twenty  feet  from  the  sur- 
face, and  lucerne  roots  have  been  found  even 
deeper ; in  fact,  it  is  believed  they  go  down  to 
the  bed-rock  even. 
“ The  habit  of  grasses,  whether  deep-rooting, 
or  growing  with  shallow  roots,  determines  their 
suitability  for  this  country. 
“ Now,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a held  with  a hard 
and  almost  impenetrable  subsoil,  or  pan,  created 
by  constant  shallow  ploughing,  will  not  allow  of 
this  deep-rooting,  and  therefore  in  absence  of  rain 
for  even  a short  time,  the  crops  must  suffer, 
while  on  other  lands  which  have  been  subsoiled  and 
the  impediment  of  a pan  broken  up,  the  crop 
may  hold  out  and  come  to  maturity.  Besides  the 
advantage  of  the  deep-rooting,  the  feeding-roots 
of  the  plant  will  hnd  food  in  the  broken-up 
subsoil  when  they  can  be  distributed  amongst  it.” 
ALLEGED  CUBES  FOR  CATTLE  PLAGUE. 
The  following  correspondence  on  the  above  sub- 
ject, which  has  been  transmitted  by  Ilis  Excel- 
lency the  Governor  and  High  Commissioner  of 
the  Cape,  is  herewith  published  for  the  informa- 
tion of  our  readers  : — 
Wellington  Club,  Grosvenor  Place,  S.  W., 
April  15th,  1896. 
To  the  Right  Honourable  Jo.seph  Cixambeh- 
laiN,  M.P.,  Downing-street,  S.  AV. 
Rinderpest  in  South  Africa. 
Sir, — I have  been  interested  in  tropical  agri- 
culture for  the  last  30  years  in  British  East  India, 
and  the  rinderpest  used  to  give  us  much  trouble 
and  cause  much  loss.  An  animal  once  attacked 
never  recovered.  Of  late  years  we  adopted  a 
novel  and  most  efficacious  treatment,  and  we  now 
no  longer  dread  the  disease. 
The  treatment  consists  simply  of  boiling  down 
the  first  victims  and  feeding  those  attacked  with 
the  broth,  giving  each  animal  a half  to  one  pint 
three  tim,es  a day.  I cannot,  of  course,  say  if 
the  same  success  would  follow  a similar  treatment 
in  South  Africa,  but  it  is,  I am  persuaded,  worth 
a fair  and  careful  trial.  Personally  I believe 
anthrax,  if  not  pleuropneumonia,  could  be  suc- 
cessfully treated  by  similar  means,  but  of  these 
both  1 cannot  speak  from  experience.  The  broth 
should  be  given  for  two  days  or  so  after  the  ani- 
mal begins  to  eat. — Tour  obedient  sei  vant, 
(Sd.j  C.  Tottenham. 
Downing  Street,  21st  April,  1896. 
— I am  directed  by  Mr.  S(‘cretary  Chamber- 
lain  to  request  you  to  lay  before  Secretary  Lord 
G.  Hamilton  the  enclosed  copy  of  a letter  res- 
pecting a method  of  treating  rinderpest,  which 
the  writer  states  was  successful  in  British  East 
India,  and  I am  to  state  that  Mr.  Chamberlain 
would  bo  glad  to  be  supplied  with  any  infor- 
mation that  may  be  in  the  possession  of  your 
Department  as  to  the  efficacy  of  the  treatment 
described. — I am,  &c., 
(Sd.)  Edward  Fairfield. 
The  Under  Secretary  of  State,  India  Office. 
India  Office,  Whitehall,  London,  S.W., 
14th  May,  1896. 
Sir, — I am  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  India  in  Council  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter,  wdth  enclosure,  of  the  21st  April, 
and  in  reply  to  state,  for  the  information  of  *Mr. 
Secretary  Chamberlain,  that  this  office  is  not  in 
possession  of  any  information  with  reference  to 
the  treatment  of  rinderpest  in  India  in  the  manner 
described  by  Mr.  C.  Tottenham.  Lord  George 
Hamilton  has  caused  inquiry  to  be  made  on  the 
subject,  but  no  confirmation  has  been  obtained 
of  the  statement  submitted  to  the  Colonial  Office 
by  Mr.  Tottenham. — I am,  A'C., 
(Sd.)  A.  Godley. 
The  Under  Secretary  of  State,  Colonial 
Office,  S.  W. 
The  following  is  taken  from  the  Agricultural 
Gazette  of  the  Cape : — 
Vt  ith  much  regret  I saw  in  the  last  number 
of  0ns  Land,  that  the  dreadful  Rinderpest  has 
already  appeared  on  this  side  of  the  Orange  River, 
and  that  up  to  the  present  no  remedy  has  been 
discovered  to  prevent  this  enemy  among  our 
cattle. 
In  the  hour  of  need  man  grasps  at  a straw  to 
save  himself.  In  1892,  when  so  many  horses  and 
asses  died  in  our  district  from  horse-sickness,  I 
tried  a remedy  for  my  horses  and  asses  as  a pre- 
ventive against  the  disease.  I took  ten  parts  of 
salt  and  one  pint  of  Cooper’s  Dip,  ground  the 
salt  fine  and  mixed  the  Cooper’s  Dip  with  it.  I 
gave  each  horse  and  ass  a tablespoonful  of  this 
dry. 
My  animals  grazed  in  a large  veld  amongst  a 
good  many  other  horses  and  asses  which  all 
contracted  the  disease  and  died,  while  all  of  mine 
remained  healthy,  although  they  as  well  as  the 
other  animals  were  exposed  to  cold  and  damp. 
1 have  used  the  same  remedy  for  my  healthy 
sheep  as  a preventive  for  Geel  Ziekte,  and  witli 
good  results. 
AVell,  would  it  not  be  worth  trying  this  remedy 
on  the  healthy  animals  where  the  Rinderpest 
begins  to  show  itself  ? It  can  do  no  harm,  and  I 
think  inasmuch  as  a beast  is  stronger  than  a 
horse,  men  may  safely  give  each  beast  a table- 
spoonful and  a half  of  the  abovenamed  mixture. 
Who  knows  perhaps  by  the  use  of  such  an  unfail- 
ing remedy  thousands  of  cattle  may  be  saved, 
and  much  heartrending  and  misery  be  prevented 
thereby.  (Sd.)  S.  C.  Louw' 
Spes  Bona,  Ceres,  Oct  3rd. 
I have  no  remarks  to  make,  except  to  say 
that  Cooper’s  Dip  has  been  found  useful  in  hoi’se- 
sicknes  and  geel-ziekte.  And  if  given  to  cattle 
it  might  have  a tendency  to  keep  them  in  good 
health.  1 have  no  faith  in  it  as  a cure  for  Rinder- 
pest, and  I doubt  whether  it  would  act  as  a ])re- 
veutive.  J.  W.  Crow'hurst,  F.  ll.C.V.S. 
