(^57 
March  1,  1897.] 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  AgriculturistT 
cheapest  in  the  long  run.  If  cans  be  used  the 
self-closing  or  patent  topped  cams  are  the  best, 
as  very  few  persons  care  about  the  trouble  of 
soldering  on  tue  tops,  and  having  to  cut  away 
the  lids  when  o])ening  for  use.  Tlie  general 
complaint  against  the  tins  is  that  tliey  often  rust . 
on  the  insides  of  the  lids,  and  impart  their 
nasty  rusty  flavour  to  the  fruit.  To  avert  tliis, 
small  circular  discs  of  greased  or  oiled  paper  could 
be  placed  over  the  holes  before  the  lids  are 
forced  down,  this  precaution  should  also  be 
observed  where  the  patent  screw  topped  glass 
jars  are  used  if  the  tops  are  made  of  tin.  For 
cooking  the  fruit  any  ordinary  stew  pan  may  be 
u.sed,  but  an  ordinary  washing  copper  if  well 
cleansed  acts  well. 
There  are  various  methods  advocated  by  autho- 
rities on  the  subject,  those  mostly  in  vognie  are 
firstly  : — Pack  the  fruit  into  the  jai's  or  cans,  boil 
the  syrup  in  another  vessel  for  ten  minutes,  stand 
the  jars  or  cans  in  a shallow  pan  with  water 
reacning  to  within  an  inch  of  the  top  of  the  cans 
or  jars,  cover  the  pan  and  bring  the  water  to  a 
boil  for  several  minutes,  then  pour  the  boiling 
syrup  over  the  fruits  quite  filling  the  cans  or 
jars.  Keep  the  water  round  them  boiling  for 
a few  minutes  longer,  until  no  air  bubbles  rise 
up  through  the  fruit,  then  put  on  the  lids  and 
while  still  hot  run  a little  beesw’ax  or  parafine  w'a.x 
around  the  rims. 
The  other  method,  and  no  doubt  the  best  for 
small  householders,  is  to  place  the  fruit  and  pre- 
pared syrup  into  a common  washing  copper,  and 
stew  it  until  it  is  of  sufficient  softness,  but  yet 
linn  enough  to  hold  its  shape  when  being  care- 
fully ladled  into  the  tins  or  jars  while  still  hot. 
The  jars  or  cans  should  then  be  placed  into  a 
shallow  vessel  or  pan,  and  the  water  surround- 
ing them  brought  to  a boil  until  all  air  luibbles 
cease  to  rise  among  the  fruit,  then  seal  down  as 
in  the  first  method.  Such  little  points  as  putting 
straw  or  cloths  around  the  jars  to  prevent  them 
touching  when  in  the  shallow  pan ; or  placing 
straw  or  split  pieces  of  deal  or  woofl  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  i>an  to  stand  the  jars  upon — to 
keep  them  off  tlie  bottom,  or  not  allowing  the 
bottles  of  fruit  when  very  hot  to  stand  in  a cold 
draught,  are  all  well  known  to  every  housewife. 
It  will  ahvays  be  well  when  cooking  to  err  on 
the  side  of  under  cooking,  as  the  fruit  can  be 
stewed  a little  if  necessary  when  opened  for  use. 
The  matter  of  putting  syrup  or  only  pure  water 
into  the  jars  is  a matter  of  taste,  as  it  has  very 
little  if  anyihing  to  do  with  the  preservation  of 
the  fruit.  The  authorities  on  syrups  vary  from 
4 oz.  to  1 Ib.  of  sugar  lo  each  iiuait  of  water, 
and  the  times  for  co(»king  for  various  fruits  are 
widely  different,  but  this  is  a point  wiiich  must 
be  worked  out  by  the  operator  according  to  the 
ripeness  of  the  fruit  under  treatment. — Adelaide 
Observer. 
^ 
RINDERPEST  IN  THE  WANNI  AND 
ad.joininct  districts. 
In  concluding  my  remarks  on  the  prevention 
and  su})pression  of  rinderpest,.!  cannot  do  better 
than  give  a summary  of  the  rules  laid  down  under 
this  head  in  Veterinary  Major  Mills'  treatise  on 
Cattle  Diseases. 
(1.)  Stray  animals  should  be  prevented  from 
coming  in  contact  with  healthy  cattle. 
(2.)  All  animabs  which  have  been  recently 
bought  or  have  been  in  contact  with  strange  ones 
should  be  kept  apart  from  others. 
(3.)  Whenever  an  animal  shows  signs  of  sick- 
ness of  any  kind  he  should  be  kept  separate  from 
healthy  ones  and  watched,  his  food  and  drinking 
water  being  brought  to  him. 
(4.)  Cattle  suspected  of  rinderpest  should  be 
kept  strictly  apart  from  the  rest,  at  a distance  of 
at  least  500  yards.  All  their  bedding,  gear,  dung, 
&c.,  should  be  destroyed  by  burning.  Dog.s,  crowds, 
&c.,  must  be  kept  out  of  the  Hospital  Iffiund  as 
much  as  possible. 
(5.)  The  stall  or  shed  in  which  a diseased 
animal  has  been,  should  be  disinfected  by  burn- 
ing sulphur  about  the  place,  or  by  sprinkling  a 
solution  of  Carbolic  acid,  Jeye’s  fluid  or  some  other 
disinfectant.  The  floor  should  be  dug  up  and 
fresh  earth  placed,  and  all  walls  and  wood  work 
whitewashed. 
(6.)  All  animals  which  have  been  in  contact 
with  a diseased  ones  should  be  thoroughly  washed 
with  a disinfectant  solution  and  should  be  kept 
apart  from  the  healthy. 
(7.)  The  men  attending  on  the  sick  cattle 
should  not  be  allowed  to  approach  the  healthy 
animals. 
(8.)  Animals  that  recover  should  be  well 
washed  and  pastured  for  at  least  a month  apart 
from  the  herd. 
(9.)  The  carcases  of  animals  that  die  of  rinder- 
pest as  well  as  the  litter,  dung,  &c.  of  all  the 
infected  ones  .should  be  burnt. 
In  order  to  carry  out  these  rules  in  the  villages 
of  the  interior,  there  ought  to  be  a special  Veteri- 
nary headman  resident  in  every  large  cattle  vil- 
lage. The  irresent  minor  headmen  are  too  busy 
with  other  work  to  devote  sufficient  time  and 
attention  to  matters  connected  with  the  welfare  of 
the  cattle.  Drompt  measures  are  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  the  suppression  of  the  cattle  plague. 
It  is  hardly  of  any  use  to  attempt  to  suppress  the 
disease  about  the  tail  end  of  an  outbreak. 
Treatment. — When  Rinderpest  breaks  out  in 
Europe  it  assumes  a most  virulent  form  and  is 
not  amenable  to  treatment.  Says  Professor 
Williams.  “ The  cattle  plague  may  be  classified 
as  one  of  those  diseases  in  which  ail  methods  of 
medical  and  hygienic  treatment  have  hitherto  prov- 
ed unsuccessful,  and  judging  from  the  nature  of 
the  malady,  always  wdll  prove  unsuccessful.” 
Professor  .Steel  .says  Numberless  receijjts  have 
been  submitted,  tested,  and  proved  worthless.  We 
can  name  no  agent  ca])able  of  acting  as  an  antidote 
to  rinder])ost  poison.” 
inesc  remarks,  howevei’,  have  been  made  with 
special  reference  to  the  plague  as  it  occurs  in  most 
European  countries,  and  do  not  n[)ply  with  the 
same  force  to  the  form  in  which  it  isoften  found 
in  feibcria,  India  and  Ceylon.  It  has  been  observ 
ed  that  lu  localities  where  the  disease  is  enzootic 
sucli  as  in  many  Asiatic  countrie.s,  it  often  assumes 
a milder  form,  and  is  then  amenable  to  treatment 
to  a ceitain  extent.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the 
Indian  Cattle  Plague  Commi,ssioners  that  at  least 
LO  per  cent,  of  animals  which  would  otherwise 
die  may  be  saved  by  suitable  treatment 
The  indications  for  general  treatment  are  to 
help  nature  in  getting  rid  of  the  virus  from  the 
system  to  sujiport  the  strength  of  the  animal  bv 
caivful  nursing  juoper  diet  and  stimulant  tonic 
WO.US 
