April i, 1892.] 
THf TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
785 
porridge ia usually eaten. Corn “ pone is to the 
Southern States of America what the damper ia to 
Australia — the product of local conveniences and akill, 
on which account it need not he further explained 
here. Corn bread and com cake (wliich is but corn 
bread with the addition of swootiugs and eggs) are 
articles of universal consumption in every part of 
America. These ought to find great favour m colo- 
nial homos, where tlioy would be certain to prove a 
liealthful and agreeable variation in the daily bill 
of fare. Below ia given a recipe for corn cake, the 
excellence of which has been proved in the experience 
of my own family : — 
1 pint of corn meal. 
1 quart of thick sour milk. 
4 eggs. 
Soda sufficient to sweeten the milk. 
2 tablespoorisful of sugar. 
1 teaspoonful of salt. 
Bake twenty minutes to half-an-hour in a quick 
oven. 
i:OUN COBH AH HTOl'K FOOD. 
That corn cobs, which in QueenHland are univer- 
sally a waste product* have a very considerable value 
as stock food has been demonstrated in the long- 
continued general experience of American farmers. 
The following table of analyses will serve to show how 
in chemical constituents the corn cob compares with 
corn and two comuiou fodders — 
"Water, j 
Ash. 
Albumin- 
oid. 
Fibre, j 
Nitrogen 
(free 
extract.) 
Fat. 
Corn . . 
13-98 
1-2,5 
8-82 
1-59 
70-48 
3-92 
Corn Gob . . 
925 
1-lH 
1-91 
81-22 
65-86 
0-60 
Oat Straw . . 
12!i0 
1-81 
2;ho 
5.5-96 
26-42 
1-00 
Knglish Hay 
H-.SO 
4-70 
7-00 
26-90 
45-40 
1-70 
These figures do not show the whole value of the 
cobs as a feed. Cobs are never fed alone, but gen- 
erally with the corn which grew on them. Wheti 
fed thus the cob seems to be admirably suited to 
act as a balance to the more concentrated grain. 
Moreover, throo fifths of the ash of the cob is potash, 
an element of undoubted value us an aid to diges- 
tion. As a result of my own experiments, made 
with ten pigs and twenty bullocks, to test the ques- 
tion of tho food value of cobs, I found that a pound 
of corn cob when gi'ound and fed with the corn 
which grew upon it was worth more than a pound 
of meal made from corn alone. In other words, 
both the pigs and bullocks gave better returns from 
corn and cob meal that was obtained from feeding 
dear corn meal. Considering tlio large proportion of 
car corn that is cob (18 per cent.), this fact of the feed- 
ing value of cobs is a matter of no little im- 
portance where, as in Queensland, com and hay in 
all its forms have a very high market value. This, 
however, should be borne in mind; that the cob 
must be ground fine — quite likely the finer the better 
— and to grind a given amount of whole ears of 
corn will require three times as much power, or its 
equivalent in time, as is needed in reducing the same 
amount of shelled com . — Planter ami Fanntr. 
PBPPKR CL'LTCKB IX PKXAXC. 
The following account of how pepper was planted 
in Pinang some 90 years ago will ue of interest to 
District Officers in those parts of the State where 
the natives are vigorously taking up the cultivation 
of the vine: — . , -n-. m, 
“ The manner of Cultivating the Pepper Vine. The 
rcsnlt of Personal Dxpevteuce of a Cultivator, being 
an Appendix to ‘ A Short Account of the Settle- 
ments, Ac., of Prince of Wales’s Island, in the 
Straits of Malacca.' Sir (Jkokok Leith, Bart, Major 
I7th Foot, and late Lioutonant-Governor. London : 
1804." Tho vines are propagated from either slips or 
cuttings, and planted in rows at the distance of fi or 
8 feet, varying in this respect according to the judg- 
ment of the cultivator. The supporter to the vine 
is usually planted at the same time, or very shortly 
after, the vine. There are several sorts of supporters 
— the dedap and |mongkudn* trees, are, however, 
generally preferred ; the former, which is propagated 
from cuttings, is esteemed the best, its spreading 
branches and tliick foliage affording more shelter and 
support to the vine than the latter, but the un- 
certainty attending the rearing of it in many soils 
causes the mongkudu, which is raised from the wood 
without difficulty, to be more commonly used, parti- 
cularlv Hince the improvement introduced in training 
it witli three or four perpendicular branches instead 
of one, whioli was the usual mode; this is done by 
cutting off the leader when the plant is between four 
and five montlis old; this causes it to throw outside 
shoots, three or four of which only are suffered to 
remain and trained in a perpendicular manner. 
When the vine ia first planted it is covered with 
the branch of a tree called piah, something like the 
nipali, to protect it against the effects of tlie sun, until 
it has taken root, and is fit to he brought to the stick; 
this liappena usually about six weeks after planting, 
when a stick of about three inches in circumference, 
and seven or eight feet long, is planted near it, to 
which it soon adheres (being first slightlv attached 
to it by a string), and creeps up towards tlie top. 
In eleven or twelve montlis the vine generally 
begins to show blossoms, at which period it may 
have attained the height of six feet; it is thou fit for 
training down ; this is done by loosening the. vine 
from the stick and removing that entirely ; the loaves 
are slipped off the stem, leaving only a small tuft 
at the top; a pit is then dug close to the roots, 
about twenty indies in diameter, and nearly the same 
depth at tho bottom of which the stem oi the vino 
is coiled horizontally, bringing the top or tuft before 
mentioned to the supporter already planted for that 
purpose, to which it is fastened by a string; the pit 
IS then filled, covering the stem in that position. 
The increasing size of tho vino in a short time 
after the above operation has been performed shows 
that roots ore springing abundai tly from the stem ; 
tho whole skill of the cultivator ia now shown by 
the manner in which he trains the vino, as this 
naturally takes a perpendicular direction ; his care ia 
to prevent its ascending too rapidly, which, if not 
chocked, it \\ill certainly do. This was an error 
tho majority of popper planters fell into at the first 
Bottloment of tho island, when tho cultivation of 
this valuable plant was not so well understood as at 
present. 
The top of tho vine, therefore, and a length of 
some feet below it, is consoquently not allowed to 
adhere to tho supporter, but, Being pendant and in- 
clining to the ground, throws outside shoots, by 
which it increases in bulk proportionably to its 
height. 
Although iho blossom on tho vino thus turned 
down comes to maturity, tho produce even of the 
third year ia trifling, averaging perliaps, in a large 
plantation, about an eigth of a catty; from the third 
to the fourth year half a catty; increasing half a 
catty a year, until it will average two or two aud-a- 
lialf catties, at which tinio the vine may be con- 
sidered to be in full vigour. As there are not many 
plantations on the island much above ton years old, 
wo can only judge from information how long the 
vine will continue bearing. From intelligent Chinese, 
who have lived at iringauo and other pliu^ea on the 
eastern Hide of tho Malay Peninsula, wo learn that 
It oontiuuoH in full vigour to the age of fifteen 
yenra, and then gradually declines, still, however, 
yiehling fruit if properly attended to the ago of 
twenty-five or thirty years. This opinion Offers 
very materially from that entertained hy the origi- 
nal cultivators on the island, who supposed the vine 
would cease bearing at sixteen years; there is, 
however, eveiy reason to suppose the mean of the 
two opinions will prove nearly correct: a garden 
eleven years old, situated at Songhy Chnaii; con- 
taining 8,000 plants only, has lately been lot for 
three years for seventy piculs of pepper per annum 
which makes each plant average catties, a strong 
• Mongkudu. — A common jungle tree, 
lays make a medicino from its fruit. 
The Ms,- 
