320 
[June, 
AMERICAN ACRIOULTURIST 
wliich most impressed me. The ear is rather 
short and tliick, the cob small, the stalk stout 
and vigorous, with fleshier leaves than our va¬ 
rieties of maize throw out, and the roots start 
out in rings, two inches or more apart, for a 
hight of from twelve to twenty inches from the 
top root. It requires therefore a deep soil and 
to be planted deeply. The natives plant it in 
rows, in rather deep furrows, and plow between 
tire rows twice in the season. The numbers and 
grasp of the roots, give the stalk, as I have said, 
an appearance of vigor and strength, such as I 
have seen nowhere else. Each stajk sends out 
from six to eight, and even more ears. The 
kernels have a thin pellicle, and are exceedingly 
farinaceous, so sweet and pleasant to the taste 
as to be rather agreeable food, even when eaten 
raw, and absolutely delicious when boiled or 
made into bread. The meal or flour is as wdiite 
and delicate as that of wheat. 
The valley of Yucay is about 10,000 feet 
above the sea, and produces wheat and barley. 
The peach and apple grow in it, and the wild 
black cherr}’’ is indigenous. There is no winter, 
in our sense of the word, but there is the dry, 
cold season, which pretty much suspends vege¬ 
tation, and gives the fields the aspect of early 
December. Regarding these circumstances, I 
thought it not impossible that this maize, as well 
as the yellow and black, might be acclimatized 
in some parts of our own country, and I accord¬ 
ingly brought home some ears, and last spring 
distributed it, in small quantities, pretty widely. 
I have not heard the result in all cases. Some 
planted in rather light soil, rather late in the 
season, in the ordinary way, in Schenectady 
County, in this State, grew to the hight of four¬ 
teen feet, tasselled, but only sent out rudimen¬ 
tary ears, and was much afflicted with the blight. 
The stalks sent out their root rings for a foot or 
more above the highest hilling. Some planted 
in various parts of Westchester County, also 
rather late, grew vigorously to the hight of from 
fifteen to sixteen feet, developed a few ears, 
containing, however, but few kernels, and was 
cut off by the frost. Altogether, the experi- 
.ments in this latitude were not very satisfactory, 
leading to the conclusion that our season is not 
long enough to enable it to ripen. Mr. Solon 
Robinson, who planted a few grains, says, “ it 
.grew immense stalks, without ears,” and thinks 
that “if we could get seed every year it would 
be very valuable here for fodder.” He is of 
opinion it will not ripen north of Philadelphia, 
but would sircceed in South Carolina. Some 
planted on Staten Island, sent up stalks to the 
hight of fourteen feet, with air roots three feet 
above the ground.—The most successful experi¬ 
ment was made by Mr. Bayard Taylor, on his 
farm not far from Lancaster, Pa., who writes: 
'■'■My dear Sir ,—These are the facts of my 
experiment with the Peruvian maize.—The 
grains were planted in small pots about the 
middle of April, and set in a hot-bed. Three 
weeks afterward, when the shoots were four or 
five inches high, they were planted in the open 
ground. The growth of the canes was rapid 
and vigorous, and they attained the hight of 
twelve to fifteen feet, before there was any sign 
of tassel. Even after the tassels came, two or 
three weeks more elapsed without the indica¬ 
tion of a single ear, and it was only in Septem¬ 
ber that eight or ten small ears made their ap¬ 
pearance. About the middle of October, seeing 
that there was no possibility of these ears ripen¬ 
ing sufficiently to furnish seed, I pulled them. 
Three or four showed only two or three seatter- 
cd grains; the others were tolerably well set, 
the grains being fully as large as the original 
seed. When cooked we found their flavor far 
beyond that of any maize we had ever tasted,— 
wonderfully succulent, sweet and delicate. 
I was struck with the growth of circles of 
roots from each joint to the cane, to the hight 
of twelve or eighteen inches.from the soil, and 
it occurred to me, but at too Hite a period to 
make any change, that the plants should have, 
been set in trenches, and these new roots cover¬ 
ed with earth as fast as they were thrown out. 
This is about all I have to communicate. I 
shall be very glad to try again, because my cli¬ 
mate is a little more favorable, I think, than 
that of New York, and I want to secure seed if 
possible. The flavor of the corn is so delicious 
that it would be a pity if we cannot somehow 
naturalize it.” Very truly yours, 
Bayard Taylor. 
I think the introduction of this maize would 
be a real boon to the country, and I am sure it 
could be grown in the Southern States.—It 
would cost about $50 to get three or four 
bushels of this maize over the Andes, and to 
this port. I propose that fifty gentlemen send 
a dollar each to the editor of this paper, for this 
purpose, so that the experiment of introducing 
this maize may be tried on an adequate scale. 
I will undertake the correspondence and* ar¬ 
rangements to get the seed here. E. G. S. 
- I —»-•- 
Have Entozoa any Connection with Rin¬ 
derpest ?—H. Y. Rinderpest Law, 
Some interesting observations have lately been 
published by Doct. Lionel S. Beale, Professor 
of Physiology, etc., in King’s College, London, 
etc., upon some bodies found in the muscles of 
animals which have died of the cattle plague. 
These bodies are very minute, and though thsir 
precise nature is not made out, they appear to 
be entozoa, or parasitic animals in some stage . 
of their existence. We have only room for the 
briefest abstract of the article. In almost all, if 
not in all animals dying of cattle plague, these 
bodies exist in considerable number in the vol¬ 
untary muscles and in the heart; they are also 
occasionally found, but in comparatively small 
numbers in animals apparently in perfect health 
when lulled. In the muscles of a calf killed by 
cattle plague, under six months of age, these 
bodies were found in immense numbers. These 
bodies are found imbedded in the muscular fibre, 
are usually spindle-shaped, and vary in length 
from the 'lisooth to *!4 of an inch. When sub¬ 
mitted to a high magnifying power, they are 
found to be made up of minute granules, less 
than ’ l^oooth of an inch in their longest diameter, 
resembling one another in shape, which is oval, 
flattened and slightly curved, with one extremi¬ 
ty blunt and the other almost pointed. While 
the author does not commit himself to the 
statement that these bodies are really “worms” 
—but speake of them as only worm-like—he evi¬ 
dently thinks that close observation will make 
them out to be independent organisms. He is 
equally cautious in attaching any special rela¬ 
tion between these and the cattle plague, but 
suggests that their presence may indicate an Un¬ 
natural state, caused by a forced nutrition which 
predisposes the animal to the attacks of disease. 
The haw of the State. 
An Act to prevent the introduction and spread of the dis¬ 
ease known as the Rinderpest, and for tlie protection 
of the flocks and lierds of sheep and cattle in this State 
from destruction hv tliis and other infectious diseases. 
Passed April 20, 1866; tlu'ee-flfths being present. 
The People of the fitate of Kero Yorh, repremUed in Senate 
and Aneembli/ do enact an follows: 
SECTION 1. It sliall be the duty of the health oflicer of 
the port of New-York, in addition to the duties now impos¬ 
ed ou 1dm by existing laws, to examine and inquire wheth¬ 
er any animals are brought in any vessels arriving at said 
port in violation of any regulation of law passed by the 
Congress of the United'States prohibiting the importation 
of such unimais. 
Sec. 2. .Whenever any animal brought as a ship’s cow, 
with no intention of landing the same or of vlolatmg any 
such law or regulation of Congress as aforesaid, the same 
shall be carefully examined and kept in quarantine for 
the space of at least 21 days, and if any symptom of the in¬ 
fection or incubation of the disease commonly known as the 
rinderpest or any other infectious or contagious disease 
shall present themselves, it shall be the duty of the said 
health officer immediately to cause the said animal or ani¬ 
mals to be slaughtered, and their remains boxed with a 
sufficient quantity of quick-lime, sulphate of iron or other 
disinfectant, and with sufficient weignts placed in said box 
to prevent the same from floating, and to be cast into the 
waters of the said port. It shall also be his duty to cleanse 
and disinfect by suitable agencies the berth or section of 
the ship in which said animal or animals were lying or 
slaughtered, and also to cause the clothing and persons of 
all taking care of the same or engaged in slaughter and 
burial to be cleansed and desinfected. 
Sec. 3. William Kelly, of Dutchess County, Marsena R. 
Patrick, of Ontario County, and Lewis F. Allen, of Erie 
County, are hereby appointed, as commissioners under this 
act, and wdth powers and duties as hereinafter enmnerated. 
Sec. 4. In the event of any such disease as the Rinderpest 
or infectious disease of cattle or sheep breaking out or be¬ 
ing suspected to exist in any locality in this State, it shall be 
the duty of all persons owning or having any interest what¬ 
ever in the said cattle, immediately to notify the said com¬ 
missioners or any one of them of the existence of such dis¬ 
ease, whereupon the said commissioners shall establish a 
sanitary cordon around such locality. And thereupon it 
shall be the duty of the said commissioners to appoint an 
assistant commissioner for such district with all powers con¬ 
ferred by this act ou the said commissioners or their agents 
or appointees, which said assistant commissioner shall im¬ 
mediately proceed to the place or places where such disease 
is reported to exist, and cause the said animal or animals 
to be separated from all connection or proximity with or 
to all other animals of the ruminant order, and take such 
other precautionary measures as shall be deemed necessary, 
and if in his opinion the said disease shall be incurable or 
threaten to spread to other animals, to cause the same im¬ 
mediately to be slaughtered, their remains to be deeply 
buried, and all places in which the said animals have been 
confined or kept, to be cleansed and disinfected by any of 
the agencies above mentioned; and also to cause the same 
to be carefully locked or barred so as to prevent all access 
to the same by any animals of a like kind for a period of 
at least one month. Any animal thus slaughtered shall be 
appraised under the supervision of the said Commissioners, 
and one half of the value of said animal shall be paid by 
the State to the owner thereof. 
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the said assistant commis¬ 
sioner, immediately on his being notified of his appoint¬ 
ment, or at any time thereafter, of the breaking out of the 
said disease in any place contiguous to the same and within 
the county in which he resides, to give public notice of the 
same in at least one newspaper published in the said county, 
and to cause notices to be posted up in at least five conspic¬ 
uous places in said neighborhood, and it shall be his duty 
to enjoin, in said notice and otherwise, all persons concern¬ 
ed in the care or supervision of neat cattle or sheep not to 
come within 100 feet of the said locality without the special 
permission of the said assistant commissioner. 
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the commissioners appoint¬ 
ed under this act, whenever they are advised.that any such 
disease has made it appearance within the limits of the 
state to publish in the State paper and in at least one 
paper published in any county where such disease exists, 
a statement of the. methods approved by the New-York 
State Agricultural Society for the treatment of cattle affect¬ 
ed therewith, for the isolation of the same, for the disin¬ 
fection of the premises or buildings in which said cattle 
are found affected as aforesaid, and for the prevention of 
the spread of the same through any agencies of whatever 
kind. 
Sec. 7. The commissioner afores.aid and all such assistants 
as they may appoint, whenever in their judgment or dis¬ 
cretion it shall appear in any case that the disease is not 
likely to yield to any remedial treatment, or whenever it 
shall seem that the cost or worth of any such remedial treat¬ 
ment shall be greater than the value of any animal or ani¬ 
mals so affected, or whenever in any ease such disease shall 
assume such form of malignity as shall threaten its spread 
by processes either contagious or infectious or otlierwise, 
are hereby empowered to cause the said animals to be 
slaughtered forthwith and buried, as above provided, and 
to do all such things as are mentioned in the fourth section 
of this act. 
Sec. 8. The said commissioners or their assistants are 
hereby empowered to enter npon and take possession of all 
premises or parts thereof where cattle so affected as afore¬ 
said are found, and to cause tire said cattle to be confined in 
suitable iuclosures or buildings for any time requisite in tlie 
jugdment of the said commissioners or their assistants, and 
nor to tlie slanghter and bnrial of the said animals and 
le full and complete disinfecting and cleansing of such 
premises; and all persons whether owners of, or interested 
m sucli cattle or otherwise, who shall resist, Impede.or hin¬ 
der the said commissioners or their assistants in tlie execu¬ 
tion of their duties under tliis act, shall be deemed guilty, 
and on conviction of the same, of a misdemeanor, and 
shall be punishable with fine not exceeding one thousand 
dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding the term of si.x 
months, or of both, in the discretion of the court before 
which they shall be adjudged guilty as aforesaid. 
Sec. 9. The commissioners shall liave power to establish 
all such quarantine or other regulations as they may deem 
necessary to prevent the spread of the disease or its transit 
in railroad cars, by vessels or by driving along the public 
highways: and it shall be proper for the Governor of the 
State b.v proclamation as aforesaid, to enjoin all persons 
concerned or engaged in the traflic or transit of cattle or 
sheep, not to enter upon any places to take therefrom any 
such animal or to pass through any such locality, and with¬ 
in such distances from the same as in the said proclamation 
may be prescribed. 
Sec. 10. The sum of $1,000, or so much thereof as may be 
necessary, is hereby appropriated to pay to the said com¬ 
missioners for their services while actually engaged in the 
duties enjoined upon them in this act, at the rate of $.'> per 
day to each, and such further sums as may cause them actu¬ 
al expenditures in traveling to and from the places they 
may be called upon to inspect or visit, and in the printing 
or publishing of all regulations or notices mentioned in this 
act. And the further sum of $1.5,000, or so much thereof as 
may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money 
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated to pay for ani¬ 
mals slaughtered by the provisions of this act, and the Con¬ 
troller is hereby directed to pay for the same on the warrant 
of the said commissioners. 
Seo. 11. The assistant commissioners are to receive for 
each and every day while actually engaged in duties provid¬ 
ed by this aet, the sum of $3 per day, and all actual ex¬ 
penses and dishursements paid or incurred in the discharge 
of their duties as aforesaid, which said sums shall be a 
charge upon the county for which he is appointed, and 
shall, when duly audited by the Board of Supervisors of the 
said county, be paid by the County Treasurer. 
Seo. 12. The slaughterin.g of animals for beef, after hav¬ 
ing been exposed to the conta.gion, or supposed to iiave 
been so exposed, may be permitted by the commissioners or 
Iirohiblted hy them, as they may iudge proper. 
Seo. 13. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall 
continue in force' for one year. 
