266 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 SEpr., 1897, 
TIN IN CANNED GOODS. 
‘In a graduating thesis at Washington and Lee University, J. R. K. Cowan 
takes up the question of the presence of tin in canned goods, and his results 
confirm those of previous investigators along this line. He finds tin present 
in every can examined, including tomatoes, peaches, apricots, and gyeet 
potatoes, in quantities of from 60 to 150 milligrams per kilo. Granting that 
this tin is present in a form which can be acted upon in the human system, 
and considering the large consumption of canned goods, it seems to follow that 
tin is less toxic than has been supposed and that it cannot be a cumulative 
poison. The maximum dose of tin is given as half a grain of chloride, but the 
amount of tin corresponding to this might often be taken into the system 
during a single meal. Very few cases of supposed tin-poisoning from eating 
canned goods have been reported, and it is probable there is little danger from 
this source. In no instance did Mr. Cowan detect the presence of lead.— 
Science. 
Wuen farmers shall have arrived at a proper estimate of the advantage of 
feeding and housing their stock, Queensland will perhaps be able to outdo 
the results attained in Great Britain as under:— 
Live Srock per 1,000 Acres or CunrivATED AND GRAZED Lanp, 
Horses. Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. 
ingland) agian cuseier44atle eeeresnt 1 GO Bamaerer man 094 G)lers soe Oo 
Wales... a an SY LOU OL. te 65 
Scotland ate py 4 abe 84 we 022 in 10 
Great Britain Bes 34 nie 4taee meen (500m st emt, 64 
The low ratios of Scotland are accounted for by the great proportion of almost 
waste land in that country used for grazing purposes. The proportions of 
cultivated to total area are, approximately, three-fourths in England, seyen 
twelfths in Wales, and one-fourth in Scotland. : 
A prortr of £1,000 a year on fifty-five cows is the kind of return which makes 
the dairy farmer anxious to know how it is done. This was shown at a meeting 
of a Farmers’ Institute in Canada recently, when Mr. C. D. Telsar read a 
report of the returns from his Holstein cows for the year. One cow gaye 
1,500 gallons of milk, which at five cents per quart made $300. Ten cows 
averaged 11,600 lb., forty cows averaged 9,000 lb., and fifty-five cows averaged 
8,000 lb. From his déscription of the methods of care and the buildings 
employed to attain these results, it was evident that consideration for the com- 
fort and well-being of the animal is the primary object of attention at this 
place at least. The diet used consists of bran 6 1b.; peas, 2 1b.; corn ground 
on the cob, 3 lb.; ensilage, 50 lb.; clover, 8 1b., which, with other ingredients, 
brings the cost per cow per day to 14c. ‘Taking the average yield of the fifty- 
five cows, each cow made a net profit of $109 (£21 16s.) after allowing for 
cost of keeping at 14c. per day, or a total for the whole herd of $5,995.— 
Hachange. 
GERMAN LABOURERS ON HAWAIIAN SUGAR PLANTATIONS. 
Tur Lropische Landwirthschaft (Berlin) reprints from the Vossische Zeitung the 
following :—“ An interesting experiment will shortly be made here by the intro- 
duction of German labourers for the sugar plantations in the place of Asiatics. 
‘The German ship, ‘H. F. Glade,’ is on the way from Bremen to Honolulu, and 
-takeg 120 German labourers and their families, who will be employed on one 
‘of Messrs. Hackfeld and Co.’s plantations. This experiment is the more 
‘important, as hitherto it has been the generally accepted notion that white 
‘men are unable to do the plantation work now done by Asiatics. The Labour 
Commission of the State of California has gone to Hawaii to investigate the 
labour question there in connection with the coffee plantations, and to decide 
whether Californian labourers can be sent there. Various regulations are 
being tentatively made to supplant coolie by white labour, in order to protect 
the Republic from an invasion of Japanese.” 
