1 Sepr., 1899. ] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 239: 
Both wheat and oat straw compare very favourably with clover and timothy 
hay in proportions of nitrogen free extract, or carbohydrates and fat. They 
are mainly deficient in protein, especially when compared with clover. This 
deficiency may readily be overcome by feeding bran, oil, or cottou-seed meal. “It 
should be remembered, too, that clover hay is exceptionally rich in proteim. 
The following table gives the composition of each :— 
Protein, sopeee Bes Ta‘, 
Wheat straw ... 3 3°4 im 43°4 an 13 
Oat straw ... ee 4-0, nf 42:0 A 23 
Clover hay ... oo 1} xa: B81 on 3°3 
Timothy “ ow: 59 x30 45:0 on 2°5 
Aside from the high value of straw as feed, it also has ereat manurial value, 
and none should be wasted. It is the natural base or foundation for all stable 
manure. Itis one of the best absorbents we have in any quantity on the farm, 
and it should all be used for that purpose. Unless used for bedding and 
saturated with liquid manure, it is of little value as a fertiliser. Liquid manure 
contains more plant food than the solid, and all of it should be carefully saved. 
The most satistactory way of saving it is by absorbing it with straw or other 
suitable material. A merican Agriculturist. 
THE NUTRITIVE VALUE AND ECONOMIC USES OF MAIZE. 
Matze or Indian corn, the characteristic cereal of North America, is, next to 
cotton, the most valuable crop grown in the United States. It is admitted free 
of duty into Canada, and is also largely grown in the Dominion for consumption, 
in its green state, .as a vegetable; indeed, with the possible exception of 
tomatoes and, of course, potatoes, ‘canned corn” is the most extensively used 
vegetable in both countries. The Canadian Government is, at the present moment, 
making efforts to create a trade for it in the United Kingdom, where many people 
are quite unaware of its dietetic value. Should maize once come into favour as a 
food, a considerable home industry might arise, as the climate is considered to 
be quite suitable for its growth. As will be noted later, great quantities of 
maize are utilised for the production of glucose, employed very largely in the 
brewing and confectionery industries. At present the trade is almost entirely 
in the hands of an American trust, which, during the recent war with Spain, 
shipped large consignments of glucose to the United Kingdom, vid Canada. 
The attention of the High Commissioner having been called to this fact, he 
authorised the Curator of the Canadian Section of the Imperial Institute, and 
others, to inquire into the extent of the trade, with the result that a comprehen- 
sive report was sent to Ottawa on the subject, and during his recent visit to that 
city Lord Strathcona himself brought the whole question before the Department 
of Trade and Commerce, in the interests of Canadian industry. A bulletin 
recently issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, dealing at 
length with the composition and economic applications of maize, is of value in 
this connection. The following is a brief abstract:—“In the United States, 
maize or Indian corn not only serves as one of the chief articles of food, but is 
also the source ofa large alcohol industry. The stalks, which a few years ago 
were considered waste product, haye been found to possess valuable properties 
as a cattle food. The pith is very suitable as a lining for cattle-ships, and as its 
peculiar structure allows of ready nitration, and the resulting compounds are 
said to be more stable than the corresponding cotton-derivatives, maize-pith has 
special advantages for the preparation of pyroxylin-varnishes, gun-cotton, and 
high explosives.” . 
