84, QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Fex., 1900. | 
that only mere traces of dextrine and soluble starch were found in the potatoes 
from the maize silo, while the normal insoluble starch amounted to nearly 4 
third of the whole constituents. M. Girard concludes that the same result 
would have been obtained in the maize as in the clover under similar condition’ 
of temperature, pressure, and moisture. 
These experiments have also led to another important result. It appear’ 
that, when taken out of the silo, these crushed potatoes gives off their moisture 
very rapidly after exposure to the air, and are transformed into a hard sub 
stance containing only some 15 to 20 per cent. of water, in which conditiol 
they may be kept for a long period. When required for feeding purposes, it 
is sufficient to soak them in water for a while, which causes them to swell ant. 
absorb the moisture until they contain from 60 to 65 per cent. of water, ant 
thus regain their softness and digestibility. 
M. Tisserand communicated the results obtained by the ensilage of raW 
potatoes by M. Courmouls-Houlés. The latter took a mixture of several kinds) 
of raw potatoes, chopped with the addition of 2 1b. agricultural salt per 1,000 1b. 
potatoes, and put them into a silo weighted with about 25 cwt. per square 
yard. The total cost of washing, chopping, putting into silo, and weighing 50 
tons of potatoes was £3, or about 3d. per cwt. The silo made on 20th 
November last was opened on 22nd January (sixty-two days later). The 
height of the silo at the time of erection was 53 feet, and on 22nd January tt 
had sunk a little over 3 feet. The temperature of the mass was 39 degrees 
Fahr. at the commencement of the experiment, 42 degrees on 1st December: 
and 50 degrees on 22nd January. On taking out the potato pulp, it wa* 
found to have retained its whiteness, but the parts exposed to the air after 
wards blackened slightly. Cattle ate this potato pulp greedily, either alone 
mixed with undecorticated Egyptian cotton-cake. The experiments are to be) 
continued. : ‘4 
M. Vogué read a third note on experiments made by M. de Monicault, 
who placed beetroot and potatoes in a silo of fodder matze. On opening the 
silo, neither beetroot nor potatoes had changed their appearance, although the 
tubers could be easily divided, as if they had been boiled in water. Analys! 
showed 4°5 per cent. of sugar in the beetroot. Distillation gave no trace 0 
alcohol. As beetroot contains on an average 12 per cent. of crystallisable | 
sugar, it would appear that two-thirds of the sugar had been lost in the 
ensilage. No soluble starch, dextrine, glucose, or alcohol were found in the 
potatoes; and ensilage appeared to have caused the desiccation of the tuber 
without having cooked it. 
THOSE MUSHROOMS AGAIN. 
In a former number of this Journal (September, 1899), we published a summary - 
of an interesting article on mushrooms by the celebrated Polish mycologist 
Jaczewsky. That summary, we are glad to say, has been noticed’ by Mr. A. ©: 
True, the Director of the United States Office of Experiment Stations ™ 
Washington, who very kindly forwarded, on the 22nd November last, a pap 
summing up the work of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University 0? 
the food value of edible mushrooms. As that work is of considerable intere®’ 
and scientific value, we reproduce most of it as printed in the Washingto! 
Official Farmers’ Bulletin, No. 79 :— | 
There is a widespread idea that mushrooms and other edible fungi are ver), 
nutritious foods. They are commonly said to contain very large quantities % | 
protein (nitrogenous material), and to rank close to meat as sources of th! 
importantnutrient. ‘The term “vegetable beafsteaks” has been applied to them™ 
and other equally extravagant statements are frequently met with. 7 
Numbers of analyses of edible fungi have been reported by the experimen! 
stations, German investigators have also determined their composition aun 
studied their digestibility by human subjects and by methods of artificial digestiO™ 
