1 Ocr., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 285 
General Notes. 
MANIOC OR CASSAVA FLOUR. 
The Imperial Institute, London, has forwarded to the Department of 
Agriculture, Barbados, the following note received from Messrs. W. and C. 
Pantin, 147 Upper Thames street, London, E.C., which may be of interest to 
West Indian planters and exporters :— 
“Coarse Mantoc.—What we are looking out for is a coarse, very cheap, 
manioc flour for manufacturing purposes, and we have already had some offered 
from Brazil, which will come about £6 per ton efi. Hamburg. If you have 
anything in this line to offer us, will you kindly send us samples, and we shall 
be very glad to work up a business, and we think the quantities would be large.” 
Sweet potato flour would answer equally well; the only difficulty is the 
price. It would probably not pay at less than £9 per ton. 
GOOD PICKLE FOR MEAT. 
A. good pickle for meat is composed of bay salt, 31b.; saltpetre, 23 oz.; 
moist sugar, 1 lb.; bruised allspice and black pepper, of each 1 oz. ; water, 9 
pints. Simmer them all together in a covered vessel for seven or eight minutes, 
when the pickle has cooled, remove the scum, and pour the liquid over the 
articles to be preserved. Generally used for hams, tongues, beef, &c., to which 
itimparts a fine red colour, and a superior flavour. Pork and hams are 
preferably preserved in the following pickle:—2 1b. each of bay salt and 
common salt, 1 lb. of moist sugar, + lb. of saltpetre, } oz. of bruised allspice, 
and a gallon of water, the whole being treated as directed above. 
MUZZLED ROOSTERS. 
The Australian <Agriculturist is responsible for the following :—The 
crowing of roosters in the early morning is often a source of great annoyance, 
but a German inventor promises relief. He has patented an arrangement 
which is fastened to the rooster’s bill at night by a clasp. This does not 
interfere in any way with the bird’s breathing, but, when he attempts to crow, 
his clarion note will not come forth until the owner chooses to remove the 
clasp. The inventor hopes that after a time the rooster that wears the “ anti- 
crower’ will cease wanting to crow, even when the device is not attached to the 
bill, and a further hope is entertained that ultimately a race of non-crowing 
fowls may be evolved. Here is a much more sensible plan :— 
Loguacrous Cocks. 
Cock-crowing during the small hours of the morning is a great nuisance to 
light sleepers, and something worse to invalids, and it can often be remedied to a 
great extent. There are few male birds lazy enough to crow while sitting on the 
perch; they have got to stand up and stretch out their necks to the fullest 
extent before they get out a rousing howl. All that is needed is to hang a 
light piece of wood, secured with a cord to the roof, right over the perch and 
sufficiently near to it that if a cock attempts to stand up straight his head 
comes in contact with it, and he finds it impossible to get his crow out. If it 
prevents him from standing straight up by about 14 inches, it willdo. He may 
make the attempt several times, but the result is always the same. As long as 
he sticks to the perch he will be silent enough. If the roosting-house is fairly 
dark and there is no access to the outside run until the birds are let out in the 
morning, they are not likely to leave the spar too soon. It must be remembered 
that cock-crowing at 2 or 8 o’clock in the morning is a nuisance to a neigh- 
bourhood, and it is by no means difficult to get a magistrate’s order to have the 
birds removed. 
