New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-11-19
AGRiCUL 7URAL REPORT or THy
PATENT OFFICE.
ls~cond Art,eleI
NEW SEEDS AND PLANTS.

worthy Of the attention Of farmers in the Southern
States, where both Summer and Winter food fsr
stock is scarce, is the Gnix>a Grass (Psnioun
| jumenterium): ,
As its name implies this is a native Of Guinea ana
was brought to the island OF Jamaica in ira, under
the following circumstances: A cage of African oirds
mao been presented 70 Chief Justice Ellis with which
was sent small bay Of their native food the Wild
Crested Of the coast of Guinea The birds died,
sra tne setes were carelessly thrown into hedge.
wen they quickly grew and spread; and from Do
:. the cattle to reach IL, attention called
ons Nsse,a'on II has since become one Of the mose
| valuable productions OF the West Indies"
| IBIS plant grows best in dry. sandy soiI, and
may be srazed every six weeks, but must not b
eaten low 1t is pourishiug food when so dry a. 10
sppear dead, and II makes good hay, or may b
cut for soilng In that case it will need manurias.
Another valusble grass for the South is the
Tassack Grass (Festuca habellats) Of the Falkland
Islands, where it grows in sandy, boggy soils,
forming tussscks FIVE or six feet high, growing like
our meadow bogs so that person is hidden from
yiew and the whole tusssck ground is perfect
lsby rintb. Cattle thrive admirably well upon THE
grass, and fatten in short time; and 30 fond arc
they of ii that, when they can get at il, they viii
touch nothing else; and with horses ii is the same
ranging from 32o to 500. This grass has succeeded
We'll in the Island Of Lewis, one Of the Hebrides.
and it may be valuable in the Florida Everglades
and CALIFORNIA; Tulares. The leaves of these tus-
sacks grow FIVE or six feet long, and the stalks Arc
sweet and rich food.
The Report recommends experiments with va
rious fbrOus plants-the Musa terti!is, which pre-
duces the Manila hemp; the Agare sisalanS.
from which comes Sisal hemp; the PAsrmiSm
'enar, which produces New.Zealand Hax; the
Bahansria terracissima known as China grass:
China grass cloth has been known article Of
commerce fer many years but the plant Furnishing the
material was only identified about the commencement
Of this century, by DIR. Roxburgh, whose lsbou In
bliI gng notice the 6bers of the East are only nov
beginning TO show their effect upon commerce.
Another interchangeable lsborer in the same field, DIR. j.
Forbes Roylc has recently published work contain
ing complete summary 1T the history Of this and other
Oriental hbers
Various samples, tried against the best Russian
hemp, show that it bears weight sometimes nearly
double ana always much more than that borne by the
hemp. In China and elsowh here il 10 mainly employed
making the grass cloth the sofness and strength u
which give character distinct from that OF tho fAbsis
of shy other fiber"
The plant of which Sisal hemp is made has beea
introduced into the south part of Florida, and Mr..
VIM. c. Dennis of Key West says:
delights in arid rocky land, which contains super
abundance of lime. This is precsely the condition 81
the sell of these Keys and the extreme southery part
of the peninsula of Florida where alone, II could bo
cuy ated the absence of FROST 1t Tequires ess cul
ture than other products but is much benefited by
keeping down the weeds and although Il grows boss
lands which have the deepest SOIL yet grows vel
where there Is but little soil that appears among the
rocks sending its long penetrating roots into the clcs
and crev,es of the rocks in search OF black Tch veRe
table mold In fact the lands ON these keys and muco
81 IF fha
worthless for every other agricultural purpose. 90 far
as IL known yet there thousands OF aores I'D THE
region where tun Of cleaned Ssal hemp can be mado
TO ibe acre yearly after the plant has arrived at suc6
an adv anced age will allow the lower leaves to be
cut from H. which takes in this climate, from hree .
five years to grow according to the goodness OF sou
and the attention given to Keep the land clean OF weeds,
grass &C. 1t is longer an experiment hero, a. To
the growth Of the plant to the amount OF pro-
duct nor is there any longer doubt rs regards the
value of the bcr hunb OF tuns OF having already
been collected and cent to market, where 4 readily
brought within half cent to cent per pound as nuoh
as the best kind of Manila hemp that Is in the neigh
should be set on an acre. and from many young onss
comipg up from the long lateral roots II these be kept
at proper distances will be that the same land
win require no re.paptng, II coarse vegetable manure
be applied from time TO time. Alter the plant ID oil
sufficient growth the lower leaves are cut off, ut proper
times leaving enough the top to keep il healthy.
These leaves composed of soft, watery pulp and
are from two to six feet long, and In the middle from
four Ia six inches wide, beng frequently three inches
thick the butt having the general shape OF the head
OF lance. They contain gum, which II the chief
cause of their being rather troublesome In separating
the fbcrs from the pulp. Neither the epidermis nor
this pulp is more than powder, after becoming dry,
the gum be entirely crushed and washed out"
The Coehineal Plant Cactus cochnillifer), or
come Of its congeners, is found in varying abund-
ance throughout the torrid zone well as in sev-
eral warm and temperate countries without tho
tropics; and it is question worthy Of consideration
whether the production Of the eoecss cooii, which 10
so valuable as a coloring substance, may not b.
come as profitable in Florida and Texas a. it 10 in
Mexico.
There is no doubt about the question whether
we can produce that valuable root known as Dyers'
Maddr (Rubia tinctors) which is a perennial
plant, native of the south of Europe and Africa.
as well as Of the Leyant; and, from the immense
consumption Of the roots as a dye-stuf, BY calico
printers and others, its extended culture in this
country would become an object of great national
Importance. The soil best suited to the crop may
be inferred from the following paragraph:
"Msdder is much cultivated in the French depart
ment Of Vaucuse, where particular geological form
alton occurs belonging 10 the ancient sluvium,
which seems 10 have been formed by the rivers Sorguo
and Durance, by bringing large quantity Of cal
careous matter and depositing II along their banks
The land thus formed called Paluds, contains from
20 TO 90 per cent Of chalk and very favorable to thu
development Of the rootbeing caicareous, Light and
rich.
The only skill required in the cultivation of this
DOT is in its preparation after it is dug:
Tho following information, relative % the culture
A K. L..tnA nd