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TOBACCO STALKS.

THE following analysis of tobacco stalks, obtained from Messrs. Dixson's factory may be of interest in showing the composition of this waste product.

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The composition of the ash is given below. It will be seen that its principal value lies in the amount of potash it contains, which is, moreover, in an exceedingly soluble form, as carbonate.

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SUGAR BEETS GROWN AT TENTERFIELD.

In order that readers of the Gazette may have some idea of the work that is being done in the Tenterfield district in the growing of sugar-beets for sugar, I append the results of the examination of a number of beet-roots forwarded for analysis by Mr. C. A. Lee, M.L.A., who takes a very active interest in this industry.

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The average specific gravity of the juice of the above ten samples was 1,099.9, so that the average percentage of cane-sugar by weight in the above juice becomes 18.55 per cent., a result very much higher than any obtained from beets grown in other parts of the Colony, that have been tested.

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THE GOMESS PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF RHEA OR RAMIE FIBRE.

WHAT promises to be a new industry of almost incalculable proportions for India has been rendered possible by the recent discovery of a method of separating the silky fibres of the bark from the outer cuticle and the gummy tenacious matters in which they are embedded.

This separation has been hitherto effected by hand, many mechanical devices having been tried, and rejected on account of their cost. Large rewards have been offered by the Indian Government for a successful process, but the hand method, though laborious and slow, has hitherto held the field.

The difficulty of separating the fibre has, it is said, been at last successfully overcome by a purely chemical method, discovered by an Indian-born chemist, Mr. Gomess, which consists chiefly in removing the foreign matters by means of a solution of zincate of soda. It is thus obtained on washing perfectly free from resin and ready for the comb.

Although the descriptions of the method which I have so far been able to obtain are not very precise, I have been able to prepare a fairly presentable specimen of the fibre by means of zincate of soda from Rhea grown at the Wollongbar Experiment Station, and shall be glad to show it to anyone interested in the matter.

AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE OF N. S. WALES. VOL. VII.

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Forest Moths that have become Orchard and Garden Pests.

Br WALTER W. FROGGATT, Government Entomologist.

THE inroads that many moths, whose natural food-plants are in our bush, are making into the orchards and gardens of New South Wales, is a subject well worthy of investigation.

For some years I have studied the habits of these moths, and in the hope that I may be the means of assisting our fruit-growers and gardeners to combat this evil, I have prepared a series of papers which will comprise a complete illustrated account of the life histories of these insects, with suggestions as to preventive measures and treatment. My notes have been made upon specimens which have been kept under observation in the Technological Museum until they have completed their metamorphoses, and most of the larvæ have been collected in the neighbourhood of Sydney.

The Painted Acacia Moth (Teia anartoides, Walk.)

The caterpillar of this handsome little moth is one of the most destructive creatures found about Sydney, and is common all over New South Wales and Victoria. In its native state it feeds upon the foliage of a number of different species of wattles, especially the soft-leaved wattle (Acacia pubescens), and the black wattle (Acacia decurrens), but it is now almost omnivorous in its habits. I have received specimens from Armidale, where the caterpillars have completely stripped cherry-trees of their leaves in several orchards. In gardens around Sydney it has attacked the foliage of rosebushes and pelargoniums.

From Mr. H. G. Smith, of Tempe, I received several branches of golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) swarming with these hairy little caterpillars, which had gnawed off the upper surface of the leaves, and caused them to curl up and wither. In this instance the pests were fortunately attacked by a small parasitic wasp-a dainty little fellow, with long slender black antennæ, slender stalked body, fine gauzy wings, and bright yellow legs; belonging to the small ichneumon flies of the family Braconida.

It was evident that the wasps deposited their eggs upon the back of the caterpillars when the latter were very young, as before they were half grown, the wasp larva had eaten up its host and spun a stout silken cocoon covered with the skin of the caterpillar, and attached to the nearest twig.

Upon emerging from the eggs the caterpillars are almost black, but by the time that they have grown a quarter of an inch in length they begin to assume a browner tint, chiefly from a number of grey tubercules or warts appearing along the sides of the body.

They are now thickly clothed with long hairs, with two curious round redcoloured appendages projecting from the back near the tail. When full

Reference to Plate.-A, Female moth or cocoon; B, Male moth; c, Caterpillar.

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