' \ ; 1 ti I t I ■ \ I ■ i I h > jK J n k'^ / Xr . ^73^ /^ts.-k^ 5 Ul aj«i mut [imiii'wwszaga ^pEH^rOMBOTMICALMp [Vol. II,f containing Nuinbera I. to XIT.] THE TROPICAL AGRIC ULTURIST : A MONTHLY RECORD OP^ INFORMATION FOR PLANTERS OF COFFEE, TEA, COCOA, CINCHONA, RUBBERS, SUGAR, TOBACCO, CARDAMOMS, PALMS, RICr, AND OTHER PRODUCTS SUITED FOR CULTIVATION IN THE TROPICS. [issued on or about the 1st of each month.] "Step after step the lartiter is ascended." — GBOBciE HKRnKRT, -/m-ula rniAteiiliim. COMPILED BY LIBRARY NEW YORK A.. M. & J. FKRaUSON, botanical UaKUEN. of the " Ceylon Observer^ *' It is both the duty and interest of every Owner and Cultivator of the Boil to atudy the best means of renJeriny that soil subservient to his own and the ^'eneral wants of the community; and lie who introduces, l>_meficially, a new,and useful Sced^ Plant, or ^fintb into his district, is a blessing and an honor to his country," — 8iB J. Bi.>n?E & Oo., 67 & 59, Ludgate Hill; J. Haddon & Co., 3, Bouverie St., Fleet St., E.C. ; Geo. Street & Co., 30, OornhiU ; Hutchison & Co., 4. Guikihall Chambers; F. Algak, 11 k 12, Clement's Lane, Lombard St.; Bates, Hendy & Co., 37, Walbrook ; Oowie & Co., 17, Gresham St.; Gokdon & GoTCH. St. Bride St., Ludgate Circus ; May & Co., 78, Graceehuvch St. ; M'. H. Smith & Co., Strand ; Newton & EsKELi., Gray's Inn Chambers, 20, High Holborn, WO. ; S. Deacon & Co.. 150, Leadenhall St. — Liverpof' Chas. Bibchall, 32, Castle St. — Glasijow: W. & R. Macphun. — Eilinhuri/U : \V. & A. K. .Johnston. — Ahej^^g. W. Westi.and, 53, Nicholas Street. — Continent of Europe: K. F. Koehler, Leipsic, Germany. -g^r,jj,3^ HiGGiNBOTHAM & Oo.—yeilgh.erries atut. Wytiaad Districts: Stanes & Co.. Coimbatore. — Calcutta-^ Pinang: Spink & Co., and J. L. Macmilt.an. — Bomhay : Thackee & Co., Ld. — Rangoon: " Messenobr " Oj^urp^ Oo. Blaze', Reidel & Co. — Sinyapim-e: J. Little & Co. — Batatia: John Pryce & Co., and J^ Qjjylenbubo. Surabm/a: Thos. G. Wir-SON & Co. — Samnrang: Manual & Co. — Deli. Sumatra: "W. L. gji.(j,gyBE" Office — Hongkong : "Express" Office. — Melhourne, Sydney and Brishnne: Gordon & Gotch. — Adelaide Central America . Fiji: Ahthi.tu .J. Stephens. — Brazil, Riu de Janeiro Lombaerts & Co., 7, Rua dos O' p^^.^ Louis Jamaica: .Tames Boyd, Panama. — Natal: Robinson & Vause, Durban. — MauritiiLs: C. W, Iff^ '„,(.„ United Statei : H .Iames Gall. — Trinidad: "Chronicle" Office. — British Guiana: "Royal Gaze" Sau Franoisoo. Htjbbakd, New Haven. Conn.; E. S. Mobeis, Philadelphia; "Wbbkly Cbbonio'' Offic , MDCCCLXXXIII. XT . tl73Z PIUMED Al THK "LEVr.ON' OUSEHVKU" PHESS: COLOMBO, CEYLON: 18S3. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. LIBRARY NEW YORK BOTANICAL tiAKDEN. In dosiug tlie Second Yolnrnc of the "TRoncAL Agricilti'HISt," we h:,ve to diiect iittenfiou to the increased nmouut of useful iufoimiitioii i.ft'oided. mid to tlie great viiriet}' of topics treated. Fioin mouth to mouth we have eudeavouied to lay befoie our readers the latest results of practical experience and scientific teachius iu all that concerns tropical agriculture : and our ambitiou has been to make this periodical not only indis4)ensable to the ])Ianter but of service to business men and ca])italists, never foigettiug that agrictilture trenches upon every department of human knowledge and science, besides being the basis of all human wealth. While directing our attention chiefly to the products most prominently menlioned on our title-page, we have never omitted to notice minor industries likely to fit in with tropical conditions; and our readers have an ample guarantee in the pages befoie them that, in the futuri', no pains will be spared to bring together all available information both fium tlii' AVest and East, the same being txamii.ed iu the light of the teachings of common sense as well as of prolouf^ed trojjical expei'ience in this the leading Cro-nn and Planting Colony of the British F,mi)iie. A full and accurate Index affoicN the means of ready reference to eveiy subject tn'at(d in this second volume nhieh we now place ia our subscribers' hands. A. .\1. \- J. FRRGU.SON. Colombo, l.'ith .lunr, lss;j. cr o- (>3 C_> Li-J INDEX. Page. A. Acheen, Agriculture and Trade in Adelaide Botanic Gardenn Adulteration of Ooffee of Food of Tea 571 182 [See Ooffee] ... 29,40 [See Tea] Africa, Exploration of ... ... 718 Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India ... 750 Association, Oeylon ... 129-31,237 Company of Maiu'itius ... 204 - ■ ... 8.53 112, 504, 572, 769, 892 Depression Exhibitions . Fads ... Journalism Prospects Agriculture and Biology in America in Brazil in Oeylon in China in Europe ——— in India Agri-Horticultural Shows Air as an Illuminator Alkaloids, Cinchona Almonds from Morocco Aloe Cultivation and Fibre Aloes as Hedge Plants , Market Kates for 749 497 178 16 ...308,799 378 432 18, 47, 158, 254, 400, 418. 593, 638 7, 49, 86, 111, 112, 277, 344, 419-21, 484, 541, 674, 710, 750, 771, 875 Aluminum, Cheap ... America, Agriculture in , Central, Ooffee Cultivation in , Cinchona Shipments to . . . , Oon.sumption of Coffee in , Indian and Ceylon Tea in 652 32 [See Cinchona] 531 43, 107, 421-3, 426, 428-9, 433, 479, 596, 623, 052, 655, 685, 747, 808, 826, 868, 947 286 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 722 16 224 , Tndiarubber in ■ , Japan Tea in , New Products in , Population of , South, Seeds from , Tea and Ooffee Duties in — , Tea Cultivation in American Spice Trade ■ — Sugar Trade Ammonia, Charcoal as a Medium for Applying Aniole Analyses of Cinchona Andamans, Tea Cultivation in the... Animal Food, World's Consumption of Animals and Plants Anisee^l Antimony AntLsepties Ants, Black. To Destroy in Horticulture , Red, and Potatoes Apiculture 27, 30, 67 42, 53, 55, 372, 468, 769, 776 776 180 529 ... 27,30 ...196,578 26 112, 164, 414 123 788 7 396 [Set Oinohona] 235 818 386 908 320 430 386 272 6.54 581,59S, 710, 749, 845 Apple, A Preserved... Cultm'e Trees, Blight on Arecanut Cidtivation Arnica for Mosquito Bites Aromatic Woods, Imitation Arracacha Cultivation Arrowroot Cultivation in Australia -, Market Rates for Arsenic in Fever ... Asbestos Paint Ashes, Value of Ash, White, Alkaloid in Assam, Cultivation in , Tea Cultivation in Assaftetida, Market Rates for Pagt.. 953 7» 419 791 349 967 871 885, 975 .. 99,445 88, 184, .364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 44 26 548, 630, 812 209 58 . . . [See Tea Cultivation] 88, 184,364. 452, .532, 612, 772, 852, 9,36, 1008 895-7 U, 18,42.680,709 331, 1003 17, 89, 98, 111, 132 17, 89, 99 18 279 Atmosphere and Water Australia and India, Trade between , Ceylon and Indian Colonists in , Cinchona Cultivation in ... , Ooffee Cultivation in , Horse-Breeding in , Import Duties in , Indian and Ceylon Coolies in [See Queensland] , Indian and Ceylon Tea in [See Tea] , Indian Coffee in ... ... 544 , Irrigation in ... ... 14 , Olive Cultivation in ... ...361,383 , Ostrich Farming in ... ...383, 653 , South, Planting in the Northern Territory' of 17, 89^ 97, 100, 191, 305. 383, 483 , Sugar Cultivation in ... 98,145,384,653 , Tea Duty in ... ...131,138 , Tobacco Cultivation in ... 99, 668. 964 . Tropical Regions of ... 478 Azores, Orange Trade of ... ... 169 B. Babool Cultivation Bacteria and Germ.s... Bahamas, Pineapple Cultivation in... Bamboo for Paper Making .Gigantic Banana Cultivation in Jamaica Bananas and Plantains , Preserved Banyans Bark, I'aper from ... Baskets, Hanging, To Water Beans, Disease in ... Beche de Mer Bedding. Sawdust for Bee Culture .. ' ... Beer, Adulteration of Brewing in < 'eylon , Substitutes for Hops in Bees in Ceylon Beeswax, Market Rates for 88. 205 446 733 165,' 445, 810 720, 869 185 492 448 ...636,754 204 745 68 .385 581, .598. 710. 749, 845 891 655 655, 707, 710. 800, 884 .231, .346 184. 364. 452, 532, 612. 772, 852. 936. 1008 INDEX. Beetles, Ceylon Beetroot Culture Begonia Cultivation... Berbice, Coffee Cultivation in Biology antl AgricultiU'e Blight, Remedy for... Blo.ssoming of Coffee antl Rainfall . Blue Giun Cultivation Page. 866 595 438 ... 906-S 178 450 1, 72, 112 357,451,460 Leaf Disea.se 301, 308, 335, 460, 465, 485, 521-5, 571, 574, 575, 602, 613, 695, 707, 776, 793 Leaves as Remedy for M'hite Ants ... 7 Oil ... ... 384,407,495,988 Boli\'ia, Cinchona Cultivation in . 157, 166, 337 ~ , Explorations in ... .. 166 , Indiarubber Cultivation in ... ...615,966 Bone Ashes ... ... ... 636 Manure ... ... ... 738 Tree .. ... ... 395 Borneo, North 215,308,315-8,535,557,702,829-35,875 , Planting in 30, 71, 361, 384. 663, 892 Botanic Gardens, Ceylon . . . 913-32, 950-2 , Colonial 182, 359, 404. 509-14. 579, 846, 878, 880, 939-46 Botanical Terms ... ... ... 476 Boxwood, Indian ... ... ... 845 Bran, Charred, for PrcserWng Fruit ... 120 Brazil. Agriculture in ... ..308,799 _ , CUmateof ... ... ... 1004 , Coffee Cultivation in [AVc Coffee Cultivation] Indiarubber Cultiv,ation in ... 331, 405, 667, 962 , Labor in ... 168, 623-6, 640, 707, 804, 1004 , Progress in . . . .157,800 , R.ainfall in ... .111,900 , Roads in 111 , Sugar Cultivation in .333,626 Brazilian Coffee E.diibition 125 150, 236 Breadfruit 971 Bread, Native 992 Brewing in Ceylon ... 655 Brinjal 934 Brisbane Botanic Gardens 404 I'.ud.ling 390 Buffalo Horn Rlanure 265 Buffaloes, Fence against 53 Burma, Planting in 51. 146,253. 305-8, 56(i 785, 792 Burns. Remedy for... 476 Cacao Cultivation c. in Ceylon 91 in E(Hiador in Greuada in .Jamaica in Surinam in Trinidad , Enemies of ... Leaves , Mai-ket Rates for 88. 184 , Preparation of , Sales of , Varieties of... Cactus Cultivation . . Caffeic .\cid Catta Calcutta Horticultural Company . Tea Syndicate Calisaya Bark," Alkaloids in ^ — Morada ... Caluniba Root, Market Rates Camomile Cultivation Camphor in Germinating Seeds , Market Rates for Canada, Farming in Canker Canuonball Tree Caoutchouc 151,393-5,782 103. 368, 556. 605, 649, 652 ...647.668 665 151-3,168 669 477,535,647,898 ... 70,384 426 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 107, 203, 747, 808, 821, 848 32,55, 146, 166, 196,496 120. 155-6 580 474 732 627 [Sec Tea Syndicate] 87 409 for 88, 184,364,452,532, 612. 772. 832, 936, 1008 635 992 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772. 832. 936, 1008 ...150,893 992 ..349,715 ... [See Indiarubber] PiGE. Cape Colony, Planting in ... ...719.867 Carbolate of Soda in Tjiphoid Fever ... 183 Carbolic Acid ... ... ...778,955 for Coffee Leaf Di.sease 9, 100, 128, 142. 146, 235, 288, 402, 403, 433, 463, 517, 709, 716, 721,761,779,841,892,972 as an Insecticide ... ... 469 in Diseases ... "40,183,450 in I'ore.stry and Gardening 385,584,690 , Substitute for ... ... 384 Powder as Remedy for White Ants ... ^ Carbonic Acid a.s a Remedy for Fever ... 39 Card.aniom Cultivation 29, 70. 93, 103, 243, 368, 415, 564, C48, 651, 798, 812 Cardamoms, Enemies of , Market Rates for Carob Seed Cashmere Goats for Ceylon Cassava Cultivation , Glucose from Cassia and Cinnamon Tora Castor Oil Cultivation , Market Rates for •Plant as a Fly-killer ... ■ Varnish as Remeilv for White .A.nts Ca.suarina Cultivation Catalpa Cultivation . . . Caterpillars in Australia in England Cattle, Hornless Ceara Rubber Celery Cultivation ... Cement, Strong Ceylon Agricultural Association .. ■, Agricultiu-e in and .Jamaica and Mauritius Botanic Gardens Cinchona Coffee C'ompauy Jjimiteil , Forestry in ... , Gold in , New Fields for Enterprize in 215,218, 254,334, 338,424 , New Products in [.SVp New Products] Planters' Association ... . .447, 753 , Planting in 225, 694. 724-8, 767, 837-40, 849-51, 854, 941!, 953, 978. , Planting Piospects in 1-4, 28, 45-7, 57. 58, 90, 107, 108, 126, 216,318,241. 465, 664 284 88, 184, 364, 4.52, 532, 612, 772, 8-52. 936. 1008 934 527 885 28 423^444, 453-6, 533,"827, 876 549 ... 59,550,605,710,992 S8, 184, 364, 452, 532, 852, 936, 1008 202, 565, 934 7 ...407,828 870, 1000 415 257 634 [See Indiarubber] 958 336 129-31, 237 378 7 28 913-32, 950-2 [See Cinchona] [See Coffee] 196 [See Forestry] 204 , Rainfall in ... Tea Chasericulture Charco.al Jlakiug ... , Uses of ... Cheese, Ai-tificial Chestnut Cultivation Chicory , Adulteration of Coffee with Chile, Agriculture in Chillies, Market Rates for China, Agriculture in , Forests in ... Gra.ss , Sugar Cultivation in Tea Chinese Hemp Palm Textile Manufactures Varnish Tree Chocolate Plant, Cultivation of. &c.. Cigar Bush Cinchona Alkaloids, Extraction of 132, 135-7, 145, 444, 635. 6.55. 756, 763, 934 , Method for Estimating 73, 414, 983 Analyses .52, 107, 108, 109, 112, 13.5-7, 138, 199. 228, 319, 372. 485, 596. 623, 003, 681 . 764. 934. 956, 966,970, 1005 [.SVp Rainfall] [See Tea] .H-, 731, 825 296 7, 431, 579 ... 1003 476 ... 57,495 8, 432, 768 337 88, 184, .364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 432 449 [AVcRhea] ... 645-7 [See Tea] 214 407 ...214,450 (See Cacao) 450 INDEX. Trade -.Yield of IWirkiiig' - Uarks - Oiiiiker -.Coverings for - t'liltivatiou ill Bolivia in Ceylon Paoe. Cinchona Bark, Analysis of 185-8, £29, 231, 284,377, 579 Drying of ... 230, 408, 5U5, 027 Exports ... ... 501,518,876 , Market Kates for 88, 1(14, 184. 335, 3U4, 452, 532, (il2, 703, 772, 852, Ooli, 1008 Sales 108, lO'J, 111, 144, 274,280,340, 492, U74, 771 Sllipnieuts to tlce United States ^ 09 Specimens ... ... 008,975 .Substitutes for 292-5 .Thefts of ... '^'■^'i - - ... ... 248,041,607 3, o."), lul. 108,164.463, 484,574, 002. 6.52, 807 4. 29, 32, 30, 30, 69, 111, 151-3, 100,301, 230,308,379,382 704-7 963, 976 144. 161. 102 104.396,415,701, 954. 991 361, 528,565. 569, 637. 702, 709, 770. 898, 962. 982, 985, 997 ■ in Australia 17. 89, 98, 110, 132, 233, 544, 733 157, 160, 337, 565 31.37-9,61-3,91, 109, 110, 144, 188, 192, 200,229,236,240, 249, 252, 273, 284, 336, 481, 493, 014, 682, 715. 777, 788, 803, 820, 855, 861, 864, 867. 991 in Ecuadoi- 414, 420, 668 in India 70, 127, 13-5-7, 151, 189. 202, 227,235,310,313-5,340, 347,501, .502, 528, 552-6, 558-60, 560, Ii30, 653, 682, 739-43, 744, 747, 933 in Jamaica 168, 241), 076, 997 in Java 35, 281, 565, 508, 674, 703, 773, 774,782, 789-91, 851, 911, 1002, 1003 in Peru ... ... 337 in Queensland . . . 222 m St. Helena ... 794 in the United States 103, 179, 363 21-25, 253, 413, 435, 474, 756, 908 26, 38, 92, 613, 634, 709, 710, 746 ...69,329,954 177 50,177,182,429,863 410,466 10, 28, 63-5, 94, 109, 143, 192, 409, 623, 745, 788, 817 144 623, 768, 815-8, 970-1, 990 199 ... 200, 201, 229, 232, 233 506-8 976 39,411, 000, Oil. 021, 023, 627, 768 ■ ...30,50,674 ... 230,341 339,383,764,795 739-43 229 764 ... 303,310 423, 444, 453-6, 533, 827, 876 ... 163,341 341,343,901 . ... 891 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772. 852, 936, 1008 184,364,452,532,612, 772,852,936, 1008 27,237,616 Paoe. Cloves, Market Kates for S», 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, UX)S Goal and Flowers ... ... ... 451 in South Africa ... ... 349 Tar, Indigo and Quinine from ... 72 Coca... ... 309,431,460,476,548,776 Cochineal Cultivation Cockcliafer (rrubs, Kemedies for ... Cocoa, Cultivation, &c.. Coconut as a Kemedy for Tapeworm Borer Cultivation... in Fiji in Queensland in Trinidad . Cuprea — •, Dying-off of , Enemies of , E.xtract of , Febrifuge , Crafting of , Hybridization of Leaves, Variegated Ledgeriana Micrautha Officinalis Pharmacy Kobusta ■ Seed , Sales of , Shade for — ; , Shaving of Soils , Sporting of Trees, t'ensus of , Value of . Cinnamon and Cassia Chips — — CuHivatiou ■ in Queensland , i\Iarket Kates for 88, <.)il. Market Kates for 88, Trade... F'ibre for Growing Plants . . Meal for Horses Palm Sugar Travels of Cocos Islands, Planting in the Coculus ludicus. Market Rates for Coffee. Adulteration uf Citron Cultivation 874 Citron-Oranges ... 320 CitroucUa Oil, Market Rates for 88, 184, 304, 452. 532, 612, 772, 852, 930, 1008 l.'lav in Soils 901 (limate and Plants 255 in Zanzibar 387 145, 545, 982 396 [See Cacao] 308 107 343, 842, 933 251,491,866, 868 170,183,458,636,904 494 968, 1000 912 568 185 645 88, 184, 364, 4.52, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 8. 10, 33-5, 40-50, 55, 56, 57, 60, 68. 112, 234, 256. 283, 307, 336, 384, 432, 462. 533. 509, 660, 745, 760, 768, 808 666 842 50 492,500,868 384 842 219 ... 16,579 ... 27,30,67,160,430,800 1, 53, 90, 108, 238-40, 244, 309,311-3,336, 337,350, ~ Analyses of -, Artificial - Beans, Damaged - Berries, Abnormal - Berry, Spirit from - Blight - Blossoms, Failure of - Concoctions . . . -, Consumption of - Crops, Short, Cau.se of 247,248,285, 286,302 379, 427, 434-5, 438, 459, 463-5, 466, 467, 485-90, 499, 527,575,586,684,708,767, 795,897 -Cultivation ... 143,149,242,249,308,343,398, 427, 485, 561, 562-4, 777, 811, 888 in Australia ... 17, 89, 99, 340, 733 in Berbice ... ... 906-8 in Brazil 27, 30, 137, 218, 297-300, 333, 432, 466, 462, 565, 604, 623-6, 640, 652, 703, 775, 792, 796, 804, 828, 987 in Central America ... 224 in Dominica ... ... 900 in England ... ... 892 in Fiji ... 51,463,866,868 — in India 199, 236, 300, 319, 332, 347, 371, 378, 399, 421, 427, 401. 528, 565, .566, 613, 629, 636, 644, 671, 728, 748, 709, 781, 806 in Java 503, 568, 703. 710, 712-4 — ill Mexico 168,203,224,414,606,668,899 ill Perak C'uring Duty Exchange, New York Exhibitions . . . , Exports from Ceylon Extract , Gas from , Historyof ... , How to Increase the Consumption of 50 Cluve Cultivation at the Straits.. 543 , Indian, in Australia in France ... in Typhoid Fever Leaf Disease 1, 8 -. Liberian -.flaking of ... -, Malt -, Maniu-iug of - Market, Prospects of -, Market Rates for 300, 495, 0-52, 654, 710, 712-4 26,56,608,953 ... 20, 32 125, 1-50. 236, 384, 415, 667 1 644 636 467. 872-4 60 .544 ...667,777 484 25, 40, 51, 53, 70, 90, 100, 103-5 132, 128. 142, 146, 167, 170, 235.236, 243, 261-5, 288. 321, 335, 381. 402, 403, 433, 463, 466. 467, 490, 497, 617, 617, 683, 708, 716, 721 , 74-5, 761, 779, 794, 805, 841, 865, 860, 885, 892, 972, 975, 1005 \jSee Liberian Coffee] 322, 449, 637, 1003 383, 4:« 2. 7, 243. 441,527,746, 778. 794 137, 774 88. 184, 364, 452, 632, 012, 7 72, 862, 936. IGOB INDEX. Page. Coffee, Mocha ... ... 54,300,793 ,Nalkanaad ... ... ...70,199 Oil .. ... •■ 166 Planting Prospects 1-4, 28, 45-7, 57, 58, 218,806, 937 Protluctiou ... ... ... 55,796 .Pruning of... ... 2,494,498,864 , I'ulp Uft I\Ianure .,. ... 105 Pulper, Tithe of a ... ... 31 — — Roaster, People's ... ... 68 Robberies ... ... • • HO , Saccharate of . ■ ■ ■ ■ 844 Sales . ... 27,28,252,185 .Shade for ... ... 69,70,230 . , Shaving ... ... ... 615 .Sporting of... ... ...192,229 . Syndicate ... ... 384,399,412 Travels of ... .■• ••• 185 , Value of ... ... ...349,840 , Weeding of 7, 424-5, 491, 494, 498, 499, 527, 563, 572, 575, 576, 604, 618, 619, 620. 621, 627, 651,693, 747, 779-80, 805 ,809, 864-U, 867, 869 Wood Furniture Ooir Fibre, Market Rates for 88. Rope, Market Rates for 88, Yarn, Market Rates for 88, Oola Nut Colombia, Tropical Products of Colonial Botanic Gardens Columbia, British, Timber of Consumption, Carbolic Acid as a Remedy for Copal Coral 229 184,364,452,532,612, 772, 852, 436, 1008 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772,852, 936, 1008 184,364,452,532,612, 772. 852. 936, 1008 [See Kola Nut] 843 [See Botanic Gardens] 176 40 322, 378 615 Page. Cork Tree ,Uses of Cotton Cake Cultivation in Au.stralia in India ■ — in Natal - Seed as Manure ^— ^— — from America Oil and Meal Tree, Large World's Manufacture of 161, 200. 226, 232, 746, 755 438 690 90 ...744,781 ..733,900 183 411 308, 406, 430, 502 345 68 251 887 7 31 Cows' Milk, To Increase Cow Tree Crab Oil as Remedy for White Ants Crops and Diseases and Rainfall 1, 72, 112, 247,249, 285. 808, 897 .Rotation of ... ... ... 47 Croton Cultivation ... ... ... 674 Seed Cidtivation ... 236,497,722 , Market Rates for 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 Cuba, Slavery in .. ... ... 234 . Sugar Cultivation in ... ... 967 Cuprea Bark ... 21-25. 253. 413. 435. 474. 766, 908, Curry, Receipts for ... ... ... 665 Cutch, Market Rates for 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 8.52, 936 Cyprus, Forestry in ... ■■■ 145 D. l>amar Dangwe ^ . Darjiling Tea Co. ... Date Coffee Co. - Cultivation in Queensland Palm Demerara, Planting in Depression and Prosperity Dew and Hoarfrost Diphtheria, Remedies for Diseases, Preventible Pisinfectants 322 549 194 50 170 79 503, 529, 669, 904-6 ...28, 45-7 81 731 340 235,715,840 Distillation of Essential Oils, &c. ... ...147,161 Dividi%T Cultivation 604, 642-4, 717, 730, 734, 756, 796, 884, 886, 955 Dogs, Mange in ... ... ... 357 Dominica, Coffee Cultivation in ... ... 900 Draining in Coffee Cultivation ... ... 7 Drugs, New Drug 'Trade Dyer. Mi-. W. T. Dyes, Artificial in India Thiselton 250, 431, 446, 891 912 8 308 127 E. Eastern Archipelago, Planting in ... ... 371 Ebonizing ... ... ... 566 Ebony, Market Rates for 57, 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 Ecuador, Cacao Cultivation in ... ...647, 668 , Cinchona and Indiarubber Cultivation in 414, 426, 668 270, 272, 308 6 723 722 253 875 444 ...147,161 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 ...167, 236 ...892,992 731 384, 407, 495, 988 470 106 319 Electric Light Electrotypes, Gutta Percha Moulds for Elephant, Fossil Engineering Works, Great Entomology, Economic Esparto Fibre Essential Oils , Distillation of , Market Rates for 88, E.states, Sales of ... Eucalypti in Italy ... Eucalyptus in Diphtheria Oil Trees Exacum Macranthum Eye, To Remove Lime from the P. Farming, Amateur ... 548 .Hill 503 in Britain 707 , without Manure 48 Farmyard Manure ... 538 Fan for Drymg Hay 408 Febrifuge, Cinchona [See Cinchona] Fertilizers 323-5, 602, 757 Fever, Remedies for 39, 44, 733 Fibre Cultivation 203, 331, 346, 424, 449, 557, 561, 564, 595, 623, 634 636, 644, 655, 680, 709, 722, 737, 739 747, 758, 776, 808, 826, 844, 868, 875, 877, 885, 886, 947-9 - Preparation 383, 437, 496 502 519, 548, 549, 652, 655, 660-2 ,667 685 747, 819, 884 Fig Cultivation ... 87, 783 Fig Leaves, Effect of, on Meat 9S8 Figs 417 Fiii, Gold in 967 , Labor in 146, 573, 938 138, 139-42 .Planting in 40, 54, 146, 251, 463. 491, 525, 626, 654, 6S7 ,866,868,989 Fihh Curing ...481, 483 Flax Cultivation and Fibre 389 , 534, 634, 722 Fhes, Remedies for ...202, 579 Floriculture 607 Flowering of Plants ... 876 Flower, Largest, in the World 723 Flowers and Insects... . 900 . Influence of Coal on 461 Flying-foxes, Remedies for Depredations of ... 755 Fodder Plants ... ...113,469,627,810,954 INDEX. Foetic Cassia Foliage auil Fruit ... Forest, Letting a ... . \a lie i)t J'Vircsts ;(lli liainfall am of 1 1 Streams Kurope ... Cyprus . . . Iiitlin anil ( Forestri - ill evlon Page. ... . .549 ,5.57 35(i 56 4in, Sli', ,S(i9 7S.5 75.5 . .577 1 1.5 .■11.5, if!. 2.SI.I. :;: Fowls, Koasteil (!iirn for , Tieks on Franee, (Jotfee in , \'intagL- cf ... Fruit and Foliage ... Cultivation in England 36:^,496, in Fiji in India in .laniaica . in i^Hieeiisland ... —Growing in Houses , Gumming in... , Preserving ... Fruit Trees and Mamu-es —. and Weeds , Protecting Pdossoms of... , West Indian Fuel in India I'uiigi i'ujiiituri' Polish :'.!). .5011. 09^-1(10(1. \l)i)6 73;j 357 777 396 .5.57 548,606, 719, S18, 892 ...525, 054 500 234 ...200,608 744 .5,56 ...120,9.59 ...7.SS, S71 908 86 ...250,431 107 182, .501.. 542, 957 3S4 ( lalls. WarK-.-t Kafs for SS, 184. 364. 452. .532, 612. 772, 852, 930, 1008 Call Soap ... ... •• 111 ( iainliier Cultivation at the Straits... ... 321 , Market Rates for 88. 184. .304, 4.52, 532, 612, 772. 852. 930. 1U08 (iiimtioge ... ■•■ ,,. 530 Caiiesh Khiiid liotanical(i:irdc-ns ... ... S46 li^nlen. Miniature... ... ... 08 I iiidening, Cleanliness ill ... ... 810 , Fruits ill ... ... 118-20 in India... ... ....54-5, .551 I las Ijime ... ■ ... 386 (liuis, Importation of. into the Tnited States 72 GHrmination of Seeds ... [.S'e« Seeds] Genus and Bacteria ... 205 Ghee, Export of. India toAustralia ... 11 — — Makuig in India Giant Grass Gingerbeer Ginger, Market Rates for 88. Ginseng Glacialine Glucose from Cassava Gold ill Ceylon in Fiji , Test' for Gorse as a Forage Plant Grafting. Curiosities of Wax Graphite, iVi-tificial ... Baths ... , Market Kates for Grass Cultivation Grenada, ('acao Cultivation in m« Grevillea, (Jum from Grubs, Remedies for Guano Guiana, British, Labor in Guinea Grass Gum Ammoniacum, JIarket Rates for — Animi, Market Rates for 743 ...80,202 UHM 1»4. .304. 4.52, .532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 448 715 28 204 907 ...183,235 168 271, 296, 383,993 165 564 .528 [See Plumbago] 469 «. ... 005 396 396 ...702, .■<2M .3.35 ...3.57, 794 88, 184, .364, 4.52, .532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 10(18 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, l(¥i,s fJum Arabic, Market Rates for Assafiutida, Market Kates Copal Damar from (Trevillea -— Kino. Market Kates for .Myrrh. .Market Kates for Olibauiun. Market Kates Tree Leaf Disease Gumming in Stone Fruits Gums and Kesins Gutta Percha Production , Market Kates for Gypsum P.VOK , 184,304, 4,52, .532, 612' 772, .S.52, 93(1. liiu.S .88, ISJ, .■i(i4, 4.yj. 5;a 612, 772, 8.52, 936, KIOS' 322, 378, 579, .590 •323 390 .s.s. 1,84. 364, 452, 5.32. () 12, 772, .S.52. 93(i. 1008 ■•^S, 184. 304. 4,52. .532. 012, 772. N.52. 93.0. 1(M)8 for ,'S8, 1.S4, 3(i4, 452, 532, 612. 772. .M52, 936, 1008 [Sf'f Blue Gum] 556 319, 321,957 ... 4-7, 78, 242, OO.s, 959 . 88, 184. 364, 452, 532. 612, 772. 8.52, 9:16, 1008 267 r.s'w Hakgala Botanii* Garden Harvesting Machinery Hatching, Ai'tiilcial ... Hawaii, Sugar Cultivation i( Hay, Fan for Drying Hedges Hemileia Vastatrix... Hemp Cultivation in .Mexi" , Indian , Manila , Palm Henaratgoda Botanic Ganlen Hill Farming Planting Hippeastrums, Hybrid Hoarfrost and Dew Hogs and Pine Forests , Holly Hongkong Botanic and Affovcstation Department Hop Blight Cultivation Hops, Substitutes f.>r 623, 055, Horn Manure ... ... Horse Breeding in Australia Manure Horses, Mange in . . . Horticultmal Co.. Calcutta Household Hints Hybridity Hybridization of Cinchona of Plants of Tea 915-S. 921 95.S .•S44 722 40,s 74, 280, P57 Coffee Leaf Di.sea.se] 125 709 ...027,844 214 91S .5(J:! 787 289 «1 Hvmenodycton Excelsum 77 259 414 ...566,782 7(17. 710. .SOO, 8,84 205 18 030 3.57 627 ,8,8,8 27, 20(1, 313, 320 [Sft; Cinclnma] .5(i4 |.V<.,.T..a] .961,994 I. Iguana Oil Iguanas as Vermin Destroyers Illumination by Air luflia, Agricultm-e in and Austi'alia, Trade betwe , Cinchona Cultivation in , Coffee Cultivation in , Crops and Weather in , Forestry in ... , Fuels of , Government Cinchona rlantatiim , Hill-Giirdeuing in , Medicinal Plants in ,Xevl Products in ... -,..-, ,......;.. Planting in 145, 378, 432, 462, 4s2, .500, 520. (i85. 708,712.718,734,771.781,911,975 India, Tea Cultivation in ... [.VrY-Tenl 385 385 32 [.S'«- Agi'iculture] 11, IS, 42 [See Cinchona] (.SV, Coffee! 181. 270, 340, .302, :178, 447", 692, 771. 912, 1007 [,SVv Forestry. ' ... KH14 See Cinchona | 127.545, .551 147 282, 781. .s:!5 INDEX. Indian Hemp Tea Indigo, Artiiicial Cultivation in Australia ^- in Ceylon Industry Mr. Schrottky's Process for Page. 709 [See Tea] 72, 395, 722 99 668 441 •55 744 793 Iiidiiirubber, Action of Alcohol on , Adulteration of and Gutta Perclia inthe Far East ... /o . , Ceylon 273, 351, 378, 381, 427, 626, 681 Cultivation 14-16, 29, 69, 157-8, 242, 251, 352, 368, 378, 405, 604, 650, 861, 908 in Africa iu Australia in Bolivia ... in Brazil ... in Ecuador in India in Mexico ... , Enemies of Indu.stry in America , Market Rates for 8 Oil Piping, Manufacture of Seeds, Insects iu Tapping of Tension of Trade Trees • in Colombo -, Trees Yielding 718 99 .".'.615, 966 331, 405, G67, 962 ...426,668 414, 629, 751, 818 ...414,047 776 776 ., 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 649, 772, 852, 936, 1008 ...722,800 6 161 ... 69, 048 ...634,754 807, 848, 990 ... 75, 233 30 ...160, .588 .319 Indo-Chin;i Tea Association lusocticides 171, 363, 431, 444, 469, 579, 794, 868, 902, 966 Insects and Flowers .-■ ... 900 , Injurious 59, 164, 233, 266, 628, 766, 798, 9.54, 968 Ipecacuanha Cidtivation iu India... 203, 395, 728 Ironwood Tree ..._ .■■ ...763,760 Irrigation in Australia ... ••■ H ? in India... ... ... 31, 202 Italy, Chemical Industries of ... ... 580 ^, Fruit and Vegetable Cultivation in ... 993 Ivory, Scarcity of ... ... ...U)5, 806 ~ J. Jade Stone Jak as Shade for Coffee C'ultivation .Talap Cultivation ... J.amaica and Ceylon , Banana Cultivation in Botanic Gardens , Caean Cultivation in , Cinchona Cultivation in .. Crown Lands , Economic Cultivation in ... . Fruits and Vegetables in ... , Labor in ' 26, 168, 169, , Liberian Coffee Cultivation in , Rats and Mungooses in ... 198 69, 70, 243, 380 691 ...440, 823 .Tapan, Farming in ■-, Lacquer Industry of ...720, 869 509-14, 878, 939-46 151-3, 168 168, 240, 976, 997 271 ...214, 234 431 384, 549, 933 318 206-8, 893-5 389 514-6, 544 780 Page. Pea Radi.sh , Sugar Cultivation iu — Tea .Iarr.ah "Wood Java, Cinchona Cultivation iu , Coffee Cultivation in , Gutta Percha Cultivation in , Planting in ... 122, 340, 382, 586, 596, 663, 074 .Rainfall iu ... ■■• - 035 , Tol)acco Cultivation in ... ... 250 Johore, Planting in... ■■■ 101. l-'-l. 228 , Progress in... ... •■• '■'■^ .lute Oulti\ation in Ceylon ... •■• 561 in Americ.T ... ■•■ d^^ ...389, 961 [.See Teal ...635, 891 [See Cinchona] 503, 565, 703 668 Jute Industry , Preparation of.. 356 319 Kaolin Kapok Fibre Kew (xardens Khat 417 50 635,696-702,717 732 Kino, Market Rates for 88, 184, 304, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, 1008 Kitul Fibre ... ..'. ... 48 Kola Nut ... 87, 309, 339, 431, 605, 067, 827, Sol Kuskus Cultivation ... ' ... 935,956 Labels, Zinc Laburnum, Poisoning by Lac .«■ Lace-bark Tree Lacquer Industry of Japan Lagerstrtcmia Indica , . Land, Poor, Cultivation of Sales iu Ceylon. . . Lautana Cultivation... Lavender Cultivation Layering Shrubs Leaf Disease Leafless Plants Leaves, Use of Lebong Tea Co. Leeches, Remedies for Ledgeriana Cinchona Co. Lemon Cultivation ... Juice L. 958 812 ...345,449 160 514-0, 544 272 ... 257 55 ...342, 4.S8 ...508,782 385, 547, 891 [See Coffee] 208 908 219 795 [See Cinchona] 278 874 476, 597, 748 Lemongrass Oil, Market Rates for 88, 184, 304, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 936, lOOiS L?beTian Coffee Cultivation 90, !02,"l83, 284, 318, 319, 32.5-8, 368, 596, 602, 619, 652, 665, 667. 750, 801, 821, 978, 990 in Australia ... 89,647 in -Tamaica ... 318 in Trinidad ... 210-4 Dried iu the Cherry ... ■ ■ • 82 1 Varieties of ... ••• 153 Light, Action of, on Vegetation ... ...169,961 Lime Chloride as a Remedy for ■V\'hite Ants ... I To Remove, from the Eye in (iermiuation of Seeds for Soils Lime Cultivation Juice Live Stock, Raising of Linnean Society Linseed Oil Luckuow Horticultural Gardens Lumino\is Paint M. Mace, Market Rates for 88, 184, Madagascar ... 31 Madar Cultivation . . . Madras School of Agricidture Mali wa Tree Mahogany Cultivation Maize Cultivatiou in Au.stralia ill Brazil , in India Malacca, Tapioca Cultivation in Malarial Fever Malay Plant Lore MaltOoifee 319 SO, 176, 818, H92 444,500, 529,629,755 652 887 47 ...564,822 395 579 204 364, 452, 532, 612, 772, 852, 93G, 1008 , 220, 289, 647, 827, 836, 966 ...557.564 r^V^ Agriculture in India] \; ... 77.162 ... 448 98 828 492,780,868,1000 189-91, 628 44 592 ...383, 430 INDEX. Blange, Cures for _ ... Mango Cultivation iu Au.straliii in Modioiue ... Mangrove (.'ultivatiou Manitoba as a Field lor Emigrants , Vino Cultivation in Page. 357 98S 476 444 150 082 Manila Hemp ... .■■ G27, 8'M , Trade of ... ... ... 807 Man Tree - ... ... — 793 M.iniot- ... .. [&c Cassava] Manure, Farming without ... ... 48 Manures and Manuring 2,41,47,26^291,343,386,388, 4(1, 474-6, 538, 544, 588. Oil, 034, OoO, 6!)0, 7l«, 738, 780,788,811,877, 033, y.54,yil3 Margotta Oil as Kemcdy for "White Ants ... 7 Market Kates for Old and New Products 88, 184, 364, 452, 032, 612, 772, 852, 930, 10i« Mate Utanritius .Vgricultural Co. , Aloe Fibre iu , and Ceylon , Labor iu .. . , Planting in Medicinal Plants Melon Cultivation ... Me.\ico, Coffee Cidtivation ni — Hemp Cultivatiou iu ludiarubber Cultivation iu Mica Mice, Field, Destruction of Mildew, Kemedy for Milk, To Increase Cows' Mocha Cotfee Moustera Deliciosa ... !\Ioon and the A\'eather Morocco, Almonds from Mosquitoes, Uemedies for BIoss, Ceylon Mowra Tree Blulberry Cultivatiou in America ■ iu India Mulching Mungooses and Kats... Myrobalans, Market Rates for Myrrh, Market Kates for Myrtle Cultivation . . . Mysore, Climate of ... 154, 400, 723, 001, 038 204 107,421-3,479,747 28 670, 899 95,111,892 ... 147, 271, 750, 870, 973 450 168, 203, 224, 414, 666, 608,8i)9 125 414 ...430, 528 253 450 251 54, 300, 793 415 433 531 349 578 674 112 054 476 200-8,893-5 8S,1S4, 304,452, 532, 012, 772, 852, 936, 1008 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 852, 930, 1008 439 ... 7,240 N. Nalkana.ad Coffee ... ... .. 70,199 Nankin Cotton ... ... ... 781 Naphthaline ... ... ... 407 Narcotic, New ... ... ... 405 Natal, Planting in ... 388, 417, 598, 733, 825, 847, 900. 'J95-7 Nettle Leaves, Kffect of, on Meat ... ... 988 New Gmnea ... ... ^.. 950 New Products in Ceylon 3, 53, 102, 111, 147, 204, 220-2, 222-4, 270, 368, 420, 428, 519, 500, 093, (iOl, 723, 724-0, 757, 766, 771, 811, 835, 858-0), 903, 935, 949, 982, 1006 New Remedies ... ... 2.50,431,416,887 New South AVales, Painfall in ■ ... ... 43 New York Coffee Exchange .. ... 20,32 New Zealand ... ... 352, 685-8, 1004 , Flax Cultivatiou iu ... ... 389 -, Tea .and Silk Farming in . . 731, 825 , Rabbits iu Nilgiri Potanical Gardens Nettle Cultivation Nitrates in Soils 84-6,11 525 824 614, 782 177, 24.5-7, 260, 274-7, 337, 350 381, 398, 503, 715, 765, 901 Nitrngen in Manures ... ...' 474-6 Northern Territory of South Australia, Planting in 17,80, 97, 100, 134, 145, 191, 305, 383, 4s3, 503, 861, 1007 North Travancore I/and Society ... 313-5, 383, 659, 884 Nursery Treatment of Plants ... ... 178 Nutmeg Cultivation ... Nutmegs, Market Kates tor NiLX A'omica, Market Rates Page. 232, 243, 543, 976 88, 184, 364, 452,532, 612, 772, 852, 930, 1008 for 88, 184, 364, 452, 532, 612, 772,852, 936, lOO.S Oatmeal, Value of ... Oats, Vamlla from. . Oil Industry in India Oil Stains, To Remove Oils, Es,senH.-il Olibauum, Market Kates for 88, : Olive Cultivatiou ■ in America ■ in Australia Tree, Large... Onions, Pickling . . . Orange Cultivation iu Florida Ti'ade of the Azores "Wines Orcharil, L.arge Orchid Cultivation... Orchella "\A'"eed, Market Rates for Ostrich Farming ... Oyster Culture Oysters, Migration of Pachouli Paint, Luminous Palm Cultivation Papaw Cultivation .luice Paper Manufacture , l.^.ses of Parasites, Vegetable Parasitic Fungi Paraguayan Tea Paraguay, Vegetable Products of ... Peach Cultivatiou ... Stones Tree, Large ... Peaches, Packing of Pear Cultivation Pearl Tree Pearls, Black Structure of Peat Litter Peeling IJark by Heat Pepper Cultivation = at the Straits . . . . in India 4 in Zanzibar , Market Rates .for 88, 184, , Poisonous ... Peppermint (.'ultivation Peradeniya Botanic CJardens Pernarabuco, Products of Pern.k, "Planting iu Perfumes, Distillation of Petroleum as au Insecticide Peru, Cinchona. Cultivation in Pheuylc, Soluble Phosphates, Analysis of Phyllo.xera ' 227, 272, 416, 450. 528. Piassava Pigs on Estates Piuang, Planting iu 908 210 414 lOS [Si'c Essential Oils] 184, 304, 4.52, 532, 012, 772, 852, 936, 1008 648 ...723,801 301,3.S3, 711 ...390,812 86 117, 272, 368, .50.5, 592. 733. 7.55. 874, 892, 962, 967 ...198,583 ...109,505 432 544 529 88, 184,".304, 452, 532, 012, 772, 852, 930, 1008 383, 413, 581, 053, 711 ...252, 328 383 101 201 ...3.'.(i,812 213 ...715.907 531, 030, 733, 751, H-;2, 807, 875 ...308,402 89,s 204 542 [Set! Mate] ...172,-583 357, 437, 469, 579 506 in India 449 828 474 349 1,82 525 787 103, 531, 801-3 54:: 21, 427, 072-4, 821, 986 387 364, 452, 532, 585, 612. 772, 852, 930, lo08 806 .-..607, 076 .913-32, 950-2 271 30, 238, 330,416,651 H7 ....303, 44 I 337 233 3.'>9 720, 7S8. 889, 891, 900 123-0, 331 276 110 IN HEX. 3'im*apijk' C'Llltivatioii Fibiu I'ille Forests an.l Hoi,'s Piping, Ilubbbi, Manufacture of Planks. Straw Plant Food Plants ami Animals ... and Planting , Cultivated, Origin of , Dibbling ■ — , Diseases of ... , Flowering of irorn Cuttings . lutiui'nic (if Climate lai , Jle.iieilial ... . >,ew , Nursei-y, Treatment of , Swelling of . . . , Travels of ... , Vaccination of ■without Earth Plantain Fibre .■■ Plantains and Bananas Planters, Indian, and Govcrnnient... Planting, Depression and Prosperity in Prospects in Ceylon 1-1, '2 Page. 440,5' IS, 9liS ...(We.SO.s Ij soti 2.Vi. 4.51. 755, S45, SS9 ...^80,578 740 .. 54ti,fl65 963 4:)l 876 749 2.1.) 147 4.'i- Plumbago Queries Market Rates fur 8S, 1S4, Poke, Virgiui.an Polish, F'urniture ... Poplar Disease Porcupines and Indiarubbcr Trees. . . Posts, Oak Potash as an Insecticide Salts and Manures Potato Cultivation ... in Fiji in India Disease ■l.y.i, 271. -'-Vt. olW, 467 Potatoes, Indigenous, in Arizona . . . Seed .Storing Poultry Houses Prickly t'omfrey Priokly-pear Cultivation Prosperity and Depression. Planting Pruning of Coffee ... Ptei'ocarpus Santalinus Puerh Tea Puneria P>erry Putrefaction and Antiseptics Pvrethruni Insect Powder 71, 876 754 ...178.633 214 82-4, 18.5 565 3.38 216-8, 844 185 66 28, 4.1-7, 57 . .i7. 58. 911, 107, 168, 12P, 565 ... '502 364, 452. 532, 612, 772, 852. 936, 1008 966 384 ...806,889 776 476 808 387 433, 578, 654, 786 525 202. 282, 539 497. 550, 666, 8,S9 723 74 748 474 044 809 28, 45-7, 57 ... 784-6 [See Coffee] 31 666 912 430 171 Quassia Cups ... ... ••• 182 Quebarho Drugs ... ... ... 209 Wood ... ... ... 203 QueeiLsland, Labor in 222, 251. 329, 370, 373, 397, 308, ,507, 064,677,714,10(11 — , Planting in 170, 183, 222, 257, 261), 338, 340, 373-7, 397, 445, 458, 468, 505, 547, 608, 036, 647, 653, 662, 068, 703, 733, 812, 813, 861. 904, 957, 960, 968, 983 Qiiicksands ... ... ••• 899 Quillai Tree Qn'na Barks Quinine. Adulteration of . — , Artificial . , Consunipbon of in Fever . Makers, Combination of .. . . Substitutes f.r do, 08. 72. 270. . — Tasteless ... .437, 440 637 .819 840 0.' ,68 , T'-^ 279 383 133 41 414 ). MO, 383 954 961 407 Pagk. R. Rabbits in New Zealand ... ...' 525 Radish, .Japan ... ... ... 895 Railway in the Tree Tops .. ... 87 Rainfall and Crops 1, 72, 112. 247. 249, 285. 808, 8o7, 9O0 and Forests ... 4 19. 812. 8ii9 ,Causesot ... ... ... 43 in Ceylon 1,53, 330, 347, 351, 447. 023, 724, 702, 704, 897, 077 in India ... ... 7, 236, 252, 770 in Java ... ... ... 635 in New South AVales ... ... 43 of the Globe ... ... 306 Hats .nnd Jlmigooses ... 200-8, ,803-5 Reana Luxurians ... ... ...44, .'<28 Red Ants and Potatoes ... ... 654 Sanders AVood ... ... ... 31 Spider 396. .506. 764, .'(iO Redwood, JIarket Rates for 88, 184, 364, 452. 532,6)2, W2, 852, 0.36, M08 Remedies, New ... ... 250, 4S1, 440, i87 Reunion, Fibre Cultivation in ... ... ,'39 Reward for Discovery of a Cure for Coffee Leaf Di.sease 8 Rhea Cultivation and Preparation . . . 296, 584. 94 7-9 Rhubarb, Market Rates for 88, 184, 361, 452. 532, 612. 772. 852. 936, 111 .8 Rice Cultivation in America ... 198, 203 in Ceylon ... lo.s, 417,703 Road-making ... ... ... 304 Rose Cultivation ... ... 363 Hust in Wheat .. ... 32, 334, 005,714 Russia. Coffee and Tea in ... ...308,451 s. Sabah Land-Farming Company ... ... (i67 Safflower, Market Rates for 88. 184, 304, 452. 532. 612. 772. 852,936. 1008 .529 ...361,892 88, 184, 361.4.52,532,012, 772,852,936, 10o8 .. .s,85, 933 704 433 602 ...481,483 548 349 88, 1S4, 364, 452. 532. 6l2, 772. 852. !I36. 10U8 528 958 758 208,448,970 267 S-, 184,361. (.52. 32. 612,772, ,852.936. 1008 32(1 5(i6 385 ...3-35. 4-5(1 476 ■ ... ."OS 787 Saffron Cultivation ... Sago Cultivation in Borneo Sago, Market Rates for ■, Preparation of St. Helena., Cinchonain Saltbush Salt as a Fertilizer... for Fish Curing for A\'eeds Sandalwood Cultivation , Market Hates for Sand P.aths for Packing Fruit Sand-biniling Plants San Dcuniugo. Cultivation in Sandy Soil, Manuring of Sapanwood, Market Rates for Sarawak. Planting in Sarsaparilla Sawdust for Bedding for Cuttings Scalds, Remedy for ... Scotland, Area of... . Hill Planting in Scoilish Arboriculturai Society Screw-pine ... ... ... 9(i2 Sea-sickness, Treatment of ... ... 240 Seaweed. Utilization of ... ... 396 Seed, Collection and Storage of ... ,sl;(, «S7 , Sowing of ... ■•. ... 342 Seeds. Dama.eed, Test for ... ... 3_' from South America ... ... 19G , Germination of 80, 176,271, 289, 387, 420, 444. 818, 84fi, 860, 876, 802,967. 'A-2 , Sale of ... ••■ ... 319 INDEX. Page. Senna, j\la Si-riculturc ■ket llatcs for 8S. in America in C'eylou in China in India ■ ill Italy . . in .Japan Scivia. Wood I'ulp Jlanufactuic in Slu-U .Marl Shoetlower rjilk and Tea ("nlture Ootton CidturL' .Moth, N"e\v Varii-ty of Silk-iiroduuini; Bombycu.s .Slavfi-y in Culja Sleeping Tree Smallpox, Carliolic Acid in Smnt in Sugarcane ... Soap, Gall , riant Yielding Soda Xitrate Soils, Composition &c. ot , Improvement of , Nitrati'S in . Temperature of ' Sola rith Plant Soot as a Cure for Mildew Sorghnm Cultivation ... Soya Grca.ss Sphagnum iSIoss Spice Trade of the United State.s . Spoiiyes spriiis Valley Coffee Co., Limited . Stinging Tree Stone Fruits. Gumming IS J. 3fi-i, 452, .532, 612. 772, S52, Saii, lOO.s ... 17-1-15 112, .596, SOS 11)3, sni M7. 103, 827. lti(l.5 172-4. 252, -JsS, 3S2, 46!), 500, 5'.l3. t!47, 676, 723, 8J0 (ill 3.S9 53.S 416 ...214,412 ['Vee (Jhasericulture] 74S [.Vt-f SericuHurel 172 Taniarind.s, Market Rate , Trade iu Straits, Planting at the Strawlierry Cultivation — . ' in India Straw Planks Styptic, Vegetable . . Sugarcane . , Disease in .— , New Variety of , Yield of Sugar from Sugar Cultivation in America in Au.s*ralia ... llA-ii 234 180 450 234 111 390, .58(1, 756 .S2S 47, 5ii8. nOS, <)58 7(i, (J29, 845, lli;7 ['Ve(- Nitrates] 992 8()3 7in 7. 721, 9S4 30.'; 247 123 47G 330 .53S, .5i-5 ,556 iu Brazil in 1-iurma in Ceylon ill China in Fiji in Hawaii iu India in .Japan in Jlauritiu.s in Perak in the A\'est Indies 51. .525 321, 473, (iOi Sugar from Toddy ... iu Germany ... Preparation ... Production ■. Trade of America Sulphur and Lime for ('offee Leaf Disease . — for Fever ... — — in Italy Sumatra, Tobieco Cultivation iu .-. Sunflower ( 'ultivation Sminam, Cacao Cultivation in Sweet Potatoes Swelling of Pliints ... T. 321, 335, 543, G5(i-9, 855-8,890 290 253 ■son (il5 752 234, 34!) 181 K42 6S,S 9.S, 145, 257,340, 3S4, 397, 408. 505. 653. 703 ....3.33,620 Tahiti, Vanilla Cultivation in 755 413 .. 645-7 (!67, 800 722 5J1. 712 389, 901 ... 95,111 054 S43, 904-6, 967 414, 573 692 635 595, 721, !)59 797 788 6 733 336 224 5,s0, 593, 710, 755 6(i9 ...452,547 214 888 Page. for .s,^, IS I, 364,4.52,012, 772, .5.32, 852, 936, 1008 Tanning IJarks Tapeworm, Coconut as a Remedy for Tapioca Cultivation in Borneo in Brazil . in Oylon in Valacca , Market Kate.s for — , Preparation of 330 .7M,S75 892 437 933, 975 189-91, (:28 88, 184, 304, 452, 532, 612, 772. 852, 9S6, 1008 351, 8 5,933 17.3-4 145, 258 Tar, Indigo and Quinine from Taro Tasar Sericulture ... Tavoy, Waste Lands in Tea. "Adulteration of 31,55,426,026, 7'IS, 879,890.900 and Silk Culture ... [Scc Cliasi-riculture] , Arabian ... ... ^32 Association, Indo-China ... 3iq Boxes 287, 334, 417, 462, 576, 020. 720, 823, .S81-4, .909, 962, 981 — . I'lulking of — , Ceylon — , Charges in London ou ~. China, Exports of — , (_!lassiiication of ~ Companies, Indian — , Consumption of — , Cost of Production of - Gultiv.ation in America in Ceylon 974 111.2-17, 282; 420, 615 265 533 32, 564 373 ... 72, 1(10, l!J5, 2.54, 768 54 112,164,414 .. 3. 11, 59, 1(37, 197. 200, 203 232, 237, 243, 247, 284, 345, 41.5. 417, 419,' 431 477- 4S0. 4Sl, 490,492, 493, 501. .520. .528, 561, 564 '567' 589, 602, 621-3, 618, 049, 06.5, 735-7, 797, 809, S'o' 8(>3- 871, 969, 976, 979-81, 983. 988: 991, 1001, 'l005 '» C'liii'a ." 9-11, 392, 560, 066 969' m Fiji ... -51,620,989 in India 9-11, 11-1-1.87. 90. 148-50.165 194 235, 249, 250,260. 313-5, 320, 332, 342, 3(i9, 372,' 39"' 400. 416, 425, 429. 4.59. 492, 501, 572, 570 6->3 «a^' 647,675,079,710,729,793, 790, 800, 823, 867, 9l'2. !)(r9 in Natal ... ...3S8 825 in the Andamans ... '235 .Drinking. Origin of ... j.^j Drying .597,015, 618, 630, ()52, 702,707 729 803, ,822, 841, 900, 934, 956, 989. IfiOl - Duty in America in Australia in Britain -, Enemies of - Extra ct- -, Hyliridization of -. Indian 26 131, 13S 9.53 319, 407, 410, 420, 429, 484. S!)0, 018, 764, 769 644 10 , Inlian and Ceylon in .Vustralia and .America 4-' 53 55, 131, 252, 295. 301, 372, 400, 408, 4957 053^ TV T., ^ 769,' 77(5 , Indian, Exports ., go, .5(j, 204,2s-' 631 .Indian, iu Kus,sia ... ' 'iiiiy ■ , India vs. China 72, 147. Kid, 100. ]n:[, 204 •',35 237 .304. 220. 401.' 825. 946 , .Japan l,sO, 251, 319. .320, 3S9, 470, 533, 596, 818 886, 990 ... 105-5 2.51 322, 383, ^30, 537 .537 259, 544 Leaf Disease ... , Liquoring of ... , Making of Manufactory. Central ■ , Manures Market , Names of , New Kinds of ... , Origin of — — , Packing of , Plucking of , Prices of t.. , Properties of ... Pruning , Piierli Eolliiig Sales 092,718, 7.99. ,S22 ... 32,564 967 9-11, 13, 94!) 610 168, 870, 892, 895. 950, 9(!0 183,004,841,842 32 570, 843 ma 762, 960, 1001 55,160,229, 251.426, 773 INDEX. Tea 220, Page. 821 1S.9 235, 491, 884 250, 598 68 293, 462,468,776 See J- , Sbade for Sifters Soil Steamers Synclir-ate, Oalcufa 43, 53, , U.vL- of, by Natives in Ceylon... Telegraph Wii-es, Use of Gutta Percha Teneriffe, Cochineal Cultivatiuu in Texas Textile Manufactures, Chinese Ticks ou Fowls Timber at the Cape in America in Bni'ma of British Columbia Seasoning of Trees Tissamaharama Tobacco Bush Cultivation in Australia ... . : in Borneo in Biu-ma in Ceylon —^— in India I in Java . in ,Sumatra in the West Indies , Juice as .an Insecticide Toddy, Sugar from Tomato Cultivation 272, 439, 444, 656, 572, 611 677, 251, — , Disease in — , Value of — AVine Tonga Toon Tree Tortoises and Water Plants Tramways on Plantations Transplanters Tree, Angry , Foreign Substance in Planting . , Prehensile . Pruning , Stumps, To Eradicate , , Trembling , Unwholesome Trees, Ages of . by Mail , Felling of for Shade &ic. , Growth of — ; — , Large , Maturing of , Tennyson and , Value of Trenching' Soils Trinidad, Planting in Tfojnad A(/i-icuttttre Tropical Ayrkii.hurift 8 145 841 407 357 719 253 5S8 176 599 43 335, 338 450 14, 353-6, 666, 755 636 604 09. 9G4 344 250, 596 224 111 431 414 891 764 891 891 1S2, 497 241 933 634 496, 990 992 44S 738, 812, 840 451 ... 115-7 385, 448 560, 4''S 44S -151 787 451 195 508,991 748, 80S, 812 448 993 50, 165 183. 845 210-4, 477, 494, 535, 647, 8S0 362 106, 100,192, 492 504, 556, 675, 023, 655, 063, 976 Tubercular Disease, Carbolic Acid in ... 40 Turmeric, Market Kates for 88, 184, 364, 452. 532, 612, 772,852,936, lOOS Turnips, Manuring of ... •.• *1 Tm-pentiue, Spirit of Turtle Flesh, Dried Typhoid Fever, Kemedies [or is; 776 86 ,4SJ u. United States Uva Coffee Co. [Sec America] 278 V. Vaccination of Plants Vanadium Vanilla, Adulteration of , Artificial Cultivation in Maiu-itius... — = in Tahiti , Extract of , Market Bates for 88, 184, Page. 565 528, 616 249 240, 103, 385 407 95 888 ■^^aruish Tree Vegetable Parasites Pests Vegetables, Tropical Vegetation, Action of Light ou , Chemistry of Verbena Vine Culture in (_'eylon in Manitoba 447: Vine Disease 227, 272, 415, 416, 4.50, Vines in CaHfornia Vintage of France "\''irginiau Poke w. 440 •( 364, 4.32, 532, 612, 772, . 852, 936, 1008 : 214, 451) ! 204 I 788 i 431 1 169, 961 ' 876 . 449 031, 755, 788, 1006 « 491, 499, 502, 527, 536, "l 570, 572, 617, 953 ' 682 1 528, 580. 720. 788, 889, . ; 891, 966 i 334 , 396 966 M'alnut Cultivation AN^asps, To Destroy Water and Atmosphere , Boiling of -, Manures as Absorbents of Waterjiroof Calico Wattle Cultivation Was, Grafting Palm Cultivation Plant Weather and the Moon Weeding Coffee Weeds Well Irrigation West Indian Fruit West Indies, Planting in thi Wheat, Disease in White Ants 890 584 ... 895-7 ... 1002 268, 291 165,581, 14, 3-11, 357, 378, 383, 471-3, 581, 005. 711, 748, 823 ...165,581 159, 368 636, 754 433 [ISce Coffee] 167, 548, 090, 796, 908, 1003 31 250 668, 711 32, 334, 605. 714, 842, 954 ... 442-4 Eemedies for 7, 320, 525, 654, 729, 749, 755, 976 166 Whitewash Wind, Effect of - ... Wire Fences Wood Ashes , Matui'ity of .^. , Preservation of Pulp Trade A\^oodeu Joists A\'oods, Hardness of Worms, To Remove, from Lawns, &c. Wynaad Planting and Mining Association Yam, Jlouster Yerba 589 437 548, 812 992 250 538 828 787 891, 89!) 165 156, 560 417,561 ySco Mate] Zanzibar, Proilucts of Zapallo Zinc Labels 387 1000 958 July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. PLANTi:(G PROSPECTS IN CEYLON. SHORT COFFEE CROPS AND THEIR EX- PLANATION :-FALLING-OFF IN MANURING; LEAF DISEASE; GRUB; ABNORMAL SEASONS. CINCHONA AND AVHAT IT IS DOING FOR OUR COFFEEPLANTERS. TEA CULTIVATION AND THE SCARCITY OF CAPITAL. Upper Ma.skeliva, Sth May 1S82. No comment has so far beeu otiered on the letter of a Matale correspondeut who endeavoured to shew, by his rainfall return during several blossoming sea- sons and the succeeding crops, that the weather this year could have little to do with the poor prospects for 1S82-3. But I have no doubt a good deal could be said by planters of equal experience in other districts, to shew that, however applicable to his own corner of the land, our Matale friend's inferences could not be drawn from the figures and facts recorded elsewhere. It is probably impossible to name any one cause in explanation of the disappointing coffee blossoming season just closed. For a good many years alternate crops (middling .and short) have beeu the rule, and we find the first explanation of the paucity or ab- sence of blossom in the fact that the current is re- garded as the normally poor year. Alternate years •of good and bad crops are usu.ally experienced by cultivators of fruit trees all over the world, at least, when once their orchards, vineyards, coffee or cocoa gardens have passed their early years of luxuriance ; but there can be no doubt that, ia our own case in Ceylon, this alternation has been intensified in a very striking way by other causes, of which the operation of the coffee leaf fungus is the most potent. As a consequeuce evei-y alternate pair of years seem to shew a worse outturn than their predecessors. Here are the se sons and t!ie export returns since 1874-75, when a maximum in.ay be said to have been attained ; — Total. 1,659,121 1,563,339 1,494,123 1,353,758 Doubtless objection will be taken in some quarters to the figures for the current season being put. above 500,000 cwt, and for 1882-3 above 300,000; but the comparison is striking enough in shewing that the last three extraordinarily abnormal seasons in our table give a less aggregate than the huo previous years. The alternation was slightly interfered with in 1879-80, when the crop was larger instead of smaller th.an in 1877-8. But this slight gain was woefully discounted in the succeeding year 1880-81, when not much more than one-half tlie outturn iXw was recorded, the fall bein^ from 824,000 to 454,000 Seasons, Exports. 18745 . 968,694 cwt '756 . 720,427 „ '76-7 . 943,047 ■,, '77-S . 620,292 „ '78-9 . 824,509 „ '79-80 .. 669,614 ,, '80-81 .. 453,758 ,, '81-82 .. 550,000 „ '82 S3 (conjectured) . . 350,000 „ cwt. The present shipping season by oar alternate rule is the one tor a poor crop comparatively, but clearly, the pendulum having swung to so little pur- pose last year, while it is scarcely going to move at all for next crop, the exports of 1881-82 must be considered to be those of a comparatively " good " year. Alas I that the average export of Ci>ti'ee for the three seasons ending .30th September 1883 should not be shewn to exceed 450,000 cwt. against an average of 791,000 cwt. for the six years ending 30th Sept. 1880 ! The immense decline since 1880 is therefore the most notable feature in our table, and regurding the blossoming season of 1881 as an average one for the alternate poor year, those who think abnormal seasons have to do with our poverty of outturn must direct their attention to the blossoming seasons — J.in.- April— of 1880 and 1882 in order to explain the fall from 800,000 to 450,01)0 and two ye.irs later to 350,000 cwt. We believe an examination of the meteorological i-eturns for the spring of ISSO and 1882, with the monthly average of from 5 to 10 years, will shew that, in the majority of our coffee districts, the rainfall more especially in the two critical months — Febiuary and March — has been much above the average. The figures for 1882 are not at hand to compare ; but, taking typical estates and districts, we find, beginning at the south, that, in February and March 1880, the rainfall on Vegeria estate, Rakwana, was 22'23 inches against an average of 11 '54 inches ; on Deeside, Maskeliya, it was 2315 against 1215 inches ; on Delrey, Dikoya, it was 21 3S against 11-29 inches; in Dimbula (at Craigie Lea, P. W. D. return) it w.as 15'S8 against 4 '52 ; on Rangbodde estate, Riiinboda, it was 14'01 against 7'17 inches ; on Leang- wela, Maturata, the fall was 17'66 against 11'48 inches : on New Forest, Deltota, 13'83 .against 7'76 inches. Going westward again, Templestowe, Amba- gamuwa, gave 15'41 against 7'66 inches ; Kabragalla, Dcdasbage, 1233 ag.ainst 9'04 ; Pussellawa 13'17 con- tr.asted with S'lO inches ; Kandy 8'96 against 6 25 inches. In ihe north, we find Kandenuwara estate, Maialf, giving 20 76 against 8'50 ini'hes ; while Matale town gave 13'05 against 3'76 ; LeangoUa, Madulkele, 10'67 ag.ainst 7'44 ; Illagoll.-i, Rangala, 9 '8 1 against 8'3fi. Turning to the Uva districts, we have VViharagalla estate, H.aputale. giving 23'I1 .against 15'50 inches ; Gowrakelle, Badulla, 18'41 against 11'38 ; Cocagalla, Hewa Eliya, 2S'65 against 19 42 ; Banda-awela 15'99 against 7'99; and Di:;wella ]8'98 against 6 '12 inches." A similar return f >r Kebiu.ary- Marcli of the present year could not f il, ■'ve think, to pro en 0 contrasts quite as striking. The lessons to be derived from ihera, practical men will readily understand.* «• Thus:— Total rainfall Feb. and March 1882. Place. Vegeriya (Eakwana; Dee.side (Maskeliya) Delrey (Dikoya) Bang'ooddc (r.amboda) ... Leangolla (Jtadulkele) ... Templestowe (Ambagamuwa) Kandy Kandcnuwara iliagolla (EaugalaJ Feb. 9'37 7'78 5'77 2-43 7-04 4-34 1'8S 3'75 7't;o March. 10-53 Ins. 5-38 „ 8'i)2 „ 3-20 „ 5'28 „ 2'53 „ THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. No doubt, leaf-disease must be regarded as a chief cause of the steady falling-off revealed by our coffee crop figures. But, simultaueously with the depression und short crops experienced since 1S78, we have had a less liberal system of cultivation — taking the country as a whole — and a large expanse of compiiratively young coffee has not received that attention in manurmg (and perhaps pruning) which was the rule in the previous decade and which proprietors would only be too glad to render, had they the means of investmg in steadied bones, castor cake, or other similar valuable fertilizing substances.* A fair index to the quantity of artificial manure used is afforded in the returns of traffic : they run as follows : — Manure carried by the Main Railway Line. Years. Tons. 1875 ... 14,410 1876 ... 24,277 Years. Tons. 1868 . . 3,664 1869 . . 6,891 1870 . . 8,784 1871 . , 7,334 1872 . . 5,772 1873 . . 8,160 1874 . . 11,217 1877 . . 27,412 1878 . . ^1,772 1879 . . 11,297 18S0 . . 6,448 1881 . . {? 5,000) Of course it cannot be denied that a great deal of money has been wasted, and that injury rather than benefit has resulted from thcindisciimiuate and thought- lees application of manures in past years ; but when we know of good old propreties which have been continuously treated for a score of years or so, giving, in such a season as the last and in spite of leaf disease, as much as 7 and 10 cwt. over fields of no inconsiderable area, it is impossible to deny the con- nection between judicious mauuring and the amount of the coffee crop, whatever may be said of the sea- sou and of leaf-disease. Still there are puzzling exceptions to almost every one of the rules of practise cherished by the most experienced of our plautei-s, aud never apparently were tiiese more strikingly illustrated than during the past few seasons. When proceeding to England in July 1880, Mr. Giles F. Walker of Elbedde, Bogawantalawa (a gentleman who is second to none in the country in the careful attention he has paid to the weather and its bearing on crops), attributed a good deal of the disappointment attending two previous blossoming sea- sons in Dikoya to the absence of the continuously wet weather which usually prevailed right through crop-time, so enabling the trees to recover speedily and be ready for blossom. He expressed the hope then that wet weather from September to December might again be the lule. In 1880 this was not the case ; * Of the vaUie of manure we had a satisfactory illustra- tiou the other day. "Look on that coifee and on this," said a planting friend : " see how the bushes there .are full of blossom set, while hero wc have biire branches with incipient berries few aud far between." The diitpreuce was certainly very striking, in the s.ime soil, field aud circum- stances—the two strips adjoiniug each other: the ouly diiterence being that the one had been fed with bones and castor cake, while the other had got nothiug. On the other hand a leading V. A. has often met our call for mauOTe by bringing forward cases of estates giving as good returns without as others in the same district with ma)im'e. No doubt, for some seasons, such cases can be found, but who will dare sny that the unmanured coffee, however f avour.ably situated for climate and soil, will con- tinue to maintain its good crops and reputation without manure? but last year the crop season was wet enough in all conscience. The rain continued all through December and on through January, and when some begau to call " Hold, enough," there were other old h.ands who declared themselves more than satisfied, anticipating a hot dry March and April to make full compens- ation. Th.it such has not been experienced is now gener- ally admitted, and we believe iu spite of our Matale correspondent that taking the country as a whole, had the rains stopped on the 15th February and dry we>ither proved the rule since then, instead of a crop of 300,000 cwt-, we might fairly look for one of double that quantity. Still the anomalies reported in the experi- ence of different districts are very curious. For instance a visiting agent, passing from Matale deluged with rain for weeks together in February and March this season, finds a blossom in danger of being burnt c£f in Kadugannawa for want ofi.ain. Sinmltaueonsly we had recently a Dikoya planter expressing thank- fulness that the rain had kept off for four days in con- trast with the delight of his compeer in Hantaue, over a day bringing heavy rain. Mr. G. D. Jamieson, who lately left Ceylon, on being asked about crop prospects in the district he had bid farewell to forever, said there was a good deal of blossom, more particularly on pruned coffee in Bogawantalawa and Dikoya, so far indicating the advantage of early pruning. But on the other side of the country we have a case where early pruning has destroyed the chance of crop. On Eangala properties, among the best cultivated in the country, after very satisfactory crops, the work was pushed on of clearing up and* pruning in the full hope of another fair return from trees which, well-manured, had not suffered from carrying a good many cwts. per acre. But trees pruued early in January have since had nearly three mouths of growing weather, the rain moreover de- .s eloping a fierce attack of leaf-disease, so that pos- itively the only crop worth speaking of to be gathered during 1882-3. from the properties in question, will be from the fields unpruned in January and so far neglected ! Places always manured in the Knuckles and Kelebokka districts are giving no crop this sea- son. How this may operate was well illustrated by the statement of Mr, Wm, Mackenzie in a previous season when rain fell freely throughout the blossom- ing season. At the beginning of the year in question, we remember his saying that the only district he con- sidered to be quite ready for blossom was Dikoya ; but the trees which in January had ' wood' ready to burst into spike and ffower, with some weeks of wet growing weather, lost their chance, and by the 1st March, the Dimbula coffee, which was bare two months earlier, had got ready, and so when the dry weather did come, the chance of Dikoya as a district was at an end ! ?.o much for the influence of the weather. But at the same time there can be little doubt thrit in the pre-fuugu.s days the coffee tree in good heart and well-clothed with vegetation did develnpe blossom, resist sudden changes of weather, and mature crop in a way not often experienced at the present time. Nevertheless can it be truly said that our planters are worse off' than agriculturists iu other parts of July ^■] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. the world ? We have had the troubles of British farmers brought prominenlly before us, and more recently there came a sad tale of distress from many parts of the Australian continent, the result of a terribly pro- longed droirght. Very noteworthy is it I hat there, as hero, the "silver lining" to the dark cloud is found -in the opportunity presented for cultivating "NEW PRODUCTS." The vignerons of France, the potato-cultivating Irish peasants, the wheat farmers of Australia, equally with the coffee planters of Ceylon, made the grand mistake of placing their sole depend- ence ou one product. Let us listen to the comfort offered to the wheat fiirmers in South Australia in the Adehiide Register : — [The extract which was to have been inserted here has unfortunately been mislaid by the writer: it reported, liow- ever, the great distress existing amongst the farmers of South .\usirQha, many of whom had been absolutely ruined by the proloii^^ed drought ; a farmers' relief fund liad been started at Adelaide ; and ihe Register dwelt on the need for encouraging Iruit culture to meet the ease of dry years. Many large gardens and orchards had been planted, and estaldishments for preserving fruit tor export were springing up about Adelaide.] Would tliat the "rush" into new products in Ceylon had commencud ten years earlier ; but surely, as it is, there is comfort for planters and capitalists in the indisputable facts already before the public. The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens must be con- sidered the very embodiment of caution and imparti- ality, and yet we are aware that the encouraging report he has made ou the prospects of several new economic plaTits — notably on cinchona, cocoa, Liberian coffee and rubbers — expresses less than he feels about the importance of these industries. We feel sure that the omission of any reference to tea was not due to any waut of interest in the extending cultivation of this most important product, nor to doubt of its suc- cess. Dr. Trimen, no doubt, considers our tea indus- try to have got beynd the experimental stage, while there was nothing about it calling for scientific criticism or remark. A glance at the export table is sutEcient to shew how rapidly the figures for cin- chona and tea are running up. Cardamoms also are making a decent display ; but the exports of cocoa are rather " lang o' comin," no doubt due Jto the steady extension of the cultivated area. [In connec- tion with our export trade generally, it is satisfactory to see that, though coconut oil has fallen off, coir yarn is being increasingly exported, as also plumbago, cinnamon bark and oil, citronella oil and some other minor products.] The want of capital will alone prevent a good many thousands of acres being planted with tea this season : there are large expanses of coffee land which have yielded very jjoor returns of berries of late years, which offer great facility (and encouragement) to the planting with tea. Nowhere in these districts have I heard of tea bushes failing : everywhere this product seems to be flourishing; luxuriantly. Surely the tea-plant ought to be ruitable to our moist liot climate. Leafage ratlier than blossom and fruit distinguishes our natural veget:;tion ; and if the old Indian tea planters in our midst are to be believed, nowhere in the opposite continent is so much encouragement offered to go into " tea" as in the Central Province of Ceylon. A great deal will be done in extending the area planted this year, now that good hybrid seed can be had for ten rupees per bushel ; but this not so much in new clearings from forest reserves as in planting up fields and perhapi estates for which coffee has been found to be unsuitable. It behoves capitalists interested in coffee property to consider the advantage of adding tea as well as cin- chona to the estate products. Few plantations are without patches, if not fields, which have never done and never will do much good in coffee and where it is equally useless to try the bark-tree, but for which tea seems well adapted. On badly grub- bed Coffee land, where cinchona cannot be got to grow, the tea-bush seems to luxuriate. We believe one of the most promising fields of tea in the country was, some years ago, the scene of abandoned, because completely grubbed-out, coffee. Cut alas ; for tea, as cinchona and many other experiments full of promise, money is wanted, and that commodity is scarce in proportion to our coffee crops. It ought not to be so in respect of tea, if there is a steady profit of from R70 to RSO per acre to be made under the circumstances we refer to, counting the crop at 400 lb. and upwards per acre and the cost as equal to 40c. per lb. of tea f. o. b. at Colombo. As regards cinchona cultivation in all its varied divisions and experiences, no one can say that, amidst many disappointments, there is not also much to en- courage. Failures of plr.nts and trees innumerable there have been, but nevertheless the value of the growing cinchonas at this moment must be very considera'de, and if a large proportion of the succirubras are suc- cessfully utilized for the valuable " Ledgers " through the " Mattakelle ' process, a very important addition to the wealth of the country must take place. As recent examples of success, encouraging enough to warrant still greater things from cinchona, the figures for the harvest gathering from an acre of red bark trees coppiced on an estate not a hundred miles distant, have been placed at our service : — 1,573 succirubra trees 6 to 7 years old, have given of Good quill bark 5,8li0 lb. Branch quill 1,055 „ Bottle-branch bark 2,269 „ Shavings ... 2,840 „ Root bark (of a few trees) ... 3G „ Total (as dried on the estate). ..12,000 W The pecuniary result is not yet made known, but probably this acre of land will give as much to the proprietor now as the rate paid and demanded for additional station accoratnodation on the extension line, while of course coppiced and shaven trees are readj to yield again in due season. In another case in Lower Dikoya, 2 acres of land useless for coffee, an eyesore, planted with cinchona which began to canker at three years old, gave bark of all kinds which yielded K700 in Colombo the other day. Still more satisfactory perhaps is it to hear of Mr. Martin's experience on Nanuoya, where the shav- ing of an acre of succirubra trees, five years old, has given 1,400 lb of produce which has beeu sold (? valued) for Rl,084. No doubt these are the exceptions. Mention could be made of dire THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. disappointment — large clearings laid bare by canker, or excess of moisture, or unsuitable soil, or, in some cases, from a cause mysterious enough to defy de- tection so far. Ninety per cent failui'es is a com- mon experience iu clearings, and the appearance of canker among the best trees after two, three, or four years is most discouraging. A West Haputale correspondent reports drainage as sufficient to check the dying-down of an officinalis clearing ; but that will not do in all cases. The alternation of belts of blue gums, or tea-bushet, is likely to do better, and there can be no doubt that, as lime rolls on, experience will render the cinchona industry far more satisfactory and stable than it is at present. In this connection it may be added that Mr. J. T. Eae's little peeling machine — the latest of several inven- tions— is described by those who have seen and used it as by far the cheapest (E25 to E30) and best yet made. At present, we believe Messrs. Walker & Greig of Dimbula and Dikoya cannot overtake the orders coming in for their Mr. Rae's invention. So it will be, we have no doubt, in respect of other products — in cultivation, harvesting and preparation, Ceylon men will be sure to improve steadily and to lead the rest of the tropical planting world. GUTTA PEECHA (GUTTA TABAN, &o.). fFrom the Encyclopedia Britminica, vol. xi.^ This name* is applied to the concreted or inspis- sated juice of various plants belonging to the natural order Sapotacece, growing in the Malay Peninsula. To what particular tree the name "gutta percha" properly belongs, there is no evidence to show ; but it has been generally given to Dichopsis Gutta (Bentley and Trimen) or Isonandra Gutta (Hooker), the vernacular name of which is " taban. "f The Dichopsis Gutta attains a height of 60 to 80 feet, with a diameter of 2 to 4 feet. The leaves are obovate-oblong and entire, pale green on the upper side, and covered beneath with short red^lish-brown shining down. The flowers are arranged iu clusters of 3 or 4 in the axils of the leaves. The fruit, about an inch long, is of an ovoid shape, and is eaten by the Malays. In SiAk (Sumatra) a vegetable butter is prepared from the seeds. The wood is soft, fibrous, spongy, of a pale clour, and marked with black lines, these being reservoirs of gutta percha.J The aulta, as it Hows from the tree, is of greyish hue, occ.isionally wiih somewhat roseate tinge, probably, arising from the colour vessels of the bark becoming ruptured through surcharge, and their contents mixing * Gutta, or as it is variously written gutsh, gatta, gittAh, gatta, is the Malayan term for gum, ?nd Percha (pronounced as in perch, not hard as perka), accent- uated variously as parcba, ^ertja, perchi'i, is tlie name of the tree ; hence the term m.ay be translated "gum of the perciia iree." The old name of Sumatra was Pulo or Pulau Percha, i.e., "island (Pulau) of the percha tree." + Tubar-, tiiban, tibin, is the name of the tree, and, aCL-drding to Logan, a new word has been added to the Malny language, viz., Met dbaii (Meu[l]:!ban), i.e., to collect gutta taban. The greater number of Mal.iy nouns admit of conversion into verbs hy a prelix. J For figures and botanical descriptions see Land. Journ. But.. 1848; De Virese, De Handel in G flak- Percha ; and Bmitley and Trimen's Medicinal Plants, P .rt 35, p. 16 (1878). with the gutta. This species does not furnish all the gutta percha of commerce; indeed there are other trees which yield larger quantities. In all there are about thirty varieties known; but some of the vernacular names in dift'erent districts may prove mere synonvms. The geographical distribution of the trees producing gutta percha is very restricted. Giitzlafif defines the limits as 6° N. and S. lat. and 100° to 1-0° E. long.; whilst Captain Lingird (who has great personal experience on the subject) gives the limits as 4° N. and 3° S. lat., still further restricting the finer varieties to .3° 50' N. and 1° S., with a temperature ranging between 6ti° and 90° Falir., and a very moist atmosphere. These limits are well within the isotherm of S0° Fahr. Many of the best varieties are found only on the hill slopes at a distance from the sea-coast, each variety forming a separate grove of from 200 to 500 trees, with high forest trees above them. They grow best in a rich light loam, with a rocky subsoil. The collection of gutta percha generally takes place directly alter the rainy season, as in the dry season the gutta does not flow so readily, while during the rains ague and jungle fever are most prevalent, and the gutta is liable to be washed away from the felled trees. The yield of a wellgrown Iree of the best variety is from 2 to 3 lb. of gutta percha, such a tree being about thirty years old, 30 to 40 I'ect high, and IJ to 3 feet in circumferenc A full- grown tree sometimes measures 100 to 140 feet to its first branches, with a girth of 20 feet at a distance of 14 feet from the base, and nay yield 50 to 601b. of gutta percha, which loses in six months about 35 per cent, of its weight in drying. The methods of extracting the gutta percha are much the same amongst the Malays, Cliinese, and Dyaks. The trees are cut down just above the buttresses, or hanees, as they are called ; and for this purpose a staging about 14 to 16 feet high is erected. The tools used in felling are either "billiongs" or "parangs." A billiong is kind of axe used by the Malays in felling, building, &c. The blade is of ohisei-like form and the tang is secured at right angles to a handle by means of a lashing of "ratan" or cane. The Chinese sometimes use an axe perfectly wedge-shaped. The parang looks more like a sword- bavonet, and in the hands of a Malay is a box of tools in itself, as with it he can cut up his food, fell a tree, build a house, or defend himself. When the tree is felled the branches are speedilj' lopped off, to prevent the ascent of the gutta to the leaves. Narrow strios of bark, about an inch broad and 6 inchci apart, are then removed, but not all round the tree, as its underpart iu its fall becomes buried in the soft earth, much sap being thus lost. Some natves beat the bark with mallets to accelerate the flow of milk or gutta. The milk flows slowly (changing colour the while) and rapidly concretes, and, according to its source, may vary from yellowish-white to reddish or even brownish in hue. The gutta as it flows is received into hollow bamboos, doubled up leaves, spa'hes of palms, pieces of bark, e icoa-nnt shells, or in holes scraped in the ground. If the quantity olitain>>d is small, it is prepared on the spot by rubbing it together in the h.ands into a block, in one end of which a hole is made to carry it hy. In this state it is known in the mar- ket as "rawgutla" or "gutta muntah." If water gets mixed with the juice, the gutta becouse stringy and is considered deteriirated, but after boiling appears quite as good. Sometimes the gutta is kept in a raw state for a month or two, and then under- goes the next step in the preparation, that is, boil- ing. The boiling is generally conducted in a "kwali" or pan of cast or hammered iron, of about 15 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep. The boiling is either simply with water, or with the addition of lime juice July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. or cocoa-nut oil. If oue pint of lime juice, be added to three gallons of gutta juice, the latter coiigulates immediately on ebullition. On arriving at the port of shipment the gutta before, exportation, generally undergoes examination and classification into parcels, according to quality. As received in the "godowus"or warehouses it presentes great diversities in condition, shape, size, and eolonr, — from crumbling, hardly coherent, whitish or greyish "raw" or " getah muntah" fragments, to reddish or brownish blocks as hard as wood. Sometimes it is made up into all manner of grotesque shapes of animals, and it is nearly always largely adulterated with sago-flocir, sawdust, chiy, stones, &c. The Chinese are great adepts in assorting and classifying gutta. and frequently prepare from different varieties a certain "standard sample" by cutting or chopping the material into thin slices and boihng with water in large shallow iron pans, keeping the contents con- stantly stirred with polfs, and adding good gutta percha and even cocoa-nut oil to give a better apiiear- ance. When sufficiently boiled the gutta is pressed into large moulds, and is then ready for shipment. This process of reboiling is wholly unnecessary, and in some cases is done only to get rid of stuff which has no right to be called "gutta percha." The amount and value of gutta percha imported into Great Britain in 1875 77 were as follows: — 1875. 1876. 1877. Cwts 19,686 21,558 26,359 Value £149,684 £163,441 £2.38,327 The price of gutta percha ranges from 4d. to 3s. per lb , according to quality and demand. History. — The early history of the use of gutta percha is somewhat obscure ; the Malays and Chinese are said to have long known and used it. One of tlie earliest notices of it in England occurs in a catalogue of the collection of the famous Tradescants.* Dr. Montgomerie, a surgeon in the East India Conqjanv's ser\'ice, was the first to direct attention to gutta percha as likely to prove of great utdity in the arts and manufactures. Having observed the substance in Singapore in 1822 in the form of whips, he com- menced experimenting with it. lu 1842, being again stationed at Singapore, he followed up the subject, and his recommendation of it to the medical board of Calcutta as useful for making of splints and other surgical appai-atus met with high approval. He also sent specimens, with relative information, to the Society of Alts of Loudon, which society warmly took up the suliject, and on Montgomerie's return to England in 1844 preseeted him with its gold medal. Some have claimed the honour of introducing gutta percha to the notice of the commercial world for I )r. (after- wards Sir) JosiS D'Almeida, who sent a specimen merely as a curiosity to the R0y.1l Asiatic Society in 184.5, but careful investigation clearly decides the question of priority in favour ot Montgomerie. The Society of Arts havin:; requested him to lay before them the result of his experiments, he delivered a lecture in * In the Mmeum T radescant ianum ; or, a Collection of liarilies iirtherved at south Lambeth, near London, by John Tradescant, . . . Loudon, mdclvi., the ■ foUmving entry occurs (p. 44) :— " VIII, Variety of Earities. — The plyalile mazer wood, being warmed, will work to any form." This museum became the nucleus of the Afhmolean Museum at Oxibrd. The word ''mazer," variously spelt, often occurs in early English poetry, and is sjjecially mentioned in old catalogues and wills. It is by no means impossible that mazer cups may have been inaf'e of guttapercha, as its lightness, strength, and non-liability to fi-ai^tme would recommend it ; and curiously enougii one of the vernacular names of the tree yielding gutta percha is "mazer wood tree." the autumn of 1844, and many patents were at once taken out, the chief being those of Mr. C. Hancock, Mr. Nickels, Mr. Keene, Messrs. Barlow and Forster, Mr. E. W. Siemens, and other. After this the sub- stance soon came into general use. * Properties. — Gutta percha, like many other milky juices, occurs in the lactiferous tissue of the plant, which exists in greatest abundance in the middle layer of the bark. See Bot.\ny, vol. iv. p. 87. Gutta percha is resolvable into two resins, albin and fliiavil. Like caoutchouc or india rubber, it is a hydrocarbon ; Soubeiran gives its composition as — carbon 87'80 and hydrogen 12 20. In commercial gutta percha we have this hydrocarbon or pure gutta, plus a soft rCbin, a resultant of oxidation of the hydi'ocarljon. M. Payen gives the following analysis of commercial gutta percha : — Pure gutta (milk-Hhite in colour and fusible), 75 to 82 per cent. Resins soluble in boiling alcohol ; — 1. Crystalbin or albin {C,,oHj„0„), white, and crystallizing out of the alcohol as it cools, 6 to 14 per cent. 2. Fluavil C^„H320), yellow, falling as an amor- phous powder on the cooling of the alcohol, 6 to 14 per cent. It is thus apparent that the change of pure gutta into a resin-like mass takes place naturally if means be not taken to stop it. Many a good parcel has been thus lost to commerce, and the only remedy seems to be thorough boiling as soon after collecting as possible. It must be remembered too that, in outtino- through the bark to arrive at the laticiferous vessels, many other vessels and cells become ruptured, con- taining tannic and gallic acids, &c., and the jjresence of these no doubt accelerates oxidation. In openin" bottles of the milky juice a turbidity and effervescence are often noticed, owing to the formation of a brownish liquid, the colour being probably due to the presence of gallic acid. In improperly prepared blocks of gutta also, these foreign substances induce the presence of a brown fermented and putrid liquid which decomposes the internal mass. Many of these .substances, being soluble in water, are removable by the process of boiling. Gutta percha as met with in commerce is of a reddish or yellowish hue, but when quite pure is of a greyish-white colour. In this state it is nearly as hard «s wood, only just receiving the impression of the nail, is of a porous structure, and when viewed under the microscope has tlie appearence of a series of variously hued prisms. Wheu moulded, rolled into sheets, or drawn into ropes, it assumes a fibrous character in the direction of its greate?t length, in which direction consequently it cau be stretched with- out rupture. If however, a strip of a sheet be cut oif across the fibre, it will be found that a redis- tribution of the tenacitv of the slip takes place ; i. k. the direction of the fibrou.s character is developed in an opposite direction. The ehctricsl properties of gutta peri;lui were first noticed by Faraday. If a piece be subjected to friction, an electric spark can be obtained. On its relative electric conductivity, see vol. viii p. 53. / t a temperature of 32° to 77° Fahr., gutta percha has .as much tenacity as thick leather, though inelastic and less flexible. In water at 110° Fahr. it becomes less hard ; towards 120° Fah. it becomes doughy, though still tough; and at from 145° to 150° it grows soft and pliable, allowing readily of being rolled and moulded. lo this state it has all the elasticity of * See Collins on "Gutta Percha" iu British Mannfacturing Industries (Stnnford & Co.), and the very interesting volume of A/x ijications of Patents in Caoutchouc, Outta Percha, &c., issued by thej Patent Office. THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. caoutchouc, but this it loses as it cools, graiiually becoming hard and ri^id again, and retaining any form impressed on it whilst in its jilaptic condition. It is highly inflammable, and burns with a brigbt flame, dropping a black residue like sealing wax. The specific graviiy of gutta percha has been varionsly stated at from 0-90285 to U-9ti923. It is insoluble in water, alcohol, dilute acids, and alkalies, but dissolves in warm oil of turpentine, bisulphide of carbon, coal tar oil, caontchiu or oil of c.ioutchin, and its own oil — for it yields by destructive distillation an oil similar to that yielded by caoutchouc under the same treatment. Ether and some of the essential oils render it pasty, and ii is softened b}' hot water, absorbing a email quantity of the water, which is slowly parted with in cooling. Maiiufacture and Appliciil'wns. — Gutta percha, as received in England, is in irregular clumps or blocks, and is frequently adulterated with massive stones, sawdust, bark, sago flour, and other foreign matters ; and the tir.-t step in its manufacture is to cleanse it thoroughly. The blocks are first sliced by means of a powerful circular wheel driven by machinery, and having fixed in it two or three strong chisel-like knives, by which it is divided into thin slices. These are placed in wooden troughs filled with water and heated by steam. As soon as the gutta percha he- comes solt it is taken out in baskets and placed in a toothed iron cylinder, called a "devilling" maeliiue, which tears it into fragments ; these fall into a trough of water, and ihe impnriiies sink to the buttoui, leaving the purified gutta floitiui< in the form of a spongy mass. This mass is then taken out by means of perforated slmvels, thoroughly washed in cool water, and dried iu baskets. It is then jjacked in jacketed iron chests heated by steam, and lefi till it becomes soft, when it is at once removed, and kneaded or masticated by means of a cast-iron cylinder, with a movable lid and an iuternal revolving toothed iron axis— the result being a homogeneous dough-like reddish-brown mass. Sometimes various substances are introduced into this machine, which is called a "masticator," to iucrease the hardness or density of the gutta, or to colour it -such as orange or red lead, chrome, vermilion, yellow ochre, sulphur, caou- tchouc, gypsum, or resiu, care being taken to use such substances only as are not affected by the heat necess- ary in the operation. The iucoriioration is conducted with great nicety, as, at the will of the operator, a soft and elastic or a hard and iiorny substance cm be produced. When sufficiently masticated, the gutta is placed whiht still hot between two steel cylinders, and thoroughly rolled. By means of an endless band of felt the gutta is returned again to the cylinders, the distance between which is gradually diminished so as to compress and completely drive out any contained air from the gutta percha. There are various machines for cutting, driving bands, &c., to a uniform width, and for rounding off' the edges and finishing. Soles for boots are made by cutting a long strip of the riHjuisite width, and then passing the strip under a hollow die. In making piping a machine is used consisting of a cylinder, with a diepiece attached of the requisite size. By means of a piston the gutta percha, which is introduced into the cylinder in a plastic condition, is driven through th" die-piece, and tlie piston gives the inner diameter of the piping. As the piping issu«s from the machine, it passes immediately into a trou'di of water, which "sets" it and prevents it from collapsing. The value of gutta percha piping is very great : it does no'j cnntammate water as lead pipinii does; it withstand'; insects, namp, &c., and is easily manipulated, being shortened, lengthened, or repaired without trouble or expense ; and its acoustic properties have led to its employment largely in the manufacture of aural, stethoscopioal, and other instruments. (Jutta percha sptaking-tubes are now to be seen in nearly every office. The substance too, from tho fact that few acids and alkalies affect it, especially if dilute, is largely employed for funnels, siphons, and other chemical apparatus. In telegraphy gutta percha is of the very highest importance, being a cheap, lasting, and powerful insulator, easily applied to telegraphic wires. The general method of coating telegriiphic wire is by chargi'g a cylinder with plastic gutta percha, and forcing it through a die-piece, the wire forming a ceuti-al core. As the wire is drawn through this "die" or "moulding" piece, it becomes coated to the requisite thickness, and, after passing through water, it is wound on drums ready to be coated with tarred rope, and with galvanized iron wire if required for submarine cables. The readiness with which gutta percha, whilst in its plastic condition, receives an impression, which it retains when cold, early led to its employment in the decorative and fine arts, since it reproduces tho finest lines, as in the taking of moulds from electro- types. See ELECTROMETALLUROy. In the production of imitations of oak and other ornamental woods, gutta percha has been largely used, since by the admixture of various substances "graining" or "in,arb!ing" cun be very naturally represented, and a coating of a solution of gutta percha gives a varnish of great brilliancy. SitbstUutes. — Many substances have been recommend- ed as substitutes for or as supplementary to, gutta percha. Among these Balata gum undoubtedly holds Ihe first place. It is obtained from the Mimusops Bnliita (Gartner), a tree found iu British and French Guiana, Jamaica, &c. Prof. Bleek rod seems to have been the first to direct attention to this substance, by bringing it before the notice of the Society of Arts in 1857. The Balata gum combines in some degree the elasticity of caoutchouc with the ductility of gutta perciia, freely softening and becoming plastic, and being easily moulded like gutta percha. What small parcels have been sent to England have met with a ready sale, and were remarkably pure and fri'C from adulteration. But unfortunately, through the difficulty of collection, the occupation being dan- gerous and unhealthy, the supply of this excellent article has fallt-n ofl'. It is procured by making incisions in the bark of the tree about 7 feet from the ground, a ring of clay being placed around to catch the milk as it exudes. A large tree is said to yield as much as 45 lb of "dry gum." Pititchontee, the produce ol Dkhopsis ettiptica, Collins (Bnssia etlipika, Dalzell), is a most interesting substance, and may yet prove an article of commeice if properly treated; at present, although by heat it becomes plastic and ductile, it is brittle and resin-like when cold. The tree is found very generally distributed iu Wynaad, Coorg, Travaucore, &c. Many of the euphorbias yield milky juices which have some at least of the properties of gutta percha. The chief amongst these are the cattimandoo (Euphorbia CaUimandoo, Elliot) and the Indian spurge tree (E. Tirucallis Linn ) of India, aud some euphorbias at the Cape of Good Hope. The alstonia or pala gum (Ahtonia scholaris, R. Br.) and the mudar gum (Galatropis-rj'Kjanlea, B. Br.), have also been recom- mended as substitutes for gutta percha. But the attempts made to utilize these substances have as yet been unsuccessful. future SuppUen. — A very important mitter for con- sideration is the question of tho future supplies of giitta percha. It is after all only a spontaneous natural product. If a Malay or Chinese wishes to plant pepper, gambier, &c., he burns down a portion of the forest, and, when he has raised two or three JUYL I, 1882.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. crops, he clears a new portiou, and tluia finely wooded spots become denuded of trees, and covered with rank grass rendering them unfit for further cultivation. Apain, to obtain the gutta pereha the trees are cut down and none are planted in their stead, so tluit in distriols where they were in nbund- ance one or two only are now preserved as curiosities. It is a wonder indeed that a single tree is left. A writer in the Haramak Gazette says 'that from 1S54 to 1875 over 90,000 piouls (of 133^ lb each) of gutta pereha was exported from Sarawak aloue, and this meant the death of at least 3,000,000 trees. In fact the only thing that preserves ihe tree at all is that It IS of no usH to cut one down till it is 25 to 30 years oM. Sooner or later recourse must be had to cultivation and conservation. (J. Co.) "T MANURING, WEEDING, &o. A correspondent writes : — The FicM of March 25th contains a lecture on " the production and loss of nitrates" by iMr. Warington that might interest many of your readers, the subject being one that more than probably is deserving of serious attention here, as at home, under many headings. Not least so as regards manuring, unre- mitted clean weeding, and the system so largely in vogue of close surface draining, to an orthodox (fepih of not under IS inches \ 1 mean to say nothing against either of the above, though, as regards the system of draining, I have often fancied coffee at least did not benefat by a too close adherence to the latter ; and that shallower drains, and as few of them as possible answered best. As for manuring ; nothing like it to secure good crops, and high returns, of course ! But stdl there are two ways of doing a thing ; and much hitherto unaccountable want of success under this heading may now become e.xplained. Systematic clean weeding is of course such an im- mense saving and convenience in many ways that counter arguments would need be grave to think even of foregoing it. Still it may have its dis;idvant- ages, and seriously impoverishing ones too ! The same paper also contains an interesting account of the sugar sorghum enterprise in the United States. Also, a letter from 'Mr. JVIorris, which, as I read it, IS nothing better than an attempt to recruit capital and investors at home, for Jamaica, at the expense of Ceylon, by a disparaging and unjustifiably in- correct comparison and statement as regards the labor supplies of the two countries. Have blue gum leaves or a decoci ion of same ; chloride of lime; margosa oil; carbolic powder; castor oil varnish or crab oil, only, it is said in the Field, procur- al3le in Demerara, received fair trial against white ants? X. I ^\' ^'~} <=^'^"o' iie'P fancying that rather coarse, broken, dry charcoal might supply a useful medium for applying strong preventatives that otherwise would be injurious to the plant. If, as I fancy in the case of ammonia, it has the property of absorbing, and sub- sequently releasing, but vnry slowly, any at all volatile substance, .t might do this so yraduaUy as to in noway harm tlie plant, thouuh to a sufficient extent to appeal to the good .«enseof the ants and induce then, to "ass on; whilst at the same time it would store a supply suffioi- ent to act as a reminder for an indefinite time. THE CLIMATE OF MYSORE. j^^7 the close of a very interesting article in the Madran Mail on sun spots and their coincidence with heavy or light rainfall and famine, the climate of Mysore IS thus noticed : — In Mysore there is no rain in the so-called cold wcither, and naturally there are no cold weather crops The average rainfall lor the five months from the 31st November to the 31st Aprd is only 3^ inches, and this figure, small as it is, represents only fitful tropical showers, which dry up at once under a burn- ing almoat vertical sun and the parcliing wiuds of that season, acting too on a jjlateau 2,000 and 3,000 feet above the ,^ea ; for it must be remembered that evaporation proceeds more rapidly in a rare Atmosphere. Under these conditions agriculture is as impossible as under the rigours, of a Canadian winter. For the space of five months the land has rest. The average raiulall for May is four inches, but this is derived from cyclonic falls and years when the monsoon sets 111, as It does sometimes, as much as a mouth earlier than usual. The ryot looks for thunder showers to plough his fields towards the end of May, but pract- ically the 1st of June marks the opening of the agricultural year in Mysore. The dry N. K. wind is replaced by the moist S. VV. wind, merciful clouds temper the sun, the thermometer drops ten degrees, and nature awakens from the sleep of die dry season. This is the seed time of the year, and any deficiency of rainfall in the scanty montlily four inciifs of that pen .d becomes serious at once. Of wet cultivation, tnere is not much carried on in Mysore under the disadvantages of the dry season. That under river- red channels is comparatively of insignilicant area ; that under tanks is very restricted, and depends on the nijiply of water in the timk, i. e., on the quantity rather than the quality of the last monsoon rainfall. A cultivator of wet land has his eye on his tank, as he puts his plough through the sludge. He will plough jnst as much as he thicks he has water for. The fitful showers of the dry season are a matter of indifference to him. These showers will put no water into his tank, and, when It 13 considered that the evaporation from sheets of water freely exposed is about two-thirds of au inch per diem m the dry weather, we arrive at the re- sult that the total average dry season rainfall would normally equal, area for area, the evaporation from a rice flat for four days. Practically, therefore, these hot weather showers are of no account to the cultiv- ator ; and, when the cry of famine in Mysore is raised in the middle of the hot weather, it will be admitted that the moment cho.sen is sinoularly ill- timed. We have s^en that there was last year a small dehciency iu the S. W. monsoon ; the N. E. was up to the average ; there were two period's of anxiety owing to two stoppages of the rain?, the first of practically a month's duration in July, the second of three weeks iu October, normally the wettest mouth of the year. But the year shows a total of 27.'; inches of otherwise fairly distributed rainfall, against tl^ie aver- age of 35 inches (35\S9 if the average of the last 11 years be taken), and iu the face of euch a ivcord, there does not seem much chance of a famine. The years 1871 and 1873 had raiufalls each of 29 inches, and no one cried famine, although the population of My- sore was then one- sixth greater than now. Men's mirds are still unhinged by the remembrance of the fearful calamities of 1876. The early showers are de^;ciel)t: there is a slight importation of ragi by rail, as is most natural con.suleriug the harvests in the turroundino districts of Madras were iietter thau those iu Mvsoie° and forthwith the cry of "wolf" is raided. The fact IS we know less about the periodicity of drou.'hts in Mysore, a country which has been known to Euro- peans for a century, than in the newly settled dis- tricts of inland Auetralia, where the droughts are of great severity, but are considerably mitigated by a knowledge of their periods of recurrence. THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. J COFFEE. W/e mali e no apology for once more calling the atteu- tioiV of our readers to the importance of ensuring that coffee supplied to the public shall be genuine, and we are pleased to find that this matter is attracting the attention of members of the House of Commons, and that Sir E. Lechinere on Mouday night, in putting a question as to the Treasury njinute of January 20th, and the encouragement held out thereby to professional adulteration of coffee, put the saddle on the right horse, and directed bis inquiry to the Eight Hon. Joseph Chamberlain. In the very able speech which the Pre- sident of the Board of Trade made in the late debate on Free Trade he stated that, whereas the consumption of articles of luxury, and notably tea and cocoa, had steadily increased, the consumption of coffee had under- gone a decrease. The right boa. gentlemau, with a surprising naivete, stated that he was unable to account for this— " possibly the public taste had changed." Now, one cannot possibly believe that the taste for •what passes for coffee has decreased. The preachings of the temperance party and the fact that "coffee pali.ces" have beeu established by thousands throughout the country point in another direction, and the success of private traders and public companies in palining oft' mixtures makes it very certain that the consumption of drinks wliicb are tlattei-ed l>y the name of coffee has undergone an enormous increase. If iNIr. Chamberlain wishes to know why the consumption of coffee has de- creasid, we must refer him to our anno'ation of March 25th, by which he will find that, out of thirty-seven samph-s of coffee bought in London during the mouth of February 1882, only two were genuine, and that not a few cont.iined as little as 10 per cent, of true coffee. It is idle to contend, as Mr. Chamberlain did in his answer to Sir E. Lechmere, that the recent Treasury minute does not tend to increase the practice of aduller- ation : for facts are strikingly agaiust him ; and if this obnoxious minute be not cancelled, Mr. Chamberlain must rest under the imputation of giving the assistance of the Board of Trade to unprincipled traders. Why should the importation of mixtures of coffee with chicorv, " and any other vegetable matter," be encouraged, and of what use is it to the public ? Surely those «ho prefer their coffee mixed can mix it for themselves. In these days of " bold advertisement" every tradesman ouglit to be compelled not only to sell mixtures as such, but to give on each paclcot an • xact statement of the nature of the mixture and its percentage com- position. When this is done there will, perhaps, be an end of the outrageous cheating which takes place in connexion not only with coffee, but with hundreds of " patent" foods bearing incomprehensible names. Coffee may bo looked uijon as a home product, being largely produced in the British Empire, and, although we do not ask for " protection" f.jr our countrymen from any legitimate competition, we think they have a right to demand that the Government shall at least ei.suro that those who import roasted vegetable refuse aud sell it as coffee shall at least be made to pay dearly for the privileges which the Board of Trade allows to them. Coffee uuroasted aud raw pays a duty of 2d. per lb. If imported mixtures were saddled with a duty of sixpence, the importation of chicory and other (valuable?) vegetable matters unmixed would not be hindered, the British public would be able to get these mixtures more cb.-aply tluiu at present (because the protit of the dishonest trader would be lessened), and a genniae and proper pi otectiou would be afforded to our "countrymen uho have invested th.ir capital in coffee plantations. Coffee is ii stimulant and possesses stimulating properties which chicory and roasted cab- bage stumps do not, and we feel sure that, until the working man is made to understand the stimulating value of coffee, and is enabled to feel that a jaded oervoua Bystem is more benefited by an infusion of the coffee berry than by a glass of gin, the temperance movement will take no firm hold of the population. Those who seek for stimulation from coffee should buy it raw aud roast it and grind it for themselves. — Lancet. NO REWARD FOR A REMEDY FOU DISEASE. LEAF- The following correspondence has been forwarded to U9 by the Secretary to the Planters' Association of Ceylon : — Colonial Secretary's Office, Colombo, 8th May 1882. Sir, — X am directed by the Governor to [transmit for the information of the Planters' Association the accom- pauying copy of a despatch and of its enclosure from the iSecretary of State for the Colonies. — I am, sir, your obedient servant, (Sigd.) J. A. Swettenham, For Colonial Secretary. The Secretary, Planters' Association, Kandy. Do\vuiug Street, 4th April 1882. Sir, — I caused your despatch No. 75 of the 15th Feb., suggesting that a reward should be offered for the dis- covery of a remedy for the coffee leaf-disease, to be referred to Sir J. Hooker, for an expression of his opin- ion, and I now have to enclose a copy of his reply. 3. I agree with Sir Joseph Hooker and with Dr. Tri- men that no advantage would result from the offer of such a reward, but that, on the contr.ary, it would en- courage false hopes, and might possibly lead to con- siderable inconvenience. I do not therefore feel able to sanction either the offer of a reward or the grant of pe- cuniary assistance to experiments in connection with the coffee disease.— I have &c., (Sigd.) Kimbeklet. Governor Sir J. E.Longden, K.O.M.G. Royal Gardens Kew, March, 22nd 1882. Sir, — I am directeil by Sir Joseph Hooker to acknow- ledge the receipt of your letter of March 21st requesting an opinion upon the proposal, supported by the Governor of Oeylon, that the Goverument of the colony should offer a reward for the discovery of a remedy for the coft'ee leaf- disease. In the first place it must be remarked that the very language in which the proposal is embocfied involves a fallacious conception of the point at issue. It is only by a loose analogy that the enemy which the coffee plant is suffering from in Ceylon can be called a disease at all. There is no evidence whatever that the coffee plant itself is constitutionally enfeebled or mihealthy. But it is now open to the attacks of the hemileia, a fungus or parasitic plant which more or less eats it up. What is meant therefore by "a remedy agamst coffee leaf disease" is really some method of either destroying the fungus or obviating its attacks. And the discovery of such a method has been the object aimed at in .aU action taken in the matter since the ravages of the hemileia began to inflict serious loss on the coffee planters. The first thing to do was to find out everything possible about the hemileia aned re- ward is unlikely to lead to results of any pu:.)lio utility, while it will certainly c u.se a groat deal of embarrass- ing and unneces-'ary labor. As to the proposal that the Government should give aid to persons wishing to make experiments, it is open to such obvious ohiections thatitis really unnecessary to state them. If the planting community agree amongst themselves that any experiments of a particular kind are desirable, the proper course would bo tli.it they should carry them out by mutual arrangement and co-oporation. I am &c., (Signed) W J. Thiselton Dveb, John Bramston Esq., Colonial Office. TEA IN INDIA AND CHINA: THE QUES, TION OF NATURAL HYBRIDIZING. Assam was between the years 1815 and 1824 oc- cupied by the Burmese, who committed the foulest atrocities to the almost depopulation of the country — indeed, the surviving natives stated that the Burmese, when finally driven out by the British, carried away with tliem the youth of the country, so that only the aged and feeble were left. To this cause the Assamese themselves attribute the sparseness of the population and the feeble character of the indi- viduals. Inveterate addiction to opium eating, in- duced no doubt by the prevalence of jungle fever, must, however, be at the root of much of the apathy of the Assamese. They are, in truth, almost as much savages as the predatory tribes around them : the Abors, the Garos, the Nagasand other tribes, who must either prove amenable to the influences of Christian civiliz- ation, or be improved off the face of the earth which they do little more than cumber. The British might have long bad the problem to solve, as to what was to be done with the densely forested, damp, rich- soiled valley of the Brahmaputra, but that about half a century ago attention began to be directed to an indigenous tea plant, which Dr. Wallich, from the large size of the leaves and blossoms, took for a new camellia. Of course, our readers are aware that the tea plant really is a camellia, but the camellias so famous for their flowers are not those that yield the leaves which, when infused, result in " the cup that cheers but not inebriates." Curiously enough, the first result of the discovery that a species of tea grew in the jungles of Assam was not to induce efforts to cultivate that particular plant, but to lead Government to send Mr. Fortune on a mission to China, to collect and bring seeds of what were be lieved to be the better species of teas, which it was hoped and believed could be cultivated where a tea grew naturally. Some writers on Indian tea, Col. Money amongst them, we believe, regard th9 introduction 6f the infeiior China teas as a mis- fortune, but all experience and the general voice is in favour of the view taken by Mr. Baildon in his re- cently published work on "The Tea Industry in India," that it was well the plants were thus brought into con- tact, the result being a hybrid far superior to either parent. But, while this hybrid was being developsd, the cultivation of the Chiuese kinds extended from Assam to the Kangra Valley, Kumaon and tbe Dehra 10 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. Dun in the Northern Himalayas, aud Darjiling iu the Eastern. In those [ilaoes China tea. flourished and still flouriahes, after a fashion superior to anything known iu China itself. But it is the vigorous, large- leaved, luxuriant aud yet hardy hybrid tea whicli has converted Assam from a useless tract of jungle into one of the most promising provuices of the ludinn Empire. There is much to be done, for Assam with five millions of population hiis only 9,145 si:|ua"e nnles cleared and cultivated. But of this area. 240 square miles (in acres 153,(157) are iu tea, spread over 1,055 plantations, or "gardens" as they call them in India. That fact accounts for the pi-ogress, the trade aud the prospect of future prosperity connected with what was once a country of large population, possessed of wealth and a knowledge of tlie arts, as numeroui monuments prove, but wliich had relnpsed into jungle and miasma. The country is being cleared and planted and penpled by immigrants from other parts of India, led by European captains of industry. The recent labour law is a concession to the importance and value of the tea enterprize, and ere long the whdom remote jungle will be joined to the rest of India, not only by river navigation but by means of the iron highway. The railway has, indeed, already made great advances. The enterprize which has, we maj' say, re-created Assam may be taken to have com- menced about the time that our oofiee industry really attracted the attention of European capitalists, about 1S3S. In the period between then aud now, the planters of Assam have covered over 153,000 acres with te.-i, while the coffee-planters of Ceylon opened up fully 100,000 acres in excess of that area. As a humid climate is specially suitable for tea, it is matter for regret that we, iu Ceylon, did not earlier recog- nize the fact that a large portion of our- island is specially qualiried, by climate eminently and in many places equally by soil to be a great producer of tea. We- have now made the discovery, and we must follow it out, tea in some cases superseding coffee on cultivated land. We have the accumulated experience «f our Indian neighbours to go upon, and the benefit of the hardy and yet luxuriant " hybrid " which their operations originated. The history of this hybrid, if hybrid it re.iliy be, throws curious 1 ght on the question of cinchona hybrids. Mr. Baildon's theory is that the tea plant is really indigenous lo India and that from India it was introduced to China and Japan about 1,200 years ago. The theoi-y is supported by a legend common to China and Japan, creditin'j' an Indian sage named Dharma with the introdiicHon of a plant which has proved so valuable to the millions of Mongolians. Tliere is a story about Dharna desiring to live without sleep, and tinditig tea just the beverage for his purpose, which has its counterpart in the story of the uofFee bu?h ; while the alleged origin of tea in the scattered eyelashes of the sagrt resembles the legend of the origin of maize, which Longfellow has embodied iu Hmwailia. The legendary lore seems to support Mr. Baildon's theory that there is only one spxies of tea, the Indian, and that the inferior growth and smaller leaves of the China tea are the result of the plant travelling far from home into an uncongenial climate and un- favourable conditions of soil and treatment. Mr. Fortune, therefore, merely took the fai--trave!led, long absent and terribly changed plant back to its par- ental home, where again it united with its parents and its kindred. If this theory can be sustained, then, of course there is no question of hybridity, only of two varieties which in the course of ages and by the influence of circumstances had become quite dis- tinct, coalescing and originating a third variety superi- or to either. Of the superiority tlieie can be no question. The indigenous Assam plant is, in its damp and sha.ly native jungles, a grand plant, and the threi or four estates in Assam where this kind alone is grown must be a splendid sight, judging from the patches of pure indigenous we have seen in Ceylon. Really good " hybrid " plants, however, are more certain to grow when planted out, and many ofihcm quite equal the indigenous in size aud lu.vnriauce. Removed from its m.tnral conditions of jungle shade and moisture, the pure indigenous Assam tea plant is delicate, feels the s>m and exposure, and is alto- gether behind the hybrid in hardiness. The China is hardy enough, and it has yielded good results in Darjiling and elsewhere, but it is rapidly being super- seded everywhere by the hybrid. This so-called hybrid is easily propagated by .seed, "alter his kind," al- though occasionally strange varieties appear. Now we have no similar history of the cinchona plant wandering away from its home and being absent for over twelve centuries ; but the area over which the plants are scattered on the Andean ranges is widespread enough to admit of room for changes many and great, due to conditions of soil aud climate. Originally the feebler O. officinalis may have been one with the more robust C. succhnbra, and what we call a hybrid may be but the reunion of varieties. The analo"v of seed coming true to type, however, fails largely : at least so it seems. In the case of T/ua hi/bru/ci we have a Thea rohusta, the larger proportion, often the whole, of ihe seeds of which come true to type. This is the kind of tea which is fully and firmly established in Ceylon, and on which we believe the futue pro- sperity of the colony, shaken by the failure of Arabian coffee, so largely depends. Mr. Baildon's argument for the Indian origin of the tea plant we have maiked for extract, and we have indicated his theory of the nature aud his estimate of the merils of the hybrid. We quote the concluding pamgraph of Air. Baildon's first chapter : — Thea Bohea Assamica went away from home, and all lowed botauLsts (who had not founil his pareuts) to give him the name of Cuinmsia ; but he has gone back now to the old couutry, and has .agreed to remain, upon the accept- ance of the equiti'ble proposition (resulting from these radical times), that as he and his near relatives are getting old it is useless to quarrel about the family name ; so they have made a new one, of a modern cast, for their progcuy, which writers on the subject designate iu English instead of afflicting it with its doubtful Latin title, aud call the hybrid. There is peace in the family at last, and the rising generation is looked upon hopefully. It is rather a naii-e idea of Baildon's that 'hybrid' is English and not Latin. It "imply happens to be adopted Greek. It just strike'' us ai singular, 'hat if an India'! sage, JuLr I, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. acquainted witli the virtues of tea, iutroduced the plant to Cliiaa, his own ooimtrj'men should not have adopted the use of tlie beverage. This is a real ditRoultj' in the way of the theory, but it is nol conclusive against it, for many nations have failed to recognize the merits of indigenous products, wliich when exported htive been prized and l.irgely used. The probability seems to bo that tea existed in its indigenous state along the range which connects Assam with the north of I'hina. Found on the plain? tho plant is always a cultivated one : never indiaenous. We recollect seeing in Cooper's travels a notice of arge tea ireen in the north of Cl)iua, which the people stated were five hundred yi-ars old ! With reference to what is stated about a lessened immigration to Assam, something must be laid to the account of the rapid and large introduction of roUinw, drying and other machinery calculated to super.-ede manual labour. With one-tenth the number of coolies, rolling and firing are now better and more quickly performed ; and what is true of India ou"ht to be and speedily will be true of Ceylon. Jackson's Tea ivoUer and Davidson's Sirocco Drier are to the tea planter what Walker's almost per- fect pulping nuaohinery was to the coffee planter. The dit'ti'rence is that coffee planfing was pretty old before it was helped by the best machinery. Tea planting has this aid at its very beginning. If only consumption goes on as experience leads us to hope, the success of the tea enterprize ought to be pro- portionately great. TRADE BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA : "GHEE" FROM AUSTRALIA TO INUIA. A writer in the Axian, in concluding some papers on the operations of the Indian Revenue and Agri- cultural 0'"parlment, remarks: — following up tlic knowledge which has befu derived from tlie recent Melbourne Exhibition of tlie require- ments iu, and present capabilities of, Australia, the U. and A. Department has lately, among other measures, been considering tlie feasibility of raising an import trade in dairy produce from that colony. The fact exists that wo send an appreciable quantity of various kinds of produce to Australia ; and our exports thithir have during the last three years largely increased, thus: — 'V^aluc of exports. In iSTO-SO R45,7(j,210 ,, leSO 81 R52,98,699 ,, 11 months of 1S81-82 ... R75,29,32i; But Australia sends us little or nothing, and the object is to secure a return trade from thence. At present that colony does not seem to be able to send us any produce that reriuires manual labour. Fruit and a few other articles have been tried, but without any vi ry encouraging results. Dairy produce is the only article which apparently has a chnnce of being successfully placed in the Indian markets. In considering the pro- ject I he now dep.artment has borne in mind the necessiiy in any endfavdur 10 proniiitK such a trade, of suggest- ing that the article be imported iu such a foi m aswill imet the tastes of the natives. The only form in wliic'i natives iu India u«e dairy produce is ghrr. Cnerefore the new depariment has set on foot measures for the promotion of a trade in g/iee. The necessary p.vrticulars were placed before tomo farmers lu Ausirali.H, and, having elicited a requeet for the services of ghee- luakers, "two cxptricnceil men in the industry were Bent from this couuti-y iu February last. InforrautiOn has now been received of their safe .arrival in Aii.itralia, and experiments in the making of i/Jiee in that e 'lony according to the Indian fashion have already coiu- mcuced. It is much to be desired that this important and interesting measure will prove successful. No de- lails seem to have been forgotten which can eusuie succfiss. Explanation has been sent of the pxact way iu which the article is packed and presented in the ludian markets, enquiries have been made of the rate of freight and the margin of prolit that would ensue, and reports havi^ been obtained from the difterent l^rnvincial Governments as to the prices ruling in tho various markets in Indin, and the probable quantity of .//we conenmed iu the country. The result of the euquiries under this last head shows that a quantity something Idee 14 to 1.5 millions of maunds of glfe is annually used ill India. Thi5 may be said to repr; sent a value of .3.5 crores of rupees. No detailed analysis is re- quired to establish the importance, in an economic sense, of the measure which the R. and A. Dopartment has taken. In a country like India wheie pasturage and fodder reserves have so greatly diminished as we have already mentioned, any action which will help the population at large to feed their cattle properly and to reduce the price of dairy produce so largely consumed a* milk and ghee, and so necessary in a hygienic point of view owing to their olcageuous pro- perties, must incoutestably prove a real blessing con- ferred on the people. — L. Ghee, as our readers are aware, is cow butter pre- pared after a peculiar manner, clarified so as to be readily available for curries, &c. ASSAM TEA CULTIVATION. The Assam administration report for the year IS'O-Sl cannot be said to possess much general interest : nevertheless there are points therein worthy of notice. Assam may be a small province, but it produces a very big report. It evidently must be getting -on ; for, whereas in the days when a simple commissione" was sufBcieut to govern it, its annual history could be told in the few manuscript pages of foolscap to which a revenue coiiiniissiuner's report extends, that history now requires a volume of 270 pages large octavo, with 138 pages of appendices, printed (and very well printed) mi, the Assam secret- ariat press, with a French ^rey binding and the royal arms stamped thereon all conip ete. The pro- vince, however, only comprises nine districts with a revenue of less than 82 lakhs of rupees, a cultivated .area of 0,14.5 square miles, a^d a population of under five millions. The Chief Commissi uier is also the proud master of no less than twenty feudatory states. These, however, are not of great importance; ftir iusiance the state of Maodon has a population of 305 persons and a revenue of R8-8. The great feature of the province, that upon which it mainly dependsfor its coining greatnei". is its tea industry. The area planted with tea ani'uinted in the year under report to 1.53 057 acres, and, notwithstand- ing a great depression in the industry during that year, none of the gardens were closed, nor was the outturn of tea diminished. The export of tea to B'-ngal in ISSO-81 was no less thaa 37,71", liOO pounds, the t tal number of gardens being l,0'i.'i. The de- pression referred to, however, markedli checked the appropriation of wa.ste land for tea cultivation ; for whena-iiii 1878, 69.000 acres of new land were taken up, and iu 1879, 43,000 acres, in 1380 the area of new grants wis only 10,000 acres. The importation of labourers for tea cultivation naturally fell in a similar proportion. In 1879 it was 44 per c>nt h-ss th.an 187^^, and iu ISSO, 36 per cent less t!n,n in IJS79, amounting in the latter year to only 16,000 sdnl.s. .Such a depression of the tea industry, if penijanent, would IZ THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. be a terrible calamity tor the province. The only chance for Assam is in the gratlual introduction of an en- tirely new population, for from the Assamese nothing in the way of progress is ever to be hopeil. "The total want of enterprize and energy which characterizes all the Assamese is a bar to anything like rapid pro- gress in their material condition. The Assanjese cult- ivator has all the materials before him for accumul- ating wealth and storing U|i against evil days, but he has no desire for more than sufficient to eat, sufficient opium, sufficient to clothe himself with aud sufficient to shelter himself from the heat or inclem- ency of the weather. Should a famine ever strike the land he will not, I fear, be found more ready to meet it than the poorest and most rack-rented peasant of Behar." The above extract is taken from the report of the Commissiouer of the Assam Valley, and it mildly describes a state of things which is really phenomenal. The Bengali is not generally regarded all over India as the incarnation of virile energy and overbearing physical power : such, however, is the light in which that abject being appears to the still more abject peasant of Assam. The Assamese speaks of a Bengali as a Bengali might speak of a Sikh or Afghan, and the Bengali when he ascends the Brahmapootra puts on all the airs assumed by a Pathan who conies down to Bengal. Two explanations have been offered for this effete condition to which the once comparatively alert and industrious population of Assam have fallen. One of these is the Burmese miesion of 1S15. Between that year and 1824 the Burmese ruled the country despotically, and were only driven out bj' us in the latter year, after perpetrating the most unheard of atrocities and nearly depopulaling the country. When they withdrew they carried with them, so the Assam- ese say, the whole of the youth of the province, and one explanation of the effeteuees of the present population is its descent from aged parents. This may or may not be the case, but the depopulation of the country had the effect, in a climate where luxuriance of nature requires constant repression by the labour of man, of permitting the entire valley to be overrun by the jungle in which it h now submerged. The result of this was seriously to impair (he health, stamina, and spirits of the population, already broken by the terrible calamities inH;cted on them by the Burmese. Add to this the ease with which opium was grown — it is almost a necessity in that climate* — and then it is easy to uudersiand ihe present moral condition of the Assamese. He has ceased to struggle against Kature. He is the victim of the climate, of the jungle, and the wild beasts, and he resigns himself to his faie. With such a productive soil a very small patch of cultivation would yield tbe rice and chillies which are all that he requires for food, and the opium which is necessary for his health and pleasure Why then attempt to cultivate more and thus enter on a strug- gle with the jungle growth which in a mght ,-prmgs up to smother his sprouting plants ; or the deer and hog.-^, and buffaloes and elephants, whicti swarm to consume them when in ear? The British now make him pay revenue, and will not let him cultivate the poppy, but sell him his beloved opium at a round price, so he lias in these days to exert tiimself a little more to hnd the money for both. However, it is no great sum that is required after all, and in other respi cts he is independent. He r quires no clothes ; only a little coconut oil to rub ou his body, and the coco- nut is plentiful. His house is made of the grass and bamboos which grow all around him, and he ' puts it up on bamlioo poles to get out of tlie way of the tigers and other beasts which prowl round the hamlet. Evideutly with a population having such * Until its use is superseded by i ciuthooa alkaloids.— Ed, plentiful supply of the few wants, so little ambition, and so little energy, it must always be the case, as the Commissioner of the Assam Valley reports, that "commou labour continues to be much what it always has been in this division, expensive and difficult to procure, and, when piocured, inefficient whenever the labourer is an Assamese." Any progress, then, which Assam m,iy make, must come from without. The population is not prolific ; it 19 very doubtful, indeed, whether the birth-rate much exceeds the death-rate. Of themselves it is most improbable that Ihe Assamese would ever again increase to the teemiug population the traces of which are to be found everywhere — in tanks and embanked roads, and forts aud village sites — hidden under the universal pall of grass jungle spread like a curse over the land. Certainly it was not a country to tempt immigration through its own attraction, so its prospects were really very hopeless until, not a qu.arter of a century ago,* a Mr. Bruce discovered the indigenous tea plant. Since then the tea indus- try has galvanized the province into life. Between the census of 1872 and that of 1881 there has been an increase of population of nearly 19 per cent. This, says the report, is in ihose districts which are "the chief tea-producing tracts, and the large increment to their population is mainly the result of the extension of this industry." But te.i, besides adding year by year largely to the poiiule.tion (as much as 50,000 to 60,000 souls per annum), and clearing the jungle aud draining the soil (thus improving the climate), has created a trade of nearly 5i crores, more than half of which is the tea itself, and the rest the result of the money which the industry has poured into the country. Tea has also created communication?. Twenty years ago Assam was completely cut off from the outer world. From the Eastern Bengal Railway terminus at Kooslitea, a steamer struggled up the Brahmapootra once a month, taking a month to perform the trip to Dibru- gurh. Now the railway reaches to Gouluudo, whence a daihj steamer sei-vice has been organized, and lateral communications with the river by means of tramways are in course of construction. Tea being thus to As.sam what coal aud iron are to Wales or cotton to Manchester, it would be natural to suppose that every effort would be made to foster that industry. Hitherto the case has been rather the reverse, but the administration now .ippears to have taken up the tea interest and the disabilities imposed thereon in the matter of import of coolies are being removed. Act I of 1882 is a tardy act of justice to the body of euterprizing Euglislinieu who have made Assam. It may well be understood how worthless the in- digenous Assam population is when we quote the t'hief Commissioner's remark tha' over 1,550 maunds ofopium were consumed in lS8t) in the five upper districts of the Assam Valley, the revenue from the drug being 17 lakhs of rupees. The Assamese will do a few days' labour in a tea garden to obtain the money necessary for this opium and for the Government revenue (whicu is extremely lightly assessed), and will then work no more than is necessary for his little crop of vegetables and rice. " Want of cheap labour," writes the Chief Commissioner, " is the great difficulty of administration in Assam." That difficulty has to be got over by importing a new population. Sucli a measure wbieh, for Government is impossible, as was seen in the failure of all attempts at aided emigration, is being carried out gradually by the operation of Ihe tea industry. — Pioneer. * It is more than half a centiiri/ since Mr. Bruce suc- ceeded in drawing attention to the As.sam tea plant, which had been noticed and reported on years previously by a Bengal civilian named gcott. — £p. July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 13 INDIA THE HOME OF THE TEA-PLANT. Doubts liave been expressed in the l;i.st few years as to the accuracy of the general belief that the teaplaut had its home in China. It must be admitted to bo rather late in the day now to advance theories as to the nativity of a pl.int wliose cultivation has been carried on for centuries. At the same time there will be nothing lost by looking iuto such records as txist, to see what information can be obtained on the subject. Theorists are always eminently convincing to them- selves ; so in the present afe, I know one individual who feels quite sure — no matter how general or ani lent be the belief to the contrary — ihat India is the natural home of tlie tea-pl.ant. Ball, in hie exhaustive and valuable work, the cuUlv- atioii awl manufacture of tea, sajs (p. 15), "It may be here proper to remark that on the authorities of certain Japanese authors, a doubt has been raised liy the Dr. Von Siebold, an intelligent l:otanitt some years resident in Japan, as to tlie tea-plant being indigenous in China. All are agreed tliat it is of exotic growth in Japan, and was intro:luced into that country from China in the sixth century, agreeably to K;empfer, or the ninth century, (which seems more probable) according to Von Siebold." The early history of the tea-plant is sur- rounded b^' the cloudy legends and mythological jarratives of the imaginative Chinese. One writer says: — " The origin of the use of tea, as collected from the works of the Chinese, is traced to the fabulous period of their history. The earliest authentic ;ic- count of tea, if anything so obscure and vague can be considered authentic, is contained in ti:e She King, one of the classical works of high antiquity and veneration amongst the Chinese, and compiled by their renowned philosopher and moralist, Confucius. In this treatise, (Kiien Fang Pu), in the article "The Ancient History of Tea," an absurd story is related of the discovery of this tree in the Tsin dynasty. In the reign of Tuen Ty, in the dynasty of Tsin, an old woman was accustomed to pioceed every morning at daybreak to the market-place, carrying a small cup of tea in the palm of her hand. The people bought.it eagerly ; and yet from the break of day to the close of evening, the cup was never exhausted. The money received, she distributed to the orphan and the needy beggar frequenting the highways. The people seized and confined her in prison. At night she flew through the prison windauL.with her bttle vase in her hand." Another (legendary) veraiou of the origin of the tea-plant, is, that in or about the year of grace 510, an Indian iiriuce and religioui devotee named Dliarma, third son of King Kosjusva, imposed upon himself, in his wanderings, the rather inconvenieJit penance of doing without sleep. The little Chinese narrative says that the Indian gentleman (who must have differed vastly from his countrymen of the present day), got on very comfortably f^^r some years ; until all at once he gave up, and had forty winks on a mountain-side. Upon awakening, Dharma was so grieved to find that he could not move about for years without going to sleep, that he pulled out his eye-lashes and flung them on the ground Coming round that way later on, he found the offending lashes had grown into bushes, such as he had never before seen; and his long ignorance of sleep not having taken all the curiosity out of him, he nibbled the leaves, and found them possessed of an eye-opening tendency. He related the discovery to his friends and neighbours, and the tea-plant was forthwith taken in hand. _ This, the most generally accepted indication of the first notice of tea in China — vague and legendary, I admit, but nothing more accurate is obtainable— uses the name of Dharma as the promoter or creator of the tea-plant. The actua". records speak positively of such a man, saying he was a native of India, prob- ably a Fakir, and that he crossed to Japan. Kaempf. er states, upon the authority of Japanese chronicles, tliat tea was introduced into that country by a prince of the name of Dharma. It will be advancing no theory to say that many mythological legends are based upon actual occurrences. In this year of enlightenment, 1881, we do not, of course, believe tluat a man named Dliarma— especially an Indian — lived for years without sleeping, any mot-e than we do that the tea-plant came out of his head : but it is possible, and even very probable, that the plant was brought to the notice of the Chinese by Dliarma, just as it was to that of the Japanese by the .same person. And when the ancient history of China is studied, one is quite prepared to find that a matter of past discovery or introduction has been enshrouded in a fanciful record verging upon, if not actually clothed in, the alleg-irical, while at the same time indicating the actual. Yet, do what we will, we are, of conr.se, guided by conjecture ; by re.ison of which, at this late date, it is difficult either to prove or deny the existence of the tea-plant in China anterior to, or through the agency of Dlwrma. Briefly, the matter stands thus. The most feasible of the Chinese %(»(/.s- on the subject makes the existence of the iea-plant in Cliina to have originated with Dharma, who came from India in a.d 510. The Chinese chronicles tell of such a visitor during the reign of Vtl Ty, a.d. 54.>, stating that he came from India and crossed to Japan. The Japanese chronicles record the visit and s.iy Dharma introduced the tea-plant to that country. The Chinese and Japanese versions of the first phases of tea in their respective countries are thus attributed to a native of India. If we enter into the conjectural domain cf "peihaps," there will scarcely be a limit to surpassing whatever we may advance. I will therefore venture only one "perhaps," and I feel quite sorry to do even that, having no doubt that Dharma was a very respectable individual, when doing the tea-plant business in China, at the time that Eng- land was divided into several kingdoms. iVly one "perhaps" is this; and I think all who un- derstand the Indian character at the present time will ad- mit that it is not afar-fetched one. Perhape Dharma finding he was introducing to the Chinese an unknown plant, possessing peculiar properties, accounted for its e.xisteuce in true Oriental fashion iu a way not lowering to his own importance in the eyes of a superstitious people. Mr. Ball says (p. 17):— "Recent discoveries in Assam also seem to justify the assumption, if nothing to the contrary be known, that it (tea) has spontaneously extended its growth along a continuous and almost uninterrupted mountainous range, but of moderate altitude, nearly from the great river the Yang-tse- Kiang, to the countries flunking the south-western frontier of China, where this range falls in with, or agreeably with the opinion of a well-informed and fcientitie author, Dr. Koyle, forms a continuation of the Himalayan range. But in those countries, as in every part of thina, if found in the plains or in the vicinity of habitations and cultivated grounds, it may be fairly assumed that it was brought and propagated there by the agency and industry of man. There is neither a record, nor anything approach- ing a reasonable legend, to prove that tea was dis- covered in a wild state in China before Dharma brought it to notice. The earliest mention tells of people using it, and it may be inferred therefrom that they cultivated it. Precise and accurate inform- ation is obtainable as to the actual discovery of tea in Assam, away from habitations, and iu dense jungles, far from " cultivated grounds." But similar 14 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [JULV I, i88z. inl'ormation is not obtainable in connexion with the first days of tea amongst the Chinese. We may reasonably suppose that tlie place in which nalure plants an.Tlhing is better suited to its growth than a chance one of man's selection, and also that nature does not plant a shrub in a place of medium suitability, and Itave it " spontaneously to extend its growth" into a more fittinj; spot many hundreds of miles dis- tant. And as to the suitability of India for tea, there can be no question; for even what is known as the Chinese plant gives a better retui-n in India than in its reputed native land. We may either dis- pense with the agency of iJhanna altogetlier, as having introduced the plant to China from India, or just reverse Mr. Ball's theory, and suppose that instead of the plant being indigenous to China and extend- ing its growth along the countries mentioned into India, that it was indigenous to India, and extended its growth to tlhina, deJj:riortitmg as it did so. — S, Baildon's "Tea Industry of India." WATTLE CULTUKE. It is quite true that in some cases "What is one man's meat is anotlier's poison," and we havi> an agri- cultural case in point in the nia'ter of wattle. We re-print an article from an Australian paper, The Oveii.'i and. Murray Advertiser, under the above head- ing. From a perusal of this, it will be seen how differently tlie wattle is thought of in Australia to what it is in India. Here we look upon it as a poison to the ground, as it certainly is. Gra^s will not grow eide by side with wattle; the latter soon exterminates the former, and search is made in vain for fodder for cattle in between the growth of wattle. It is obnoxious and of no use. In Australia, on the con- trary, the bark is made useful and, as we read be- low, wattle "will not interfere to any appreciable ex- tent with grazing." The above is from the Soutli of India Observer, and the extract which follows shows that the wattle cm be cultivated in Australia on thp most arid soil. The reason why the plant becames a nuisance in India and Ceylon is becmise our moist climate encouriiges a too dense and luxuriant growth from tlie roots. Trials should be made on pataua soil. The bark would be useful for tanning and the timber for fuel on tea estates, &c. BISHOP MOORHOUSE (OF MELBOURNE) ON IREIGATION. Kerang, ISth March. — Bishop Moorhonee delivered a lecture on irrigation tonight at the Mechanics' In- stitute. There was a very hirge atteudai.ce. The BisLiop said that about three years ago he ventured upon a propiiecy. He predicted that, if the then ex- isting state' of things as regarded water supply con- tinued much longer, there would be a water famine. He found his prediction verified, when he crossed the plains a few days ago, and saw nothing but despair on every hand — no water, no verdure, and everything parched and withered, and sufifermg on every hand by both man and beast. We possessed a fertile land, the finest of all the Australian colonics, perhaps, excepting JNew Zealand and Tasmania. He loved Victoria and wanted to see her wealth increa.«e, but the people and their legislators must exhibit courage, promptitude and energy in dealing with national questions. Wealth depended on productive- ness, not on the mere spending of money. The man that spent his money in gratifjing vicious habits did not produce. His expenditure of money was only •waate, and unproductive. Ten thousand a year spent in this way did not add to the wealth of the colony. Who were producers, and what was produce? The gold obtained from the mines was produced, but it cost £4l 1.5s to gain £5. Therefore that labour was not very productive. Beef and mut- ton were our most profitable productions. A pro- tective policy was said to be necessary for fostering local manufactures and providing employment for the young people. But it appeared that the articles so produced could not be sold at remunerative prices. It appeared that only in this colony they could be disposed of with a profit. The farmer and squatter were the only real producers. They were the most valu- able portion of the population, the backbone of the colony, and the basis of its permanent prosperity. How were they to succeed ? Only by permanent cultiv- ation of ihK soil. This meant irrigation and putting something into the ground for what vas taken out. Irrigation and manuring were the basi ioi permanent cultivation. Public opinion could not alter the laws of nature. He had looked over the beautiful and fertile pliiins of Lonibardy, in Europe, and there seen a land twenty miles square, which supported an im- mense population under a grand system of irrigation and cultivation. The farmer must grow plenty of corn, hay, lucerne and root crops for his house cattle, in order to raise manure, and he must divide his land into ten-acre blocks to successfully irrigate it. He had been told that it was impossible to irrigate the lands of South Australia and New South Wales. If that was so, then he said there could not lie any permanent cultivation in those colonies. An ex- perienced engineer bad assured him that portions of Victoria could be successfully irrigated for five miles on each side of the Goulburn river. He had entered into a calculation, .and found that, if a good sclieme of irrigation was started there, a population of 65,000 people could be maintained on the banks of the Goulburn idone. It was imperative upon the Government to undertake these costly national works. Let the farmers go to their parliamentary represent- atives and say: "You must give us water.' They should not give a vote to any man who would not work energetically to obtain this boon, no matter what his political creed may be. At the same time water-'ooring should be also carried on, and every selector ought to deepen his dams and tanks, and endeavour to help himself. Those who lived on the banks of rivers had a tine opportunity of raising water by windmills. He was informed that a farm on the Ciimpaspe, originally let at £i an acre, had an engine and pump erected on it f'jr irrigation purposes, and was now let at £40 an acre. 'J he Government was bflilding railways, expecting to have men and produce to carry ; but, if they did not also provide a good com- prehensive water supply they were only wasting public money in building these railways. He advised the selectors not to give the people of Melbourne any rest until a compi-ehensive water supply, sch'me for the country districts was taken up, and when this work was accomplished there would be no finer country in the world than Victoria. — Melbourne Age, INDIA-RUBBER. . Under this head a great deal of space is devoted in the latest Kew Gardens' Report, to the several plants which yield the different rubbers of commerce. (.)u the subject of the Central American rubber plant, Cadilloa, in Ceylon, Dr. Trimen is quoted as follows : — "Two plants have been sent to Calcutta, Those in Burmah are reported to be flourishing. Much better success now attends the prop.igation, by cuttings, of this fine species. Our largest trees at Heneralgoda have now a circumference of nearly 17 inches or a yard from the ground, and the trees are beginning to take their true form." Ceara Rubber (Maniluot Olaziovii), Ceylou. — Dr. JtJLY i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 15 Trimen says this is still the only species which has flowered. "Seed has been supplied, during the jear, to the Coverniiipnt gardens iu India (Calcutta, Saharun- pore, Ootacaniund), and distributed as witlely as possible among tlie planters in the colony, 24,550 seeds having been thus dispoeed of, as widl .is 1,879 rooted cuttingf*. We have also sent small quantities to the Biitanic Gardens of Singapore, Mauritius, .Jamaica, British Guiana, and Kew, the Acolimutisation .Society of Qut-euslanil, and iMr. Lowe, Her Brittauio Majesty's Resident in Perak." Dr. Trimen adds: — "This pUnt is now flourishing in Ceylon in suitable places, and proves very hardy ; in the new estates in the Trincomdee di.stric' it is reported to be thriving, but to have .shown itself intolerant of wet. In the Nil!-t ; and Major Seaton reports from British Burma that there are 500 and upwards set out, and well established in the Mergui plantation." Jamaica, — Mr. Morris reports: — "This plant is evidently of a very hardv character, and adapts itself readily to thp exigencies of culture. Plants ntCastleton (600 feet) and at tlie Parade Garilen, Kingston (50 feet) are doing well. At the former gardens, young trees, when about 9 to 12 feet high, were beginning to flower, but the hurricane deprived us of the hope of procuring seed this year. Judging by reports from South America, it is possible that tracts ol' dry, stony — almost worthless — lands, in the plains, may be turned to good account by means of this cultivation." Parn Rtibhfr ( hevea brasilieihtls). — On the cultivation of this rubber plant in Ceylon, Dr. Trimen reports that " it will be probably found to be satisfactory only in rich land, not much above sea-level, where the temper:iture is high and equable, and the rainfall large. At Peradeniya, the trees are making but slight progress, and suffer from wind, especially in the dry north-east monsoon. At Heneratgoda, their progress is all that could be wished. Our largest trees are now, at three feet from the ground, IG inches in circumference. During the year, 062 cuttings were raised and distributed. Ifevea has proved completely unsuited to the climate of Calcutta, but is doing well iu Burma and Perak. In the latter place, a tree has flowered sparingly, at 2^ years old, and 35 feet high." African Rubbent ( Landotphia spp.). — On this point it is stated that all the present commercial sources of African caoutchouc belong to the above genus, which is a group of woody climbers, all of which probably jield caoutchouc peculiar to tropical Afiica and the adjacent islands. African caoutchouc comes inio commerce, both from the west and the east coasts, and only one of the rubber vines is common to both. Three species of Landolphia are described as pro- ducing c.iontchouc on the West Coa»t of Africa. Tiie form in which West African rubber comes into coaimerco is somewhat peculiar : it is accounted for by the method of collection, which has been described as follows ; — Every piirt exudes a milky juice when cut or wounded, but this will not run into a vessel placed to catch it, as it dries so quickly, and forms a ridge on the wound, and stops its flow. The blacks collect It by making long outs in the bark with a knife, and as the milky juice gushes out, it is wiped oft continually by the lingers, and .-imeared on their arms, shoulders and breasts, till a thick covering is formed. This is peeled off their bodies and cut into small squares, which are then said to be boiled in water. The three species referred 10 above are Lan- dolipha owariemis, L. Monnii, and L. jlorida. From the E.ist Coast of Africa four speeies are referred to as furnisliing rubber of commerce, namely. L. flar. via (before referred to on the west), L. ' Kiriii, L- Petersiana, new and undescribed species, and a species though distinct, not yet sufficiently known to admit of scientific description. The following extract from a report to the Foreign Office by Mr. Holmwood, the Vice-Consul at Zanzibar, is de-onptive of the mode of colleot'ug. the rubber :—" The process consisted in cutting clean slices of bark from theirunk and branch- es, from three 10 ten inches in length, and from i to J inch iu bresulth. The cuttings were made some- times fnun one side only, but generally they were rscoed all over the tree, about lialf of its bark being thus removed. The method of making the halls of rubber — which average two inches in diameter— is as follows :— A quantity of milk is dabb'd upon the forearm, and being peeled off, forms a nucleus This is applied to one after another of the fresh cuts, and being turned with a rolary motion the exuding milk is wound off like eilk from a cocoon. The affinity of ihis liquid for the coagulated lubber is so great, that not only is every particle cleanly removed from the cuttings, but also a large quantity of semi-coagulat- ed milk is drawn awaj from beneath the nnctit bark, and during the process a break in the thread rarely occurs. By working hard, one person can collect 5 lb of rubber, per diem, though the average is one half thisamount. I was assured, however, that in the interior, where the trees weie large, it is no uncommon thing for one man to collect 7, or even 9 lb. in a day. The regular season for the collection of india-rubber lasts from about the middle of May till the first week in December. This "has little connexion, however, with the state of the tree, but is owing to the natives being generally engaged during, and for some time after, the rainy s.ason in cultivat- ing their lands." He further reports, that, in the districts of Mungao and Kilwa alone, india-rubber " iias created anew trade, which finds profitable em- ployment for all those classes whose means of sub- sistence came to an end with the suppression of the illegal slave trade. The total exports from thees places now (ISSO) exceeds 1,000 tons annually. Since last season the price has ri.sen from £140 to £150 per ton, and there seems no reason to' suppose it will ever again fall to the former figure." With regard to the destruction of the rubber vines by the collect- ors, Vice-Consul Holm wood takes a somewhat gloomy view. He says it is " admitted that, while _three years ago the supply of india-rubber was alto- gether derived from the country within 50 miles of the coast, the great bulk was now procured from Mahenge and Ubena, countries distant 150 to 200 miles from Kilwa ; the supply from the more ad- jacent districts, having, moreover, greatly fallen off, anil, in some instances, entirely ceased" Consul O'Neill more recently remarks, in his report for 1880, on the trade of Mozambique; — " It is curious to note the marvellously rapid development of the india-rubber industry. In 1873, only £143 worth of india-rubber passed through the Custom-house of Mozambique; in 1876, it reached the value of £22,198, and in 1879, it exceeded £50,000. It would seem, now, to have reached its climax, while the present rude method of collecting this produce prevails, and until communic- ations with the interior are properly opened up, for the careless catting of the trees by the untaught hands of th ■ natives has resulted in the destruction of enormous tracts of india-rubber forests near the coast." From specimens of rubber-yielding plants received at Kew from Sir John Kirk, it seems that one of the Zanziliar plants is a .soecies of Landotp/da hitherto unknown to science, and now proposed to be called Landolphia Kirhii, in honour of Sir John Kirk. With regard to the mode (,f culleoting the rubber from Landolphia Petersiana, Sir John^Kirk thus describes it in a report to the Foreiyu Olfioe : — " The mode of prepai ation of this india-rubber differs essentially from either of the other two kinds, the juice being here gathered in a fluid state, by i6 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. tapping, and coagulated by heat, or in some other way, similar to that, used in Madagascar or tlie Brazila. The product, however, s said to be of an inferior quality." Ou " the subject of Bornean caoutchouc, the Kew report says: — "The most authentic infoimatiou on the caoutchouc-yielding species of North-Wet.t Borneo is apparently that contributed by Mr. Treacher to the "Journul of the Straits Branch of the Koyal Asiatic Soci.-ty," for July, 1879 (p. 58). He I'uumerates no leas than eight, with tihe following names : — " 1. Manuugan pulau (i e., Manungan proper). " 2. Manungan biijok. " 3. Manungan manga (light coloured bark). " 4. Manungan manga (d,.rk coloured bark). " From the abi)ve is obtained the gutta Lchak or gutta susu of commerce. (Guttn in Malayan means gum ; lecha/c, elastic ; susu, milk). " 5, Serapit larut. " 6. Serapit pulau. " The produce of these is only used to increase the weight of the manungans, the milk not hardening sufhciently of iiself. " 7. Bertabu or Petabo pulau. " 8. Bertabu or petabo laut. " The profluce of these is no longer marketable. The different plants would appear to be accurattly distinguished by the native collectors ; anil, if the best of them are to be sought and brought into cultivation, their precise botanical identiKcation be- comes important. "No. i of the foregoing list is referred to as a new species of Wllintjhheia, the name proposed for it being Willughbe.ia Burblirjei. " No. 2 is Leucenolis euge.nifoliuf,. Nos. 3 and 4 are supposed to be species ol WUhiuhheia and W. Treaclteri is proposed for No. 5. " The remainder would at present seem to be un- determinable. All the above species belong to one natural order, namely, Apoci/nacni. Other caoutchouc yielding idants are referred to in the report, which are, however, of minor importance as compared with those just enumeraied. " Regarding the collection in Perak of Gittln sing- garip, the produce of WHIughheia Burbidgei, the follow- ing description is given : — 'The stem is geneniily ringed at intervals of 10 to 12 inches, .and the milkalloiied to run into vessels made of palm or other leaves, coconut shells, or anything available for the purpose ; it continues to dow for some time, but after flowing for some minutes, it gets very watery and thin. One flow will yield from Ave to ten catties of the coagulated ciioutchouc. When raw, it has the ap- pearance of sour milk, and, to coagulate it, the natives add salt, or salt water. When freshly coagula- ted, it is quite white, which gradually changes to a darker colour. It keeps white inside, and, on cut- tini', it presents a foveated appearance, the cells con- tainin" water and salt, which have become enclosed during coagulation. In texture it is soft, very spongy, and very wet." COFFEE CONCOCTIONS ; AND HOW TO MAKE THEM. A recent analysis of coffee affords strong grounds for the conclusion th;it such a thing as pure coffee exists only in the iiiiigination of "the pure to whom all things are pure." Out of thirty-seven specimens, three proved to be actually devoid of any coffee what- ever. Even that ".«old as a mixture of coffee and chicory" proced a downright sell, the chicory itself be)n^ adulterated. Dates and dandelions are compar- atively harmless, but there were besides, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beans, mangold-wurzel, acorns, bi-i- cuit-powder, burnt sugar, and general vegetable mat- ter ("What's the matter?" we should like to know?) As if these were not enough, there have been found also in coffee S'^enetian red, burnt rags, and rope- yarn, lentils, and ground lupine seeds, sawdust, horses' hearts (to think that adulterators should " have the heart to do this !"), and baked bullock's liver. We thus see that a great deal of the fine .Jamaica coffee is not "real jam" ^it ail, and that the best Mocha is a mere Mocha-ry. As to the victims of such frauds, we might ask them, in music-hall langu- age : "How do you like our coffee? what do you give a pound ? How do you like baked horse's heart and lentils finel^v ground ? How do you like Venetian red, rope, sawdust, rags, and such ? How flid you get that poison down, and did it hurt you much ?" —Funny Folks, April 15th. AGRICULTURE IN AMERICA. For some years past the attention of the Depart- ment of Agriculture in the United States of America has been directed towards supplementing the amount of suyar produced in the country, and that almost entirely from the ordinary sugar-cane (saccharum fifficinarum), by encouraging the extraction of sugar from sorgliinn. America consumes an enormous quant- ity of sugar, the annual consumption being estimated :it 40 lb. per head, or for the whole ijopulation two thousand million pound-^. As the production in the States hardly exceeds two hundred million pounds, it is evident that nine-tenths of the sugar u.sed must be im]iorted. Sorghum is a variety of maiz^ says the Field to wlicli we are indebted for some inform- ation on a subject which has not escaped the notice of our local Department of Agriculture. In America they profess to have thirty-two varieties, of which the favourite is the e.irly amber. This only occupies the ground ninety days and also contains the largest proportion of saccharine matter, to the acre, of the quicker-growing varieties. The Honduras sorghum which gives the heaviest yield of cane, occupies the ground longer, and the syrup obtained from it is in- ferior. It is estimated that from 60 to 65 per cent of juice should he given by the stripped cane, and that, if the cane be cut at the proper time i.e., when the setd is thoroughly matured, from 12 to 16 per cent of the juice should he sugar, that is to say 100 lb. of stripped cane should yield ^\ lb. of sug'ir. The great merit of the sorghum, as compared with sugar- cane lies in the short time that it occupies the ground, only ninety days instead of the whole year. The experiments made by the N.-W.-P. Department of Agri- culture appenie to have failed in obtaining proper gr.inulation of sugar from the syrup. Much of the success in this direction depends on the cane being cut exactly at a favourable period of its growth, and in this the -lorghum affords a better guide than ordinary .sugar-cane : the hardening of the seeds being a sure test of the maturity of the cane. The seed too affords a useful food for cattle, though it would be best given in a crushed form. Moreover the sorghum yields its own seed, wheie;is in the case of cane a large propor- tniu has to be set asirle for seed canes for the following year. The manufacture of sugar from .soriyA^i/ii requires no expensive machinery. It is ditiicnlt to compare the profits obtained under the system of agriculture in America with those o'ltainable in India, but a low estimate would appeai to give in America an outturn of 200 gallons syrup to the acre, worth 100 dollars, the cost of cultivation being only 6J dollars per acre. The e.'tperiment of growing .-iorghum for sugar is well worth trying by agricultural experts and others desirous of July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. »r improving the agriculture of India. There is risk, as in all experiments, of failure at first, but only in the more technical details of converting syrup into sugar. These unquestionably can be overcome, and the many points in which sorghum can be more profitably and more easily grown than cane recommend it at least for a thorough and exhaustive trial. — Pioneer. ISorrjhuvi is most valuable as a specially nutritions food for cattle, but, when the Americans have succeeded in obtaining a profitable return of crystallized sugar from the stalks, it will be time enough to try any of the sorghmus as substitutes for the true sugar-cane, which yields twice the amount of saccharine matter, weight for weight. — Ed.] POETT AND MACKINNON'S COFFEE PLANT- ATION. A MAGNIFICENT ESTATE— AN EXTRAORDINARY SPRINO — CINCHONA PIANTING— CHEAP LABOUR WITH A VENGE- ANCE—THE OLD CRY, " CONCESSIONS." Such are the headings to the following report by the special correspondent of the S. A. Register on the land in the Northern Territory thus described : — " There was a thunderstorm with a heavy fall of rain in the afternoon, but we pushed through it to the Kum Jungle, about midway branching otf to the west to see Poett, Maokinnon & Co.'s coffee plantation. They have altogetlier 3,500 acres, and from the time we entered its western boundary till we left its northern we were riding through a grandly fertile plain of redand-chocolate soil, generally only damp, despite a rainfall, and not boggy. There was but one exception to this rule. That bog resembled an agglomeration of wet blacking, and our horses sunk in it as though it had been a quicksand. In every part the land is covered with long grass ; it has thick patches of jungle ; and altogether has more of a tropical appearance about it than any other piece of scenery we have passed here yet. " At tlie clearing, which has been made at a most picturesque spot, we met Mr. Mackinnon, who has had a good the holding of the Sydney nnd Melbourne Exhibitions. For several years before the Exhibitions were held tlie little trade tiii-re was between the two countries was on the decline. The number of vessels that reached Indi'i from Australia iu 1S77 was 149 ; in 1879 the numb'T had dwindled to 111. Since that year, however, the tendency has apparently bren in the other direction. In 1880 the Indian exports to these C'doiues were v.alued at 4.5 million rupees, while in ISSl their value was 52 millions, and during tlie last nine months of the official year the pstimated value was 71 millions. It of cour.se remains to be seen to what extent this increase Ih attributable to the temp- orary excitement caused by the Exhibitions, • but it will be the f.ault of the colonics if tb- new commercial relationships to which these events gave rise are not fostere I and made permanent. It need hardly be said that the chief Indian ex- port to thesf colonics is tea. , Of this article the exports for 187SI-S0 were valued at 64,000 rupees, while for 1880-Sl it was 51.5,0U0, for the nine montlis ending December last year the value was .518.000. The next item of export is gunny l)!kgs, the value of which went up from So niillion rupees in 187980 '\> 56 millions foi the last uini' months of last year. Th^ value of the raw jute exports also went up fiom 71,000 rnpees iu 1879-80 .ind 94,000 in 1880-81 to 132,000 for the last nine months of last year. .5,491 rupees' worth of myrobaUiins wjs also exported during the last nine months of last year, whereas during the pr.'<- vious year tliere was uo such export at all. ihe other articles which seem to be making headway are shellac, castor oil. saltpetre, linseed, cordage, and rope of veget.-i'ole fibre. The exports of coffee and rice seem to been the decline. In 1879 80 those of the former w'ere valued at 264,000 rnpees, while for the first nine months of the current official year their value only amounted to 208,000. The value of the exports of coffee also fell from 84,000 rupees in ISSO- 81 to 12,000 for the (ir^t nine months of last year. It seems also that indigo to the value of 2,240 rupees was exported during 1880-81, while the statisucsfor the first nine months of last year mention no such export. From the figures referred to, it will be seen that the trade between India and Australia is an exceedingly fluctuatiuj; one, but its tendency, upon the whole, ii in an upward direction, and there is no reason w-hy this tendency should not be maintiiiucd. The chief difficulty, of course, in the way of aov ciaisidenible trade between the two countries lies i'l t je fact that these colonies do not produce a great deal tijat India wants. Our chief export is wool, and Inda imports very little of tliat article. It is as a manufacture, and not 6S the raw material, that India has been in the habit of importing wool, and «e find that the total value of the woollen manufactures imported into India during a recent year did not amount to more than almuc three-quarters of a million steiling. The principal import iiit" India is cotton. More than one-thini of the imports of the peninsula consists of articles of this description. It fcaa been stated, however, that an order has been received in Sydney for 50 bales of wool to be worked up into blankels and carpets ; and, thougli with a country, with a climate, and with manufactures like those of India, we may never exptct to do a large wool trade, we ni .y open up a trade which it will be our duty to cultivate.' If we are to take the figures of our "Statist), al Register," the total value of the trade between this colony and India for the ye,ar 1880 was about £20,000, £19,611 of this consisting of exports to India, anil only £653 of imports from that country. Of the ex- ports to the value of £19,611. more than £18,0!'0 worth went to Bombay. Hitherto, our contempoi'arv remarks, the dealings of India in the Australian market .are limited to a moderate dem.and for horse?, a little C'lppcr, and a small demand for fruit. We find, however, that during 1879-80 India took 76,000 tons of our coal. Nor in there any reason why not only our tin and copper, but our frozen meat and our wines, should not find a market in India. At present the most serious obstacle to the trade be- tween the two countries is the cost of freight. Be- fore much is done there will have to be cheaper and better communication. In a maritime review, publislied a short time ago, it was stated that more than 50.000 cwt. of copper was brought from Austra- lia to Inula via England. Such roundabout methods of communication as these are fatal to the growth of trade — li'jdjify Morning HeraW. HORSE-BREEDING IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA. TO THK EDITOR OF THE SYDSEV "ECHO." Sir, — In your issue of the 13th you republish from Vna South Aitslralian Adivrtisp.r a very pertinent and telling letter on the above subject. In an official re- so THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. port to the Indian Government, which waa sent up sometime ago, I made the same suggestion as is made by the correspondent under refer enoe. There cau be no doubt tViat there is yet a great future for tbese immeuge central plains and countless leagues of ap- parently " wind-swept desert " as breeding grounds for horses for the Indian market. In physical "charac- ter they somewhat resemble the Arabian plains, famed for producing some of the finest strains of horse-flesh ever knowu. In climate they do not differ viistly from the Persian sandy sleppes, which produce a hardy, se^'vicpable class of liorses. The arid wastes i^f parts of i^cinde, ('eulr:il India, the Punjaub, and Afghanistan are ni>ted for strains of Caboolee hoiaes and what are called couniry-lireds, which are noted for their good feet, strong frames, powers of eudurance, and capacity to keep in sjood condition on scanty fare. These central Australian plains would produce the very class of horse suitable for India, 'hey would have good bone, splendid feet and clean legs, and excellent wind. They would be inured to heat and accustomed to a dry herbage, and, most important point of all, they would be two weeks nearer India, with the certainty almost of a quick, quiet passage, and would be landed in the pink of condition and be at once ready for service. Under the present system, horses are usually sent up in sailing ships instead of in steamers specially constructed for a live stock traffic. Tbey are generally put aboard by means of slitigs, subjecting them to the danger of ruptures and hurts instead of being walked aboard on inclined or sloping stages. The length of the voyage brings them down in condition and makes the percentage of deaths or risks of perm.anent injury unduly large. In con- sequence, horses Landed in Madras or Calcutta have to be fed up and exercised and groomed often for weeks before finding a purchaser. Indeed, many are " cast" by the Government officers simply because it is a question whether they vrill live or die ; and the dealers having to keep the stock till they get into some sort of fair condition adds enormously to the price of the animal. As a rule, a horse in India (an imported horse I mean) gets, perhaps, more luxurious treatment than in any other part of the world, Arabia itself not excluded. He has, generally, a spacious ptall or loose box to himself. A (jrasscutter is told off to attend exclusively to his wants, and a syce or head groom looks after the grasscuts, and sees that tbey cut Bufficient fodder for the daily supply. It is a common sight near a cavalry cantonment to see long lines of these grasscutters come trudging along the roads in the forenoon, each with his neat pile or bundle of cooch grass on his head, from the roots of which all dust and grit have been carefully washed and beaten. Twice a day the " Waler. " or imported Australian horse geti a, ieeA. o( gra/m ''cicer arietinum), probably the finest horsefeed in the world. This is mixed with a few pinches of salt after being soaked in water, and the horse before his feed is generally led out for a "roll," as it is called, which is merely a few miles' walk- ing exercise. A buggy horse rarely is driven more than 8 to 10 miles on a stage ; a saddle horse very rarely is ridden more than 12 to 15. Every planter possesses quite a stud ; even an assistant generally keeps from three to five saddle horses, a polo pony, and often a buggy nag or two. For a stage the horses are sent on over night, each in charge of his grasBcutter ; and, as soon as his stage is fin- ished, he is handed over to the man in waiting, who carefully cools him down, covers him with a cloth, and leads him home. Races are frequent in the cold weather. Bookmakers are unknown, and the sport is in the hands of true sportsmen and true lovers of fair racing. A turf scandal is a very rare occurrence in India, althougb, of course, there are pccasionally black sheep to be met v'th there as else- where. J know of no country where horses are better treated, more carefully tended, more highly appreciatpd, or more valued. The demand is pract- ically inexhaustible ; and, were horee-breeding to be gone into on a large scale, on good commercial principles, in Central and North-western Australia, and suitable steamers be provided to ship the stock from the north-west corner of our continent, I feel sure it would prove a most remunerative undertak- ing. Horses could then be sold somewhat cheaper than the prices ruling at present, which would tend to d uble the demand. Use would be made of vast tracts that are at present allowerl to lie unproductive and ne- glected. The risk of carriage and length of voyage would be minimized, and another great stride wuld be made in the great policy of binding the outlying portions of the empire more closely together by a community of interests and the ties of commercial in- tercourse. Many speculations are claiming the atten- tion of investors nowadays that do not present half the promise that an " Indo- Australian Horse Supply Associ- ation " presents. We hear of pastoral associations being got up to enable small capitalists to embark in wool-growing and beef-raising. I believe a company, who would take up land in Central Australia, for the purpose of breeding horses for the Indian market, could, or would, be able to get land cheap, breed suitable stock Bucoessfiilly and cheaply, secure large contracts with the Indian army authorities, and find a never-failing market for all the surplus stock they could raise, at highly remunerative prices. I shall be glad if you give some prominence and your powerful support to such a scheme, as I feel assured it has only to be started to become a great success. It would promote settlement, utilize waste land, attract capital and enterprize to the interior, and powerfully promote Indo-Australian trade — a matter which must appeal to every one who has the federation of the empire at heart. Verb. sap. — Yours truly, James Ingli.s (late Commissioner for India). --[Ceylon like India, will, we suspect, ere long obtain most of her horses from Australia. — Ed.] THE NEW YOP.K COFFEE EXCHANGE. Polls will be open from today until Tuesday for the election of officers of the new coffee exchange. The regular ticket which will be elected is as follows: — President, Benjamin G. Ainold ; Vice-President, John S. Wright ; and Treasurer, John F. Scott. The constitution and by-laws which have just been adopted have been printed for distribution among the members. Among other things these provide that, prior to the 21st day of January 1882, until the number of outstanding certilicateB of membership shall be 100 the initiation fee shall be two hundred and fifty dollars. On and after the 2l8t day of January 1SS2, until there be 200 outstanding certificales of membership, the initiation fee shall be five hundred dollars ; and thereafter the initiation fee shall be one thousand dollars ; that the assessment for the first year shall be $50, and after that not more than $10U ; that the governing committee shall elect an ar- bitration committee of five members whose powers are carefully defined ; that the Exchuige shall be open from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. and Imainess shall be confined to those hours, any violation of which shall be punished by a fine of $25; that all parties engaged in handling cofl'ee for members, such as warehousemen weighers and samplers, shall be licensed by the go- vering committee ; that a board of supervisors shall nominate to the i,'Overning committee a board of inspect- ors to consist of five members, and shall supervise the duties of such inspectors. The inspectors shall establish standards of all coffees bought and sold in the Ex- change, and enumerate in a clear mauner the grades July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. thereof whenever necessary. They shall also have charge of the grading and cliissifying all type samples, and shall be eatitled to collect for each set so graded and classified five dollars. This board shall hear and decide on all cases of appeal from rejectiim of coffee on account of quality or condition, and their decision shall be liTial in so' far as it affects any parties in interest who may be represented in the examination of the rejected coffee, or in the arbitration regarding the same," for which they shall be paid by the party in error fifteen cents per package. The by-laws pro- vide a form of contract lor sales for future delivery. Coffee shall be receivable and deliverable in the city of New York, south of t'ourteenth street, or within the limits of the port of New York, only from or at such warehouses as may be recommended by the beard of supervisors, approved by the governing committee and duly licensed, as provided in sec. 93, Nor shall any delivery of cofJee upon contract for future delivery, or to arrive be lawful, unless said delivery is from or at a licensed warehouse, and, unless otherwise stipulated prior to the sale of spot coffee, the buyer may demand that the coffee purchased be delivered frcan or at a licensed warehouse. Commission shall be charged and paid under all circumstances, both upon the purchase and sale of contracts for future delivery, and where a "turn" involves two transactions, viz. : purchase and sale, a commission will be charged on both, this rule being equally applicable to extension or transfer of contracts from one month to another. The rates of commission shall be as follows : On packages of eight pounds gross weight or over, eighty cents per package, and on pack- ages below eighty pounds in gross weight four cents per package, when the transaction is made for any party not a member of this exchange. The minimum rate to members of the exchanye shall be four cents per package of under eighty pounds, gross weight, except where one member merely buys or sells for another, giving up his principal on the day of the transaction and not receiving or delivering the coff.-e, in which case the rate shall not be less than two cents for the larger and one cent for the smaller of said packages. Tlie constitution and by-laws are very elaborate and provide carefully for the government of the Exchange and the transaction of a great business. — New York Commercial Bulletin, January 12th. — [The danger will be that this " Coflee Exchange" will degenerate into a "Ring."— Ed.] THE ORIGIN OF CUPREA BARK. There appears in the Pharmaceuticul Journal an elaborate paper by Josk' Triana, a name familiar to those who have studied the literature of the cinchonas. on "The Botanical Source of Cinchona Cuprea." It appears that the cuprea bark, so named from its coppery colour, is yielded by a group of plants which stand midway between the true cinchonas and the cascarillas. Triana and Karsten discovered some of these plants, but Triaua, noticing botanical character- istics whicb separated the plants from the cinchonas, never thought of testing the bark for alkaloids. Indeed, nn'il the introduction of this cuprea bark, many held the opinion, that from no plant but the cinchonas coulo alkaloids be obtained. But it is now found that the bark from twospecies oiRemijia, growing plentifully the one in the lower Cordillera of the Andes, vhich ex- tends to the great plain of the Orinoco and the other iu the valley of tlie Magdalena River, do yield alkaloids although in small quantity. They grow at elevations of 700 to 3,500 feet, in situations warmer and drier than those affected by the truecinchonns. We scarcely see why Triana should suppoee that their discovery and the fact that these bushes (for such they are) will grow in dry warm localities are likely to affect eiu- chona cultivation and the price of quinine very greatly, for cuprea bark contains quinine only at the rate of "0 to 2 per cent, and it appears that, as in the case of cinchonas, "the alkaloids increase in proportion as the trees approach nearer to the upper limit of their vegetation and are better protected by the great forest." That is, the higher the elevation, the better the quality of the bark, so that the existence of abundance of the plants at low elevations and their capability of being cultivated in lower localities than will suit the true cinchonas ueed not give those interested in the cullivation of cinchonas the scare v\hich Triana seems to think they ought to feel. The effect of accumulations of this inferior bark in the European markets has not been, as we were able to point out recently, to lower the average price of good cinchona bark, while Triana himself states that the rush into the trade and the stoppage of sales result- ing from excess have so operated that "the industry which ought to prove a new source of riches for Co- lumbia, has accidentally become a cause of financial disaster." Agriculture had been neglected in the rush to gather hark which is now unsaleable at remunerat- ive prices. While we follow the advice of Mr. How- ard and the other great quinine manufacturers by growing the best species and varieties of cinchonas, we do not think we need greatly fear the compet- ition of cuprea bark, or of other barks in which a bitter principle exists i r which may yield minute quantitifs of alkaloids. For a time it appears a single firm in Bucaramanga in the State of Santander (have our readers ever heard of the place before?) kept the secret and enjoyed the monopoly of the trade in the bark of the Rnnijia plants. But the discovery, and the consequent rush and the' overloading of the market, were inevitable. A small portion of the cuprea barks have yielded a new alkaloid called cinchonamiue, and the peculiarity of euprtabarks gener.ally is that they yield no cinchonidine. The bark which yields the new al- kaloid lesembles that of caecarilla, so that the cin- chonas which yield abundance of alkaloids ; the Be- «ii/ifi.s which yield fmall quantities, and the eascarillas which are so absolutely destitute of - alkaloids, are "linked, each to each," by certain affinities: afresh illustration of the difficulties of defining species There are numerous plants belonging to the geuuB Ecmijia, but the two species from which the eup- plits of cuprea b'avk have hitherto been obtained are Reiiiijia penduncvltita which Triana himself described and named and Remijin Purdieann mimed after a botanist called Purdie. The trees closely resemble each other, and so do the barks, for Triana states : — The resemblance between the barks of the two species is al?o very great and it would be difficulty to find characters sufficiently marked to distinguish them. They nre both, in fact, hard, very compact relatively heavy, the inner nirfiice snionth and more or less of a wine-red tint, thi pidermis thin or more or less c^rky, and striated lo ,itudiu:dly. The fract- ure is not fibrous, as in many c .lohonas, THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. The cuprea bark which yield cinchonamine is, how- ever, heavier jnd more corapaci and more filled with red resiuous colouring matter, and its fracture gener- ally ap])ears to be horny. The discovery ihus made of febrifuge alkaloids in the barks of a group of plants outside the genus Cinchona, as defiutd by me, renders it necessary to reconsider the characters upon which the genus is founded and to estimate its affinities at their true value. Be 'Jiindolle constituted his genus Ili-mijia from Brazilian plauts which St. Hilaire, in his "'Plantes Usuelles des Brazilieus," had referred to the genus Gindionn, and wh ch had previously been ni'ide linown by Vellozo under the name of Macrocnemmn. These plants are shrubs which grow on the dry and exposed summits of the mountains thnt extend from north to south of the province of Minas, indicating the presence of iron in the soil, according to St. Hilaire. According to the same author they have bitter barks which singularly resemble those of the Peruvian cin- chonas, and bear without distinction the names of Quina lU Herra (mountain cinchona) or Quina de Eemijio (the name of the person who first pointed out to 'he Brazilians their use as a substitute for the officinal cinchonas.) St. Hilaire, while acknowledging that perhaps, the "Quina de Serra " plants were only varieties of one species, yet referred them to three, called C'inchom I}cinija'iia, C. fcrrng'tnen imd C. Vellozii, and these have been retained by De CaudoUe under the new name Bemijia ; but I believe, in fact, that they ouj;lit to be coiifideied as forms of one speeilic type. He Caridolle, adnpting the idea of St. Hibdre, who had called one of these species Cinchona Remijimm, in order to preserve the memory ot toe surgeon Picmijo, to whom is due the u.se of these plants as febrifuges, gave to his genus the name of Remijia. This genus is evidently very near to Cinchona, and its affinity has been rendered still more close by the discovery of the cinchona alkaloids in the Columbian species of Remijia ; but it IS clearly distinguished from Cinchona by its axillary intioresceuce, and its capsules dehiscing from above dowuards. In the last chHi-acter, as well as in the analogy of the structure of their barks, the species of Remijia approach more nearly to the genus Cascar- ilia ; but from this genus they differ in the pnimineut and remarkable character of the axillary inflorescence, and also by the presence of alkaloids in their barks, which have not liitherto been ditcovered in the genus Caxcarilla. The (;enus Remijia presents then characters suffici- ently well defined and constant to keep it distinct from the two genera most nearly allied to it, viz.. Cinchona and Canearilla. The writer then goes on to recognize these plants as , somewhat formidable rivals in commerce of the true cinchonas, after a fashion with which we cannot agree. But we let the author of the puper speak for himself : — The officinal " remijias" of Columbia, as at present known, grow under conditions of elevation, soil, heat and exposure almost the opposite to those which the cinchon.is require, and they grow iu places only a lit- tle above the level of the sea, in the liassin of the Magdaleua river on one side anfi iu tlie basin of the rivers Meta, Eio Negro, .and Guaviare on the other, without ever reaching the elevated summits of the Cordilleras. For the cultivation of the species yielding febri- fuge alkaloids, whether in their native country or elsewhere, a new and much moi-e extended ■■md varied field is now opened up, and enterprizes of this kind will be more numerous and their success none easy and certain. The officinal " remijias," being more hardy and natives of the lower parts of the mountains, loving warmth and not being affected by drought, will lend themselves more easily to cultiv- ation and more cspeoially in those iutertropicnl coun- tries where the cultivation of the cinchona would he impossible. The cultivation of the cinchonas in the old world will also he alTectcd in consequence. As to the commerce in bark it has already found in the genus "remijia" new sources of enterprise in the peculiar conditions and circumstances of its veget- .'ition, which are, as already remarked, different from those of cinchona, and these may be still further iii- c-eased by the possible discovery of febrifuge alkaloids in oiher known species of the same genus, natives of Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, or in new ones which may yet be found. Probably also investigation will be made of species of other genera allied to cinchona which have long been oi'erlooked. The answer to all this seems to be that, while cuprea bark is a drug iu the market, the bark of the true cinchonas continues in demand at prices the average of which has not been reduced with increased sup- plies of the true species, and the enormous irruption of the Remijia or cuprea barks. THE BOTANICAL SOURCE OF CINCHONA CUPREA. BY JOSe' TKIANA. Since the publication of my " Nouvelles Etudes sur les Quinquinas, " Dr. Hesse has remarked the appear- ance in commerce of a new bark which differed from those of all Uuown cinchonas in its aspect, fiensity, textuie and colour, etc., but which contaned alkaloids characteristic of the true cinchonas. Subsequently, Professor F. A. Fluckiger, in the Neues Jahrhvch. f. Pharmncie, xxxvi. - 296, stated that the same bark dif- fered considerably from the cinchona barks in its anat- omical structure, which he compared to that of CaKcarilla niat/nifolia, and gave to the new bark the name of cuprea cinchona, on account of the dull cop- pery tint ot its external surface. During the last few years especially there h.i,ve been introduced into Europe considerable quantities of new barks, which have maintained in commerce the name of " cuprea bark," and the importations have been so large I hat the price of all cinchona barks and of sulphate of quinine liave been very sensibly lowered. The chief emporium and centre of exportation of the cuprea barks is Bucaramanga, in the State of Santander, and the trees which yield them are found in abundance in the mountain chain of La Paz, which breaks off from the great eastern branch of the Columbian trifurcaiion of the Andes, and runs parallel to the course of the Magdalena river, separating it from its affiuent, the Suarez. At first there was one firm in Bucaramanga which ex- ported the bark, and by keeping secret the use to which the bark was destined, it succeeded for some time in maintaining a kind of monopoly. But atten- tion having been roused by the regular exportation, it at length became known that these barks were con- sidered to be ihe produce of cinchoui s, and were much valued in Europe ; from that time an eager search was made for them, and their exportation soon a.ssuined such proportions that the bark market became rapidly overloaded and supplied with sutJicient to last for a long time. The impetus haviug once been given, the search for cuprea bark was prosecuted in other forests of Coluinbin, and barks quite equal to those of Bucaramanga were found towards the base of the great eastern branch of the Cordilleia of the Audes, and as far as the great plaiu which extends lo the Orinoco, and in the valleys of the rivers Meta and Guaviare, affluents of the river July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 23 Orinoco, and these barks pass in commerce under the same name ae those first discovered. The cuprea bark at present in commerce is therefore furnished by two very distinct regions : tlie one, just described, in the great basin of the rivtr Orinoco, to the South of Bogota, and the other, which was the one tirst explored, in the lower part of the basin of the Magdaleua river. Amongst the numerous cuprea barks received from Bucaraiuanga, or the northern region, there is oc- casionally found a relatively small quantity, which has been discovered by M. Arnaud to be peculiar in con- taiuinc, in place of quinine, a new alkaloid which he has called ciuchonamine. Profe?ior Plauchon has also observed that the anatiiniical structure of the bark containing cincho- namine difTcrs from that of ordinary cuprea bark, and has compared it to that of a Cascarilla. He coucludes that if the cuprea barks have characters in common which place them outside the genus cinchona, they also present between themtelves such differences that they ought to be considered to form specifically distinct types. Hitherto, the plant or plants which produce cuprea barks have beeniinknown to science, although the barks have taken so considerable a jjlace in commerce and in the manufacture of sulphate of quinine. Desiring to fill this gap from a botanical ponit of view, I made strenuous etibrts to obtain in Columbia specimens of the plants yielding the cuprea barks, and my efforts have been in great measure crowned with success. I have just received documents from the two centres of collection above named, which now en.ible me to de- tei-mine and classify the frees which furnish the cuprea cinchona, and to establish their botanical nomenclature. This classification, and other facts shortly to be men- tioned, raise points which seem to me to be of the highest interest in relation to science, commerce, and the cultivation of cinchonas, and to these point I have now to call attention. The barks distributed in commerce at the present time underthenarae of cuprea bark are aiiorded by twodistinct districts. They also belong respectively, at least, to two distinct species which, though nearly allied, are yet different from each otber and belong to the genus Remljia, which comes very near that of cinckojia and to the closely allied genus cascorilla. These species are Kemijia Purdieana, Wedd. (Ann. Sc. Not. [3], xi., p. 272), a plant formerly discovered by Purdie in the forests of Antioquia, upon the left bank of the Magdahna ; and Rimijia ptdancidata,, Triana (Cinchona pi-dunculata, Karsten, "Spec. Select.," i., 53, t. 26). My identification of the tree from the valley of the Magdalena river is founded upon the "oly samples that I have received of the cinchonamine-yielding sort, which are identical with those of Purdie. I incline to believe that ail the other cuprea barks said to eome from Bucaramanga, notwithstanding the difference in their chemical composition noticed by M. Arnaud and the not less remarkable difference in their anatomical structure indicated by M. Planchon, can only be produced by the same botanical species, viz., Eemijia Purdiiana; inasmuch as (1) the barks containing cinchonamine have been exported to Europe as being those of cuprea, without any dis- tinction being made between them, except in remarking thit the trees from which the bark was obtained grow in a warmer locality at a lower elevation than the others, without, however, indicating that they might be different among them- selves ; and (2) if the trees worked in the northern districts bu distinct, the resemblance between the one which is most abundantly exported from Bucar.i- manga, and which must have been used as a standard of comparison to discover the cuprea bark in the south, would be less than that which exists between liemijia Purdiam and R. peduvcutaia, which is very great at tirst sight. The diff'erence in the conditions of vegetation where the trees yielding the two kinds of cuprea bark of Bucaramanga grow would suffice, it seems to me, to explain the change in the nature of the alkaloids and the modifications in anatomical structure ob- served in them. In any case this is a question that I hope I shall be able to solve wlien sam- ples of tlie common cuprea of Magdalena, which T am expecting to receivii shortly, shall have arrived. But there can be no doubt that if these trees are distinct they must belong to very closely allied species of the same genus. With regard to the southern district, I am in posses- sion of specimens gathered at Susumuco, Villavicencio Papamene and on the banks of the Guaviare, etc., local' itics distant from each other and varying in elevation above the .'ea level from 200 to 1,(!00 metres. Notwith- standing slight variations, which cannot be considered as speciti characters, all these specimens answer to Rcmijia pedunculata, Triana, a species discovered by M. Karsten and m.iself between Susumucoand Villavicencio' and of which my fellow. traveller has published a des- cription and a Hoe figure in the 'Specimitia Selecta.' Tlie two Columbian species of Remijia, which yield the cuprea barks, have, at first sight, a very great re- semblance, in habit, in the form, size and smoothness of the leaves, in their infioresoeuce, and in their capsules of almost the same size ; they are in reality, however verv distinct and are ensily characterized. Remijia Purdieami has the divisions of the calvx lanceolate-acute, almost linear, and muoh longer than the tube of the calyx. Thr stipules are lanceolate- acute and the cajisules are also lanceolate. Rnnijia Pedunculata ha,a the teeth of the calyx small triangular and almost rounded at the apex ; the stipules are obtuie, broad and obovate, and the caps- ules are shorter than those of R. Purdieana, which are elliptic. The resemblance between the barks of the two species is also very great and it would be difficult to find characters sufficiently marked to distinguish them. They are both, in fact, hard, very compact, relatively heavy, the inner surface smooth and more or less of a wine-red tint, the epidermis thin or more or less corky, and striated longitii.iinally. The fracture is not fibrous, as in many ciuchononas. The cuprea b.ark which yields cinchonamine is, how- ever, heavier and more compact and more filled with red resinous colouring matter, and its facture generally apjiears to be horny. 'Ihe yield of quinine from cupred barks varies between •0 and 2 per cent., according to the conditions of veget- ation of the trees, which liave not yet been sufficiently studied. In tliis respect they resemble the officinal cinchonas. In both cases it appears that the alkaloids increase in proportion as the trees approach nearer to the upper limit of their zone of vegetation and are better protected by the great forest. From a chemical point of view, the characteristic and remarkable feature with distinguishes the cuprea barks from the true cinchonas is tlie absence of cin- chonidine, which has been ascertained by numerous aualyses made by M. Arnaud, confirming the results obtained by other chemists. In cuprea bnrks, qninidine would also be always proportionately mora abundint tiian in other cinchona barks, which would permit the formation of the double en]t of this alkaloid with quinine, and would produce according to Mr. C. H. Wood and Mr. E. L. Barret {Vhet'iicat News, vol. xlv., p. 6, and Moniteur Sctentifique, 3rd S3r., xii., p. 14S), the new supposed alkaloid,' the discovery of which was announced almost simul- taneously in England by Mr. D. Howard and Mr. J. Hodgkin, on the one part, and by Dr. B. H, 24 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. Paul and Mr. Cowuley, on the other part, under the names of " homoqiiiniue " and " ultraquiuine."* Nevertheless the existence of ciuchonamine, the new alkaloid studied and isolated by M. Arnaud in certain cuprea barks, remains unquestioned. The discovery thus made of febrifuge alkaloids in the barks of a group of plants outside the genus Cinchona, as defined by me, renders it necessary to reconsider the characters upon which the genus is founrled and to estimate its affinities at their true value. De Candolle constituted bis genus Remijia from Brazil- ian plants which St. Hilaire, in his " Plantes Usuelles des Brasiliens,' had referred to the genus Cinchona, and which had previously been made known by Vellozo under the name of Macrocnemum. These plants are shrubs which grow on the dry and exposed summits of the mountaius that extend from north to south of the province of Minns, indicating the pre- sence of iron in the soil, according to St. Hilaire. According to the same author they have bitter barks which singularly resemble those of the Peruvian cin- chonas, and bear without distmction the names of Ouina de Scrra (mountiin cinchona) or Qulna de Remijio (the name of the person who first pointed out to the Brazilians their use as a substitute foi the officinal cinchonas.) St. Hilaire, while acknowledging that, perhaps, the " Quina de Serra " plants v^ere only varieties of one species, yet referred them to three, called Cinchona, Rcmij'iana, C ferruginea and C. Veltozii, and these have been retained by De Candolle itnder the new name Remijia ; but I believe, in fact, that they ought to be considered as forms of one specific type, De Candolle, adopting the idea of St. Hilaire, who had called one of these species Cinchona Remijiana, in order to preserve the memory of the surgeon Remijo, to whom is due the use of these plants as febrifuges, gave to his genus the name of Remijia. This genus is evid- ently very near to Cinchona, and its affinity has been rendered still more close by the discovery of the cin- chona alkaloids in the CoUimbian species of Remijia ; but it is clearly distinguished from Cinchona by its axillary inflorescence, and its capsules dehiscing from above downards. In the last character, as well as in the analogy of the structure of their Ijarks, the species of Remijia approach more nearly to the genus Cavar- illa; but from this genus they differ in the prominent and remarkable character of the axillary inflorescence, and also the presence of alkaloids in their barks, which have not hitherto been discovered in the genua Cascarilla. The geuuB Remijia presents the characters suffici- ently well definid and constant to keep it distinct from the two genera most nearly allied to it, viz.. Cinchona Cascarilla. By the chemical composition of their barks, the " remijias" must now lake an important place in commerce and in therapeutics by the side of the cin- chonas, of which they are becoming rivals, which confirms the foresight of P.emijo and St. Hilaire. Henceforth the two groups of plants will be coupled together, and as the name Cinchona, given by Liunteus to^the tree of which the bark cured the Countess of Chiuchon, will recall this fact, that of Remijia will preserve an analogous one from being forgotten. Beside the generic characters which I have defined. » Mr. Triaua appears to have ovarlooked the fact that Mr. T. G. WHiiffen also made known the discovery of a new alkaloid, to which he gave the name " ultraquinine," and which was probably the .same as that referred to by the other observers. (See before, p. 497.) As regards the suggestion that this alkaloid is reaUy a compound of quinine and quinidine we are still without any evidence in support of its probability or of the existence of such a compound. — Ed. P, J. the original species of Remijia, as well as those sub- sequently published, have, as De Candolle remarks, "a peculiar stamp which distinguishes them at first sight from the cinchonas, and which consists of a shrubby habit, in the leaves being sometimes in whorls of three, particularly the lower ones, in the branches and inflorescence being covered with a reddish pubes- cence, and in the quadrifid woody capsules." But these distinctions, due to collateral circumstances, diminish in other species, especially in the two Colum- bian species herein noticed. Their glabrescent foliage, and especially their coriaceous, bipartite and relatively small capsules, give them a considerable resemblance to several of the officinal cinchonas. It is more than probable that it is to this similarity that the dis- covery of cuprea cinchona, which has undoubtedly been made by persona without scientific qualifications, is due. Perhaps a botanist would have done as I / myself did, when I discovered Remijia pedunculata, and would have refused to admit this tree among those whose barks yield alkaloids, beacuse it could not be ranked among the true cinchonas, and does not correspond in habit with those whose bark abounds in alkaloids. From the above remarkable facts, there must follow results of the greatest importance to science, circhona cultivation, commerce and therapeutics. From a botanical point of view, several ideas con- cerning cinchonas, which were considered to be suffici- ently established, must be greatly modified. For instance, it has been customary to consider that the presence of alkaloids in cinchona as exclusively char- acteristic of the plants of the genus as hitherto limited, and there have been those who have gone so far as to say that the chemical analysis might serve to control botanical classification, since alkaloids have never been discovered in the genus Cascarilla or in other genera allied to cinchona. It is also admitted that the tress yielding febrifuge alkaloids, especially, those of Columbia, as I have stated in my ' Nonvelles Etudes,' grow in the elevated regions of the Cordillera of the Andes, where the temperature is mild with scarcely any culd, and prefer the western slopes of the great eastern branch of the trifurcation of the Andes, the other two branches being almost destit- ute of them. Since the number of alkaloid-yielding cinchonas has been augmented by the addition of some species of Remijia these plants, regarded as a whole, offer peculiar- ities worthy of remark, both as to their habitat and their geographical distribution. The officinal "remijias" of Columbia, as at present known, grow under conditions of elevation, soil, heat and exposure almost the opposite to those which the cinchonas require, and they grow in places only a lit- tle above the level of the sea, in the basin of the Magdalena river on one side and in the basin of the rivers Meta, Rio N'gro, and Guaviare on the other, without ever reaching the elevated summits of the Cordilleras. For the cultivation of the species yielding febri- fuge alkaloids, whether in their nativo country or elsewhere, a new and much more extended and varied field is now opened up, and enterprizes of this kind will be more numerous and their success more easy and certain. The officinal " remijias," being more hardy and natives of the lower parts of the mountains, loving warmth and not being affected by drought, will lend themselves more easily to cultiv- ation and more especially in those intertropical count- ries where the cultivation of the cinchonas in the old world will also be aft'ected in consequence. As to the commerce in bark it has already found in the genus "remijia" new sources of enterprise in the peculiar conditions and circumstances of its veget- ation, which are, as already remarked, different from July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. if those of cinchona, aud these may be still furlhti' increased by the possible discovery of febrifuge aikal- oi'Js in other kuown spicies of tlie same genus, natives of Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, or in new ones which may yet be found. I'robably also investigation will be made of species of other geuer;i allied to cinchona which have long been overloolied. I have already remurUed that the enormous export- ations of cuprcu bark that liave been made recently have produced a disturbance in commerce, which has lonerud the irice of tlie officinal ciuclionas in general and of sulphate of quinine in paiticular, by the ac- cumulation in Europe of barks intended for the m.anu- faoturc of sulphate of ijumine aud by tlio temporary stoppage of tlie exportation of cinchona barks. This paralysis of business is aggr.ivated in Columbia by the temporary neglect of agriculture, the collection of' the cuprea bark proving much more lucrative, and alao by the stagnation of capital represented by the value of the bark warehoused abnad, and which is usually held as a balance to meet the cost of im- ported goods. It happens, therefore, that the industry which ought to prove a new source of riches for Colum- bia has accidentally become a cause of financial disaster. It may bo liopcil that this situation cannot last long, and that by degrees an ef|uilibruiin will be est- ablishid. Commercial men will become more prudent aud what is of more significance, the cuprea barks will be diminii-hed in quantity in proportion as the sources of production, already rapidly undergoing de- vastation, become more e-xhausted, aud the difficulty in collecting the bark becomes greater, as has been the case with the officinal cinchonas. Finally, the investigations of the therapeutic pro- perties of the new alk doids or compounds of alkal- oids discovered in the cuprea barks will present con- siilerable interest. It now appears more than prob- able that tliese alkaloids or their compounds have passed unnoticed mixed with sulphate ot (juinine in the manufacture of this subst.ance ou a large scale. The following is a list of the species of Bmijia : — Kemijia Uilairii, I).C. (Prod., iv., p. 3o7).— eiation, and this morning we had a reply which astonished us, as it will those of our readers whose knowledge of vegetable physiology leads them to believe that a tree denuded of all its bark will as surely die as will the man whose brains are out. Mr. Philip courteously wrote to us : — "The Committee of the Planters' Association was prepared to arrange to give Mr. Smith's specific for leaf-disease a trial until receipt of the enclosed (copy) letter, with the directions which, as you can under- stand, rather amazed it. "The case of anti-cofl'ee-blight has now arrived, having cost say R15 for freight, and I fancy the Committee will be glad to hold it at Mr. Smith's disposal." We should think so, for here are the directions: — Melbourne, 9G, Swanston St., litk Feb. 1882, A. Philip, Esq., Secretary, Planters' Association, Kandy. gjP We beg to inform you that bv this steamer we have sent a case of the anticoftee blight to care of P. & O. Company's Agent, Galle. We desire you to bo kind enough to inform the seutlemen^who will use the specific that it is ab- solutely necessary to adhere as strictly as possible to the following instructions : — Piisl. — Strip the infected plant entir' ly of all its foliage, theu scrub it with a piece of coir, until all the bark ia removed. Care should be takeu to re- 26 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, i 88i. move the bark under the uotohea and in crevices. Some matting should be placed under the plant to catch all the leavesrbark, twigs, &c., which are tobe burned. Secojid— Obtain a quantity of the most deciimposed manure— cowduug preferred— and mix witli it the specific, until it is reduced to a thick paste ; then further reduce it with water, until it arrives at a consistency of treacle. Third. — Paib the compound thoroughly into the ' plant, until it adheres to it. See that it reaches to every part of the plant, previously removing all de- cayed wood that may be on the tree. Fourth.— A\!\i\y the preparation thoroughly, unless it be washed off by rain or rubbed off by accident, in which case give another application. In about a month's time the new leaves will begin to shoot out and the plant will then rapidly assume a healthy appearance Do not be afraid of this treatment. It may appear harsh aud novel to you, but we can assure you that the very beat results have ensued from past experiments. We would again request you, as the representative of the PLantera' Association, to see that otir interests do not suffer by our absence, a«d that you will inform ns from time to time as to the progress it (the test) is making. We are informed that a reward is offered for a cure of this disease. In event of success then, we shall leave ourselves to the honor of the coffee Planters' Association.— Yours truly, Gilbkrt Geo. Smith, M. Ball. Our readers will observe that the trees to be operated on are to be deprived of uU their leaves, besides a cert- ain proportion (not stated) of the twigs, and all their bark That the whole of the bark is meant and not merely the epidermis, is obvious from the remarks which follow about not being alarmed at the severe nature of the treatment. It had previously been car- ried out and the effects were good. We should have thought the effect would haie been that the disease would have been cured as the patient's fever was. The ftver went off', but he weut off with it. We can assure our readers that Mr. Smith, who is DOW sub-editor of a newspaper, shewed no sign of mental eccentricity on the occasions wlien we saw him. He was a quiet gentlemanly man and did not look like a subject for the Yarra Bend Asylum. But of Mr. Ball we know nothing. We could have understood all the foliage coming off (although the young leaves would be equally liable to be infected), and we could have seen reason in rubbing off all the rough outside birk ; but when we appreci- a.ed the tact that the directions are to deprive the tree of all its bark, our gravity gave way and we afforded si.rae reason for questioning our own sanity by our re- pftition of "A perfect cure !'' In damp retentive soils, young cinchona plants are prone to die oft" in large numbers, and to give very little notice of iho advance of decay. Whole acres of fine, healthy-looking youug cinchonas suddenly droop, and little is gained by working for a change in tlie weather, for it fails lo produce a revival. A planter gives a hint which seems worthy of attention. He Bays that, as soon as yon observe the drooping of the plants, cut a two foot hole on the lower side, and .as near the stem as possible. The bole probably lowers the vpater level, aud thus saves the pl.aut. The remedy is not likely to prove successful, if the plants have been raised from ioimature seed. — Houth of India Observer, " FoEKST Ranoers." — The Government of India | hove established a Forestry School in the DehraOun at which it is hoped some 600 natives will be speedily fitted for the duties of " Forest Rangers." We pre- ! sume our own Forest Department nefds subordinate : officers of the class referred to. Has our Govern- ment sent any natives of Ceylon to be trained in ' the Himalayan Forest School, or in the Agrioultral | College at Madras? | Labour in Jamaica. — Mr. Morris recently wrote i to say there was abundance, but the question is one of the wages, and each paper from Jamaica shows that the people are going to work on the Panama Canal and on South American railroads. Wc quote as follows from Gall's Neu^s Letter : — We learn tliat the contractors ' for the Costa Rica railroad, who have all along oljtained ' labour from Jamaica, liave now adopted the less ^ expensive plan of sending to Colon for the unemployed i Jamaican labourers there. Tea and Coffee Duty. — A bill is now before Congress (U. S.) to exempt from all discriminnting duties tea and coffee produced in tlie Dutcli Colonies. The law as now enforced provides for a discriminating : duty of 10 per cent, on tea and coffee grown east of ' the Cape of Good Hope in the Dutch Colonies, in view of corresponding Dutch dmies. As the latter have been repealed, the United States is called on to do so also. It will tend to flood this market with a poor quality of Java coffee, which is generally badly adulterated before leaving the colouics. The Rio mer- i chants strongly oljject. — G'a/rs.^oos ierta-. [Naturally; ' but what right have the Rio merchants to complain • because the United .-^lates Government abolish dis- criminating duties?— Ed. C. O.] j The Asbestos paint promises to be a complete j success, to judge by the experiments recently i made at the Crystal Palace, Tlie experiments were ! of various kinds and tlie tests applied could not be ■; accused of any want of severity. Logs of wood, partly painted and partly unpaiuted with the asbestos pre- paration, were placed on a tierce tire burning in a large brazier and subjectexl for many minutes lo the full force of the flames, fanned by a modi-rate breeze which was i blowing at the time. VVhen they were pulled out by 1 the attendants, the parts which had been paiiued were j seen to be blistered in places and to be emitting at first ; some light jets of flame, which, however, almost im- i mediately extinguished tbemselves when the action i of the surrounding fire ceased, leaving the surface \ almost as white and uninjured as before the fire had j been applied, whereas those logs, which bad been un- i painted, or only partially painted, were, of course, ; charred aud almost consumeii. The most interesting experiment was, however, afforded by the four wooden ■ structures which had -been erected on the terrace, in " imitation of theatres and sheds. In the centre of j each of these was lighted a vigorous fire fed with ! shavings soaked in petroleum and buruing immediately ; under the flooring. While the structure which was ; unpaiuted blazed up and was soon burning merrily \ in all its parts, those which had been painted stood ; the test most conclusively and were hardly marked ! after about halt an hour's tri.al, when the unpainted ; sheds were a mere mass of smouldering embers. It 1 was clear to all the spectators that the resistance ! offered by the ji^iiuc is most obstinate .and certain, | and that I he great difficulty which the flames have ; in getliug any liold at all upon any substance covered ; with it would, at any rate, afford a long respite, during whicii the fire engines would not only have time to come up, but also an audience retaining any • presence of mind would be able to escape. The dir- ' ectors of the Crystal Palace Company have already ' caused their theatre to be covered with the paint. — ; New York Hour. ' July i, :;S82.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 27 To the Editor of the Ceylon Obsen^er. SALES OF CEYLON COFFEE AT GOOD PRICES. Edinburgh, 12th April 1882. Dkai; Sir, — I have read with interest in your Weeklj/, of Slst March, a short uote from "E. J. T." giving a ijiiotation of fine prices realized for Stock- holm estat? e^jffee, so :— Ic lb 113^; iU It 993 6d ; 2c It 107s Gd ; and Ic It 67s. Prices received for tlie North Pnnduloya coli'ce fully come to this. Take a, shipment, ex Qnetta, thu3 : — lo lb lISs; lo lb 109s ; lo lb 1043 lid ; 9i; 'Ms ; 9o 903 ; and Ic 102s : ex Dorunda, Ic llOs; Oo 2b 100s; le 1033 ; and 3o lb 963 6d : ex Duke of Buckinyhara, 4c 1023 6d ; 4c 101s; and 24c 90s. "E. J. T." states that the prices he gives will shew that " Ceylon cofTee can hold its own against the world." I will go further than this : 1 say that onr line Ceylon coffees can beat any other — produce it where they m>iy — which is proveil by these good samples continuing to realize snch fine prices, while the European stocks are so heavy and prices for middling and inferiors have fallen so heiivily. Superior preparation, both on the estates and in Colombo, I have no doubt, has a good deal to do with good prices, and it would be interesting to all connected with coffee, advantageous both to managers and curers, if planters could give increased publicity in your columns, as to the results of their sales. — Yours truly, P. D. MILLIE. MR. A. SCOTT BLACKLAW ON COFFEE PLANT- IXG PROSPECTS : PRODUCTION I.N' BRAZIL ARRE.STEI> ; WHILE t'ONSl'iMP- TIOX IN' THE UNITED .ST.VTES IS YE.VRLy INCREASING. Dollar, 12th April 1882. Dear Sirs, — 1 am mncli pleased with the way you have turned out my letters; you must have had some dilliculty in the editing of them. My facts were taken from good aiithoritis, and can be relied on, but the puiting of them together was generally rather hur- riedly done, always at the last moment before the mail left. Living here out of the coffee world 1 do not know how the letters m:iy have been appreciated by those more immediately interested, the proprietors of coffee estates in India and Ceylon. Your last come Ohsermr — that of Mui-ch 1 1th — contains the last two of my letters. Poisihly I may have said too much. There are some things betier to be left unsaid, and I do not think my exposition, of the «ase with which Brazil can produce and send to Europe and the United States such large coffee crops will meet with the approval of everyone, considering the straits many Crvlon coffee-planters arc in, first f ro o the effects of leaf-dibeasii on their plantatioua ; and .second, the low price of coffee brought on by Brazil's large crops. While in London, two months ago, I put myself to the trouble to call on the CimsulGeneral of the United States in London to get information on the increa.se of population in the United States during the last thirty years ; in other words, during the time that the consumption of coffee has been steadily in- creasing. Brazil's coffee crops ai-e consumed principally in thi United States. When the crcps .^f llrazil are larger than can be consumed in the United States, the snrijlus finds its way to Europe, and the price of Ceylon and Java coffees comes down. Considering that, Ottiug ti the stojipage of the inter-provincial shue trade in Brazil, the coffee crops there will not be larger than they are now, we might expect that, as the population of the United States increasis, so the consumption of Brazilian coffee and the present surplus that is now being sent to Europe will follow the regular course as of old, and be sent to North America. Ceylon, East India and Java will then, as before, supply the Eurojiean markets. The Consul-Gcneral was very obliging, and, althounh 1 could not get returns as to the consumption of coffee in the States, he kindly furnished me with particulars as to the pi.pulation, Here are the figures : — I860 the population was 31 443 331 1«70 ... 38,558,.371 1880 ... 50,000,000 Emigration to I he United States last year reached a total of 776,000, and at present it is going on at a larger proportion. We may safely calculate on an increase of 25 per cent of the population in the next ten years. I leave you or some of your correspondents to work up the figures. I think one could get data sufficient '-?«?° "1'°" ^^ studying the coffee prices cm rent. Coffee planting has got a future. I do Rot think the Ceylon planters should lose patience by consider- ing the present price of coffee as likely to last. I hope the experiments now being made to try to get rid of the leaf-disease may be successful. A cure for that will help Ceylon more than a rise in the price of coffee. — I am, yours very truly, A. SC 'TT BLACKLAW. HYBRIDITY. May 4th, 1882. Dear Sir, — I thinkyour correspondent "X.," in the Observer ol 2nd instant, is in error when he assumes by asking the question— " do, or do not, rabbits .and hares cross freel.v ?" Domesticated they may, but in their natural state it is comparatively rare, if not altogether unknown. The dog and fo.x, however, have often been known to cross. In that case, one at least is in the natural state, proving hybridity possible. In the vegetable kingdom, how .about dkecious plants? Are we told they never fructify naturally ? if they do, then why not hybridity ?— Yours faithfully, SI VERUM SCIRE VIS. THE CINNAMON TRADE. Sth May 18S2. Sir, — Referring to the discussion now going to the effect of the trade on as cinnamon chips or the price of quilled cinnamon, I find from your DirectMry that the exports for the year ending the 30th Sept. 1880 amounted to 474,484 lb of chips as against 1,395,534 lb hales. It will thus be seen that the one- turn of chips is over one-third of quills, considerably more than a planter allows, and there can be no douI:t that tiie withdrawal of this enormous quantity of chips from the market must beneficially affect the price of quills. It is, alas ! perfectly true that the sale of chips leaves only four or five cents per lb, after de- ducting the cost of scraping ; and the apparently higher prices realized in the London market just suffice to cover the heavy charg-s The demand for chips is always reported brisk and steady in London, and it seems only reasonable to infer that in the absence of chips there would be more inquiry for quills. If this results in prices advancing by oneihird of four or tiv, cents (say 1^ to 2 cents) we should not lose by throw- ing away our chips ; but I anticipate the rie in price will be ctmsideraljly more It only requires that my fellow-proprieto'S fhould see the matter m this light to secnre the practical abolition of the trade in chip- and steady lise in prices. "A Merchant," in reply Xo "Planter," in a late issue of the Observer, sugocstg local Biiles as a means of doing away with the middle THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [July i, i882_ men, who, by means of qnaiterly sales, aud other- wise, swallow up so large :i share of the profits vvhieh a'.ioulil go to the producer. If local sales do away with two classes of middlemen, how comes it that .bMcrchaut " makes no higher otlVr than is represented .y Loudou prices? If growers failed to realz^ in London at least as much as they do here, I hardly think they would continue the practice of shipping on their own account. We seek to do away with middlemen, not as such, but as absorbents of our protits. "Mercbant" proposes to do awav with the middlemen, only to put their protits into his own pi oket ; otherwise, he would pay us Loudon prices pUis the profits of the middleu-'en, or at least of as many of t.iem as he does away with. Again, there is this to be observed, that " Merchant," under the guidance of interested brokers, otl'ers the same for well-known brands wbich fetch over over u's iu London as for bark which sells at Is (id. The resnlt is that small-holders sell to the native emissary, who sells to the merchant, rather than to the mer- chant direct ; for the native gentleman pays a high price to mix with inferior stuft' and sell to the mer- chant. If merchants deal direct with responsible meu ■H^illiug to let their marks be used, the result is likely to be satisfactory to both parties.— Yours trul)', PROPRIETOR. WAVES OF PROSPERITY SUCCEEDING DE- PRESSION : MAURITIUS AND CEYLON. Colombo, 9th May 1SS2. Dear Sik,— The date is not so remote that it is ditheuU to recall the time, when the state of agri- culture in the Mauritius was synonymous with ruin. The liCcoants of the Ceylon Comp;iny,LiMU(ed, published 1. uni time to time, furiiifli ample evidence of the losses sustamed by the precipitate reali-sation of sugar estates, of «hich it had one way or anotlier become the owner. No aooner had tlie Company realized their propei t- ies at the lowest point of depression than the tide chaut'td. A couple of seasons favorable for agriculture emilcd on the island, and the tide of proe|jerity be- gan to follow. A short time ago, you published an extract from a Mauritius paper, shewiug the wonder- ful eubanct-ment that bad taken placn in the value of estates, in consequence of their having bejome the property of more intelligent persons. This change was not brought about by the increased value of the etaple product, but simply by a change of seasons ! By the enclosed cut'ing from the overland edition of the Mtrchants' and Planters' Gazette you will see that the prospect of a favourable season f-r the coming or 'p has further increaseil the wave of pros- peritv, and everything in the Mauritius has a roseate hue. Is this not a warning to Ceylon planters aud mortgagees, many of whom are, I believe, about to commit pecuniary euicile by abandoning or neglect- in" the cultivation of estates, whicli only three or four years ago were considered a mine of wealth, because their maintenance may add some small addition to the money already invested ? In Mauritius pro- sperity was dependent upon one staple product : here, iu the majority of cases, we have two, and in many three or more.— Yours truly, MEKCATOR. A NEW USE FOR MANIOC OR CASSAVA. Puttalam, 9th May 1SS2. Dear Sir, — I beg to forward, for your information aad that of your readers, the following extract, which I haT5 .->i>*~ly the Daily Telerjraph but I cannot say for certain) and one from Truth of !3th April last. Iu reference to the extracts above referred to, 1 w o lid beg to suggest that, considering the great power possessed at ihe present day in the councils of our state by publican, and grocers (perhaps I *The off-band way iu which this writer disposes of questions on which the greitest meu of science speak hesitatingly is quite refreshing. — Ed. ought to place tho latter fir.st), I consider it a blioht upon oitr great niition that the statesmen represt'nt- iug it (bi' they Conservatives or Liberals they are equally anilty) should so debase their high funclious as to " Hirt" (that is Mr. A. Mackenzie's icnn, as lately applied iu indignant terms, when twitting his brothi r-|ilaiiters with not backing him up in black- balling 111 season aud out of season a perhaps foolishly weak Haputale Magistrate) with the representative multitude of these all powerful trades whenever they (the said so-called statesmen !) have to legislate /or the (jooil of the people ! I would suagtst that every importer, manufacturer or tradesman who was found guilty by our courts of law or adulterating ihe staple food ao- drink cf the people (be tho latter alcoholie or «o«,-alcoliolic) should. ill ailditioii to lilies, be pui ishable say for a third oireuce with tlie lews of his vote at the general election, the fourth for two elections— the fifth with three elections, and sixth teith a total disability to vote on ami tketion whnterer, and also with imprisonment at hard la- .bour according to Ihe heiuoust.ess of his offence. I am yours truly, A FRII'ND OF THE PEOPLE INFORMATION ABOUT CARDAMOM CULTIV- ATION DESIDEKATED. May 1.3lh, 1882. Dear Sir, —As cardamoms are being grown, and will I believe, be extensively cultivated later on in the hill districts, as well as iu the lowcountrv, it is desirable that planters experienced in this "new jjro- ducc should give the results they have obtained in the cultivation of it. Inronnatiou on the subject is much needed. Coidd Mr. Holloway, or any other of your able correspondents, be induced to give it us, in the form of a pamphlet,' tlescribing in detail the treatment of the eardamoiii from the making of nurseries to the final shipping inColomljo? A book of ihis kiud joined to "All About Cardamoms," published by you, wouM be ii boon to planters inleueling to go iu for this product. I cannot say _i et with certainty, but 1 believe it would pay well upcouutry, judging from its growth and power of blosso'ning at 4,000 feet elevation in YAKDESSA. [On an estate in Ambag,-imuwa, the plant has failed to give a satisfactory return of fruit at a far lo%vei- level than 4,000 feet.-Eo.J QUESTION ABOUT INDIA RUBBER. Dear mr,— Being interested in the cultivation of rubber, I shall be exceedingly obliged, if you, or any . f your correspoudents, will iuloim me how long the Mozimbique pink rubber [Lemdolphia Kirkii) takes to come to maturity. If, as a correspond- ent in the Observer, of the 29th March, hints," it is closely allied to the Para rubber, iirobably it wi 1 lake nearly as long to come to inaturit.v, which is, I believe, about ten .vears. In that case, will it not pay planters much better to stick to Ceara rubber fri m which there is a good return two years after placing the seed iu the ground. I have just been taj.pinga Ceara tree only six months old from which I collected a small Vjall of rubber ? The tree is very hardy and seems to stand wind rcmarkalily «ell Yi.urs faithfully, CEARA RUBBER.' CIMC'IONA BARKING: FAILURE OF A COM- PLICATED MACHINE AND SUCCESS OF A SIMPLE DEVICE. T.indula, 15th May I8S2. Deah Sir, — In hard time .ike these I woild not willingly injure any man's p. ispects of making money, especially when the means are so honest aud credit- 3° THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. able ns tlie fruits of one's own inventive genius. But ou tlie other haml I think it is fai- more import- ant that the many thould not lose moupy by in- vesting in what is a dead loss so far as my own ex- perience goes. I refer to De Caen's peeliiit; machine, which I regret to say does not answer to its descrip- tion iu one single point. It is said to be easily car- ried to any p.ut of the estate liy tivo coolies : I iind that three can cirvy it in and out of ray teahouse, l)ut/o?()- are required to carry it any distance beyond 100 yards (I'kle Messrs. Walker & Greig's post-card enclosed). It will not peel any twigs smaller than the little finger, except iu bundles, and the single twigs it mashes most unincrcirully, the result being very unsightly and damaged bark ; and it as often pqueezes the bark into the wood as loosens it. And most imporlaut of all, with personal superintendence I found that with two men at the wheel (boys will not do), two boys feeding, and one boy supplying twigs, 1 could not get from women barking more than 5 or 10 lb. apitCv- : say 50 lb. from 10 people, instead of 400 lb. from 5. Tlie nbove is only my personal ex- perience, and I shall therefore be only too glad for the sake of the inventor "s well as the jjlanters at large if it is proved that it is I who am at fault and not the machine. To make up for my disappointment, just as I bad decided to take to knife-peeling again (by which 1 can iilways get from 10 to 20 lb. of unallest twig bark) my assistant heard of a dodge (discoveriid, it is' believed, by Mr. Sandys Thomas of Lmdula) where- by 20 to 40 lb. of bai-k from any twig above a hair's breadth can be got easily : and beautiful bark too. De Caen's machine cosls ROO; ten of these machine can be made for CO cents ! I'be process is simply i\^\s : Tie two rounded slicks or bamboos about 3 feet long together at one end only ; lie the tied end to a firm post or gum-tree, nnd your machine is ready. Put your twig between the two sticks, equeze them ' together with your lefi baud while .\ou pull the t"ig through with your right, and the bark al- most always falls off of itself in two fine unbruised ribbands. " If you v/'iAx Iu imaijim what the muohii.e is like, close :iU fingers except the first and middle of your left hand : then draw your pen through the latter (only take care to have the inky end tonards you!). This contrivance takes the bark off the very smallest twig, which I claim was the dejideratum, and which Do Caen's machine will not do. I h.ive seen neither Ilae's nor Mclnnes-Mackenzie's invention, 80 write without prejudice and only from a sense of duty You can snbstitue my. name f<':'.',iiy npm- deplume if you think fit. KAROLY FURUO THE INDIAUUBBER TREES AT THE COLOMBO ACADEMY (NOW THE ROYAL COLLEGE). Deak Sir, — I have continued to read with great interes' the various accounts of india-rubber plantain your columns; but I have be.u watching for some time in vain for a description according to the character of th" '' indiarubber trees" of old Acidemy boys. As far as I n-meinber the blossom of the tree had a she ith very like that of a breadfruit. Every part of the tree on the slightest wound exuded a freely flowing milk, which rapidly dried. This was larcely availed of by Ui to make balls oF, particularly thfT cores of cricket halls. The process was to rub rapidly between the palm-! of the hands, when the ball formed, leaving a rou'^'a suif.ice, but bein.; a rou^h aud ready liiill all the same. With the friction of the hands the dryiu2 process was very frtst. Was not thi£ thereiore a La«<^ut/)/Mrt ? * There was a c un- *It is the FicuH clastka, from which some India- rubber is gathered iu Java. plete row of these trees alongside the broad verandah, where taught at various timos Messrs. J. R Blake (evei'-to-be-hunored name, though I wis not his pupil), "Tom S.Tiith," W. B. Sproule (brother of the late Rector of Bath), S. Lister (from England) and others of less note. The trees were, perhaps, young when I knew them (a quarter of a centry ago) but they were sturdy aud flourishing aud gave no end of mii/c to the little oucs of the school ! — Yours truly, TWO STAR. [My signature has no reference to the bark of oak trees.] The Pure Callsaya Ledgeriana Seed (2 SCO grammes) offered for sale by Mr. Syuions today (May 5th) realized from E6 to RIO per ounce. Brazil Coffee Crops and United States Popdl- ATioN AND Consumption. — If, as Mr. Blacklaw seems to think, the Brazil crops are not likely to increase, the question of increased population in the United States — where coff-'e is consumed at the rate of S lb. for head — becomes important. This ye:ir and each suc- ceeding year, for sometime to come, it is expected that one million jjer annum of immigrants will laud in the ports of the Union. Then there is the natural increase. The prospect certainly is that, ere long, the United States will confume all the coffee Brazd can tupply. Now THAT North Borneo has become a seat of European enterprize, it may be worth while to consider how the opening out of that new country may affect us in India. We liave not at band correct details as to the temperature of the island, but, lying so near the equator as it does, the climate must be hot, while the proximity of the sea will temper the tropical heat of the sun. \Ve assume, therefore, that, for the growth of tea. the climate will be all that can be desired. The Southern States of America were found suitable for the s.ime industry as far as mere climate was con- cerned, but the want of a sufficient rainfall made the industry an impossibility, because, although the plant grew nnd yielded , leaf, it would not yield in sufficient qu.mtity to make the iudnstry a financial success. Borneo, however, is even more suitable than many parts of India in this respect, as will be seen from the following table, which we extract from the Sarmoah Gazelle, giving the rainfall for 1S80 and 1881 :— 18S0. January February March April May June July August September October November December 1881. 17'14 14-59 15-33 13-03 e-83 6 -06 7-45 11-32 22-55 15-26 17-19 7-28 January February March April May June July August September October November December 09-25 7-31 24-46 7-62 T-61 4-80 3-67 7-36 4 02 18-81 23-13 7 99 We Total ... 154-28 Total ... 1SG03 see visions of a twelve months' season here. Nature will doubiless provide a season of rest for the bushes, and a glance at the above t ible would seem to iiidient'e the months ot May, June, and July as the period when the tea-plants mi^iht be ppuned, and allowed to rest for recuperative purposes.* If, however, the cultivation of tea be attempted ou those elysian shores, no varietv but the purest hybrid or Assam indigenous should ever be allowed on the island — Frirvd of India and Stalesman. * As in Oeylon. — Ed. July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 31 Cinchona. — While some planters are advertizing for old newspapers wherewith to clothe their shaved cin- chona trees, the " old rag" Ijeiu" carefully pri-jtrved for this purposes in many bungalows, in othtr cuees the leaves of the cinchona itself tied on with nmna grass are found to do very fairly for a temporary clothin;». By many the shaving of trees from 3 yuars old and upivards is considered to be preventative of canker and decay at tlie roots. Blocks of wood are used as substantial substitutes for the bottles filled with sand in loosing bark fr. ni twigs and brunches preparatory to stripping. By the way that was an interesting letter from a "Cinnamon Planter" the other day in which he described the preparation of " chips," the cost of scraping which is 3c. per lb. (while the value is from 7c. to 8c). The margin of profit is here certainly very close, and like the young twigs of inferior cinchona it will scarcely jjay to harvest them. — Planiiuij Cor. Well Irrigation. — Mr. E. B. Thomas, a retired Madr.is Civilian, has nddressed the Goverament of Ind- ia on a subject which is now receiving great attention, irrigation of land by means of wells. In the Jaft'na Peninsula, well irrigation has been carried to great perfection, but the system is surely applicable to many other parts of the colony where irrig:itiou tanks would be failures. From Mr. Thooias's paper we quote as follows ; — In Indi.a, under the influence of a tropical sun, waters w ill produce grain in almost pure sand, and no ou'', therefore, will probably question the oft-re- peated assertion " that irrigation (wherever practicable) should be extended to the utmost." It surely has been so to a very large extent. In three provinces in which I served (in Tinuevelly seven years; in Coim- batore eighteen years; in Tnchinopoly three), I know that under the care of intelligent engineer otfioers every drop of available water for irrigation was utilized in cut channels of 70 and SO miles long. No waste water reached the sea except at high floods. All river water was diverted into water-courses or into tanks, the rice crops being often finally saved ly ivc'ds, when the channels began to fail. But much lies behind the one word " practicable. " Irrigation is only practicable in level tracts bordering on perennial and unfailing rivers, chiefly from the south-west monsoon. To cover India with a network of channels and series of tanks, all certain to dry up on lir.st failure of the monsoons, would only be a costly delusion. There are many provinces above the level of practicable irrigation; others with only small temporary rivers, which are torrents in the rains, but dry beds at oth'-r times. Again, there are soils unfit for irrigation, where water, if supplied, either disappears as through a sponge, or where the permeating water brings to the surface suits or other latent ingredients fatal to crops (some such are found, I believe, on parts of the great Ganges canal). One failure of a monsoon dries up all tanks and channels not fed by a perevnial river; but a ivdl will stand one, or even two, such failures, and still irrigate a portion of the land immediately round it, and save grain enough for the ryot's family, while the straw saves his cattle, with driuking water fur both. Moreover, the water raised and used for the fields near the well percolates partly aijain into the wells, and is raised a second time, for renewed use. Not so with a tank or channel; the water flows once ovi r, and off', the fidd, and is lost. The well, too, is the ryot's own jiroperty, and adds (tenfold) to the sakahle value of his land, and is thus a safeguard and an advantage both to the ryot and the State ; for, if the ryot prospers, |the .State benefits, and is sure of its rent. " Mountain reservoirs" are specious, but practic- alli/ of Utile use : as too distant, the water is absorbed and wasted ere it reach the plain : canals, where practicable, and branch rail roads, where required, are self-evident necessities. The Tithb of a Coffee Pdlpek.— The Natal Mer- cury, in an article on Madagascar, gives curious details of the galling interference of the native custom officers, amongst vvhioli we find the following : — They one day wanted to get for the Government the ten per cent, duty for a machine for disengaging the grain of coffee from tlie pulp, and weie actually on' the point o cultiug off at one end the tenth part in length of the machine, and so totally destroying it. This is of course very ridiculous, but it is illustrative. Pterocaepus Santa LINUS or Red Sanders Seed. — Noticing a new advertizement in today's (May 12th) issue forthesale of iheseed of thisvaluable tree, we quote what Balfour, in his "Timber Trees of Southern India," says : — " Its wood is sold by weight as a dye wood and forms a regular article of export. The natives con- vert it into posts for bouses .and it is preferred to any other timber. It is heavy, extn-mely hard with a fine grain, much used as a dye-wood by color manu- facturers and also in turnery taking a beautiful polish. It yields its coloring matter to alcohol and ether but not to water. " A Good Storv comes from Mincing Lane. A mer- chant lately gave a broker a sample to value for him, and this was done, and reported as being worth 5d a lb. It was eventually put op to public auction, and, on the merits of the sample, realized 6d a lb. When the merchant next met the broker, he upbraided him for having undervalued the tea. The broker admitted this ; but added that the Customs had valued it at still less, for it had been ordered to be burned — the fact being that the two ends of the boxes from which the sample would he taken had a layer of inferior tea, while the inside was filled with rubbish. This, luckily, was discovered before the "tea" got into "consumption. "—London corresj'ondtnt of "Aberdeen Journal." A Conclusion about Crops. — A correspondent writes: — "Dear Sir, — In the letter headed 'Necessity for Retrenchment,' in your issue of 10th inst., we find the words : — ' The crops of the last (en years have been governed by a visitation which no human wis- dom could have foreseen. ' The impossibility of the foresight may be doubted, because coffee leaf-disease seems but a parallel to the potato, hop, and vine diseases. lu each case the diverse natural vegetation of large tracts of land has been destroyed to make room tor the cultivation of a single plant, and the V .nous diseases must surely be regarded as the efforts of nature to reassert itself. This is my Conclusion. " Our correspondent's conclusion has suggested itself to many minds, but it is liable to some qualification, for the vegetation which nature herself pl.aces in a certain habitat is liable to disease and death. In many parts of Australia, notably in Gipps Land, we passed through square miles of what had been verdant forest, but which hfid been converted by a small moth, that ate up every leaf, even of the pungent Eucalypti, into an expanse of .still grand but gaunt and weird-looking sk.letons. Our jungle trees here are not exempt from visitations Of the kind. The guava is specially the victim of the coccus which at one time threatened to kill our coftee. It did not succeed, and we trust the fungus will be equally unsuccessful in the attempt at extirption. It is only recently that the rules of true science have been .applied to the laws of nature ge.erally and of plant life specially, and we have still much to learn. We suppose that most of us, if we had the ordering 'ry, cultivation, and consumption of the article, it may be interesting to ofi'er a lew remarlis upon the "pro- perties of tea,'' ivliich, it must be owned, are rather various, if not conflicting. According to theCyelop;edia, we say that a green tea has a fine flavour, also that a congou has a fine flavour, hut thty are totally unlike. The volatile oil it contains gives to tea its flavour. The effect of this oil is to produce wake- fulness ; but, on the other hand, the best authorities declare that "theine," another property in tea, does yiot create sleeplessness, being of a nature to soothe and compose. Theine also supplies lo the human system what it loses by fatigue. This property in coffee is called caffeine, and the drinking of it is attended nith similar results; but at the same tiiUf il is well known tliat "green tea nill produce effects on persons that black teas will not," and that there i« a greater fermentation in black tea tliau iugieen. Ta luiii, which is a powi rful astringent, is another ingredient in tea; when chewed it " puckers up the mouih," but it is thought by some that it aids diges- tion. "Tas'ing tea upon an empty stomach is in- jurious, producing a sense of weakness as if one had fasted a hmg while ;" and " tea experts," who are at it all d.ay, "are made esceedinglj' nervous." Some assert that there is nourishment in tea; others say that tliere is none, and tliat tea consumes food ; whilst tlie book we quote from informs us that tea, like liquors and drugs, when lakeu nioderattly, will have one effect, but if consumed largely it will produce just the opposite. With regard to the names of difterent sorts of teas and thfir meanings, we may state that "Pekoe" is a term from the t hinese "Pai-hao," white down or hair, because made from young spring leaf-buds, while they are .still covered with down. "Souchong" is from '• Seao cliung, " nhicii means little eprouts. "Congou" is a corruption of " Knng-fou" or labour; .ind "Hyson," or He Cliun, signifies fair fpring ; whili' the meaning of "Young Hyson" (Yu- chien) in, before the rains. The instructions for "making tea" are likewise very useful, and cinnot be too widely known ; and retail grocers might render a serv ce to their consumers by giving them season- able directions. In the first plan-, "tea should not be boih-d, as the volatile oil will escape with the steam, and a much larger proportion of the tannic acid is extracted, leaving tlie infusion bitter." The best way to make tea i--* to have au earthenware teapot, which should be quite hot when the dry tea is put into it. A few minutes after, pour in the boiling water upon the tea, which, after "drawing" from seven to ten minutes, "is at the best point for drinking." A sutMcient quantity that is wanted for use directly should be made at the first drawing. The habit of filling the tea-pot a second or third time is not right, becaitse the theiu' , which is quickly soluble in scald- ing water, will have escaped, so that those drinkers who are supplied from the second drawing will loee the most beneficial part of the tea, and will haveinstead "a decoction composed chiefly of tannin." Ijiurned tea, properly prepared with milk, is a beverage highly prized in Cashmere in entertaining visitors: .ind we are told that" the ladies there no doubt vent their grievance to sympathetic ears, discuss their bonnets and their bab- ies, and talk scandal, over this cup in much the same way as their English sisters do over 'Five o'clock tea," Cocoa. — There has be^n another sala of Ceylon cocoa, this week, but it won't bear comparison in any way with Mr. Tytler's sale reported in my last, the bulk of which fetched UCs. There were only 9 bags from the Woodslee estate, 7 of which realized 71s, and 2 only 20s (id. What had h.appened to it I don't know, but it was almost black, and these were considered by experts very fair ijrioes. — Cor. " Ceylon Times." Alavanoas and Big Machines for Cinchona Bark- ing.— Hapntale, •24th May 1SS2. — We are now having mild and calm weather, after a regular burst of wind which blew the cinchonas about a bit, especially big suckers growing from stools. The latest method of twig-harking is to drive two alavangas into the ground, place the twig between the alavungas, seize the ala- vangas with the left hand at their upper ends, and with the right hand draw the twig through. I have heard this simple mode does a wonderful bit of work, com- paring more than favorably with the twig machines at present invented. The New Coffee Exchange.— New York, March 15th. — The newly organized coffee exchange is now in operation, Sefior Salvador de Medouya, Brazilian Consul here and other piominent citizens, were pres- ent at the opening ceremonies. The market prices in Kio are to be cabled over and posted up daily, and there are two daily calls, one at eleven a.m. and the other at one p.m. Mr. F. N. Saunders, the manager, told your correspondent that, for a while, transictions would be confined to "Rio strictly good ordinary," but that he hoped soon to see Java, Maracaibo, and Jamaica coffees added to the list. The calls arc for future options in the coffees for each of the 12 months in the year in regular ouier. The first sale made on the exchange was by Scott & Co. of 250 ba^s to Small & Co., at SJ cents.— Gail's Neivx Letter. Wheat is subject to a malady known as lust or smut; it attacks the grain in the ear, transforming it into a shapeless mass, of a morbid tissue, and destit- ute of all nutritive qualities. Mr. Davaine traces the cause of the malady to an eel-shaped worm, which picks the ti.ssues of the flower, and hence the develop- ment of the grain becomes abnormal. M. Braun admits the existence of the worm, but locates its action in the pistil of ilie flower, thus arresting development. .M. Priedieu last summer — having sowed wheat so diseased — when the plant came into Hower, saw by the niicrosciipe the worms pricking the siamina off the flower at the point of the ovary ; the tissue bi-come distorted into a tube which formed the kernel of the blasted grain. Preserved iu the grim the worm re- generates itself in the soil where the di»eas d grain is sown, and can retain its vitality for 25ih years. — OdlVs News Letter. A New Test for Damaged Seeds.— In the purcha.se of seeds, so common .at this season, one is apt to be deceived. A correspouiUnt of the Journal W Agri- culture Pratique recommends a tist which he has used for many years with complete success. IL is that of fire. Take at random a number of seeds from the bag, say eight. Put some live coals on a shove), and deposit each oi the seeds successively on it. Blow the coal, and watch how the seed behaves. If the comliustiou is slow, merely giving off some smoke, you may conclude thai the sc d had li ilamaged germ ; if, on the other hand, the t-eei.1 leap.^ and turns about on the coal, ] reducing a dry sound (tac), proportional to the size, it may be inferred to have good gerniinative qualities. In this w.ay the proportion of good and bad seeds may be ascertained. As for the larger seed?, such as acorns and chestnuts, it is sufficient to throw them into a liic, and keep them in view. If the quality is good, this will be indicated ere long by detonation of the seed. — Public Opinion. July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 33 MR. GLADSTONE DOING A MEASURE OP JUSTICE TO- COFFEE. We are able this day to quote, from the Price Current of Messrs. H. Pasteur & Co., the text of the resolutions forbidding the adulteration of coffee with any substance except chicory, which the Prime Minister, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Budget speech as decided on, and we quote that portion of the Financial Exposition which re- ferred to the revenue derived from alcoholic and non- alcoholic drinks. The case of coffee in itself, but especially as compared with tea, — the one left open to adulteration which indeed was invited by a series of Treasury Minutes ; while the other was stringently j '[ected — could not but force itself on Mr. Glad- . .uiie's attention. But we cannot help tliinkiug th.it the action of the right hon. gentleman was largely influenced by the representations made to his govern- ment by persons interested in the coffee industry and trade, cuhninating in tlie Memorial of Feb. 6tli, signed most numerously and influentially. The gi-atitude of the coffee plautei-s of Ceylon as well as that of coffee planters everywhere is due to Mr. Thomas Dickson for his zealous efforts, and veiy especially to Mr. H. Pasteur for the convincing figures he prepared and argued from. He comiiiled a statement shewing the consumption of coffee in Bi-itaiu in'every year from 1842 to 18SI, and shewed that "Wliilst in 1S54, with a duty of 3d per lb., 37,472,000 lb. were consumed in tliis country, in 1871, with the .same duty and with a population which had increased by some 5 or 6 millions, the consumption fell to 31,000,000 li)., whilst in 18S1, with a duty reduced by one-half, i.e. to 14s. per cwt., and a population gi'eater than in 187 1 by 3,'100,000, the con.sumption was was not more thtai 31,943,000 lb. He went on to affirm that This decrease in the use of one of the best and most wholesome of bevetages, the consumption of which, in every other counti-y of Eiurope and in the United States has increased enormously and goes, on increasing yc;a' by year, is the direct result of a system' of fraud and aiUilteration, wliich has been carried on, and is growing steadily, as it were, under the tender care and solicit- ude of the British Government, who from time to time revise the regulations relating to the .sale of coffee and the various cheap mixtures with wliich it is adulterated, 80 that the ingenious importer or mauufactmer of grou)id and roasted acorns, or carrots, or any other nasty com- pounds, may have full scope for the exercise of bis indu.stry. (I do not name chicory, which seems to have become an almost too respectable substitute, judging by the fact that even the consumption of cliicory has been less in 1881 than in 1880.) I do not think any one. will call the above statement either exaggerated or highly colored, who wUl take the trouble to glance at the Treasury orders, issued from time to time on the sub- ject, and which are enumerated in the last column of the tabular statement on the first page. He, naturally enough (his justification being their- own extraordinary proceedings ) stated that it looked as if the Treasury and Excise had taken pains to find means to check and prevent the sale of cofice for consumption in Britain, by encouraging not merely chicory gi-owers but preparers of date powder and all possible descriptions of trash which were allowed to be sold as coflee. Mi-. Pasteur very naturally and fairly asked Is there any good reason why the same regulations, which are considered fair and necessary to protect the revenue from the tea duty, should not be applic- able also to coffee y Why should tea be protected by legislation against adiUteration and not coffee alsui* Is it too late to bring the subject again under the consideration of Government? Surely the coffee- growing British colonies or possessions are 'as deeply intereslcd in tins question as the traders in tliis country; their representatives and the Plauters' Associations, should not rest until they have succeeded in obtaining common justice and fair play for one of their most valuable and important productions. This was in January. In February, Mr. Pasteur followed up his fii-at attack by another specially dii-eoted against the astounding Treasury order which positively invited the miportation of all possible sub- j stitutes for and adulterants o? coffee. Mr. Pastern- wrote : — To state that coffee is one of the best aud most us< fu of beverages, and that its use ought to be eucom-aged on economical as well as sanitary and moral grounds, is to repeat a truism. It is esteemed as such, and its use encour- aged in all countries, s.ave oue, and its consumption is steadily iucreasmg everywhere except in Great Britain. In America the consumption is at the rate of over 8 lb. per head per annum ; in Germany, with a duty of 21s per cwt. it is 5 lb. per head ; in France, with a duty of 60s per cwt., it is 4 lb, per head. In England it was nearly 2 lb. per head in 1847 with a duty of 36s per cwt., but now, with a duty of 14s per cwt., it is less than 1 tb. per head, aud yet we impi.rt annually some 70,000 tons of coffee or five times the quautity consumed. The reason of the growing disfavour for the article is .-ibfeli/ and entirdi/ owing to the wholesale system of adulteration which flourishes under the regulations per- mitting the sale of, and since the 20th January, the import- ation of any kind of ste revenues fell from £3I,02;),000 to about £28,500,000, 01- roundly aliont one-eiglith ; bnt the duty on wine fell from £l,719,00il, tn il,3t)6,000, or hy more than one-liith. Uowevei-, there la the fact that there is a greit diminution, notwithstanding the la>ge increase of population bebweeu 1807 and 1881— an incre:ise in the population -ivhich could not be less than 4,000,000 people. Toe gro^s reyenue from these sources, which had risen to £31,020,000 iu 1874, fell by more than £2 500,000 with an increase of population bit-veen 1874-75 and 1881-82 of considerably over 2,000,001) people. It is also rather curious to take the pro- portion in which we have been dependent on this source of the revenue of the country, and, in order to show that I have compared the liquor taxation of the o.uutry, as I would call it. with the nou-liqnor tax- ation— meaning by the uon-liquoi' taxation all the tax revenue of Ihecouotry except Che income-lax, which I do not includ" on account of its fri-qufot variation— but I put on one side tlie taxation derived from alcoholic liquors and on the other side the taxes derived from all other sources except the income-tax. Taking the percentages on that basis, they staud as follow ; — In the six years from 1859 to 1865 we levied 37i piT cent on our taxatiun from alcoliolic liquors and 62 from non-alcoholic liquors. In three years from 1866 to 1868 we levied 42 per cent from alcoholic liquors and 57i per cent from all other sources. In five years, from 1869 10 1873, we levied 46i per cent from al coholic liquors aus £207,000; in 1881 it was only £189,000; and, althouj;h toe chicory duty had been slightly increased, it only increased hy £8,000 and did not make up the whole difference. The cocoa duty had iucreaTeu somewhat, from £40.000 to £46,0 0 ; but the joint yield of ihese three articles, which in 1874 was £3111,000, was only £306,000 in 1881. When we turn to tea, the case is very different. There it is not in the tea houses, but the donietic use of tea that is advancing at such a rate that there you h've a powerful champion able to encounter alcoholic drink in a fair held and to throw it iu fair fight. The revenue on tea, which in 1867 was £3,350 OnO, had riseu in 1874 to £.3,875,000, and in 1881 to £4,200,600. The increase of the i opulation during that period of 14 years was 4,900,000. But there was no cor- responding augmentation in the revenue from coffee ard chicory- 1 am bound to say there is a peculiar state of the law to which 1 ought to invite the House to apply a remedy, and I shall lay a resolution on the table of the Committee this very evening with that view. At, present every description of admixture with coffee is permitted, and we have long proceeded on the principle that the admixture of chicory with coffee was not an adulteration — that it was an admixt- ure rooted in the habits of many countries so that people would not drink coffee without it. But of late a practice has grown up of producing all kinds of 'ubstitutes under the name of coffee (Hear, hear), and that I cannot but think, must in some degree account for the strange and singular state of the figures I hat 1 have laid before the Committee. We shall not attempt to interfere withthe admixture of chicory with coffee, but we propose that it should not be allowed to introduce other miscellaneous admixtures with coffee. (Hear, hear.) JAVA CIiN'CHUNA CULTURE. The following is a translation of Mr. Moens' report for the first quarter of this year ; — Repokt on the Government Cinchona Enteepbise IN Java for the 1st Quarter 1882. The weather during the past quarter was favorable for operations. The continuous wet weather permitted the regular carrying on of the partial stripping of trees ; only in March the interval of two weeks drought obliged us temporarily to discontinue that work. There were put out in the open 30,000 Ledgtriana and 9,000 succirubra plants. The harvest obtained so far reached 45 UOO Amst. lb,, of which a quarter was dispatched to' Tjicao— 31,575 A. lb. In January, simult-'ue- ously with the original trees, many of the two year old t-rafts began to blossom. Although this might have I een expected, it caused some uneasiness, as it was feared that the blossom might exact too much from the strength of these young trees. These were there- fore carefully observed, and it is already clear not only that have they borne the blossoming well but that it is even very probable that they will also brinf to maturity the fruit also, without harm to the plants. This last would be a great gain, as on the Tirtasari establishment, where these grafts are planted, there are no other varieties of cinchona but pure C. Ledgeriana. The flowers of these trees cannot therefore receive pollen from other cinchonas, and the seed ought to give exceptional plants. Among the grafts examined, in which the choice of stock was generally very limited, there are .some which, although not yet one year old, are already blossoming profusely; it is to be feared that some of them will succumb to this. The chemical analyses which were performed during this quarter had still for their object the determ- ination of the quinine yield of young Ledyerianas, produced from seed of different parent trees. The most valuable results of these investigations will be given in the next report. J. C. ISernelot Moens, Director Govt. Cinchona Knterprise. Bandoiig, 4th April 1882. It will be observed that Mr. Moens evidently con- templates propagating Ledgerianas from seed obtained from grafted trees of only two years old. But it 36 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, i88z must be kept in view that the Ledgeriana grafts were taken from trees fully fourteen years old. The case ia very diflerent, therefore, from that of common plants blossoming and seeding prematurely. When we met Mr. Moens in Java he was anticipating a large crop of seed from his old Ledgerianas. If, in addition to the fulfilment of this hope, seed is gathered from any considerable proportion of the grafted plants, we may anticipate that erelong the distribution of seed to others than Java planters may be again sanctioned. Meantime firgt-rate Ledgerianas are yielding seed in Oeylon. THE TEA IMPORTS AND EXPOKTS OF BRITISH INDIA. The Pioneer, in a second interesting article on the annual report of the Commissioner for Assam, strangely under-rates the quantity of China tea still imported into India. Its cheapness compared with Indian tea recommended it (especially to tea-drinking natives) before the duty of 6d per lb. was removed, and now, of course, the weak China tea will be in a still more advantageous position iu the matter of the price per lb. at which it can be sold. The Indian tea is twice as strong as the China leaf, and more than twice as good, but time will be requii-ed both in India and Ceylon for the formation of a new taste. Having received from the Government of India the Customs Accounts for the year ended 31st March, we are able to see what the exact figures for imports of tea mto India as well .as exports from that empire are. The quant- ity impoi-tad is ten-fold that given by the writer in the Pioneer, as the following figures will shew : — 1879-80. 1880-81. 1S8I-S2. a. lb. lb. From China ... 2,0S!i,041 ... 2,5.34,090 ... 1,895,850 „ other countries 445,477 ... 788,317 .. 949,3()2 Totals 2,534,518 3,222,407 2 845,212 The average, tlierefore, is about three millions of poimds per anniim for a population of considerably over 200 millions of luunan beings, and we do not siippose that an equal proportion of Indian tea is us.ed : let us say live millions of pounds in all. The day is coming when the figures will be 50 or even 500 mil- lions. The condition and the taste of the Hmdus must first be improved, however. The Customs A'aluation of the tea imported, which is too high, ranges over 2 millions of rupees per annum. Let us now turn to the figures for tea exported in the past three yeai-s, remembering that every pound of this is India-gi'own produce : — 1879-80. 1880-81. 1SS1-S2. lb. lb. lb. To United Kingdom 37,932,004. ..45,41G,582...47,41.?,576 ,, Australia ... 85,994... 807,608, ., 906,762 ,, other countries 155,433... 189,320... 371,387 Totals 38,173,.521 46,413,510 48.691.725 The Customs' valuation of the exports was over 30 millions of rupees for each of the two first years, and 36 millions for the last. Our readers M'ill observe the effects of the Melbourne Exhibition and the operations of the Syndicate on th." exports of Indian tea to Aus- traliaj the increase beiug from 86,000 lb. in 1879-So to 906,762 lb. last year. Ere long the exports to the lauds of the south will count by millions of pounds. It remains to mention that the '• re-exports " of China tea from India were in each of the three years 2;j1,111 lb., 505,029, lb. and 563,617 lb. The actual con- sumption of China tea in India is therefore only 2,."i00,000 lb., ■with perhaps an equal quantity of Indi- an tea. In the Madras Mail of the 23rd, we find the fol- lowing estimate of this year's crop of Indian tea : — I'he estimated probable crop of Indian tea tliis yiar is 51,619,000 lb. The local consumption, mclud- iu;; the requirements of Government, may be taken :it 1 1 millions of lb., and, if, as i? hoped, the thip- ni> nt^ to Au.stralia and .America should ann unt to 2 millions, there will remaiu froiii tlie piobableciop nf 1882 about 48 millions of lb. for export to the United Kingdon. As far as Ceylon is concerned there is reason to believe that the tea produced iu the Island is gradu- ally supplanting the China kinds. In 1S80 the duty levied on tea entered for 'home consumption was only E.7,461. As the duty is -J of a rupee per lb., the above sum represents 29 844 lb. So that a population of 2J millions consumes only 30,000 lb. per annum of China tea, with perhaps 15,000 llj. of the Ceylou- groM-n article ? The latter figure may be doubled for ought we know. In 1879 the quantity of tea imported was 78,0001b., but as 35,0001b. of imported tea were exported, the consumption of imported tea, ranging al)0ut 30,000 lb. seems to be going down. In 1880 73 703 lb. were imported, and only 29,844 lb. con- sumed. The consumption of locally produced tea ought to go up in proportion, and more than in proportion to the decrease iu the consumption of imported tea. Before closing we place here a paragraph which shews that a paper in China actually anticipates the absolute extinction of the trade in China tea : — The China Mail recently noted the unprecedented increase in the sale of Indian teas during the last few years, and lias predicted that the China tea- growers would have to look to it lest their Lidian rix'als ousted them altogether from the race. A correspondent engaged in the tea trade of China goes further than this, and asserts that the China trade will nearly disappear in five years, and en- tirely disappear in ten, unless the Chinese Govern- ment see fit to encourage it by a reduction in the crushing duties now levied on the exported leaf. Tiiere can be no doubt that the question is becom- ing a serious one for China and China merchants ; and it would be well if the authorities interested were to take warning in time. From a national point of view, one scarcely knows whether to wish most success to the Indian trade, or that canied on in China. Chinese obstinacy ' wdll probably settle tlie question of rivalry sooner than people expect." MR. DE CAEN'S CINCHONA PEELING MACHINE. Hellbodde Estate, 24th May 1SS2. DearSik, — "Kdroly Fiirdo," iu his letter dated 15th ir.st,, distinctly questions the capabilities of my cin- chona harvesting machine. At the same time he invites correction I. therefore, challcnga him to mi-et iiie here fur the purposf^ of my proving to hini iniw u ,|u8t as well as injurious his criticisms have been. 1 siaud strictly by .Messrs. J. Walker & Co.'e adver- July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. ieetnent, aud am ready to substantiate it by puar- auteeing a payment of Rl'OO to the Frieud-in-Nied Society,'' if l fiul at the trial I propose, if "KAroly Filrdo will support hi^ siateinents by a simil.u- guarantee. — Yours truly, J. H. ue Caen. Dk Oakn's Patent Cinchona Buancii asb Tvfu: Habvestino Machine. Directions for twe. Carry the harvester to a spot as nearly as possible in the centre of yoiu- day's work. Put nil the coolies told off to this work to cut and carry branches aucl imys for about one hoiu ; by that time a con- ' rable help will have been collected near the machine. . ow put one man to turn the handle and two boys to feed :..■. last as possible; have never less than 12 to 15 twigs passing tlurough the rollers at the same time, should the twigs be very small, pass them through in bundles of 1( l or 12 ; if liu'ge branches are being harvested keep them well towai'ds the tapering end of the machine. Change the " man at the wheel" every half bom-, with one of the loppers or carriers. Wlien a considerable quantity has been peeled, take off from yoiur collectors, two women, and set them to woi'k sort- ing the wood from the bark. About half an hoiur before leaving off work, bring in all your loppers, &c., to sort what birk remain-s. By this means it will bo foimd easy to harvest at the very least 400 lb. of wet bark diuing the day, and this with five coolies actually working at the machine. The number of loppers must entirely dejjend on the groimd to be gone over. In a thick clearing, tlu-ee extra coolies should suffice, but in oj^en coffee laud, with the trees at loug tUstances from each other, five extra hands will be found neces.sary. The harvester has proved itself capable on several occasions of peeUng 80 lb. of wet bark per hour, when worked by one raau and two boys. J. H. de Caen. Pusselawa, ISth April, 1SS2. Sole Maniffacturers : — Messrs. John Walker & Co., Colombo and Kandy. De O.ven's P.went Cinchona Branch & Twig Hab- vestino Machine. — The above machine has been greatly improved and .strengthened. A fly wheel has been at- tached, making the task of 400 Ifa. of wet bark per day a certainty. The sample of branch and twig bark produced by this invention is very superior to that ob- tained by any other process now in use. Price of the improved macluue with fly wheel, EfiO (Sixty) — nett cash. Orders booked by Messrs. J. AV'alker & Co., Colombo, and Kandy, sole manufacturers. On the I ecommi-ndation of a gentleman who th.n't, it won't, so there 's an end on 't," and the best way is to leave that piece alone in future, and not waste plants on it. But 1 have uuder my eye here ii boundary of trees, th.it were planted in holes, five years ago, tor tbe most part still healtiiy, except in the unfavourable spots above referred to, while plants, put; out with the digging fork, in the field alongside, only two years ago, are in many cases dead or in a very unhealthy condition. I think then that a good many cinchona planters wUI, within the nexi year or two, see an illustra- tion of tlie adage, " the more hurry the less speed," that they will not like, and I would stake a good deal on it, tluit the man who puts out this season one hundred thousand in holes w ill harvest more bark in five years off these trfes tliau his n-ighljour will from three times the number put out with tlie digging fork. This is the conviction I have arrived at from my own observation, and I would like much to hear the views of some of my fellow-planters on the sainesnbject. In these times a good deal of tea is being planted iu unprofi able coffee, and, so far as I know, in much the .-^ame manner (dibblmg iu either plants or seed) aud the re&ult must necessarily be a poor, sickly and stunted bush, except in placts where the soil is excep- tionally good and free. July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 39 The man who is not too nmbitioua of a large acreage, hut is careful to have the work thoroughly done, n-ill save himself iiuich future disappointiiient and lose iu tliia as in any other product. — Yours very truly, PLANTER. CINCHONA AND DRAINAGE. Lindula, 25th May 1S82. Dear Sik, — in one of your recent issues I noticed au extract recommending a hole dug beloio a c:uiker- ing cinchona tree as a means of saving its life. On this principle all trees on the upper side of a deep drain ought to have the best chance of existence, ;is having a continuous hole below them. But my txpenence is to the exact contrary of this, those immediately below the drain having lived, while those above cankered off. I would th-refore suggest that deep holes or drains be dug abovn the trees, and my reasons are as follows. No doubt the trees on thi! actual edge of the drain (lower side) benefit by the loose earth, but the plants to the distance of six, twelve, or twenty feet below (according to the lay of ihe land) grow equally well; there is then a well-detiued line from which to the upper edge of the next drain the cinchonas have all died. What is the cause of this? The explanation I believe is that the water in the soil lodg<-s in the top drain : it then soaks through the ground beloto the roots of the nearest trees, doing them good rather than harm, till it finds its own level (i.e. the level of the bottom of the drain) on the surface, down which it runs into the next drain, killing all intervening plants because it flows over their roots. I send a diagram, which, however, I do n9t suppose vou can reproduce.— Yours truly, KAROLY FURDO. DE CAEN'S CINCHONA PEELING MACHINE. Mr. de Caen's foolish challenge was scarcely before the public when the letter we publish today, from a second planter who authenticates and who records experience similar to that obtained by K.iroly Fiirdo, reached us. He adds that he could get decent re- sults only by discarding twigs ; but we suppose that it is mainly to deal with twigs that machinery is desiderated. Our present correspondent states that the machine went out of order, as most machines are apt to do. In a country like this machinery must be very superior indeed to supersede human labour. Over and over have stone-breaking machines been tried, only to be discarded. Here is the distinct state- ment that, for 35 lb of bark per cooly with the machine, 65 and more were obtained by means of alavangas used like Karoly Fiirdu's bamboos. It won't do for Mr. de Caen to denounce such statements of fact as unjust, and injurious and to publish wild challenges. He must produce countervailing facts. The experience of two purchasers and Mr. de Caen's own statement to us shew that the machine is not calculated to deal with cinchona twigs of small size ; while its treatment of larger branches is pronounced not eatie- faotory. So stands the case now. DE CaEN'S CINCHONA PEELING MACHINE. Dear Sir, — My experience of de Caen's cin- chona harvester, tliough bLttertban "KAroly Filido" s, supports his statement that it does not do the work it is advertized to do, and, by publishing the result of my trials, 1 hope, for the sake of the patentee, that somebody who has made it do 400 lb. or more will show us where we have made the mis- take and how to get the task done. I have worked the machine off and on for a month with sometimes SIX and sometmies eight coolies, and the best task was 282 lb. in a day. On other days I have got 111 !^• ,~^^ ^''- ■*"=• "I'h^ ^''y I managed to get .^82 lb. I rejected all the twigs and only passed medmm and large-sized branches through. These of course were succii ubras as officinalis branches are nearly all too small and go through untouched. On several days I stood over the coolies the whole day, had three .nen feeding as h;.rd as they cmld, and, changed "the man at the wheel " every half.hour, stdl the average stayed at between 30 lb to 3o lb. per cooly, and finally the bearings of the lower roller were out and the cog wheels failing to bite the top roller stood still After this I started with two "alavangas," using them as "Ka'oly Fiirdo" does his sticks or bamboos and on the second day the coolies brought in 60 lb. to 65 lb. of wet baik each, and aft;er a few days practice more they reached 75 lb. to 80 lb. Soon after this I had to stop barking, but next month I intend to start again, and have no doubt that, if one picks out the coolies who show them- selves most apt at the work, nearly 100 lb. wet bark will be brought iu by each cooly. I was peeling branches from 3^ year old trees, and they did every s.ze 01 branch with the greatest ease. Even if the coolies, good and bad workers towther only average 70 ib. each with the sticks or alavan' gas, SIX ot them will do as much as the machine 18 said to, so that the price R60 can never be re- covered. None of the statements in this letter are from hearsay or second-hand; and I shall be glad to be shown that I am «rong in my opinion of de Caen's harvester ; still the fact will remain that "alavan- gas" do as well and are cheaper —Yours faithfully, JOHN PEEL— ER. "A NEW FEVER REMEDY." Uiider the above title the Indian Daily News publishes an article of more serious import to cin- chona growers than all the accounts we have seen of the mai ufacture of artificial quinine. In casts of fever quinine lowers the abnormal temperature of the body, and believers in the germ theory of disease hold that its curative property in cases of fever is due to its fatal cflect on the geims which cause fever. The causes destroyed, the efifects disappear. Our readers are aware that carbonic acid gas is, in quant- ity, amongst the deadliest of poisons. But this is the agent which is to supersede quinine in the treat ment of malarious fevers, not in the dilute form of S3da-water however, but in the shape of regular doses. Dr. .John Parkin of London is the inventor of this treatment, but its introduction to India is due to Dr. Charles G. R. Naylor, Civil Surgeon, of Tharawaddy, British Burma. It seems that He claims that by the proper administration of the antidote, a complete cure may be effected iu three days but allowing two more for rest after cjuralescence ' AVithout entering into the pathology of iutermitt«i.t fever, it may be briefly st.nted that the cause ot fever is the presence of a specific poison in the blood, aud that carbonic acid gas, when taken into the stomach and ab- sorbed and carried forward to the great venous centres neutralizes its effects in the same way as charcoal or carbon is familiarly known to arrest decay. This is the theory which Dr. Xaylor has put into practice in the fol- lowing and other cases. The first pitient, he tells us was his wife. The fever was contiacted in Akyab in April is7i) ^nd commeuced in a remittent form wtuch lasted a fort^ 40 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [JuiY 52, night, and was accompanied by delirium and jaundice. After this the fever returned regularly at intervals of about a month till May ISSO, when the carbonic acid gas treat- ment was tried. Two or three doses were administered at short intervals before the accession of the cold stage, and on the fourth day the fever was gone, ai\d has uot siuce returned. A Deputy Conservator of Forests, who had been suffering from severe attacks of fever every three months for two years, and had tried quinine and other remedies without effect, was com- pletely cured after a few days of the new treatment. Other cases are mentioned in which the fever has not only ceased, but the patient has seemed to resist its attacks even in malarious districts for months afterwards. Dr. Parkin has uot described any cases demonstrating the effect of this new remedy on surgical fevers, and Dr. Naylor has only been able to make one experiment of this nature as yet, in which the residt appeared to be successful. The benefit derived by the use of the gas, in cases of remittent fever was found to be in direct proportion to. the proximity of the period of its administration to the retiun or accession of a febrile paroxysm, provided that sufficient time was allowed to administer four or five doses of the remedy at intervals of about half-au-hour. In simple fever the best time was during the slight remission that occiu'S at some interval during the twenty-four hoiu-s. The gas is administered by ilissolving three parts of bicarbonate soda in water, with two parts of tartaric acid, and di-iuking the mixture while effervescing. The soda and acid may, however, be taken separately one after the other with equally good effect. Should the new cure prove as generally effectual, as Dr. Naylor hopes it will, then uot only will a great boon have been coufeiTed on suffering humanity, but the Government itself will reap no small advantage. At present not only is there a heavy loss from cases of pro- tracted fever in hospitals, particularly among soldiers in time of war, but in many instances the services of valuable oflncers are lost through continued fever producing organic disease, and necessitating a prolonged absence on leave or .an early retirement from the service. Besides this, the cost of the new antidote is altogether insignificant as compared with that of quinine, cinchona, and other known febrifuges, so that ia every way the Government have much reason to be interested in the success of the experiment. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the Government wiU direct its at- tention to the matter, and allow the experiment to have a full and fair trial Certainly this demand is reasonable, but if effervesc- ing draughts of bicarbouaie of soda and tartaric acid have the eft'ect of being not only refreshing in hot weather but a potent cure for malarious fever, then . truly marvellous is it that the virtnea of the dose were not earlier discovered. PLANTING IJN FIJI. We are the more glad to get the letter of our correspondent A. J. S., because we have been long doomed to look in vain for anything of the slightest importance in regard to coffee, leaf-ilisease, or any- thing else connected with planting in that pretentious wind-bag, the Fiji Times. Even when Marshall Ward's elaborate reports on hemile'm vastatrix reached Fiji, the only notice in the Fiji Times was that the re- ports could be seen at a public institution and the insertion of a parody on scientific description, which the editor mi.y have deemed wonderfully witty, but which we are greatly mistaken if his plautiug readers found instructive or useful. If the planters of Fiji are contented with 6u;h an organ as the Fiji Times, that is their business. When we want information about European enterprize in Fiji, we certainly shall not look in its columns. We are not surprized to hear that all experiments directed to finding a cure for hemikia vastatrix have failed, and we have not the slightest confidence in Mr. Storck's much vaunted remedy. Carbolic acid is uot a vol- atile substance, and tl.e spores of the fundus will not be killed by a difiused smell of tar. Why Mr. Stoick should now make a mystery of his remedy, after having fully disclosed his mode in the Gardener's Chronicle, \t is difficult to see. It is clear that merely for the destruction of the spores nothing can excel lime and sulphur. The difficulty is to prevent fresh spores being blown on to fresh foliage, and, as the creation of shelter belts requires time, we fear we must just tiust to time for the remedy in the shape of gradually decreasing virulence. The disease will run its cour.= e in Fiji as it has done in Ceylon and Southern India, and if the Fiji planters are wise they will dirtct their main attention to sugar. But without a good supply of cheap labour nothing can be profitably cultivated, and it is evident that the labour difficulty is becoming a very serious one in the isles of the south. If it cannot be overcome, rich volcanic soil will avail but little. Violent wind currents, too, form a drawback. Having above expressed the opinion that the odour of carbolic acid, diffused in the atmosphere, is not likely to kill the spores of htm,ileia vastatrix, we think it only fair to give the following testimony of an opposite nature, sent to us by a correspondent as likely to be gratifying to Mr. Schrottky's friends: — TUBERCULAR DISEASE. TO THE EniTOB OF THE [loKDON] " TI51ES." Sir, — As an item which seems to nie to support Pro- fessor TyndalFs letter on tubercular disease, in the Times of today, which also suggests a remedy, w-ill you allow me to state in your columns that in the spring of 1871 I was a consumptive patient in Madeira, apparently past recovery ; that I then tried the use of carbolic acid by ray bedside as a ijrotection from mosquitoes, and at once fouud that it had a beneficial influence on my lungs. I continued its use, and in the summer came to England, and have remaiucd here, quite well, ever siuce. I have no doubt that the carbolic vapour inhaled destroyed the Imcil/i. — I am, sir, yours faithfully, E. E. Maddison. Barnsley, Yorkshire, April 22nd. COFFEE ADULTERATION AND ADULTER- ATION GENERALLY. A merchant writes; — "Here is another extract re coffee : — Last week I protested against the vile mixtures which are sold as coffee. Mr. Pasteur, the well-known Colonial broker, has put himself at the head of a movement to put an end to this abuse. He has already memorialized the Treasury on the subject of the Treasury minute of January last, which .allows coffee or chicory, and any other vegetable matter applicable to the use of chicory or coffee, to be imported, washed, ground, and mixed, under a duty of 2d. per lb. The reply of the Treasury is that the minute involves no altenatiou of the conditions under which mixtures of coff'ec and chicory may be sold in Eng- land, and that the matter should be considered rather in connection with the Adulteration Acts than with the Cus- toms. This, I think, is reasonable. It is not the business of Custom-house officers to analyze .stuff' imported as coffee, but merely to levy a duty upon it. "SVh.at really is wanted is an Act prohibiting the sale of any sort of mixture under the name of coft'ee or under any name of which coffee forms a portion. Mr. Pasteur's facts are well worthy of consideration. In February he purchased thirty-seven .samples of coffee at various Lou- don shops. Only in two instances was the coff'ee pure; in some cases the coffee formed only 7 per cent, of the mixture. The adulterations consisted of chicory, dandelion, July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 41 dates, and finings. In some cases the compound was called cufFoe, ia others a mixture, and in others " specially prepiired French coffee." Now, what is the result ? Whereas the coiisuniistion of a wholesome beverage, well fitted to advance temperate habits, is increasing elsewhere, with us it is decreasing. In 1847, with a duty nearly three times as heavy as the present one, our consumption was 37,472,1531b., or about 2 lb. per head; it has now declined to 31.943,4001b., or less than 1 lb. per head. Each succeeding year there is a falling-off. In lS7i>, the duty on coffee yielded £216,800 ; in 1880, £203,500 ; and in 1881, £199,600. The public, in fact, finding themselves only able to buy the wretched stuff which is sold to them inider the name of, or coupled with tlic name of, coffee, are leaving off drinking it. The profits upon these adulter- ations are enormous. Asa rule, these mixtures are sold > .11 ^ o £> ■^■^■ii 1 m< * ^ o a-i "o o % 1 a^i S j; fl cj 4) h % I'll t^ rt M 5,3 1^ lb. oz. oz. oz. 80 85 40 45 592 736 75* 101" 71-29 94-58 I 82-93 Ground Coprolit«. 88 89 44 50 736 75-2 94 88i 87-49 84-25 I 85-87 Gromid Bone Ash. 83 87 52 51 816 784 1021 84j 95-68 70-36 1 87-52 Superphosph.ate. 72 69 H 24 20 4h 3i 4-12 3-09 i 3-60 No Phosphate. 88 50 736 93 86-67 I 85-34 Steamed Bone 89 44 704 89 84-01 Flom-. 86 85 43 43 704 670 86 84i 79-56 80-04 I79-8O CoproUte and Steamed Bone Flom-. So nearly equal in results are the different forms of phos phate used, and so doubtful are the slight superiorities when the indiridual results are examined, that it would be wandering from economy to piu-chase superpho.sphate when coprolite , provides the same quantity of phosphate A« THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1882. at half the cost. (It may be well to explain that both substances are about the same price per ton, but coprolite contains about twice as much phosphate as ordinary super- phosphate.) So important is a good start, however, that some more quickly acting form of phosphate slionld accom- pany the slow coprolite. The rapid start by superphos- phate we have seen was somewhat deceptive ; the promi.se at lii-st held out was not maintained ; on the other hand, bone flour gave a start not nnich behind, and its action was more continuous. Tliis is precisely our experience in Abcr- deenshii-e. Five years later on, however, it was foimd that the surperphosphate augmented a disease well known as " finger-and-toe " disease, but more correctly a club-root disease— it is distinct from the magg-ot tubercles so common in the south of England. On the whole, considermg the action of all these phosphates in the field, considermg their composition and their price, the most efficacious and most economical form of phosphate ajipears to be, in Sussex as in Aberdeenshire, a mixture in equal parts of steamed bone and coproUte, both gi'ound to a flomy state. INDIAN TEA IN NEW MARKETS. If anything would justify the attention wbich has been given to the subject of opening up new markets, it will be found in the news rfceived by us last mail from Australia, and in the Report of the Tea Syndicate which we give in another place. The considerable number of packages ottered in Melbourne, at the last public sale, were not only all sold, but eagerly taken up, at improved prices all round, and several lots changed hands at a protit ; while the trade now, there quite look forward to these Indian tea sales. When such a result has been arrived at in so short a time, we may fairly congrat- ulate ourselves, and feel justified and encouraged in niak- lug sill further effort; for we may be sure that the liking for Indian tea in Au8i,ralia is now well rooted, and will spread with rapidity. Ahvady we hear com- plaints that no public auctions of Indian tea are htld at Sydney, and orders from there for several thousand pounds'' weight were a short while b.ack sent to Mel- bourne. Mn Sibthorpe, in his report on the Australian market, was disposed to discredit the chances at Syd- ney, although ifhy, we at the time, as now, could not uud'erstaud" Leisure did not permit him, perhaps, personally to experiment,* and he thus had to take very much for granted wliat people said ; and the fact is, at the time not very much confidence was felt re- garding the future of India tea in Australia. A variety of circumstances, however, fortuitously happen, d t to spread the renown of our teas much more quickly than peoi)le had dared to hope for, and the result is now thiit they are being eagerly iiiquir.,d for, from all parts of the Colony ; aod »e m.ay look to find a steadily in- creaomg demand, which shall in no very distant time amouut°to quite an appreciable figure. We do not think that planters liave hitherto been so jubilant at the position reached as they fairly should be ; but it is au Englishman's privilege too grumble ; and those interested in Indian tea have forst long had cause for grumbling, that they cunnot all a once get- out of the habit. The complaints »e. hear, how ever, appear to amount to this: — that i t ia a long time before owners see the colour of their money. Wull, this has been so no doubt, and in the initiatory stage of »But we know that he did his best, taking special advant- age of .-m agricultural show in April 1S81, to introduce Indian tea He complained to us of the immovable apathy of Sydney firms. There was no firm of Henty & Co. there and no J. O. Moody. Mr. Jas. Inghs was acting as Commissioner for India in Melboui-ne. He is now in Sydney, and, aided by Mr. Pitt Brown, is working zeal- ously in the interest of Imlian tea.— Ed. + " Fortuitously happened"! Messrs. Mondy, Iiiglis and others pressed the iatrinsic merits of Indian tea, pointing to analyses by Newbery and Dunn ; and they succeeded. — Ed. affairs it cou'd not well be otherwise ; but the draw- back will diminish, as time goes on,— although, of course, so long as the teas of all gardens are bulked by the Syndicate, there is no obtaining, as in the case of direct lionie shipments. Advances. It is a long way from the garden to Melbiurnc (before leav- ing Calcutta for which pace the teas have to be collected, bulked, and repacked), and sales are not, in Australia, weekly as with us, nor is the pajuient by buyers, we fancy, fo prompt as here. Then wlien remittances do rench Calcutta, tliere is necessarily si.me delay, owing to the partitioning of thf amuunrj umong so many. Of course in case of larc;e public ■ om|ianies, tlie inconvenience is not felt much, but we can quite understand why there should exist nmong-t private owners some little soreness at a good deal of weary waiting. However, as we say, the thing is to a Certain extent inevitable, and people must find their consolation in knowing that all share alike, and that their money is safe, — which might not have been the case had they had to trust to unknown and irresponsible agents at so great a distance. Thus much for the Australian market. Now as to America. It will be remembered that it is only a month or so ago that encouragement held out to us, there, was not of the heartiest description ; and we were reminded that progress would be very slow, and success by no means certain : while we were told to prepare, at any rate for preliminary loss. Well, here again we have been agreeably disappointed. The latest advices report a decided inquiry for our teas, and a brightening prospect,— the more so aa Japaa is losing her hold on the Americ^iu market, and even is seriously beginning to question the desirability of continuing the trade. Her manu- facture has so deteriorated that her teas no longer fetch remunerative prices ; and, with the apathy of orientals, tbe Jiipanese seem prepared rather to let things elide than to bestow the requisite care and expense to restore to themselves their former position. We showed in a recent article what a prospect was thus opened up to this country : and indeeil the effects of the change have already begun to sensibly mani- fest themselves. It now rtmaius for us to seize ou the opportunity with vigilance, earnestness, and m- telVujence. There is now reason to believe that America will follow speedily the example of Australia, and become iu time a tirm patron of Indian tea. The hands of the Calcutta Syndicate shouhl therefore be strengthened in every possible way, to enable them to exploit the maiket on a sufficiemly liberal scale; for it is no use trying to create a demand if, when it comes, you are not in a position adequately to meet it. Any doubt on this point existing iu the minds of the American trade would be fatal to our future per- manent success. We do not mean, of course, that In- dia cannot give America all she is likely to ask for, — nrovided the requisite organization exists, adequately supported — but what we do mean is, that if supplies of tea 10 the Syndicate fall short of possible requirements — which seem likely earlic" to be much larger than was originally expected — we should lose the vantage-ground we hope to gain ; for it must be borne in mind that the ."Syndicate is not a speculative public Company, able to supply itself with siock from the open market. Such is against the fundamental principles of the body, which S:ieks to act as the pioneer, only, in opening up new mirkete, — depending entirely for its aupplUs upon the tea industry. Tbe larger, therefore, the support the Symlieate receives, the greutr will be its power for achieving successful results. * , * * The necessity is tliat a "Bulking Company" should be formed to take over the business of the Syndicate when they decide to continue no longer, and that this Company should work on the lines laid down by the Syndicate, whose experience — so valuable — has been July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 43 gained at such trouble and expense. Failing something of tliis kiud, we fear that tlie efforts of the Sj'ndicate — so successful as they have been — will fail of permanctd effect. We want their prnotice pursued and perseven d in : and if this be done, the position of Indian tea should be assured in the outside markets of the world. — Indian Tea Gazttte. THE ASTRONOMER OF NEW SOUTH WALES ON RAINFALL. One of the most pleasant incidents of our visit to the Australian colonies was that of travelling from Sydney to Melbourne with Mr. Russell, the New South Wales Astronomer. Mr. Russell etauds high as a keen but cautious observer, and we were not eurprized to lind that he was no believer in the theory that rain- fall could be increased by covering plains with trees. Ou the other hand ho was sanguiue as to the grand results to be obtained from bringing to the surface the stores of water which are hidden under thousands of sijuare miles of arid country in Australia. The following paragraph in the Hydiieij Mail shews what the conditions are by which, in Mr. Russell's opinion, the deposition of rain from the atmosphere can be iiiflnenced : — Sir. Russell's presidential address at the annual meet- iug of the Royal Society contains a reply to the **rain doctors " that will be accepted by the intelligence of the public as conclusive, however much it may be cavilled about by those who, in accepting, it, would find cherished prejudices cut away or some portion of a pi-ofitable occup- idion gone. Mr. Russell's effort is to enable us " to get some notion of the forces at work in producing rain, and what it means if we try to interfere with them." The only one of these forces, which is in any way accurately understood, is the heating power of the sim's rays. To affect or control the rainfall we must change the temp- erature of the atmosphere, which will he' mast simply effected by a process of elevation. Familiar illustrations of the truth of this theory are afforded by comparison of the average rainfall at Windsor and Eurrojong. The summit of the hill gets 53 inches of rain for every 3.3 that falls in the township 1,800 feet below. Thus the same atmosphere being lifted 1,800 feet deposits 60 per cent, more rain. Hence it may be argued that in any cloudy but not rainy time the uplifting of the atmosphera some 2,000 feet would cause condensation and produce riiin. The force requisite for such a work is the only point to be considered, and this is very clearly set down. Mr. Russell asks us to suppose that we desire to effect a change in the rainfall of Syduey to increase it by 60 per cent, and having calculated all the opposing forces to be over- come, he ostimiitis that it might be accomplished by the burning of 8,000,000 tons of coal per ilay. This estimate is arrived at after some study, and is probably correct ; it may be at least accepted as reliable data by those who desire to control the operations of Nature in the distribution of rain. The part electricity plays in the susnensiou of clouds, Mr. Ku;>sell tells us, speaking c,v cathedra^ science has not been able to ascertain. Franklin's experiment is often quoted, but the facts of that experi- ment are strangely overlooked, for it goes to prove, as does that of Urossc, at a later time, that lightning can be freely drawn from a cloud without producing rain. In fact, the question remains open to philosophers: Has electricity much to do with rain •* Many instances are quoted of great explosions and vast conflagrations, some of which have been followed by rain, hut the majority of which have not; and it is practically proved that it is quite impossible to get enough evidence together to establish the feeblest theory. The matter is dealt mth in a clear and scientific manner, and is satisfactorily placed with those things that had better — by the present generation, at least — be left at rest. Hills and mountains are the great capturers of moisture in the atmosphere, and by a curious law, rainfall generally increases with elevation up to acert- ftin point, generally to 1,000 or at the very utmost 6,000 feet. The quantity then rapidly decreases, and a mountain may pi-escnt the phenomenon of a deluge uf rain on its middle portion, while at its base and ou its summit equally the sun shines through a clear at- mosphere. NEW PRODUCTS. From an article so headed in the very able paper recently started, The Indiyo. Planters' Gazette, we take the following extracts : — Messrs. C'antwell & Co. of Calcutta, have related in the columns of the Englishman, that they " procured some of the aloe plant leaves, many of which were over six feet in lengih, and subjected them to theu- patent process for extrnction of the fibre. A sample of tlie tibre taken from them was sent to London, and by the last mail advice was received valuing it at £28 per ton, and offering to take any cjuantity of it at that price. The advice also stated that the higliest l^rice that any aloe fibre has hitherto realized in the London market was £16 per ton, so that, the Indian sample is nearly double the value of that at present ob- tainable in the market." The subject of timber trees and the supply of woods is a very important one, and specimens ehould be peleoted with diseriuiinatiou. Beside the specimens of leaves, flowers and fruits, there should be a horizontal section with the bark attached of the whol-' tree, about SIX inches thick; a plank about .3 feet long taken throUi.'h the centre, aud also a similar one shewing the sapwood. These will allow of judging of its applicability in oir- peutering, &c. ; also two or three bars about 21 -quave and two to three feet long, and cut from sound wooil. These billets will eniible the strength to be ascertained, th-^ breaking weights of woods being generally tried with special instrument'^, with pieces square! accur- ately to 2 inches and a length of 16 inches. A piece, when turned in a lathe, but not varnished or polished, shows its ;ipplicabiliiy or otherwise for ornamental w<.rk in which lustre, grain, or figure, and colour are tlio chief disiderata. Notes too should be made of as to whether the trees are liable to insect attacks, the distriliuti in, numbers, height to first branches, ciicuni- fei-ence, whether crooked or traight, rate of growth when at full age, amount of seasoning required and the av.Tilable carriage. Woods likely to be usiful in ship-lmilding, for railway sleepers, in house construction, for cabinet work and engraving, showing them by a horizontal section with bark attached, about six inches thick or less ; a slab from the centre, and also from the sap, aud two or three billets 2i inches rquare, 2-3 feet long from sound wood, so as to show figure, grain, lustre, colour, &c. They should not be varnished or polished. Inform- ation as to wliether quick or slow growers, size, natural age, liability to insect attacks. The roots and bolea are often usefitl for ornamental work. TEA SYNDICATE. To the Editor of the Enrjlishman. Sir, — I have read the article in your issue of 4th instant, with refecfnce to t le operations of the Cal- cutta tea Syndicati' m Australia and America, aud beg to send you the enclosed circulars which have been issued lately by the committee, and which will, no doubt, be of intcre.-t. You will notice tl.at the Melbourne Agents of the Syndicate strongly recommi nd the committee to con- tinue their shipments to that quarter, and this is the view the committee themselves have taken, for, although priv;ite shipments are increasii g, still com- plaints are received of the great length of prompt customary in the colonies, and of the heavy charges ' * The heaviness of the chai'ges have greatly hindered shipments from Ceylon, — Ed, 44 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July 1882. which are usually made. Until some change have been broui,ht about iu theee matters, it is not likely tbab merchants will find it to their interest to go very largely into the trade. The Syndicate has been placed upou more favourable terms iu both respects, and returns are now being received much more quickly than liel'ore, but the committee have brought these complaints of private shippers to the notice of their ageut-i in Melboiirne with a view to some changes being made which will lead to au active continuance of the trade when the time comCB for the Syndicate to wit'idraw from it. I also understand that Mr. A. B. Inglis, who has lately 1 'ft Calcutta on a visit to Australia, intends to take up this subject on his arival in Melbourne. With regard to the Americim demand, I may state that the advices of the Agents of the Syndicate are mo3t encouraging as to the future prospects of the trade in Indian teas. The quantity hitherto shipped has not been large, and will, unfortunately, not be sufficient to last till the first shipments of the new crop arrive from this side, but the committee hope to be able to eend forward full supplies this season. Upon the strong recoinmeudation of our New York Agents, the committee have sanctioned a liberal ex- penditure for advertisements in all the principal news- papers throughout the United States, and all that is now required is, as you suggest, that gardens should make ample contributions of tea to meet the demand which will no doubt follow. A. Gr. Watson, Honorary Secretary. Calcutta, May 6th, 1882. MORE ABOUT FEVER AKD ITS CUliES. The Calcutta EnrjUshman contains the following article ; — " The Indian Medical Oazeite for May contains amongst other interesting articlis u precis of operations per- fojmed in the wards of the First Surgeon, Medical College Hospital, during the year 1881, and the report of a valuable paper read before the Calcutta Medical Si ciety by Babn Kakhal Dash Ghose, L.M.S., on the Ufu and iibuse of quinine in fever. Criticism or notice ol hospital operations are scarcely desirable in our columns ; but our renders may care to know some, thing about fever and qniniue from a native pract- itioner who has had lo"g experience of both. In all cases of intermitteut fever, Babu Rakhal Dash Ghose says quinine stands pre-eminent in efficacy and success. Curonic interuiittent fever, however, is seldom bene- fited by quinine, and in complicated malarious fevers whie.h have been neglected it is useless. Tiie fonuula of Sir Ronald Martin in cases of spleen, in which quuiine does little liooil beyond allaying the fever, he ha., found very efftctual n most cases. " This recenji he varies in obstinate cases of chronic iuteimitteut fever by adding Li(p: Arsnicalis. The ■writer of the jiaper makes the somewhat astonish- ing statement tl.at aluui^t all the diseases of Bengal be ' me tinged with malaria, and that the use of quiuiue in typhoid and eruptive fever of all sorts is desirable, especially iu the case of the latter, when the eruption lias been fully devoliped. It may be within the i-ecollection of our rcaOers that two Italian savants some four jears agu c'ainied to have dis- covered the malarial genu in a microscopic fungus found in the Pontine marshes of Italy. Since then littie has been heard of the malarial germ, till re- cently a M. Laveran has claimed to have found in in the blood of patients suflering from malaria a remarkable parasite which he afflrms is the genuine cau.-ie. We give below the entire statement from the Sckntijic American :— " Mr. A. Laveran has found in the blood of patients suflering from malarial poisoning, parasitic organ- isms very definite in form, and mo-t r> maikable iu character ; motionless, cylindrical curved bodies, trans- parent and of delicate outlines, curved at the extrem- ities ; transparent spherical forms provided with fine filaments in rapid movement, which he believes to be animalcules; and spherical or irregular bodies, which appeared to be the "cadaveric" stage of these, all marked with pigment granules. He has also detected peculiar conditions in the blood itself. During the year that has passed since he first discovered these elements, M. Laveran has examiueil the blood in 192 patients affected with various symptoms of malarial disease, and has found the organisms in ISO of them, and he has convinced himself by numerous aurl repeated observations th.it they are not found in the blood of persons suffering from dise.ases that are not of malarial origin. In general the parasitic boilies were found in the blood only at certain times, a little before and at the moment of the accession of the fever, and they rapidly disappeared under the influence of a quinine treatment. The addition of a minute quantity of a dilute solution of sulphate of quinine to a dr< p of blood sufficed to destroy the organisms. M. Laveran believes that the absence of the organisms in most of the cases (only 12 in the whole 192) in which he failed to find them was due to the patients having under- gone a course of treatment with quiuiue. " Whether the germ of malaria be a fungus, a para- site, an organic germ of some sort, or a superabundance of carbon dioxide and other exhal.'itions and a con- sequent deficiency of oxygen iu the air breathed over malarious districts, this at least is certain, that the magnitude of the loss of life from what is called fever in India has attained such dimensions as to warrant, if not a special commission of experts to examine and report on the subject, at least tliat every practitioner, who has any experience of "fever," should give some time to its study aud keep a note of his experience that it may be compared with that of others. " The discussion on the paper above noted has been adjourned. If we are not too late, may we suggest that a committee of the Calcutta Medical Society stiould be appointed to report on the fever item tha*: figures so largely aud so invariably in the mortuary retu rns ? " [There can be no doubt that the great remedy for fever is quinine. Next to it in value is .arsenic, but the latter requires great caution in its u-e. aud should be taken only when prescribed by a physician. The ar- senic eaters of Stjria become ultimately the most fear- ful wrecks, more pitiable, if anything, thin the vic- tims of opium and alcohol. Our readers have heard the story of old .lames Reed of Rnjawella, who discoverefl thu proper dose of arsenic, after twenty coolies had succumbed to over-doses ! — In the severe cases of remit- tent fever, where quinine fails, there is probably lesion of the liver or some vital organ. — En.] Reana Luxurians. — An Indian correspondent writes : — "Your correspondent, who has tried the seed of the ' Reaua luxurians,' should try parching it or roasting, when he will find it as edible as Indian corn. But Reana is not worth growing for its grain, as the stalk becomes hard and cattle cannot eat it then ; when green, and before the seed forms, it is very good for fodder: in fact nothing can be better except the imphee or sorghum, which is capital fodder, besides giving abundant grain, which also is very good as a food grain for man and beast, if boiled, or parched, or ground down to meal. The Reaua h.as one advantage, that it is not poisonous to cattle at any time, whereas the sorghum is poison- ous at certain times of the year, before it ie full- grown." July i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 45 VICISSITUDES OF THE PLANTING ENTERPRISE IN CEYLON :— THE TROPICAL SWING ; DEPRESSION AND PROSPERITY. Nothing succeeds like success. Tlie timeworn apliorism has been marvellously illustrated again and again, in the history of planting and the e.xperience of planters in Ceylon. Men mth no special superiority of judgment, prudence, or ability, have been carrie