March i, li 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



6r! 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 



CEYLON SEED NUTMEGS. 



Sth January 1SS4. 



UiiAU Siu,— 111 the interest of planters in general 

 and Indian ones in particular, I write to warn them 

 against purchasing Ceylon seed nutmegs for trial as a 

 new product. ■ 



I recently purchased a considerable number, which 

 I was assured were quite fresh, for trial on my estate. 



On writing to a friend, a planter of long standing, 

 meutiouiiig what 1 had done, he in reply said:— "It 

 is to be hoped that you have purchased nutmeg plants, 

 and NOT seed, as sonetirae ago a fiiend and 1 were 

 induced to purchase a large number of so-calkd fresh 

 nutmegs from Ceylon ; they were put down very care- 

 fully iu a nursery according to directions received, 

 but not a single nutmeg germinated. Some little time 

 after, we purchased another batch from what we were 

 told was a reliable .source, with however the same 

 result. They were all BuILED evidently before being 

 e.xported." 



My experience being precisely the same, I think that 

 planters thinking of speculating in seed nutmegs for 

 trial should fallow Punch's advice to those about to 

 marry. Don't ! ! — Yours faithfully, 



ANTI-HUMBUG. 



1 I nclost my card. 



I Our own experience is that nutmeg seeds are very 

 difficult of germinatiou, and of course the difficulty is 

 increased by export and delay. The idea of the 

 nutmegs having been boiled is simply idiotic. — Ed.] 



CARDAMOM POOCHIES. 



Munzerabad, 21st Jan. 1884. 

 Deak Sir, — A friend of mine, a Mr. Gilden, found 

 certain insects inside green cardamoiiis, and we were 

 puzzled to know why they should have been formed 

 in unripe capsules ; so we referred the matter to a 

 scientific auihority in the person of a planter near 

 this, well-known to you, whose name ia at the fi'ot 

 of the following letter. I send this on to you for 

 the information of your 'eiders. 



Would you enqui>'e if the .--inhalese have any objection 

 to cutting bamboo in moonlight ? 



ABbKDONENSIS. 



Warm spots are most favourable to insect developmt u t. 



The natives of Mysore take the precaution to cut 

 Watties and bamboos when there is nomoouliyhr. It might 

 be found possible to bestow some care iu this direction 

 when clearing wattie ravines. Gka. As-dkeson. 



[Our entomological referee states : — " I do not re- 

 cognize the beetle described by Mr. Anderson. A year 

 or more ago, you sent me some cardamom pods that had 

 been penetrated, and seeds eaten by a wire-worm. 

 Mr. Anderson does not say why the natives of Mysore 

 take the precaution to cut wattles and bamboos when 

 there is no moonlight. Until wo know this, we can- 

 not tell whether there is any good in it, or a mere super- 

 stition." The closing remarks were in reply to our 

 suggestion that not cutting bamboos on moonlight 

 nights was a mere superstition. On a clear moonlight 

 night, it is cool because of the radiati m of heat, 

 but we cannot see how that can affect bamboos or 

 insects. — Ed ] 



1 have recently examined some unripe cardamoms, which i 

 had suffered from the depredations of a minute insect, 

 and having noticed that frequent inquiries have been 

 made relative to it in the Ceylon Olisen'ei; I venture to 

 make the following remarks : — i 



The insect is a very small beetle (order C'oleopterti) of a 

 dark, brown or black colour, and is in my humble opiuon 

 identical with the Oanareso " cootay " which attacks 

 numerous jungle woods, etc., after telling. Among these 

 I may mention :— ; 



Watties (basket reeds). 

 Ooprautee {Uernandia pelfata). 

 Benday {Eritiocarjms nimmoanus). 



" All such insects undergo a complete metamorphosis. 

 They issue from the egg in the shape of a grub, which 

 in many species is very destructive to plants and wood. 

 In time they assume a pupa form ; others emerge as per- 

 fect beetles." — (Maunder.) 



In the case of the cardamom, I think the fact that I 

 have found the insect iu the larva and perfect state inside the 

 capsule suggests the probability that the female punctures 

 the outer skin and lays its eggs therein, and the grubs feed 

 on the immature contents of the cardamom and h.iving 

 passed the pupa state emerge as perfect beetles by the 

 small round hole. 



The natural encmie= nt thpse ;irr- birds, tjadsaicd lizards. 

 (Lacertinidre). 



SUGAR CULTIVATION IN CEYLON AND 

 ELSEWHERE. 



Baddegama, 7th Feb. 1884. 



Db.\r Sir,— With reference to Mr. H. W. Green's 

 letter in your issue of Jan. 31st, inn rotation of crops 

 on this estate, I did not mean to convey, in my 

 conversation with that gentleman, the impression that 

 I attributed the failure of other sugar e.-*lates in this 

 island entirely to non-rotation of crops. I do not 

 know their history suflicitntlj well to allow of my 

 giving so decided an opinion. 



With the exception of " Shaudon " estate on the 

 Gintota river, I should be more inclined to attribute the 

 failures to climite and insufficiency of rainfall (which I 

 do not think should aver.age less than 90 inches per 

 annum). Wray, on page 48 of his "Practical Sugar 

 Planter," say: — "The climate most conj^euittl to the 

 sugar-cane plant is of a warm and moist character witli 

 moderate intervals of hot dry weather attempered by 

 refreshing sea-breezes. It has alwaja been found t'> 

 grow mi'St luxuriantly on islands and along sea-coasts 

 of mainland, which leads us to conclude that the 

 saline particles borne on the sea-breeze exercise a 

 power/ul effect on the growth of the plant. The 

 influence of the sea-breeze, however, i.s exerted in many 

 ways ; as by imparting moisture to the soil even in 

 the hottest weather and driest season, by supplying to 

 it the major portion of the saline matter borne inland, 

 and by affording to the leaves of the cane matter for 

 assimilation, add to which the abundant dow, which 

 it decidedly affects.'' 



With regard to the density of cue-juice in this 

 island, you are quite correct in pun lug it ^at 7° to 8° 

 Beauua^ I have occasionally register^ d it 9° here. 



The quantity of sugar contained in caiie-jnice, iu 

 volume and weight (as calculated l>y Dr. leery of 

 Mauritius, see the Suyar-cane for Sept. 1869), the 

 degrees of density being according to Beaum6 at 77° 

 ;''.ihr<nlieit as follows : — 



Degrees Crystalizable sugar Weight p. r cent of 

 Beaum6. per gallon of juice, crystaliz ble sugar in 



juice. 



7 1 -05 9 9 



S= 1-31 12-3 



^r 1-59 14-9 



10° 188 17-4 



11" 2-17 2"0 



Rich cUay soils, mixed with sand (ndiceous) and 

 decayed vegetable matter and soils formed by decom- 

 position of granite are about the most uitable for the 

 sugar-cane. 



