JVLY 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



perience in cinchona culture in Ceylon goes, it apparently 

 establishes the fact that some varieties of the tree will not 

 do well with an excessive rainfall, and probably the rest 

 would be better with less. If so, this points the more 

 decidedly to Queensland as being better suited for it than 

 Ceylon, and if reasonably fan- chances are afforded it in 

 the coast districts of Central and Northern Queensland 

 there is good reason to beheve that it will thrive and 

 prove remunerative. Something more than sugar and 

 different to coffee will be wanted before long, and cinchona 

 should be thoroughly tried before it is passed over as 

 unsuitable. — Quiinnlander. 



♦ 



NEW INDIGO [AND COFFEE, TEA AND 

 CINCHONA] COUNTRIES. 

 (Indigo Planters' Gazette, May 22nd.) 

 Tlie southern portion of Burmah called Tenasserim, 

 wliich includes the Moseos and Mergui Archiptlago, 

 lies along the coast between 17" and 10° north latitude, 

 and 13 bounded on the east, from thirty to forty miles 

 inland, by a chain ot hills in some places .5,000 feet 

 in height. The breadth otthiscliain at Martaban has 

 never been ascertained, but near Tavoy it appears to 

 be about 40 miles wide, whence it gradually narrows 

 to 10 miles near Mergui. The coast line is very 

 irregular and low for some miles inland, beyond which 

 the eurlaee of the country is niountaiuous, thinly jropul- 

 ated, and much intersected by streams. The cuief 

 rivers aie the Tavoy and the Tenasserim. The Tenas- 

 serim, named after the town, rises in about 15 north 

 latitude. Hows through a valley scarcely broader than 

 its bed, and is navigable for about 100 miles. I'he 

 m;juth of the Tavoy river affords an excellent anchorage, 

 for ships ; ai.d vessels can .inchor along the coast at 

 all times during the north-east monsoon. The soil of 

 the northern portion ot TVuasserim is alluvial ; str.iti- 

 fied sandstone is the prevailin;^ rock interspersed with 

 veins of quartz, in which crystals of great beauty are 

 somrti lies discovered. The chief formation of the small 

 hills is laterite. 



In the Arakiin Division tobacco cultivation is at- 

 tracting notice. According to native calculation the 

 average production ot tobacco in Arakan is 370 lb. 

 to an ncre, but experience has shown that the yield 

 of properly cultivated ground would be 800 lb. to an 

 acre. The tobacco-producing soil is so rich that no 

 rotation of crops is necessary, £;nd beyond a little 

 weeding the plantations require only occasional manual 

 labour. The crop is sown in November and reaped 

 in April. 



Experiments have been made in tea and coffee. 

 Thongh the soil and c imate arc no doubt favourable, 

 the labout question has liitherto proved insuperalile. 

 Chinese immigration is the thing for Tenasserim ; 

 and looking at the numbers now moving towards 

 Korueo, there is no doubt that with a very little 

 encouragement from Government they would readily 

 come to Tenasserii'. 



Tenasserim Division consists of six districts, of which 

 Tavoy is one. The chief town of the Tavoy district is 

 Tavoy, with a popul,".tion of 14,795. The other centres 

 of population are mere vill.iges : — 



Tavoy District. 

 Latitude N, 14°-71 

 Longitude E, 98-18. 

 Area in square miles ... 7,200 



Number of villages ... 308 



Population ... 79,122 



Population per square mile ... 11 



Land revenue ... 98,006 



Average rainfall in inches ... 195 



The population is chiefly composed of Buddhists and 

 Jains. In this district and Mergui are found metalli- 

 ferous minerals »uch r.s lead, iron copper, and anti- 

 mouy. Coal of an inferior quality is fouud in the Ten- 

 asserim river near Mergui, 

 2 



The population in Mergui district for 7,809 square 

 miles is 52,175, giving a population of only seven to 

 the square mile. The rainfall is 151 inches in the year. 



Tenasserim came into the possession of the Burmese 

 in 1793, and was ceded to ihe English by the Treaty 

 of Yaudaboo, February 24th, in 1826. Tavoy sur- 

 rendered to the English in 1824. 



The area of Tenasserim in .'quare miles is 46,776, 

 aud the population about 7u0,00li. Its length is some- 

 thing over 50U miles aud its breadth about 90 miles. 

 The moxmtains run in parallel chains N.-N.-VV. and 

 S.-S.-E., and are 3,000 to 5,000 feet high. From the 

 base to the summit they are covered with dense brush- 

 wood, which extends in some places to the edge of the 

 sea. The temperature is variable on account of the 

 mountains being s^i close to the shore, and cold and 

 heat alternate rathi'r rapidly. The peoples are Talians, 

 Karens, Siamese with a sprinkling of Hindus and 

 Mahomedans. The religion is Buddhism. 



W. M. E. 



MODERN ARTIFICIAL HATCHING AND 

 HATCHING APPARATU.S. 



I am frequently asked the following question : — Are 

 chickens hatched in an incubator as strong as those 

 hatchetl by hens ? Jly reply is that those which are 

 properly hatched artificiaily are not only as strong, but 

 if separated from older fowls, are not nearly so liableto 

 disease, and may be kept till far beyond marketable sze 

 entirely \eiihout vermiit- — a thing which, in Oalifornia,i is 

 almo.st unknown among hen-hatched birds. If vigorous 

 eggs are hatched with too little moisture or too much 

 heat, weak chickens and poor hens may befcounted upon 

 every time ; the same results could be looked for from - 

 an incubator varying greatly in heat, one portion with 

 another (if eggs are changed about) or one time with 

 another over the whole ; such woidd also result from 

 the hiitchiiig of chickens in an incubator suppliexl with 

 too little fresh air. Among the thousands of broilers that 

 I have raised for market I have never had a oontfigi ous 

 disease. I have Invariably kept my chickens from all 

 chance of contact with hens iu auy manner, and not a 

 blemish or trace of \'ermin ha.s ever been seen among 

 them. I beUeve that these things originate spontaneously 

 among fowls after passing a certain stage of their develop- 

 ment only. This season I am hatching almost exclusively 

 from eggs laid by hens which were hatched from my 

 incubators last spring, and X vei-ily believe that iu all 

 California no more clean, haidy, or vigorous fowls or better 

 layers could be found. They are of mixed breeds— Ply- 

 mouth Rock, Light Brahmas and Domiuiquea predomin- 

 ating. Their progeny, hatched in my incubators, have 

 long i)een going to market at the ratio of 00 out of every 100 

 hatched. If any raisers of chickens by the natural w.ay can 

 beat this in midwinter, I may be persuaded to consider 

 whether I have been altogether correct in my statement 

 as to the strength of iucuTjator-hatched birds ; until I hear 

 of a better result, extending into the thousands, I may 

 be permitted to differ with anyone who questions the re- 

 sults of good .artificial incubation. 



In the matter of economy, as compared with natural 

 hatching: — Exclusive of the little time cousumed, and which 

 is scarcely missed, a good incubator will hatch at the 

 rate of about one half cent per chick. In producing num- 

 bers of chickens, the incubator can beat the hen " out of 

 sight ;" for a few chicks, I am free to admit that the 

 hen would lead. The care of a small incubator (though 

 well enough if used as a plaything) is as great as that 

 of a sizeable machine, and I do not consider one of any 

 practical value which will not accommodate at least 200 

 eggs, as a few hens would win every time on sm,^ll num- 

 bers. But when wc come to t^ie consideration of the 

 room, care, feed, attention, and uncertainty in many re- 

 spects of, say, twenty sitting hens, the incubator, accord- 

 ing to my experience, distances the hen ; double the nimi- 

 ber, and still greater results go to the credit side of the 

 artifiuial plan. On the other hand, I do not advise the 

 use of very large machines, as I consider medium-sized 

 ones far more convenient in starting or hatching. If a 



