32 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July 2, 1883. 



the moat scientific and sucoessful of his class, has 

 thornughly examiutd iuto it so far as has been 

 possible in this country and is very confident that it 

 will answer. — Planfers^ Gazflte. 



Twelve Tons "Weight. — A log was recently hauled to a 

 mill in "Wabash county. Ind., that was 51 in. in diameter 

 at the bi^ ond, and weighed over 12 tons. — Forestry. 



Brazilan Slavery. — E-iltidos sobtv a Liherta<;do dos 

 Escrat^oi no Brazil; by J. I. Arniz-jut Furt.ado. Pelotas, 

 Livraria Americana. The piibliention of these -'etudies" 

 on the question of slavery began in 1869 two years 

 before the adoption of the present emancipation law. 

 They are therefore an interesting e.\po3ition of the 

 views of and old abolitionist who had the courage to 

 assail this great evil before the law of 1871 was 

 adopted, and who is still dis3.atisfied with the slow 

 progress of emancipation. At that time Sr. Fnrtado 

 pointed ont the necessity of acquiring colonists for 

 the development of Brazil, a result, however, which 

 could not easily be realized because of the obstacles 

 interposed by the church and by slavery. Now, after 

 thirteen years of emancipation have expired, Sr. 

 Furtado again takes up the pen to urge an earlier 

 emancipation than is contemplated sn the law of 18"!. 

 His estimate of the present slave population of 

 Brazil is 1,000,000 individuals, a figure certainly much 

 below the actual number. The total in 1880 was 

 stated to be 1,419,000, and as the annual decrease 

 is only about 2 yiei cent, the present slave population 

 c.mnot be far from 1,350000. His plan of accelerated 

 emancipation comprises only three stages: Ist, the 

 immediate emancipation of all slaves over 50 years of 

 age ; 2nd, the emancipation of all slaves now between 

 32 and 49 years after a period of 4 years ; 3rd, 

 the emancipation of the rest, now between 13 and 3 L 

 yeais, after a period of 8 years. The labor question, 

 the author believes, can easily be met by immigration, 

 providing the proper inducements are oft'ered.— jffio 

 News. 



Tea. — The Report on the administration of Assam 

 for the year 1881-82, only just issued, and which we 

 may notice more in detail hereufter, shows fully the 

 value that the tea interest is to the province and the 

 benefits it confers on the coolies employed on the gardens, 

 Mr. Elliott siys:— 



Tea, the chief and peculiar industrj' of the province, had 

 for once a prosperous season. The crop was a good one, 

 and prices ranged from three or four annas ^ lb. above the 

 low rates of the preceding year. The area under mature 

 crop is returned (partly on accurate data and partly on 

 estimate) at 13it,2!)a acres, in the previous year it had been 

 120,512. The outturn of tea was about 38 million lb. (it 

 was 34 millions in 1880), or an average of 282 lb. V acre of 

 mature plants. The Kachar district stands first with an 

 outturn of 10^ millions ; Sibsagar, however, was almost 

 equal to it. The other districts came in the following order: 

 — Lakhimpur, Darrang, Sylhet, Nowgong, Kararup, Cloal- 

 para, Khasi Hills. There are 1,058 gardens, of which 781 

 lie iu the Brahmaputra and the rest in the Surma Valley. 

 The average cost of cultivating an acre of tea may be 

 roughly put at E50, the average cost of manufacture at about 

 5anna6 ^ lb, or, if an acre produces 250 lb. nearly RSO ^ acre. 

 Thus, the total cost of a lb. of tea is a little over 8 annas, 

 and the average sellmg price may be roughly pub at 12 

 annas, or 2Sh millions of rupees for 38 million lb. From this, 

 however, must be deducted the cost of freight aud agency 

 charges. The amount actually spent in the province is 

 about 19 millions of rupees. Of this, it is estimated that 

 about 60 ¥" cent, is expended in wages of labourers, the rest 

 going to the paj- of the hif^ber estabhshment and to ma- 

 chinery. The tea-coolics, therefoi'e, earn about IH million 

 of rupees in actual wages. This sum di\nded among a 

 population of 200,000 tea-coolies (men, women, children, and 

 infants all told) gives an average of 57A rupees V head, or 

 for a family of four U23() Fannum and E19 ^ mensem. 

 Such wages are far beyond the vvildest dreams of any of 

 these people iu their native districts. — Oalcutta Englishman, 

 May 8th, 1883. 



Divi-Divi. — I 8h.all shortly have some divi-divi plants 

 for sale from Indian seed, I am booking orders at R5 

 per 100. They arc said lo make a capital and Vnjht 

 shade tree. The produce of each full-grown tree has 

 given t;9. News this in Ceylon, surely, as to their 

 being suitable iis a shade tree ? How about sapan, 

 of the s.ame family, and very nearly allied? Have 

 the pods of the latter been tested for tannint — Cor. 



Wood Growths is "Washington Tekeitory. — Keports 

 state that Fir, Pine, Oak and Cedar of unsurpassed quality, 

 and practically unhmited m quantity clothe the mountains, 

 overhang the rivers, aud shadow the plains of the Paget 

 Sound district iu "Washington territory. On a moderate 

 estimate it is claculated that this region will yield the almo.st 

 inconceivable quantity of 1(30,000,000,000 ft. of valuable 

 timber. The trees attain a remarkable development, both 

 in height and beauty. The yellow Fir is frequently found 

 growing to the enormous height of 250 ft., the White Cedar 

 to 100 ft., with a girth of over 60 ft. ; the "White Oak is 70 ft. 

 in height; while ordinary-sized specimens of the Sugar 

 Pine yield from 6,000 ft. to 8,000 ft. of cut timber.— 

 Forestry. 



A Leeds gardener, writing to The Garden, says: — "Pa- 

 raflin as an insecticide is oue of the very best that can be 

 used, and also one of the cheapest, but such du'ections 

 as the following are misleading : ' In syTiuging with this 

 mixture, the syi'inge should be drawn full and again dis- 

 charged iuto the vessel, then qiuckly refilled and discharged 

 on the plant.' This a very" unsafe w.ay to use paraffin, 

 as I and many others have proved. Some years ago I 

 carefully followed the same instructions, using one wine- 

 glassful of paraffin to thi-ee gallons of water apphed to 

 some crotons. The result was, some of my plants died, 

 and the others lost every leaf. I therefore discontiuued 

 paraffin for some time, but meeting with a friend who 

 said he used nothing else, and that he mixed it with soft 

 soap, I ventured again to try it, and this time was more 

 succes.sful. I find it uo-.v to he the best of all insecticides 

 for general use. I mix it thus : to half-a-pound of soft- 

 soap, I add one pint of hot water, stir until the soap is 

 thoroughly dissolved, then add haU-a-pint of paraffin and 

 stir well : to this I add two quarts more of hot water and 

 put the whole into a stone bottle and shake it weU before 

 using. This I always have in readiness, and for syiiuging 

 or sponging we cUlute it as may be necessary. It mixes 

 readily with cold water, aud thus mixed may be safely 

 applied to any plant." By par,affin om- readers are to 

 understand kerosene, and when it can be rendered soluble 

 in water, as stated above, there is no doubt that it will 

 prove invalu.able as an insecticide, even for the coccus and 

 acle which infest orange and lemon trees. — QiLcoislaHder. 



New Produgt.s. — ".J." w-rites : — "I was glad to 

 see your notice of the walnut tree. It was mostly 

 for its very valuable wood, so much sought after 

 that I wrote you that it flourished in the tropics, 

 doubtless it would grow well in Ceylon. In re the 

 recent information auent arrowi'oot I have made 

 some cwts. of it myself for the good folks at 

 home and my own use. I would say that East 

 Indian arrowroot is prized in London on account of 

 its astringent properties, and if of best quality it 

 is sure to bring far more than St. Vincents or other 

 West India islands produce. Then there is a kind 

 called Tons le-mois — used by doctors in diarrho?a. Ask 

 Me. John Maitland to give us full information on 

 thr subject and say what the Iiest kind is -worth 

 pe cwt. ; it should be clear, lumpy and crisp. The 

 Tous-le-niois bears a pink not a white flower. Of 

 course all stuiff made from cassava and called arrow 

 root is KHgenu ne, as the Yankee would say, and is 

 not the ticket for soup. There are two or more 

 kinds of cassava : one called the sweet aud the other 

 the poisonous kind ; from the latter the celebrated 

 cassaripe is made, the juice being simply expressed and 

 slo%vly boiled down to a proper consistency. Those 

 who have tasted meat cooked in cassaripe as I have 

 do not forget its delicate flavour : it can be used in 

 stews. The poisonous cassava has I think purple 

 veins under the leaf. ' 



