74 



THfi TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July 2, 1883. 



spirally iii the potato, and all of them can be used if desu-able, 

 by cutting half way between them, and always cutting to 

 the centre." He gives some admirable suggestions about 

 planting, and after-tniltare. He advises to plant as early 

 as possible either of early or late varieties. "The worse 

 attacks of the bugs are lat^, and a sacrifice of some qual- 

 ities is better than a saci-ifice of the whole crop. Early 

 planting gives a start to the plant that enables it to resist 

 drouth to a gi-eat extent. As regards quahty for table use, 

 and as a better keeper through the winter, late varieties are 

 preferred to early. Choose for seed a smooth, medium sized 

 or large potato, cut it into pieces having one or two eyes; 

 a large potato cut to one eye is expensive seed, but is said 

 to be the best possible. Plant in hills or cb'iUs to the depth 

 of three and a half or four inches if the ground is light 

 and mellow; if in wet, hea^'y soil, a depth of two and a 

 half or thret; iuches is sufficient. Kapid growth is best for 

 all vegela.blL&; help the potato crop to it by thorough after- 

 culture. The old idea that frequent stirring of the soil dries 

 it out is an exploded one. About a week before the tops 

 show, harrow thoroughly, it will kill the young weeds just 

 started. As soon as the tops appear, begin to cidtivate, and 

 to cultivate, mitil'the blossoms show, but no later. If weeds 

 show after cultivation is over, hoe them out or pull up. In 

 hoeing always draw the earth to the hilled potatoes, it gives 

 them added nutriment." Give the potatoes room, it is folly 

 to have them so close that you cannot see the ground. 



SETTING OUT ORAXGE TREES— THE FLORIDA 

 PLAN. 



(From T. W. Moore's '' Handbook of Orange Culture.") 



"Before the work of transplanting begins, the soil for 

 the grove should be well prepared. It is most generally 

 the case that the great hurry to get the trees into the 

 gi'ound causes much neglect at this point, but this policy 

 is a bad one. The haste should have reference to the 

 early fruiting and rapid growth of the tree; and they are 

 not brought about by careless preparation of the soil. The 

 soil should be deeply and thoroughlj'^ broken, and the 

 groimd cleared of the roots. To insiire the setting of the 

 trees a proper and uniform depth, the ground should be 

 leveled with a harrow or drag. No manure should be used at 

 the time of setting, nor before, unless applied some months 

 before setting and thoroughly incorporated with the soil. 



"In taking up the trees great care should be taken to 

 prevent breaking or bruising the roots. As many roots as 

 possible should be taken up. If the Jistance from the nurse- 

 ry to the site of the, grove be short, and the nm-sery 

 rows have been well manured with muck, and the ground 

 is wet at the time of lifting the trees from the nm-sery, 

 much of the soil can be taken along with the roots. Im- 

 mediately on lifting the roots from the ground they should 

 be trimmed with a sharp knife whereever they are found 

 to have been bruised or broken. The lower part of the 

 tap root also should be cut otf to prevent its doubling up 

 on being reset. Twelve or eighteen inches is sufficiently 

 long for the tap-root. Put the tree under shade, and cover 

 the roots with wet moss as soon as possible. Do not allow 

 the fibrous roots to dry, as they are very delicate and soon 

 perish. Should they die before setting, cut them off, 

 for if left on after they have died, they will only impede 

 the starting of new rootlets. Keep them protected up to 

 the moment of setting, taking but one tree at a time from 

 its covering of moss. To insure still fm-ther against damage 

 to the tender roots, have on hand a half barrt-l of muck 

 made into a thin paste, and as fast as the trees are lifted 

 and the roots trimmed, plimge the roots into this paste, 

 take them out, and wrap in moss. 



"The holes for the trees should be freshly dug. The work 

 of setting is easily and rapidly done by three bauds work- 

 ing together — one to dig the holes, one to prune ami set 

 the tree, and a third to fill in. The holes should be dug 

 in the shape of an inverted saucer or truncated cone, with 

 about two inches of the top cutoff. Proceed thus: Around 

 the stake which marks the place for the t:tp-root, with a 

 shovel or hoe take away the soil, letting the tool strike 

 the top of the soil at the stake, and continue to dig deeper 

 into the soil until a distance of eighteen inches from the 

 stake it has penetrated six inches below the surface. Pro- 

 ceed thus around the stake until it is completed. This 

 gives the grentest (lt:]ith of the hole on tlie outer edge or 

 perimeter of the circle. Now take up the etakcj and cut 



two inches of the top off the cone. Where the stake 

 stood push down the spade by working it back and forth 

 mitil it has pernetrated^the ground about eighteen inches 

 or the fvdl length of the tap-root of the tree to be set. 

 Now insert the tap-root iu this hole made by the spade. 

 Be carefid. not to set the tree deeper than it gi-ew in the 

 nm-sery. AVith the hand pack the soil fii-mly around the 

 tap-root. Nest spread the lateral roots over the coue, tak- 

 ing care to distribute them evenly over the cone. Throw 

 on two inches of dut and press it firmly with the feet. 

 Finish by throwing in soil and levelmg the ground, 

 leaving the last layer of soil untrod. 



"Before the tree is left it shoidd be trimmed with shears 

 in proportion to the trimming done to the roots. 



" If planting is done in summer or hot weather, and the 

 ground is not jirotected by forest trees, it is better to mulch. 



"If trees are older than three years and wild grown, it 

 may be necessary to dig the holes deeper than directed 

 above, but the point of this caution is against deep setting. 

 The writer is satisfied that more trees have been diseased 

 and retarded in theii* growth, and frequently killed by deep 

 setting than by any other cause. "-r—Ru/'ol Californian. 



THE ORIGIN OF COFFEE. 



THE STRIFE WHICH WAS OCCASIONED BY ITS IN'TEODUCTION 

 AS A BEVERAGE. 



It is well known that the coffee plant' is not indigenous 

 to Arabia, but was imported from Abyssinia at a date which 

 cannot be accm-ately given. The taste of coffee itself had 

 a hard struggle at first to find a general welcome among 

 the more select circles. Apart from the oldest legend 

 concerning Shadel's di-ink, the Medina Sheik Abd-el-Kader 

 is the oldest historical authority on the use of "blood-red 

 Kaweh," as the Tvmisian Ibn Waki named to the beverage. 

 In the year 1587, uot three hundred years ago, he tells 

 us that in Yemen^ people made use of a drink which so 

 Hghtened the night-watches that the faithful of the place 

 were able to sing the praises of God more fervently and 

 cheerfully than could be done anywhere else. According 

 to him, the ISIutti Dhabani was the first to introduce the 

 insignificant little bean on Arabian soil, having brought it 

 with him from Africa. 



Certain it is that the districts of Shoa, Euarara and 

 Kaffa (whence the name), in the south of Abyssinian high- 

 lands, from the original home of the coffee plant. Dhabani 

 was of a sickly natm-e, and since he belonged to the order 

 of the Sofi (LUtra-Pantheists), who believed that every- 

 thing on earth and all being emanated from the Godhead, 

 he regarded a means of excitement of this kind a providen- 

 tial gift. The Medinese and faithful Meccans laid their 

 turbaned heads together in the public places when fijst 

 they heard the news; a pious sheik in Aden was the first 

 to drink the "black juice" as a sort of public spectacle. 

 In JMecca itself, violent strife arose soon after its intro- 

 duction as to the propriety of using it. There were great 

 meetings of learned and pious men, who at last, probably 

 after extreme pressure from the Mameluke Governor, 

 Khair-Beg, declared that coffee "disturbed the brain and 

 intoxicated like wine." 



But their opponents were of another opinion, and ad- 

 duced the authority of the celebrated Bagdad physician, 

 Avicema, in their defence, which, however, did not prevent 

 the transgiessor of the edict forbidding the use of coffee 

 from being publicly whipped. At the same time the zealots 

 of the Hedjas proclaimed that all coffee-drinkers would 

 ajipear before the All-merciful on the resurrection day 

 with black faces. While the great anathema was being 

 pronounced at JMecca, the brothers of the order at Cairo, 

 the very Mamelukes themselves, were reveling iu the newly- 

 discovered luxury. A confirmation of the ]\[occa degree was, 

 therefore, not to be expected from the 8ultan, and he. 

 Kanfu AJgiu-is, quashed the order of his Governor, and 

 scut the latter into exile. Then many holy sheiks (for 

 ex.'tmple, the clebrated Mohammed Harife., founder of one 

 of the fom- orthodox schools of Islam), took the side of the 

 coffec-driukers. Thus was the precious bean fully rehabil- 

 itated in western Aj:abia, at least. — SoJithcni I'iantn-. 



FLIES AND BUGS. 

 Beetles, insects, roaches, ants.l bed-bugs, rats, mice, gop- 

 hers, chipmunks, cleared out by ** Rough on Rats." 7^- 

 p. fci. Madon ^ Co., Bombay, (jeueral Agents. 



