May I, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



773 



hundred acres at least are suitable for coconuts. In 

 nine cases out of ten this land has originally been 

 the proi^erty of a cotton planter, and has therefore 

 been cleared, so that the purchaser has simply to burn 

 down a few straf:glii>g bushes aud commence to plant. 



Great care must be taken in selecting the ground, 

 for on certiiin soil in Fiji coconut trees grow well but 

 do not bear; but native judgment should be taken 

 in a matter of this sort, and, apart from that, there 

 are almost sure to be some full-grown trees already 

 on the laud, which would give one a fair idea of its 

 adaptability for coconuts. Where clay is a prominent 

 feature in the soil, the trees will not bear well, and, 

 above all, should be avoided— plauting where the tree 

 known in Fiji as the "nokonoko" grows. There is only 

 one other danger, viz., hurricanes, and, to provide 

 against this, a spot fairly well sheltered from the north- 

 west wind is desirable ; but the risk of full-grown 

 trees being wrecked by hurricinea is so slight that, 

 t iking other advantages into consideration, the situ- 

 ation, if not an unusually exposed one, should not 

 stand in the light of the inteTidiug purchaser. 



The modus operandi is very simple. The coconuts 

 are placed in a hole in the ground, of no particular 

 depth, hut the distance intervening between each nut 

 should be at least twenty-two feet, as plenty of sun 

 and air is necessary. 



In many cases c^connts have been planted only eigh- 

 teen feet apait, but this cramping process is rarely 

 successful, as the treea do not bear well. 



In eight years from the time of plauting the trees 

 should be in full beai ing, and each acre of land ought 

 then to produce at least one ton of copra per annum. 

 The average value of copra is, I should say, about £20 

 per ton, and the fibre sliould more thun pay the wliole 

 working expenses of the plantation ; so that lUU acres, 

 when in full bearing, would bring in a clear profit of 

 £2,000 per annum. 



The cost of plauting 100 acres would be at the most 

 £100; aiul ten liands (natives), at an aunnal cost of 

 £10 eaeli, would do the necessary work. At the ex- 

 piration of three years the plantation might be left to 

 look after itself, for coconuts only reijuire to be wefded 

 for that period, so that the sole remaining expenses 

 would be the actual living of the planter, which, if 

 he be content to follow the scale of diet adopted 

 by the early settler, is not a very serious item. An 

 occasional cask of salt beef from Levuka, a little tea. 

 Hour, and sugar, and, in a climate like Fiji, little 

 else ii necessary. Fruits and vegetables may be bought 

 for a mere Boug, yams ranging from 28. a huudted- 

 weiglit. The rivcrj swarm with fish, aud poultry rare 

 themselves. 



So hero we have paid £100 f"r our land, £100 for 

 planting it in coconuts, and £300 for thiee years' labour; 

 so that out of our original capital of £1,000 we have 

 a balance in our favour of £500, which certainly ought 

 to pay all incidental expenses. 



Moat people object to coconut planting because of 

 having to wait seven years without any returns ; but 

 it should be remembered that the fact of the laud 

 having been planted in coconuts doe.s not hinder the 

 planter from turnmjr his spare soil to other uses. Maize, 

 yarus, sweet potatoes, or iudeed almost any o h'-r veget- 

 able may be planted between the young trees without 

 in any way interfering with their growth ; nor is it 

 ;it all necessary for the investor to remain on hi» laud 

 after the first three years, when, in the event of his 

 desuing more active employment, he might seek it iu 

 the Australian colonies, and return in a few years to 

 find his plantation in full bearing, and himself on the 

 safe road to a speedy fortune. — C'ooonut.s. — Field. 



ErFECT OF Paraffin Oil on Fruit Tubes. — The recent 

 Apple Congress called attention to the need for extending 

 and improving the growth of apples in this country, and an 



article on " Our Orchards and Paraffin Oil " in the current 

 number of the " Nineteenth Century " shows how one of the 

 most serious drawbacks to the profitable growth of orchard 

 fruit may be remedied. The author of this article relates 

 his experience in the application of paraffin oil to the trunks 

 and branches of fruit trees for the purpose of cleansing them 

 of the lichen and other parasitical growths by which their 

 vital energies are sapped, and premature barrenness is caused. 

 The trees on which the successful experiments were carried 

 out were painted with paraffin in the Autumn, and in the 

 early Spring, before the .sap began to rise, the dead bark 

 and lichen were scraped or brushed off the trunks and branch- 

 es. The result was to restore apparently worn-out trees to 

 full vigour and fruitfulness. — Standard. 



Rust Peevt;ntive. — AU who live by tilUng the land would 

 do well by bestowing a little — or rather, a great deal — more 

 care and attention upon the tools and implements they 

 use than is the rule. Rust is a costly thing to m,iint.ain, 

 and when once it commences its work it is hard to keep 

 in check afterwards. The simple preparation employed by 

 Professor Olmstead, of Yale College, America, for the presery- 

 ation of sci<mtific apparatus, and which he long .ngo published 

 for the general good, declining to have it patented, is 

 made by the slow melting together of six or eight parts 

 of lard to oi.e of resin, stirring till cool. This remains 

 ■semi-fluid, always ready for use, the resin preventing ran- 

 cidity, and supplying an air-tight film. Rubbed on a 

 bright surface ever so thinly it protects and preserves the 

 polish effectually, and it can be wiped off nearly clean, 

 if ever desired, as from a knife-blade ; or it may be thin- 

 ned with coal oil or benzine. A writer in Forest and 

 Stream says that if oxidation has begun, no matter in 

 how slight a degree, it will go on under a coating; it 

 is therefore essential that the steel surface be both bright 

 and dry when filmed over. Our Queensland farmers and 

 gardeners would do well to keep this mixture by them 

 for use when wanted. — Queendandcr. [So with those who 

 have articles of iron and steel in Ceylon. — Ed.] 



Seeds fkom Ceylon. — In our advertising columns will be 

 found a notice from Messrs. J. P. Williams and Brothers iu 

 Ceylon from which it will be noted that this firm are now 

 prepared to de.spatch to Queensland a variety of Tropical 

 Plants and Seeds. We have received testimonials from 

 various persons in Queensland speaking highly of the quality 

 of shipments of plants and seeds hitherto received from the 

 firm mentioned, and we think that such persons as de.sire to 

 experiment with tropical products new to Queensland cannot 

 probably place their orders in better hands than those of 

 Messrs. Williams and Brothers. There is no question what- 

 ever as to the desirability of introducing new plants of eco- 

 nomic value to the tropical and semi-tropical parts of Queens- 

 land, as the practice of depending on one class of produce 

 alone cannot be regarded as a judicious one. AVe shall with 

 pleasure hear that some of our local agriculturists intend 

 striking out in a new path and shall watch with considerable 

 interest any experiment which may be made in this district 

 whether it be with Ceara Rubber, Cinchona, Divi Divi, or 

 others of the numerous industries for the adoption of which 

 our climate is highly suitable. — Mackay Standard. 



SuiiAR IN New South Wales. — It has been, and con- 

 tinues to be, frequently asserted that if sugar can be success- 

 fully grown on the Clarence and Richmond with white labor 

 that it can consequently be equally successfully grown in 

 tropical Queensland under similar conditions. Putting aside 

 the (luestiou of the great climatic difference existing between 

 New South Wales and Queensland, a very pointed contradic- 

 tion to the assertion alluded to was given by the Clarence and 

 Richmond growers recently. It was proposed by the Govern- 

 ment of New South Wales to make an alteration in the tariff 

 which would include a reduction of the £5 per ton import 

 duty on sugar in that colony. The Clarence and Richmond 

 growers at once lodged a strong protest against this, main- 

 taining that a reduction of the protective duty under which 

 they are enabled to produce sugar profitably would ruin the 

 industry in that colony. For every ton of sugar they make 

 they to all intents and purposes receive a bonus of £5, and 

 we have no doubt that if our Government were prepared to 

 pay to our growers a similar bonus, on condition that nothing 

 but white labor was employed, some of the planters and 

 farmers might be tempted to make the experiment, at the 

 same time we are by no means prepared to say it would be 

 a successful one. — Mnrl-ay Standard. 



