164 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[September i, 1883. 



With grub, as with leaf-disease, ouly some drastic 

 application for their utter extirpation once and for 

 ever was considered worthy of a fair trial. .Similarly 

 as with the fungus, I contend that we have 

 unwittingly fostered the insect by a syslem of apply- 

 ing manure which obtained some ten years .since, and 

 also by the nature of the fertilizers themselves. The 

 soil on being slackened up immediately round the 

 stem of the tree w.is scr.aped away by hund in order 

 that as few roots as possible might be disturbed, and 

 coconut poonac and c.istor cake were spread in the 

 hollow thus made and covered up with earth, thereby 

 forming a soft mound into which the beetle, with no 

 dithculty, burrowed for the depositiuf^ of its eggs. 

 Here were all the conditions essential to grub lite. 

 Tlie soil was undisturbed b}' coolies working amongst 

 tho ciifftje ; incubation went on apace ; sutiioient sun- 

 heal reaching the spot through the centre of the tree, 

 which is always kept handled out. The grubs, on 

 reaching that st.age, found they were indeed in a bed 

 of roses : turn where they would coconut and castor 

 cake were in abundance ; not only that, ))ut a ni:iss of 

 tender rootlets were ready for tlieir operations. Small 

 chance of a single egg or larva perisldng here, and little 

 wonder that tlie tree rapidly shed its leaves ; but a 

 short space of time was necessary to deprive it of 

 every feeding rootlet. Ever since there was a coffee 

 estate there has been grub, but not to the extent we 

 have it now, and if we are to reduce their numbers we 

 shall ouly succeed by rendcriug their conditions of 

 existence hard. This cau be accomplished by applic- 

 ations of fertilizers obnoxious to the insect, dug broad- 

 cast into the soil. In spreading the manure over a 

 larger area we not ouly induce a l.irger root surface, 

 but we reduce the chances of every rootlet being 

 reaahed and nuke grub life harder. 



From constant communiciitiou with the Eatonio- 

 logist for the Rojal Agricultural Society of England, 

 and through experiments carefully conducted here, I 

 have come to the conclusion that rape cake, in which 

 mustard seed forms a cousideral>le proportion, is a 

 remedy as well as a valuable manure, for I have 

 found it is the ouly substance of the kind that they 

 cannot exist on. Castor and coconut cake they seem 

 thoroughly to enjoy. 



Miss Onnerod found that forty-eight hours' confine- 

 ment iu rape cake kept moist was sulfieieut to kill 

 wire-worm outright. Tliis ought to be encourage- 

 ment to those who are continually looking for specilics 

 to -give rape cake a fair trial. In case of disappoint- 

 ment, however, I should adviee those who purpose 

 experimenting to be careful that they procure the 

 calie I mention, as I understand pure rape is shipped 

 from miiuy parts of India, into the composition of 

 which no mustard seed enters. Manures in the manu- 

 facture of whicii sulphuric acid is used, such as dis- 

 solved bones and superphosphate of lime, are also very 

 ofl'ensive to grub. 



The only antidote with which I am acquainted and 

 which at the same time is innocuous to the roots of 

 plants, is powdered mustard, but my experiments 

 with it scarcely wiirrant m'a in stating that tho 

 quantity used, to*be eflective, would be practicable, 

 owing to its cost. Later on I shall be glad to com- 

 municate the result of my experience. 



I may mention that on my attention being directed 

 to the use of n.ustard seed by hop farmers in some 

 parts of England, as a remedy for wire- worm, I pro- 

 cured a few bushels, which have had the raoat satis- 

 factory results in expelling the insect from the soil 

 ou whicli it was sown broaclcast and mulched in green 

 before it reproduced seed. 



Again I have occupied more of your space than I 

 had intended ; however, 1 promise you that my next 

 will be more brief as well as the liaal one. 



DIOGENES. 



THE TEA PLANT AND ITS CEYLON 

 ALLIES, 

 Ambagamuwa, 29th July 1SS.3. 



Dear Siit, — I enclose 3 packets marked A, B, and T. 

 T contains tea leaves, Assam hybrid. What are the 

 leaves in A and B? They are from a plant I have 

 noticed iu a tea clearing and also growing wild iu the 

 jungles about here. Is this an indigenous te.a, or what? 

 The flush of the latter has a reddish tinge, — Yours, 



PLANTER. 



[The leaves in A and B are those of a species of 

 Kurya, a genus of plants closely allied to the tea 

 plant, and one of which is the niya-dessa of the 

 Sinhalese. These plants spring up in all the tea 

 estates in the higher districts, and are called wild 

 tea plants. Ask your correspondent to send a speci- 

 meu in llower or fruit. — W. F.] 



CARDAMOM POOCHIES : INFORMATION 

 WANTED. 



Y^'atiyantot.a, 1st August 1S83. 



Dear Sir, — Can you or any of your readers tell 

 me what it is that eats cardamoms, and how to de- 

 stroy them? 



The poijchie I mem makes a small hole in the pod 

 and cleans out every seed. After carefully watching 

 them, I am unable to detect the tliief — I see nothin" 

 but ants, which do not seem to touch the cardamoms. 

 Meautiiue 2.5 per cent of my cirdamoms when 

 gathered are mere empty husks. Any information 

 on the above will gre.itly oblige, yours truly, 



ENQUIRER. 



[Have other planters had a similar exp?riciice ? — Ed.] 



How TO MKAS0KE THE nuiGHT OP A THEE. — Thinking it 

 might be useful to some of your readers, I send you a 

 sketch for measuring tall trees or other objects. There ai-e 

 several ways of measuring trees, but 'the plan submitted will 

 enable any one to measure them without damnge to the 

 trees. Take three laths, the .same as bricklayers use for 

 tilhig aud nail them in the sh.ape of the framing; bb must 

 be ot eqaal length; n and a being placed on the giound, 

 e 



rh'ound. a 



the eye must follow up the longer lath (J, ./, d) imtil it 

 is in a line with i. the top of the tree or object yon wish to 

 measure. The frame must be placed a.s level, with the bot- 

 tom of tlie tree as possible. Should the ground be very un- 

 even you must give aud take .accordingly. Yon will see that 

 a to c is thi' same length as c to e, and thus the height of the 

 tree is obtained. — B. OovEXEy, in Journal of Iloriicidtnre. 



