May I, 1884.1 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



781 



238,000 tons, in 1S81 25G,000 tons, and in 1882 300,000 tons, 

 and there seems to be no limit to the production. The in- 

 crease would be more rapid but for the uncertainty as to the 

 effect of abolishing forced labour. 



The average per acre over the whole island seems to be 

 over three tons, -which is very much higher than in Queens- 

 land, but it must be borne in mind that a very large 

 majority of the sugar is produced from plant crops, after 

 previous irrigation, and that the fallow lands are not in- 

 eluded. 



I had an opportunity at a later date of seeing a large sugar 

 plantation at Province T^^'ellesley, opposite Penang Island. 

 This large estate, known as the Prye Estate, belonging to 

 Messrs. Brown, is remarkable, inasmuch as every acre of the 

 land cultivated is reclaimed mangrove swamp. A low dyke 

 was constructed on one side of the Pyre River, and along the 

 sea frontage in the mangroves; as the mangroves were felled 

 and land cleared deep canals were cut at intervals of 500 

 yards which served as drains. The rains soon purified the 

 soil, bnt as the loam was barely 6 in. deep, overlying clay, 

 it was heaped into ridges for planting (the reverse of the 

 system in Java), the spaces between serving as drains. It 

 is only the excessive manuring, ho'.vever, that enables this 

 country to carry the crops it does. Upon an area of 

 aboTit 1,500 acres about 400 tons a month of fish from 

 the river are spread over the roots of the canes. In addition 

 very large quantities of guano from certain bat caves in the 

 China seas, hme, and other manures are put into the soil. 

 The expenditure per annum for manure is about §^0,000 

 or a little under £6,000. 



Almost all the work is done by contract with Tamils and 

 Chinamen. The canals are kept clean and in good order at 

 one cent per foot per annum by Chinamen {less than ^d.), 

 and with the use of water weirs and locks all draught stock 

 are dispensed with. There are six bullocks on the whole 

 estate, and of course no draught horses. 



I had the opportunity during my travels of seeing a good 

 deal of coffee, tea, and cinchona groiuid in Java, the Malay 

 Peninsula, and Ceylon. Little nee"d be said of the prospects 

 of their cultivation in Northern Queensland, as their cult- 

 ivation would be impracticable during the maintenance of 

 our present labour policy for the coast. There can be no 

 p<jssi!»le doubt, however, that very large areas in the North 

 must be suited to tea growing; and in the neighbourhood 

 of the eastern slopes of tiie Herberton ranges a good deal 

 of country is probably highly suited to the cultivation of 

 coffee, cinchona, and iiidiarubber, all of which yield a large 

 profit successfully gi-own. 



It may be interesting to some in Queensland to know 

 that during the receut bad times in Ceylon the prospects 

 of doing well in Queensland have been much discussed, but 

 so far all have been deterred from going there by the labour 

 question. During my stay in that island, a letter appeared 

 in the Ceylon Ohserver of about the 27th Novi-mber, from a 

 former planter, now s«'ttled in New Zealand. He had visited 

 Queensland, and described the soil and climate as excellently 

 adapted to coffee and tea planting, but adviced his fellow- 

 colonists to give up all idea of going to Queensland, a.s 

 there was no prospeot of getting suitable lal.iour, and there 

 was a certainity that before long the introduction of 

 kanakas would be stopped by the Legislature. Most of 

 these men, who are all practical agriculturists, and generally 

 with some little means, are finding their way to the Malay 

 Peninsula, the Dutch Settlements, and New Zealand. — I am, 

 sir, ^c, Henry "Weld-Blundell. 



NOTES ON THE EEABING OF SILK-PRODUCING 

 BOMBYCES IN 1S83. 



BY ALFRED WAILLY. 



(.Mcmbre Laureat de la Society Nationale d'Acclimatation 

 de France). 

 (imei'cO remm-ks. — By referring ro my report on the rear- 

 iogs of 18S2, which appeared in four numbers of the Journal 

 of the Snckti/ of Arts (19th and 26th January, and 2nd and 

 2.^rd February, 1^83), it will be seen that during the very 

 mild winter of 1881-1882. a considerable number of moths 

 emerged from cocoons of Indian wild silkworms. During 

 the last winter "only six moths emerged from the 1st to the 

 16th of January, 1883, after which no more emerged till 

 May. As f have observe<l, and stated in previous reports, 

 moths from tropical species are apt to emerge during the 



winter when the weather is mild, wliile moths of native or 

 northern foreign countries seldom, if ever, emerge before the 

 si>riug. This irregularity in the emergence of the moths of 

 tropical species is one of the difhcidties in the way of their 

 reproduction and acclimatisation; it may take place at any 

 reason, though the greater number emerge in the simimer 

 and autumn. Hence the necessity, to have a fair chance of 

 success, of having a large number of live cocoons. 



I bred, or attempted to breed, in 1883, about the same 

 number of silk-produci.ig bombyces as in previous years, such 

 as AttacHs Fyri^ of Central Europe, Aitacus Cynthit/ and 

 AntherfPU J'ernyiy originally imported from North China; 

 Tdea Polypheuias. Saijiiit Cecropia, !Samia Promethea, Satunila 

 /oand Acti '5 Linut, from the United States of North Amer- 

 ica ; Actias Selene and Anihenva Mylittay from India. Aita- 

 cus Atlas, as will be seen further on, could not be attemjited. 

 I reared, besides the above-named species, a number of lepi- 

 doptera, which, as they have no connection at all with strici- 

 culture, cauuot find their place here. My notes on the rear- 

 ings of 1883 being very numerous, covering some 28 pages 

 of my note-book, I shaU not reproduce them in extetiso, as 

 details on most species have aheady been given in previous 

 reports. Although it is sometimes necessary to repeat 

 former statements, I shall confine myself principally to new 

 fa ts. 



As yet, only a few of my European and American corre- 

 spondents have sent reports of their success or failure in rear- 

 ing the various species of silk-producers. Of British correspond- 

 ents, Mr. John Ball, of Macclesfielu, has obtained a very 

 great success in 1882 and 1883 with Anthero'a Pernyi, Actias 

 Luna, and Actias Selene, and he wishes me to record it. 

 With respect to the rearing of A . Peniyi, in 1882, Mr. Ball says 

 he found this most valuable silkworm as easy to rear as any 

 of the British lepidoptera, and quite hardy, and he succeeded 

 in obtaining two broods during the year. The moths began 

 to emerge from the 1st of May, and the first larvn? hatched 

 on the 16th of the same mouth; the larv?e spun up from the 

 20th to the 24th of June, (Jn the first of August a female 

 moth emerged, and on the 3rd a male, from the pairing of 

 which ova were obtained on the 4th, which hatched ou tho 

 16th of August. Larvse formed their cocoons from the Isc 

 to the 7th of October. 



Of Actias Luna, reared in 1882, Mr. Ball says: — "With the 

 24 ova you sent me I obtained 22 larvee, four of which died 

 in first stage. The other larvse thrived splendii.lly ; they had 

 hatched on the 15th of June from ova laid on the 2nd of 

 June. The larvte spuu up from the 13th to the 17th of July. 

 From the 18th of August to the 22nd all the moths emerged 

 from the cocoons, and all were fine perfect specimens. In 

 1882, Mr. Ball was equally successful with this species, the 

 rearing having taken place about one mouth later. 



With respect to Actias Selene, Mr. Ball says: — The larvse 

 from the ova you sent me on the 8th of July, hatched on the 

 loth of July, spinning up from the I8th to the 19th of August, 

 and the moths emerged from the 21st to the 24th of Sep- 

 tember. Mr. Ball's rearing of Selene in 1882 was also a great 

 success ; it took place at the same period, the moths emerg- 

 ing from 21st to 25th of September, aU splendid specimens. 

 Both Luna and Selene were fed exclusively on walnut. 



Wild Silkworms. 



Of late years, wild silk culture has attracted much atten- 

 tion in various quarters, and there is no doubt that the rear- 

 ing, on a large scale, commercial pvu-poses of such silk- 

 worms as I^ernyi, Cynthia, MyUtta (tussah), Polyphemus, 

 Cecropia, and others, would be a very profitable enterprise, 

 if these wild silkworms were bred in climates suitable both 

 to the worms and the plants they feed upon. These two 

 indispensable conditions could easily be found. Attanis 

 Cynthia is not only acclimatised but naturalised in France, 

 and it can be reared even in England, in the open air, with 

 the greatest success. A. P^jvi/// (oak silkworm) cau also be 

 reared in the open air, and it is reared, on a large scale, in 

 Guipuscoa, a north-eastern province, of Spain, where two 

 crops of cocoons are oI)tamed every year: Telea Polyphemus, 

 introduced by me in this province, thrived equally well, and 

 became acclimatised. Some years ago I sent large quant- 

 ities of Cynthiri and Pcrnyi live cocoons to the Ignited States 

 of North America, and both species are nowfound wild in many 

 parts. The acclimatisation of these \vild silkworms ?s, there- 

 fore, an easy matter when a suitable country is chosen. 



I lately received from Paris a letter dated 31st October, 

 from a gentleman who, together with some of his friends. 



