786 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May I, 1884. 



8 five mouths, and four to three weeks if it is fmu- 

 ami three mouths. But transplBUting answers better with 

 paddy of long duratiou, aud, if possible, it should not be 

 doue with plants of shorter duration than four months, 

 nor with plants of any kind which have put out their 

 lateral shoots, for the time left for their devclcpment 

 is not sufficient. Transplaating checks to the greatest 

 extent the growth of weeds, and it enables the plants to put 

 a large number of stilk-blades and thus increase the 

 number of ears. The only objection raised against this 

 practice is the great trouble and length of time it 

 entails than for broadcasting. But I have no hesitation 

 iu saying that the saving in seed (which is halt of 

 the quantity used for broadcasting) and the larger yield of 

 the mop more than compensate for all this. It is a mis- 

 take, however, to suppose that every field is fit for this 

 sort of cultivation. Transplanting answers well only en 

 those fields which can be regularly irrigated by means of 

 ' tanks or streams ; but not iu fields that are cultivated by 

 rain water -or the water-supply of which is precarious, for 

 the plants require constant moisture till they are well estab- 

 lished in the ground. 



SlANrEixG. — That the inferior quality and the small 

 quantity of the produce of our fields is due to a great 

 measure to constant cropping, and to bring them again to 

 yield the quantities that they gave in former times could 

 only be effected by manuring, is beyond dispute. But I 

 think this is a matter which requires the most careful atten- 

 tion. There are many kinds of manures (mostly artificial) 

 that stimulate plants to bear heavily, and only very few 

 that improve the soil, Aud I have no doubt that if the 

 former were used frequently, the lands will not only be more 

 impoverished but they might give rise to disease. It will 

 be seen from the experiment above referred to that not- 

 withstanding the lateness of the application the plot 

 mauurcd with fish gave a little more than treble the 

 quantity of the manured plot; this is due to the stimulating 

 powers of phosphoric acid which this manure contains which 

 is very useful for the development of the bodies of 

 animals. The grain gathered from this plot had also 

 a vefy good appearance: they were more plump, and, 

 what is still better, there was hardly any chaff. But 

 manures like these will never answer by themselves, 

 as their effect is very transitory. They should always be 

 used in small quantities with manures of long duration. 

 Of all manures that are known by man, I do not think 

 there is any superior to cattle manure, and if the cattle 

 are fed with poonac so much the better. The leaves of 

 trees and plants, such as the suriya, jak, karanda, 

 keppettiya, lantana, castor oil, Ac, are very good. They 

 should tie applied to the tields just after the second 

 ploughing. These manures not only improve the crops but 

 the soil as well, and, what is better, they are the only 

 manures that can he cheaply and easily obtained by the 

 cultivators. 



Giving out Fields to Goyas foe Oultivation fob 

 Shares. — This is a practice that is carried on in this country 

 from time immemorial, aud it has taken root so lirmly in the 

 minds of the people (and I regret to say even among the edu 

 cated people) that it will take along time to undo it. It is 

 the opinion of many land-owners that the cultivation of 

 fields by cooly labor does not pay, aud therefore they say 

 that the present system is preferable. I have however no 

 hesitation iu saying that this notion is a mistake, and 

 many of them entertain it without giving the other eveii 

 a single trial. Even under this practice, the land- 

 owner is bound to advance the seed paddy to entitle 

 him to the half ; aud if this is seriously taken 

 mto consiiieration, it will be found that the owner 

 is a great loser. The value of the paddy and straw 

 of the experimented field above refered to, was K65 and 

 the costs were as follow : — 



14 men at 33 cents each ... E4'6r> 



15 do do ... 5(!(l 

 - 21 do do ... 7110 



Cost of paddy (6 bushels) ... 7-.'!0 • 



Do of manure (2 cwt.) ... O.W 



Do of sowing ... ... 100 



Do of reaping .,. ... 400 



Do of threshing ... ... 100 



I consider even this amount as excessive, and it is due to 

 the disadvantages that I had in getting coolies to dig up 

 the soil instead of ploughing, and the permanent improve- 

 ments I had to make, such as putting up ridges and open- 

 ing a drain. If not for these, the cost would have been 

 less, and I have no doubt that the cost of an acre of land 

 for cultivating padd}' will not he more than KIO per each 

 harvest. It will be seen, however, that, in spite of the 

 greater cost I had to incur, it still gave me a profit of 

 K3484. From enquury I made from the late owners of this 

 field, I found that, at that seasou in former years, this 

 field hardly gave such a good crop, when even at its best ; and 

 its average yield was about thirty bushels, which is twenty 

 bushels less than what I got. And even taking for granted 

 the quantity I got as its probable'yield, even if goyas cultiv- 

 ated it, I would have got E32-50 ; and when ET'SO, the 

 value of the seed paddy is deducted from it, the balance 

 would be only K2o, thus making me a loser of R9'83. 

 It will be contended by some that this profit is hardly 

 suflicient to warrant a" change of the present system. 

 But as I have said before, if the lands are carefully 

 cultivated, the cost will be le.ssand the yield much greater. 

 Besides, it is the only way open to cultivate the fields 

 in the proper way and to induce even the cultivators 

 to adopt new systems. It is therefore, I think, the duty 

 of every landowner to adopt it or at least to give it a 

 fair trial. 



Tota!...Ei!016 



JACKSON'S NEW TEA DRIER. 

 The untiring energy Mr. .Jackson has ehown in the dir- 

 ection of inventing and perfecting machinery forusoon tea 

 gardens has once more been rewarded with what promises 

 to be a great success. His last production is a new drier, 

 in which that great drawback to most previous driers, 

 the use of trays, has been successfully abolished. In 

 a series of trials last week, before several gentlemen 

 interested in Indian tea-properties, the success ( f the 

 new drier was demonstrated past all doubt save one, 

 and that one is merely that elder leaves, with v.hich 

 the trials were made (after being well rolled iu an 

 " Excelsior"), are not tea leaves. This difference alone 

 left room for any uncertainty, and it will I e acknow- 

 ledged that considering the elder leave?, after being 

 treated and well rolled like tea, were, in addition, 

 saturated with water till it poured from them, the trial 

 was a severe one, and that the probabilities are all in 

 favour of the resuUs being as eatisfactory when tea is 

 tried as they have proved in the case of saturated elder- 

 leaves. The machine is fed at the tup by the tea being 

 throvvn into a hopper, it falls on to an endless-band, 

 consisting of metal plates, and is tveuly distributed 

 over the baud by a patent "kicker." The band sup- 

 ported, and given motion to by rollers, carries the tea 

 forward till it drops on to a lower and longer endless- 

 band, which carries it back in the opposite direction 

 till it aaain falls over the end on to a still lower .and 

 longer band, the process being repeated till the tea 

 emerges at the bottom thoroughly dried. The saturated 

 elder-leaves were discharged thoroughly dried and 

 crisped in 15 minutes from being thrown into the 

 hopper. A furnace underneath supplies the heat and 

 a series 01 pipes distribute it, an exhaust fan at th 

 top sucking up the heat aud damp air, and thus en- 

 suring a thorough current. By means of thermo- 

 meters placed at diftVrer.t points aud speed-pulleys, the 

 speed and heat are both under perfect control. The 

 name and price have not as yet been decided upon. 

 The patentee has already formed his calculations as 

 to the quantity of leaf the drier can turn out dried 

 per hour, but until his estimates have bepn pioved by 

 trial with tea, he cautiously abstains from making 

 his theoretical estimates public. The machine was 

 tried at the maguitjcent works of the makers. Messrs. 

 Mar.shall, Sous, aud Co., of Gainsborough. This first 

 machine ia going out to Cinuemara, one of the 

 Jorehaut Company's gardens, on trial. We would 

 mention that the Messrs. Marshall received th 



