788 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May I, 1884. 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Obsewer. 



QUESTIONS REGARDING CINCHONAS, RUBBERS 

 AND CARDAMOMS. 



6th March 18S4. 



Sir, — I airi iu the habit ot using decayed wood 

 mixed with earth for my cinchona nursery and get 

 better results than I would without so manuring. Yet 

 I am told it is quite wrong to manure. Wl'at ia your 

 opinion about the matter ? 



This monsoon, some twenty Cear.'i rubber trees (five 

 months old) over seven feet high were transplanted 

 into the estate, and grew well until end of last month, 

 when tliey commenced to wither at the top. Would 

 you advise stumping them ? Have any of your readers 

 bleaoheil their cardamoms this way ? Is so, I should like 

 to know result. FJl clean cootie sacks with well-dried 

 e.ardam(jm6 and then place in cisterns with water over 

 the sacks, and leave them so until thoroughly soaked, 

 say half-au-hour ; then take theui to the barbacue and 

 sprend very thinly on mats ; lift in the evening when 

 dry. Do this three days, and then pick out any card- 

 amoms that do not look nice, and give them (the 

 red cardamoms) two more washings. A small basket 

 holding (say) ^ of a bushel ia to V)e preferred to a 

 cootie sack, as the cardamoms cau then be agitated iu 

 the water, but, perhaps, the latter can be got easier 

 in (Jeylon. 



I I regard to boxes, I think the planks from a 

 wild cinnamon tree will make good boxes. — Yours 

 faithfully, LOONIE. 



MR. JOHN HUGHES ON SUGAR SOILS. 

 Analytical Laboratory, 79, Mark Lane, 

 London, E. C, 2Uth March 1884. 

 Sir, — I have been absent from London for a few 

 weeks in order to visit the rice-hands of the south 

 of Portugal, and during my absence several copies of 

 the ^Y eddy Obsermr have been awaiting my return. 

 1 see that some attention is being directed to the 

 possibility of growing sugarcane profitably in 

 I'eylon ;'and this being so, perhaps the enclosed cutting 

 from the Suijarcanc of May ISS'2, containing some 

 andlyses of Spanish sugar soils made by myself, will 

 be interesting to those of your readers who may con- 

 template the production of Ceylon sugar. — Yours faith- 

 fully, JOHN HUGHES. 



SPANISH SUGAR SOILS. 

 By John Hughes, f. c. s.. Agricultural Analyst. 



Although only distant some si.N or seven days by steamer 

 from Iioudon via Gibraltar, very little is known in this 

 country respecting the sugar industry which has existed 

 for many years iu the south of Spain on the Hat land 

 on the shores of the Mediterranean, which is well protected 

 from cold north winds by the lofty mountain ranges of 

 the Sierra Nevada ; and yet the carefully arranged system 

 of irrigation, whereby the canes arc supplied with water 

 during the hot season, the well appointed central factories 

 with theu: neat boiling houses and excellent machinery, 

 are certainly worthy of a visit from our West India planters, 

 who can spare time to do so, during their annual temp- 

 orary absence from their own estates. 



In the autumn of 1879 I was engaged to visit several 

 sugar plantations in the neighbourhood of Motril, and had 

 every opportunity of noticing the system adopted in the 

 preparation of the land for rcphanting, as well as the 

 local plan of reclaiming new land at the mouths of rivers. 

 The particular object of my visit was to endeavour from 

 personal inspection, aided by subsequent eheiuioal analysis, 

 to detect the cause of some parts of estates being so much 

 bet*ter adapted for sugarcane than others were. 



For this purpose I spent ahaut a week with a large 

 proprietor who was anxious to ascertain if there were any 

 deficiency iu the mineral composition of these inferior por- 

 tions of the land, .and if so, what kind of manure would 

 be the most suitable for application in order to supply 

 artificially those elements which were naturally deficient 

 iu the soil. 



About a dozen samples of soil, representing respectively 

 good and bad sugar-producing land, were persoiiall3- selected 

 and carefully packed in tin cases for transmission to Lon- 

 don, where the analyses were didy made, and from which 

 I have selected two type specimens, as I believe the results 

 will be of general interest to the readers of the Sugar- 

 cane. 



Sugar Soils from Moteil. 

 Analyses of the air-dried Samples. 



No. 1. No. 2. 



Good soil. Bad soil. 

 Natural moisture (dried at 212 o ¥.)... I'-tlO I'SIO 



* Organic raattej- and combined water 2*890 2*850 



Oxide of iron... ... ...5*618 5*150 



Alumina ... ... ... 3*207 3*070 



Lime ... ... ... 323J 3*316 



Magnesia ... ... ... 1*460 1*162 



Potash ... ... ... *428 -448 



Soda ... ... ... *171 *0.39 



Pho.sporic acid... ... ... "172 -WS 



Sulphuric acid... ... ... *251 *n61 



Carbonic .loid ... ... ... 2*541 2*606 



Nitric acid ... ... ... *0*26 -020 



Chlorine ... ... ... *021 *017 



t SiUca and insoluble silicates ...78*571 79*233 



lOK.OOO 100,000 



* Oont.ainiug nitrogen ... ... -101 *112 



t Containing coarse sand* ... 7*120 20*015 



Separated by washing. 



Looking simply at these analyses we are quite unable 

 to detect any special deficiency in the chemical composition 

 of the soil marked bad ; indeed, iu the matter of phos- 

 phoric acid aud organic nitrogen, as well as the propor- 

 tion of potash, this soil is rather richer than the soil marked 

 t/oocL It is only when we come to examine further into 

 the mechanical condition that we find a difference, namely, 

 that while No. 1 has comparatively only a small quantity 

 of coarse particle of soil readily separated by washing, 

 No. 2, on the other hand, contains 20 per cent of soil 

 in a rough, coarse state. 



In fact, in one soil we have the silicates in a finely 

 divided condition, readily available for assimilation, while 

 in the other there is a Large proportion of these silicates, 

 which are practically of very little use to the growing 

 caues. That silica iu a form readily available for the 

 strengthening the fibre of the cane, is eminently necessary, 

 we can easily understand, and the late Dr. Stenhou.se has 

 clearly pointed out, in his full and interesting anal3*ses of 

 sugarcane, that from 16 to 50 parts out of every 100 

 parts of the ashes ot the whole cane, con*-Lsts of finely 

 divided silica. 



These soils then are relatively good and bad, in propor- 

 tion as they contain a large or small quantity of the finely 

 divided silt brought down by the rivers during flood times 

 years ago, for there can be no doubt that the finely 

 grained soil is better adapted to sugarcane than the coarser 

 quality. 



As regards the improvement of soil No. 2, 1 suggested 

 that previous to replanting, the land should be well 

 dug over, and the soil frequently turned and exposed to 

 the action of the air as much as possible, in the same 

 manner .as I saw gangs of men employed in prepsiiug 

 land recently gained from the neighbouring river. Mm^h 

 time and labour is spent in thoroughly mixmg the ac- 

 cumulated silt so as to get a nice finely dirided soil, before 

 planting canes for the first time. 



As regards any manure, I need hardly remark, 

 that, looldug .at the small quantity of nitrogen apparent 

 in the analyses, both soUs would be likely to respond 

 lilierally to a dressing of 5 cwt. per acre of good sugar- 

 cane manure, rich in organic nitrogenous matter aud am- 

 monia salts. 



