September i, 1883.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



2'3 



g'orri^spondenriJi^. 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer, 



MUSTAED AS AN INSECTICIDE. 



Deae Sie, — Eegavdiug the suggestion of your correspoud- 

 eut '■ Diogenes " to sow mustard as a preventative to 

 grub, if I did not mention it in a former litter, it can 

 do no harm to add in support tliat the same proposal 

 came to me, from a friend who has liad the advaatage 

 of several years' practical study of liigli farming, under a 

 very able and successful Professor of Agriculture at home ; 

 and to whom indeed my thanks are due for statenent 

 of a theory already before submitted in reference to atmo- 

 spheric conditions, in connection with leaf-disease, and short 

 crops : — though — and without any reason still to the con- 

 trary— whether itwas correctly chronicled is another question. 



As for the plan of sowing mu.stard, it seems to me open 

 to just this one lU-awback : that, though it might prove, 

 where applied, of use, there is less certainty whether it 

 would be ot nmch jmhlic beitejit — imless universally adopted 

 — and is this possible ? — as the grubs would hardly be 

 kil.'ed ; and though, even after their trans: ormation into 

 beetles, they might leave the estate in question, it would only 

 be to remove to, and increase the supply on , the neigli- 

 tourmg properties. Of Ihe beneficial results emuuerated, as 

 likely to arise from it, dug in the form of a green crop 

 as a manui-e, I don't see there can be two opinions. X. 



[If mustard does not kill the gi-ubs, it will at least con 

 serve nitrates and enrich the soil. — Ed.] 



MR. STORCK ON THE CEYLON EXPERIMENTS 

 WITH CABBOLTC ACID AS A REMEDY FOR 

 H EMI LEI A VASTA TEIX. 

 Belmont, Rewa Kiver, Fiji, July, Gth 18S3. 

 . Dkau SiU, — I felt not a little surprised and indignant 

 on reading the naive accounts of what I\Ir. Jardiue calls 

 *' some facts" for me, when he at the very oi^ening of his 

 paper shows how far lie has departed from the element- 

 ary rules laid down by me, and serenely states how he 

 established his vessels at 40 feet apart " to make them 

 cover 2 acres." Not only did I in my very first paper 

 inform your readers that I placed my vessels (I started 

 with some £0) at 24 feet each way in consideration of the 

 small area, and give p'ain reasons for so doing, but I re- 

 peatedly afterwards reverted to the same circumstance, 

 and a lew months ago gave a scale of distril>ution for ex- 

 periments on ditfercnt areas according to size. "U^hat is 

 the use ot all my waiting when experimenters will not 

 follow direclious as simple and explicit as miportant to- 

 waids ultimate success'? Mr. Jardine does not mention 

 the pattern of his vefse's, nor c'oes he with one word refer 

 to the amount ot effect even his treatment must have had 

 upon the preservation of foliage, which is the chief aim 

 of my metliod, and this is what the gentleman would 

 dignify by the term of "facts." Then he proceeds to call 

 my system a hopeless failure, and, owing to his reputation 

 of a careful and intelligent planter, his letter is held up by 

 tlie press as gospel and a dire warning to his fellow-planters. 

 I have long apprehended that this would be, if known 

 to me, the character of a good many so-called "experi- 

 ments" and adverse " facts." From what I can gather, 

 the trials of the Ceylon Company, Limited, are the only 

 instance of intelligent and persevering application of my 

 treatment, and consequent " encouraging results," imperfect 

 as it hitherto was. 



Now, Sir. Jardiue, after damaging my credit and our 

 common cause in the manner and to the extent he did, 

 owes me the reparation of a gentleman, and I shall presently 

 point out to him how it is to be made. For a consider- 

 able time past, during my experiments with different qualities 

 of acid, I believed to notice (I am not a chemist), part- 

 icularly with the cruder samples I handled, a peculiarly pung- 

 ent odor, other than that ot carbohc acid. It was always 

 more noticeable when the acid was being agitated, or exposed 

 to the atmosphere in thin sheets, poured upon wood, or when 

 a piece of rag wassaturated with it. But when a body of acid 

 an inch deei) or more was exposed, this pecuhar pungency 

 Would wear off, very hkely because imable to penetrate 

 the more sluggish layer of Huid above it. This used geuer- 



ally to be the case after about 3 weeks of exposure with a 

 siniultaneously marked decline in the effects of the vapor 

 upon the fungus. This pungent principle I have now as- 

 certained to be cresylic acid, a substance always present 

 in appreciable quantities in the cruder descriptions of carb- 

 ohc acid, and a very important factor in its composition 

 as regards its character of an antiseptic. I wrote to Messrs. 

 Calvert about this, but they do not seem to have quite 

 understood me at the time. In the mean time I had de- 

 vised vai-ious methods for keeping up an automatic agit- 

 ation in the body of the acid set out for evaporation on the 

 principle of capillary attraction, my aim being to di-iw 

 to the surface and expose to free and uniform volatiliz- 

 ation all the constituents of the carbolic acid, instead of 

 having perhaps some of the most active and important 

 of them bound up and lying comparatively j^lle in the 

 vessels. For this end I used and recommend :d firstly 

 sand, afterwards a round floating wick, and 'atterly an 

 upright coucentrical collar of bagging. AU these devices 

 left something to wish for imtil I perfected the latter 

 contrivance by giving it the vertical support of a strip 

 of tin or other sheetmetal, and it is this improvement 

 which I hereby challenge Ml-. Jardine to carry out strictly 

 I according to the following dii'ections. 



Put vessels of proper dimensions (4-5 inch diam.) 24 

 feet each way apart (smaller vessels proportionately closer) 

 so as to cover a space and shape of as neariy as poss- 

 ible a square acre (the vessels in Mr. Jardiue's poss- 

 ession will just do it). Cut sti'ips of any worthless sheet- 

 metal of about 2 inches in width or wider if the space 

 lelow the roof of the vessels will allow it, and bend 

 them into the form of a ch'cle just so mu;h smaller,, 

 that they, when set upright into the bottom of the vessel, 

 will leave a clear siiace of about } inch between the 

 inner wall of the vessel and the collar. Then take a 

 stiip of fairly stout and sound bagging or blanketing 

 double the width of the metil strip, fold it over your collar, 

 and set it into the bottom of your vessel fringe downwarAs. 

 This done, give 2 oz. of crude acid for a mouth's supply, and 

 report yourself again at the end of that time. In prej a ring 

 your materials measure it so that, at least the bagging, it will 

 shghtly overlap, and, after doubling over, jive the stuff just 

 one stitch with a needle to hold the whole together. 

 When set into the supply of acid in the bottom of vessel, 

 they ivill completely satm-ate themselves within 10 

 minutes, and evaporation mil go on under the most favor- 

 able conditions. This may read very cirovmstantial, but is 

 not so in practice : it forms a very simple though per- 

 manent improvement, and one man ought to make 200 a 

 day of these collars or hollow cyliuders. 



I think that instead of offering the reckless criticisms 

 and gratuitous uttercnccs of incredulity upon my system, 

 youi- planters had, i^articularly those among them who 

 knew or had the opportunities of learning imre ab<ut 

 the chemical nature of carbolic acidlhm Iforsometme 

 had, instead of crjiug me down, better have assisted nie 

 in thinking out improvements and offered suggest! ns 

 of such. iHowever I am now quite content to have 

 arrived at what I did without anyone's as>istince. This 

 undertaking of mine is a battle against one of the sub- 

 tlest phenomena of natui'e, a remedy for which is not 

 just to be cut and dried ; but no amount of adverse 

 criticism shall discourage me or tuin me from my pur- 

 pose for one instant after what I have feen and proved 

 to my satisfaction. I have cured coffee trees and small 

 areas of such from S. vast, and know that it can with 

 still greater advantage be done on large ones : I have set 

 myself the task and complete it I shall and will, notwith- 

 standing the degi'ee of viru'(;u:^e t'le disease his attained 

 in Ceylon, of wlrich I have a very Uvely couceition after 

 reading as much about it as I have. 



As for those who profess to have seen my ex eriments 

 and have gone aw.y sprealiug and pul lishing a 1 sorts of 

 reports, they simply^ did n't 8 e what they saw,-aud gener- 

 ally knew more of Scnvl ia i'a:tf trix thai I do. 

 They belong to the cla;s of those among your c-n'espond- 

 euts, who weekly cram your piper with their views of 

 inherent disease, mildew, excrements of mcths, and others 

 who would scare the fungus away with lime and ashes 

 (very good things in th-mselves) and saw it s (tie again 

 " like a swai-m of bees on a ueiglibour's fruit-frees." I 

 have myself to blame for showing' t'leni anything at all. — 

 I remain, dear sir, ycurs very faithiuUy, 



JACOB V, STORCE. 



