264 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST- 



[October i, 1883, 



with loss aud disappointment and prevent others from 

 embarkin'; in "the New Prodnct Enterprise." It is not- 

 that coffi 0, cocoa, vanilla, &c. will not grow, but the coffee 

 is affected with llemileia I'astatrix and in the latter, 

 there are certain elements in their successful cultivation 

 that are being ignored, not intentionally, but through 

 the want of practical exjierience. 



At present the country is said to be in a very im- 

 poverished condition; there is a great cry of " no money." 

 If there really be a scarcity of that commodity, there must be 

 an unlimited supply of credit, for I have been in no coun- 

 try where the inhabitants are more cleanly aud better clad 

 or who .sihow less signs of " the wolf being at the door." 



There is a rumour current today that Sir John Pope 

 Henne.ssy is expected to pay us a visit with the view of 

 making an investigation into the present depressed state 

 of the country. Tbe Governor will receive a hearty wel- 

 come, and I venture to predict that in the future we shall 

 look back upon the visit of His Excellency as being the 

 cause of tlie " turn of the tide " in the wave of prosperity. 



AVith the introduction of a little capital and the judicious 

 selection of the land suited to the cultivation of the many 

 various products which the islands are capable of sustaining, 

 coupled with the assistance of a sympathetic Government, 

 Mahe would become, acre for acre, the richest of Her 

 Majesty's possessions ; but without these desiderata the 

 country will remain undeveloped, and, should the coconut- 

 disease continue its ravages, " the ship will sink indeed." 

 —I am, sir, yours faithfully, E. H. EDWAEDS. 



P. S. — To enquirers I shall be happy to furnish any in- 

 formation that lies in my power in connection with the 

 islands. 



SCALE INSECTS ON CINCHONAS. 

 Neddiwattum, Nilgiris, 21st August 18S3. 



Deak Sir,— Knowing the very great interest you 

 take in matters concerning chinchona, I am sending 

 you by this post a small box containing branches of 

 this tree which, you will observe, are attacked by a 

 f mall scaly insect. I find that the tips of the branches 

 iire dying off, and draw the conclusion that this insect 

 is sucking the sap from the bark and leaves. 



Have you anything like this in Ceylon 1 Here, many 

 thousands of trees are affected by this pest, and I 

 would be exceedingly obliged for your opinion, as to 

 whether there is any chance of its spreading, or if 

 you think it now dead. I notice that only officinalis 

 und hybrid trees are attacked so far. Some two 

 months ago I noticed it first, and do not think it has 

 spread in that time. Apologizing for troubling you, 

 1 am, dear sir, yours faithfully, W. ROWSON. 



[Our entomological authority writes: — "The small 

 scaly insect that is attacking Mr. Itowson's cinchona 

 is one of the scale bug, of which tliere are bo many 

 species. He is right, I think, in concluding that the 

 dying off of the "tips of the branches is caused by the 

 insect sucking the sap from the bark aud leaves. 

 Whether the pest will spread, or disappear, will depend 

 probably on atmospheric conditions. 1 am afraid we 

 must look upon ihese inflictions as a provision of 

 nature to keep vegetation within bounds, but at the 

 same time the evil may be encouraged by mode of 

 cultivation. Unfortunately, the mischief is notetjually 

 distributed ; for some cultivators suffer much more 

 than others, and to a ruinous extent." — Ed.] 



Tree Planting in Mexico. — The Mexican Government 

 has concluded a contract with Mr, Oscar A. Droege to plant 

 2.000,000 of trees in the V.alley of Mexico within foiu- years, 

 commencing March l."), 1S84. Half a million trees a year are 

 to be planted in such ])laces as the Government .shall decide. 

 The contractor pledges himself to establish a number of 

 nurseries, and to have in them each at least 80,000 Ash, 

 35,000 AVillows, 12i:),000 Poi>lars, PO.OOO Encalyjitus trees, 

 60,000 Mountain Ojiiress Cedars, 60,000 Acacias, and 120,000 

 of miscellaneous varieties. The trees must be in plantations 

 of from 50,000 to 100,000 each, and Mr. Droege has to main- 

 tain them for two years after planting. Ho is not comjielled 



to plant trees along the highways, however. Three graduates 

 of the School of Agriculture are to be received into the nur- 

 series each year, there to study the science of fore-str}'. He 

 is also to raise fruit, and other useful plants, for free distri- 

 bution. There is to be translated from the German every 

 year a work on arboriculture of recognised merit. An in- 

 pector isto supermtend, and Mr. Droege is to receive annu- 

 ally 40,000 dols. till the sum reaches a total of 200,000 

 dols.^London Times. 



The Eucaltttcs as a Haie Dye. — Some strange stories, 

 more or less autlientic, have been told of the remark- 

 able proj>erties of the Eucalyjitus, or Ijluc-gum tree, of 

 AustraUa; but the following is the most remarkable of 

 all. According to the Taranaki Herald ''the blue-gum 

 leaves are remarkable for their pecuUar dyeing qualities 

 as well as their curative properties. A gentleman in New 

 Plymouth was recently afflicted with a severe cold, and 

 he drank copious draughts of the infusiton of blue-gum 

 leaves. He was certainly cured of his cold, but to his 

 utter astonishment, the hair of his head assumed a de- 

 cidetUy green colour, which, to say the least of it, renders 

 his appearance very peculiar. He attributes this strange 

 occm-rence to. the gum leaves, but he states that the fact 

 of his being cured of a very dangerous malady has fully 

 compensated for the slight inconvenience of ha\Tng his 

 hair dyed green." — Planters Gar.ttte. [We give the story for 

 what it is worth -without presuming to question the accuracy 

 of our Antipodean contemporaiy. TeU that to Verdant 

 Green of the marines. — En.] 



Life is Noethekn Queek.sland : Ceylon Planters 

 " TURNING-UP THEIE SLEEVES." — An ex-Ceylon planter 

 writes : — •' I was nearly four months in Queensland 

 before getting employment (I would have taken pick 

 and shovel work in Brisbane at once on arrival, but 

 friends strongly advised me to wait something better 

 and gave me assistance in the meantime), but at last 

 I would wait no longer, and fortunately an advertise- 

 ment for a gardener near Mackay appeared in the Courier, 

 so I applied and got the situation, on i'oulden estate, 

 under Mr. Kobert Walker ; the pay 25s per week and 

 board. This I held for a year, and then gave it up to 

 go and look after a mob of Kanakas over the Kiver 

 estate adjoining Foulden as I wanted to get " well 

 up in sugar." The pay is the same at present. I have 

 settled up for the time I was waiting out of eiuploy- 

 ment when I first came, and const-quently have not 

 " banked" any money yet ; but now your turn will 

 come, and 1 will work on until I am perfectly clear of 

 debt. There is a grand field open here for steady 

 men who are not afraid of hard work — and work hard 

 they must if they come here — aud if they have their 

 wits about them they can in a few years be in receipt 

 of a very comfortable income. But I hey must be steady. 

 Nothing is more common than to see men knocking down 

 their hard-earned cheques at the first public-house they 

 come to after receiving it. We have started a Good Temp- 

 lars' Lodge adjoining Foulden and Biver estates and it 

 is already doing a great deal of good in the neighbour- 

 hood; I am 'W, Chaplain.' There areagcod many Ceylon 

 men knocking about here. J. Drummond a " brither 

 o' Gang Warily 's" is at Foulden; another, a Mr. Wick- 

 ham, is working there; and still another in the same 

 employ under Mr. Walker, at Farleigb, is agricultural 

 overseer, a Mr. Bisset who left Ceylon about 1876 1 

 think. There is also a Mr. Raymond from Ceylon in 

 the M. M. Sugar Co.'s employ at Mackay. Let them 

 come, but they must turn up their sleeves and worfi, 

 and they will find it a grand country. This is a most 

 extraordinary country for mislaying letters in the post. 

 Only fancy, yours of 23rd February came to hand on 

 4th instant. Numerous others have gone astray. Par- 

 don this long letter, but I could go on for hours." 



FLIES AND BUGS. 

 Beetles, insects, roaches, ants, ted-bugs, rats, mice, gop- 

 hers, chipmunks, cleared out by "Rough on Kats. " 7|d. 

 B S. iMadou & Co., Bombay, General Agents. 



