November i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



331 



West Java, but also, though in less degree, in Mid and 

 East Java, the cinchoaa cultivation is gradually oecupyine; 

 the laud of the failing coffee culture. The artificial in- 

 crease of Ledgeriaua by means of grafts in luirsery 

 boxes' gave good residts this quarter also. In the nursery 

 at Tjinjiroean there are about 10,000 grafts of trees wliich 

 on analysis appeared to contain more than 11 per cent 

 of <iuuune. The existing nursery houses at Tjinjiroean, 

 although almost entirely used for artificial increase, have 

 appeared to be not sufficient for the requirements, and 

 orders have therefore been given for building a new large 

 nursery-house. The grafts on succirubra in the open air 

 were entirely staked. The results were so continuously 

 unfavourable that the making of further experiments has 

 been discontinued. In spite of all endeavours to overcome 

 the disease, serious injury has been continuously causeil 

 by the Helopeltis Antonii. The comparatively small plant- 

 ation of grafts and cuttings at Tirtasari suffered most 

 therefrom. Next to the catching of the so much dreaded 

 insect and the isolation of the affected fields, a vigorous 

 working of the soil and a thorough manuring, whereby the 

 plants put forth new forces for further growth, appear 

 to be the only means for combating the plague. The 

 analy.ses of the specimens of the harvest of 1383 were 

 made over to the chemist. A. A. Maas Geesteranus, ap- 

 pointed Assistant Director of the Government Cinchona 

 Enterprise. The I'esults obtained will be detailed in a future 

 report. — Van Romitndk, Director, Government Cinchona 

 Entequ'ise. — Tjinjiroean, 9th July 1883. 



New Products in HAruTALE : Rubber and Cro- 

 T0N3. — A Haputale planter wiites : — "I do not care 

 ti tap to any extent until the trees are older, as the 

 quantity of rubber from the okU-r trees is con- 

 siderably in excess of the younger. I was all through 

 my croton clearing this morning and was so pleased 

 with the marvellous growth of the trees and the very 

 large crop on them that I purpose planting up 25 

 acres this or next month." 



A BUSHEL of corn weighing 56 pounds will yield 

 between 28 and .30 pounds of glucose, or grape sugar, and 

 in .idulterating sugar from 18 to 20 per cent of the grape 

 sugar is generally used. In Europe |:iotatoes are generally 

 used for the manufacture of glucose, and the manu- 

 facturers find larger profits than from corn. A plant 

 called manioc, a native of South and Centrnl Americn, 

 is said to produce 50 pounds of glucose to the bushel. 

 As tins plant yields over .500 bushels to the 

 acre, it is not improbable that manioc may be the 

 "sugarcane" of the future. The so called Brazilian 

 arrow-root and topical of commercial are made from 

 the cassava or manioc plant. — Eio Ncuv. 



Tea Packing. — It seems absurd for each estate to have 

 its o\vn thmensions for chests of 100, 50, or 20 lb., and a 

 very slight expense in procuring a mould for the lead Uning, 

 and a little unanimity would cuable superintendents to order 

 or make their boxes with a regularity and sameness that 

 very probably would effect the law of bulking in London, 

 besides saving in cost of manufacture and saving in lead. 

 If 10 chests 24 X 19 X 12=50 cubic feet = 1 ton, shipper's 

 measurement, it would be a size to adopt ; and lead sheeting 

 25 1737 or 25 x 1!) would exactly suit the chest without wast- 

 age. Combination would permit of boxes being made by 

 machinery, when both make, strength, and appearance tell, 

 for no hand-made box can compete with the machine-made, 

 and the having to alter the machinery to suit every man's 

 taste is a cause of further expense in manufacture. Car- 

 penters must live and expect at lea.st a rupee per diem, 

 so that if a reduction in cost of package is made, it must 

 be in adopting the machine-made, and to eflect this at its 

 minimum charge, uniformity in size and combination is all 

 that is needed. Timber cannot become cheaper; indeed, 

 as years roll on and our tea enterprise expands it will be a 

 serious question as to v/here the suitable supply is to come 

 from, and those who take the precaution to plaut up wa.ste 

 and denuded lauds with trees that m.ay bo utilized some 

 10 J years hence will find their labom* not in vain. — Cor. 

 " Local Times." 



Ceylon Teas : Gallbodde Topping the Market. 

 — We refer to the sales list elsewhere by which 

 it wiU be seen that for " broken pekoe " Cial- 

 bodde, 3s Id has been paid — the maximum reached 

 for Ceylon teas. (Well done, the Ambagamuwa iron 

 stone and clay soils !) The whole break equal to 

 72 chests averaged Is lid. Cullodeu " orange pekoe" 

 also got a good price 3s O^d. We learn that it is 

 becoming (juite the fashion now in many parts of 

 the "West End" to drink no tea but "Ceylon"— 

 Ceylon tea, in fact, is likely to become an aesthetic 

 rage, and the qualities selling at Is 6d and over are 

 so rapidly sent into consumption that it is impossi- 

 ble to get any quantity to buy in the market. A 

 London merchant wishing to send Ceylon, in jilace 

 of Indian tea, to South Africa in fulfilment of an 

 order, was told, ' none ax'ailable at present' : demand 

 above supply ! 



Pkogke>^s of British Burma. — la area British 

 Burmah is 3J times the size of Ceylon, and Burmah 

 has the grand advantage, besides others of possessing 

 some of the richest rice lauds in the world. The 

 population of the two countries is exactly the same, 

 but in trade and revenue the Indian Commissionership 

 is far aheail of the Ceylon Governorship. The sum- 

 mary regarding the land which Mr. Bernard rules is 

 as follows: — "The Administration report of British 

 Burma shows the progress of the province to be little 

 short of marvellous, and that, despite the in- 

 tense indolence, or rather hatred of labour, charac- 

 terising the Burmah people. Out of 87,220 square 

 miles of fertile soil barely 5,GG0 are cultivated though 

 most of the cultivable area is within easy reach of 

 the railway and of navigable rivers or the sea. The 

 population ii- creased 3() per cent, in the S.t years 

 previous to the census of 1S81. As illustrating the 

 wonderful fertility of the soil, it is pointed out that 

 in a single orchard the following trees were in bear- 

 ing at the same time — the cocoanut, the areca, the 

 Corean mango, orange, lime, mango-steen, pineapple- 

 black pepper, pluntain, aud coffee. Tbe soil is suit- 

 ab'e for sugar-cane, tobacco, and cotton. The hill 

 slopes aff Td every facility for the production of tea 

 coffee, and cinchona. Petroleum abounds, and iron 

 tin, lead and antimony are plentiful, while the sup- 

 ply of forest tiees is infinite and their variety in 

 exhaustible. The local demand for tobacco is pro- 

 difinus— every man, womiin, aud child smokes, from 

 40,000 to 80,000 cigars are sent every month to 

 England, and a large supply is imported into India. 

 Yet with .all these advantages of soil most of the 

 tobacco is brought from Madras, so great is the re- 

 pugnance of tlic people to work. Notwithstanding 

 this apathy, the increase of prosperity is astounding; 

 885,338 ions of rice were exported to Europe in 1S80. 

 beins an increase of 85,000 tons over that exported 

 in the previous year, although prices fell 20 ptr cent. 

 If the export duty on rice were abolished, this trade 

 would be developed still further to an amazing ex- 

 tent. As compand with 1S70, both imports and ex- 

 ports have considerably more than doubled. The 

 total trade in 1870 amounted to £10,263,000 ; while 

 that of 1880 was £22,222,000. The revenues have 

 increased in the same period from £1,232,006 to 

 £2,360,000 ; the local and municipal revenue having 

 more tban trebled. Burma paid a surplus of £767,000 

 to the Imperial Governm->ut in 1880-81. The inciilence 

 of taxation on the popul.ition ol 3,730,771 is Rs. 6 

 3 annas per head. So little is this felt th^it every 

 family in Burma on the average spends £12 yearly 

 on jewellery and imported luxuries. Bullion to the 

 extent of a million and a-half annu.ally is absiu-bed 

 in the province, in addition to the great amount 

 spent in charily and amusements." — Aihiix ItidiaH 

 Mail. 



