'So<5 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January r, 1884. 



when some pains are taken in opening out the roots, 

 heajiDg up the earth, and manuring them, as well 

 aB e'nofosiiig afresh the plot of ground. The soil, from 

 repeated manuring, is of course rich ; and on this, and 

 a good defei-ei of shade and protection from storms, 

 depends Uv^ luxuriance of the crops, which I havn seen 

 here eight feet high, and the extracted fibre six feet 

 long. So much atteution, indeed, is given to length 

 of stalk a-nongst the Kakoos of the Chinese frontier, 

 tiiat the gardens are walled in (>vith wattling) like a 

 Pan [f ij)f .• Beler\ garden. 



'From the roots thus dressed up in February a crop 

 will be eat in AprU. another iu 'June, another iu 

 August, and another early in November, the most 

 l\ixuri;int crops being those of June and August, as 

 uaturallv receiving tiie greatest quantity of moisture. 

 The fiftii crop takes from early iu November to Febru- 

 ary to . ome to maturity. Between the cuttings, all 

 that eetms necessai'y is a fresh opening up of the 

 geund around the roots, which in a regular 

 plautati.iu is best done by hoeing beLweeii the rows with 

 a spade-sljaped hoe set in a long bundle : the person, as 

 he ijerl irms this, goint; backwards so as not to step over 

 hisVo. k, — iu fact, nothing can be more simple than the 

 cultivation of this plant ; all that is required being a 

 loose rich soil, and protection to the crop by a good 

 strong fence. The roots throw up at least 12 shoots 

 when iu full bearing ; should they increase, and the 

 crops get too thick, the roots require to be separ.ited ; 

 and by this means of planting out fresh ground and 

 new plants from seed, the cultivation can be carried 

 to auy extent. 



"The stalks are considered fit for cutting when they 

 have become of a brown colour for about six inches 

 above the roots. To cut them, the doom seizes tlio 

 leaves at the upper end with his left hand, and pass- 

 ing the right hand down to the root, strips off the 

 leaves. He then cuts the stem two or three inches 

 fri m the giouud." 



(4), — Notes on the cultivation of Rlieea in India. By 

 W A'm.9, Offi<-iating Superintendent, Botanical Oardena, 

 H: iharuni)iir,lSH9. 



Limit of Growth. — The garden iu Dehra Doon is 

 .".bout 2,500 feet above the seadevel, and the plaut- 

 ;i;ion3 in the Kangra Valley are probably higher. 

 There are no exact records known to me showing the 

 height at which the Chinese nettle thrives best. It 

 grows, however, freely in the plains at very low 

 elevations. At Saharunpur, which is about 1,000 feet 

 above the sea, the plants are very green and healthy, 

 »nd reach a height of five to seven feet. 



Soil and IShade. — The Chmese prefer a rather stifif 

 soil ; but I gather from a communication in the jour- 

 nal of the Agri-Horticultural Society that iu Assam 

 a loose rich soil is considered the best. That in the 

 Dehra Doon gardens is of the former description, 

 . whereas the patch of ground planted with Kheea at 

 Saharunpur is rather light and sandy. My own ex- 

 perience, which, however, is but hmited, leads me 

 to think moderate shade is an advantage. The finest 

 plants in the garden at Saharunpur are a few grown 

 under trees ; and thade appears to be the only con- 

 dition of giowth in which these diffur from leas 

 vigorous plants near them. 



Jloislvre and Manure.— A good supply of moisture 

 is undoubtedly required, aud regular irrigation would 

 be necessary in the plains. But of all the requisites 

 for successful cultivation, I believe the first to be 

 manure, and this is the one least recognized in Indian 

 - agriculture. The Chiuese manure extensively. They 

 plant out in soil which has been carefully prepared 

 and richly manured. They also use liquid manure, 

 and in the cold season give a top-dressing of stable 

 1 ittflr. 



Propagation and Cultivation, — The plant being one 

 of those ia which the male and female flowers are 



separate, and situated on different parts of the stem, 

 the pioductiou of seed is uncertain iu localities where 

 the insects by which fecundation is probably accom- 

 plished are not indigenous. In districts where Rheea 

 has been introduced, propagation has therefore not been 

 conducted by seed but by cuttings, and by division 

 of the roots of old plants. By cutting it may bo 

 propagated very easily, as scarcely one fails to strike. 

 During damp weather roots of old planis may be 

 freely broken up ink) smaller ones, and these, if 

 planted out into well-mauured nurs-ries, tbrive well. 

 Tliis is the favourite mode of propagation in China. 

 Both cuttings and tiagments of root should be planted 

 about ]i feet apart. The soil between the plants 

 should be frequently broken up so as to keep it loose, 

 aud should, of course, be kept free from weeds. Toi)- 

 drcssiug with manure is strouglv insisted on by Chinese 

 cultivators. 



GEOUND-NUTS. 



10th Deo. 1883. 



Sir, — Enclosed is an extract from the Loudon Times, 



about ground-nuts, showin.,' that the villagers in the 

 Siiutheru parts of India have au iinport.int article of 

 export. Can you tell au upcountry planter — far from 

 encyclopaiclias, (fee. — what ground-nuts are ? I cannot 

 find them iu the 7'. A. price-list. 



The Sinhalese villagers in these parts sadly want 

 some article of expoit, some product to take the 

 place of their worn-out cotiee which used to pay so 

 well — something which will pay for pingo, tavalaiu, 

 cart, railway and ship as coffee did ; for the cost of 

 carnage (on anything but high-priced things) debars 

 them fmrn growing many useful products of the 

 cheaper kinds ; and then tbe all-.seeing, pandal- 

 journeying civil servant writes them down as "apath- 

 etic," because they, so unlike him, do no more work 

 than is absolutely necessary. 



But look at the natives around: for instance, Wilson's 

 Bungalow. Those near the cart-road still cultivate 

 their coffee. Many have market gardens, ouious, 

 potatoes, &c., most carefully irrigated. Look at the 

 processions of natives to any coffee estate baz.iar, loaded 

 with currystuffs, plantains, tobacco, eggs, fowls, &c., 

 aud then go furtli.jr afield aud biok a: the villager, 

 who, having uj market, has a paddy-tax to pay, 

 whether his paddy is washed out or otherwise, spoilt 

 or not. He is '•apathetic." 



They want a something to take the place of coffee, 

 and so apathetic are they that our cinchona nurs- 

 eries — and iu lower places cacao nurseries — must be 

 watched lest they should be robbed for the patch in 

 tbe village which was so productive iu the i ays of 

 King Coffee. 



What is the value of ground-nuts ? 



AN UPCOUNTKY PLANTER, 



GUOUND-NUTS. 



The extract referred to by our correspondent, '' An 

 Upcountry Planter," is as follow.s ; — 



The Ixdian GRorxD-xnr Tkade. — A very large trade s 

 being carried on this season in ground-nuts (hi/poi/ea) between 

 Madras, Pondicherry, and Europe, aud it is ctlculatetl that 

 at least 5ti 0,000 bags had been shipped up to the end 

 of August, and that the season's trade would be at the 

 rate of over 700,000 bags. The principal demand for the 

 ground-nuts and the seed comes from Jlarseiiles aud Genoa 

 firms, while a cousiderai>le quantity of grouud-nut 'oil is 

 annuilly sent from Poudicherry to the Continent, there 

 to be used for mauufacturing purposes. CJround-nuts jii'e 

 a profitable industry, for they thrive well in sandy soil 

 and do not roejuire any care. The demand has been so 



