February i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



547 



and hold Government waste or forest land in Nether- 

 lands India, 1 have H. M.'s Consul at Batavia, Mr. 

 A. P. Cameron's authority for suying that euch is far 

 from being the case. On the contrary, any foreigner 

 residing in Java and elsewhere in Netherlands India, 

 may apply for and obtain, under the same rules and 

 regulations applicable to the Dutch themselves. Gov- 

 ernment waste lands. Be this as it may, I know, 

 at all events, that foreigners can purchase and become 

 possessors of such Government contracts running 

 for 75 years from their original holders. 



The size of must of Ihese contracts is 500 bonws — 

 one bouw = Ijj acre— and quit rent varies from §6 to 

 $-0 per bouw per annum, payable ou the sixth 

 year from time of purchase, the average amount being 

 at §9 per bouw. The purchase sum for such con- 

 tract varies naturally with circumstances, but if the 

 site and soil be good, $50 per bouw, or say, roughly 

 speaking, £7 per acre is not cor.sidered out of the way, 

 and this w by far the pleasauter and more practicable 

 way of acquiring land for cofifee or cinchona, as delays 

 in the instance of ones applying to Governmtut for 

 waste lanil, are endless and very vexatious. I would 

 alwajs advise my friends therefore to adopt the former 

 plan, specially, as oftentimes a great bargain ia to be 

 picked up. 



With regard to cinchona, I can only pay that its 

 cultivation is extending steadily, planters sticking to 

 best sorts of Ledg. rs. I know how provoking it must 

 be to those less fortunate to hear of others being 

 lucky enough to possess Ledgers and such high class 

 cinchonas, but it now lies within their reach to be as 

 well off, for the Netbcrlauds India Government now hold 

 periodical sales — one takes place at Bandong today — 

 at which Ledger seed from the original parent-treca 

 imported into Java in 1S66 is put up in parcels of 

 20 grammes,— 28J grammes going to an oz. avoirdu- 

 pois—at an upset price of §'2-50 per gramme, while 

 seed from typical Ledgers (beedlings of above original 

 Ledgers) can be had at au upset price of §1 per gramme 

 in packets of 50 giarames. For svccirubra seed, Gov- 

 ernment has put an upset figure of 20 cents per gramme 

 and for some ojjichialis 5 cents per gramme. 'Che 

 banks and also planters' agents would, doubtless, 

 readily undertake to secure seed for their constituents, 

 through their Batavia correspondents at above sales, 

 while I would beg of your readers to dismiss all fears 

 regarding quality of the seed, based ou past experience 

 of Java iuvestmeuls'; for what the Goverumeut sells 

 will be fresh and good, that may be relied on. 



The tea planters in Java are up in arms against the 

 proposed ministerial fiscal changes, inasmuch as it 

 regards the import duty in Holland on tea, which 

 it is intended to raise from §25 to ftlO per 100 kilo- 

 gramme?, equivalent to a rise from, say, 2Jd to 3td per 

 lb. ; and a very strong memorial, byway of protest, has 

 been sent in by the said planters to the home Gov- 

 ernineut. They adduce that in 1S68, and again in 

 1876 when a similar rise in duties was mooted but 

 abandoned, tbe average price of Java tea in Holland 

 wa- 77iand62J cents per J kilo (1 and 1-lOthlb.) respect- 

 ively, whereas at present it is only 40 cents ; hence the 

 rise now would be proportionately much greater. 

 Again Java tea is for the greater part of such poor 

 quality that there are estates who cannot obtain 

 a higher average price for their crops than 20 cents 

 the kilo (22 lb.), thus they would be paying a 

 cent per cent 'duty.' I think I mentioned in my last 

 thatti.e .Tava planters are gradually but surely replacing 

 their China tea shrubs witn Assam hybrid. G. P. T. 



VINES IN POTS. 



There are probably few products of the vegei" 

 able kingdom which command our interest more 

 than the vino. In addition to its utility to a great 



number of our race, the many refeiencea to it in 

 the line poetic language of the Old Testament and 

 the beautiful illustrations in the New, its lovely 

 foliage, the sweet though short-lived fragrance of 

 its blossom, its grasping tendril, and the tender 

 grape, all combine to charm our youthful fancies 

 and grows with us as we grow in years, and it 

 seems to have had the same eflect in long bygone 

 ages. We know that from the time of the botanist 

 king of Israel, the artist aud architect have drawn 

 upon it to beautify and embellish their work. This 

 raises the question, why is the vine so little cultiv- 

 ated in Ceylon, at least in the soutliern half of it ? The 

 natural reply is, tbe vine is a deciduous plant and 

 requires the rest of a winter which we have not 

 got. This is true: vineyards, though simple to cultiv- 

 ate could never be brought to any degree approaching 

 perfection here, My object in writing is to draw attention 

 to their culture on a very email ecale, wilhiu the 

 reach of anyone. This can be done in pots, vases, 

 buckets or tubs, what we might call portable cul- 

 ture; and in hopes that someone may he inducid 

 to try it, I would offer a few outline details. 



A cutting with two joints — one to send out roots, the 

 oilier branches — is your first requirement. Next take 

 a large flower-pot, or woodeu bucket with some holes 

 in the bottom for drainage. Put some pieces of brick 

 or small stones over the holes aud throw in two 

 or three handfuls of charcoal, to preserve the open 

 dr.-iiuage. This done, fill up the pot with rich free 

 soil, in which there should be a good proportion of 

 decayed veoetable matter and sand. Next put in your 

 cutting and press tbe soil firmly down to prevent 

 its retuining too much water which loose soil always 

 does. You have only now to place it in a safe and 

 suitable place, give it some water aud watch for its 

 growth. The first year it will only grow shoots, 

 and these should be pinched off when they get to 

 be over 3 feet or so, otherwise they will grow long, 

 spindly and weak. When they have had a fair length 

 of growing season and begin to sIk.w the autumn 

 tinge, they want rest. The soil should be .Tllowtd 

 to dry gradually till quite drj' — this is bringing win- 

 ter upon them. They will soon ripen and drop 

 their leaves, which is the signal for cutting down 

 or pruning. This is simple enough. You cut all the 

 season's growth away, leaving only a spur with iwo 

 or three buds of each shoot, to proeiuce the vtood of 

 next year aud upon which the fruit 1 as to grow. 



Thus tbo culture of one year is over, and you 

 have only got a bare stick of 8 or 9 inches high 

 with some spurs on the top stick in a bucket, which 

 you need take uo further notice c£ for a few mouths. 

 The perfection to which they briu; vine culture in 

 Australia proves how suitable a suiiatitute the terri- 

 ble drought of the hot season there is for the cold 

 dead winter of Europe. The writer 1 :.i seen clusters of 

 griipts weighiug each 8 and 9 lb. grov a ou tiie baiks of 

 the Yarrayarra. We iuCeylon have no such long draugi t, 

 neither do we require it for the slump we left in 

 a pot ; we can keep it as long dry :'S we like. 



Now, for the second year, let us give "uv stump a little 

 larger pot or bucket with some fresh ric sod, place it in a 

 favourable spot and give it water, oi let it have rain, 

 which is best, it will soon sendoui Iresh shoots »nd 

 charm jou with its giowth and bea 'y. The shoots 

 should be stopped .ts before and s': ked to preveu' 

 their being broken or twisted. This year you should 

 have some bunches of grapes, to as ist the growth 

 of which the plant should get some liquid manure. 

 The vine delights in good living. 



I vould be glad if these fewimper Hct hints would 

 lead anyone to try the pot or tub culture of the 

 vine. It would be especially iuterct.^ing for ladies. 

 What finer ornament for a family aun v'ersary on the 

 Centre of the table than a vine iu frm. ? I have seen 



