42 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[JOLY I, 1886. 



iLo leaves are spread. Instead of roKing the leaves 

 'ittveen the fiuge'-s, they are alternately collected ia 

 he midd'.e of tlie cardboani, aud spr-r-ad out a^aiii by 

 lueaus oi' tiny pincers in order to secure the uniform 

 drying of every single leaf. 



The temperature of the room in which the ll'jiro 

 is placed, must be very high, aud the doors aud 

 windows kept closed against the cooler cuter air an'i 

 drau^^ht. When the leaves are nearly dry, they are 

 removed from the Ifoiro ami fanned, then all the 

 faulty ones, and those which had turned yellow, are 

 cirefuUy picked out, and the remaining placed again 

 on the Hoiro until perfectly dry, when they are spread 

 on shelves near the fire and left for sometime with- 

 out being touched. Finally the leaves are sifted 

 through a series of selves from No. 4 to No. 10. 

 The mode of the ultimate picking likewise differs 

 .Torn that employed with the tea in leaf. Tho leaves 

 are placed in a square dish, spread by means of a 

 feather, and the faulty, ones removed with a pincer. 

 For the first quality of powdered tea even irore 

 precautions are taken. The dish remains covered with 

 a sheet of paper, and only those leaves are exposed 

 which are taken up one by one with the pincer. — 

 Aiuerican Grocer. 



INSECTICIDES: KEROSENE EMULSIONS. 



It cannot be too strongly impressed upon all who use 

 Icerosene as an in.secticide that it can be considered a 

 iafe remedy only when properly emulsified. The 

 formuhi for the kerosene and soap emulsion, as found 

 most .satisfactory by Mr. Hubbard, is as follows: — 



JvPtosene 2 gals. -^07 per cent. 



Common soap or whale oil soap. ilb. \ — ."53 per cent. 



Water 1 gal. j 



Heat the solution of soap and add it boiliiig hot to 

 the kerosene. Churn the mixture })y means of a force- 

 j)ump and spray-nozzle for five or ten minutes. The 

 cmul.sion, if perfect, forms a cream, which thickens on 

 cooling, aiid should adhere without oiliness to the 

 .surface of gla,«s. Dilute, before using, one part of the 

 emulsion, with nine parts of cold water. The above 

 formula gives 3 gallons of emulsions, and makes, when 

 diluted, 30 gallons of wash. 



The kerosene and soap mixture, especially when the 

 latter is warmed, forms upon very moderate agitation, 

 an npparent union ; but the mixture is not stable, and 

 separates on standing, or when cooled or diluted by the 

 addition of water. A proper emulsion of kerosene is 

 obtained only upon violent agitation. It is formed not 

 gradually, but .suddenly; in short, to use a familiar 

 phrase, " it comes " like butter. The time required in 

 churning depends somewhat upon the violence of the 

 agitation, but still more upon the temperature, which, 

 however, need not be much above blood-heat. 



When obtained, an emulsion of kerosene and soap is 

 known by the perfect union of the ingredients aud the 

 absence of oiliness, so that the liquid clings to the surface 

 of the glass or metal. It rei?embles a rich cream, more 

 or les.s thickened, according to the proportion of soap 

 u.sed in the mhture. — Avierican Entomologist. 



MONTSERllAT. 



" And now, on the leeward bow, another gray mountain 

 island rose. This was Montserrat, which I should have 

 gladly visited, as I had been invited to do ; for little 

 iMoutserrat >s just now the scene of a vt-ry hopeful and 

 aud iiupoitant espeiiment. TIih Messrs. Sturge hjive 

 established there a large plantation of limes, and a manu- 

 factory of lime jui.e, which promises to be able to supply, 

 in good time, vast quantities of that most useful of all 

 .sea medicines » * * * and I for one heartily bid 

 <;od speed to the enterprize — to any eiiterprize, indeed, 

 which tends to divert labor and capital from that 

 exclusive sugar-growing, which has been most injurious. 

 I vorily believe the bane of the West Indies."— '• .4i 

 Luiit," by Ri-v. Charlrs Kniyalei/. 



The little island of Montserrat, consideind the most 

 hcalihy of the Antilles, is Kituated in 16° 45" north lati- 

 tude, an 1 ■')2"^ we-t longitule, and about eight miios in 

 length Iromnorffa to boutli, h\ a b. ■'.adth of fivj mil^s 

 from east to west. This island was discovered in 1193 Ly 



Oolumbun, who gave it the name of Montserrat, after 



ili'i noted mountain of Montse-rat in Catalonia. 



The island of MouiS'-rrat is composed of a small 

 clu.ster of volcanic m^uu'aiu tops, rising out of the 

 Caribbean Sea, to the height 01 3,000 feet, the summits 

 neing more often concealed by flo.iting clouds. Their 

 steep sides are covered with virgin forest, abounding in 

 graceful cabbage paini — " the glory of the mountains" — 

 exquisite tree ferns and wild bananas, with their magnifi- 

 cciJt broad leaves, and are intersected by deep rugged 

 gorges, in which the tree fern, bauaua aud mountain 

 palm flourish. 



Ihe negroes now form the greater part of the popul- 

 ation. Ihey, most of them, own land and cattle or 

 sheep; and taltivate the sugar caue aud ground vege- 

 tables on their own account, so that their position is far 

 more independent *han that of the European peasantry. 

 They are a light hearted, g 5od tempered race ; so accus- 

 tomed to work in gangs rhat it is almost impossible to 

 get them to do anything aloue. 



The first lime tree orchards were planted in 1852, by 

 Mr. Burke, an enterprising planter then living in the 

 island, but the speculation was at first by no nieaus 

 profitable, as this is an enterprize that involves a large 

 outlay of capital, which is for a number of years uupro- 

 di'ctivc, and even then only remunerative on a large 

 scale, although the low rate of wages and extent of 

 uncultivated land in a salubrious climate render the 

 island of Montserrat particularly suitable for the pur- 

 pose. 



The lime tree {Citrus Zo«^/?rt), is a member of the 

 orange tribe, which grows wild in many tropical countries 

 but does not flourish even so far North as the Azores. 

 it is a thorny, bushy, evergreen tree, with handsome 

 dark green leaves. These are so fragrant that they are 

 universally used in the West Indies to perfume the 

 water in the finger glasses at dessert. The small white 

 flowers resemble orange blossoms, and the scent is 

 equally delicious. The lime flourishes best in light soil, 

 near the sea, and comes into full bearing about seven 

 years from the planting of the seed. 



From the International Magazine we learn that the 

 plantations of the Montserrat Compauy already cover 

 more than 800 acres, and contain 160,000 trees. These 

 are generally planted fifteen feet apart, and the high 

 roaci passes through them for a di.?tauce of more than 

 two miles. No more beautiful sight can be seen than 

 these orchards, when the trees are laden with tlieir 

 bright fruit, aud at the same timp the air is pervaded by 

 the luscious fragrance of the blo.ssom. The fruit is 

 gathered by the negro women, and they carry it down in 

 baskets on then- heads. — American Grocer, 



FRUIT CULTIVATION IN CEYLON. 



Our correspondent, "Oranges anl Limes,"' brings 

 forward a subject which periodically crops up in the 

 public prints, and, reciiviug no further attention, fades 

 out of sight for a time, until it is again revived by 

 some one who recognizes in it a public want which 

 he imagines could be supplied without very much 

 difficvilty. There can be little doubt that Ceylon could 

 supply an abundant variety of tropical fruits, if suitable 

 situ-ition were selected aud care were taken in their 

 culture, and we should thiuk their production might 

 be m-ide a fairly profitable one, if undertaken on a 

 l.trge scile, aud with a sutficieut supply of capita' to 

 eiuble the cultivators to wait, as they would have to 

 do, for ti or 7 years before receiving any appreciable 

 returns from their investment. We know that orange 

 and lemon aud many other kinds of fruits trees begin 

 to give crnps in three to four years, but they cannot 

 be considered to l"'e really in bearing in less than 

 double that age. It must not, however, be forgotten 

 that during the time the gardens are growini a very 

 considerable trade might be done in native-grown ^'ruit, 

 fioin which preserves of various kinds cotil I be manu- 

 factured, and sold in the local market as well 

 as exported in large pa,ckai;ti8 to be put up in an 

 attractive form in T" ircpt^. This is the course adopted 

 by Messrs. M.<ir and soiif< in regard to their tnarmalade. 

 Tnc;y prep re it in .Su-iin or Portugal, aud forward 

 it to Aberdeen, or some other of their large factories, 



