S66 



tHE l^ROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Deg. i, 1886. 



to see the present average of prices reduced. But if 

 there is a further reduction, the Ceylon planter 

 will not be the first to stop. Our planters 

 have already proved what they can do in respect 

 of quality and further improvement in this direc- 

 tion may be steadily anticipated. All the patent tea 

 machinery which has already found a birthplace 

 in Ceylon is but a foretaste of much more to come. 

 In regard to economy of working it is difficult to 

 get those who are not personally acquainted with 

 the advantages of Ceylon to give credit to what 

 can be done here as compared with other tea- 

 growing countries. Our climate, situation, facilities 

 of transport and relative cheapness of labour will 

 enable us to defy competition from any country 

 where labour is paid for ; and we certainly do 

 not expect for a quarter of a century to come 

 to witness that fiscal as well as transport 

 revolution in China which would enable that 

 great tea country to beat us in the race. — 

 As to opening new markets lor the consumption 

 of tea, no one can say that Ceylon men are not 

 doing more than their full share and we think 

 there is much reason to anticipate that the taste 

 for Ceylon and Indian teas will more and more 

 supersede that for the inferior, and often adul- 

 terated China article. 



CEYLON PINEAPPLES FOE HOME USE. 



A correspondent lately returned from England 

 writes as follows : — 



" The best quality of pineapples in England 

 during the month of May fetch half a guinea 

 a piece, at least such was the price asked upon 

 enquiry. Small ones, about as big as a coconut 

 were sold at half a crown each. Ceylon pines 

 are sold in the Colombo markets during April 

 and May at prices varying from five to fifteen 

 cents each ; of course, the difficulty is to get Ceylon 

 fruit placed in the English market in sound con- 

 dition. Has the exportation of pines from Ceylon 

 ever been attempted ? Good sound fruit carefully 

 wrapped in tissue paper and packed in pure dry 

 cinnamon sand, coti'ee husks or other suitable 

 vehicle and enclosed in boxes containing half 

 dozen pines each, might prove a success. Each 

 pine so packed could probably be put in the 

 English market at 50 cents each, whilst the retail 

 price would vary from two to eight shillings 

 each, according to the condition and quality of the 

 fruit." 



At the old Industrial School, Mr. Thurston used 

 to preserve pineapples and plantains for the home 

 market, but beyond that we are not aware that any 

 experiments have been made. It is a question how 

 far Ceylon could compete with the West Indies, 

 which are much nearer the European markets. 



Thi; Deleteuious Action of Cockcuaieu 

 Lakv.i; on Soil and Roots is thus described 

 in an article in Nature :— 



"A more extreme case ia where the soil becomes 

 damp and clogged with excessive moisture ; not only 

 does no oxygen reach the roots, but noxious gases 

 accumulate iu solution in the soil, and will hurry 

 matters by poisoning cells which might otherwise 

 live a longer life of usefulness. It is extremely pro- 

 bable that such gases find their way into higher 

 parts of the plant iu the air-bubbles known to exist 

 and to undergo alterations of pressure in the vessels 

 of the wood: this bcin^ so, they would slowly retard 

 the actiou of other living cells, and so eflect the 

 lipper parts of the plant even more rapidly than 



would otherwise be the case. Damp soil may thus 

 do injury according to its depth and nature ; but it 

 need not necessarily be deep to be injurious if niucli 

 oxygeo-cousummg substance is present. I have seen 

 excellent soil converted into damp, stinking, deadly 

 stuff from the action and accumulation of tlie larvse 

 of cockchafers: these "grubs' may, it is true, accel- 

 erate the devastatiou caused by the consumption of 

 oxygen and the accumulation of poisonous waste 

 matters in the soil by directly cutting off portions 

 of the roots themselves, but the accniiiulation of 

 oxygen-consuming substance, and the cutting off of 

 supplies to the root-hairs evidently plays a chief 

 part in the destruction." 



The Amstekda.m Quinine Wokks. — A general 

 meeting of shareholders in this company was convened 

 for September 15th, but no quorum being present the 

 chairmau adjourned the meeting for a month, when it 

 is hoped sufticieut interest will have been aroused to 

 ensure the taking of a final decision concerning the 

 future of the works. The board of directors propose 

 to increase the capital of the concern to 3i 9,000 florins 

 (25,000/.), divided into three series of shares: the first 

 and second of 50.000 florins each, in shares of 250 florins; 

 and the third of 200,000 florins, divided in shares of 

 1,000 florins, 500 florins, and 100 florins each. It is 

 further proposed to place the management of the works 

 in the bands of a director, under supervision of a 

 committee of five members, of whom two must be 

 Dutch pharmacists of repute. If by October loth a 

 subscription of 150,000 florins in shares of the third 

 series has not been secured, or no other means have 

 been found to guarantee the possibility of continued 

 existence, the company will in all probability be dis- 

 solved, but an appeal is made to patriotic feelings, 

 and the continuation of the Amsterdam Quinine "Works 

 is described as matter of national importance. It is 

 said that a committee of experts who have investigated 

 the working of the entire concern have stated that 

 the works are capable of being conducted at a profit, 

 provided the active assistance of all Dutch pharmacists 

 in pushing the preparations of the Amsterdam works 

 iu preference to those of any foreign firm be secured. 

 — Clic/nint and l>iu<j(jist. 



China Grass or Ramie, — The Textile Becorder 

 has been sent to us with the following paragraphs 

 marked : — 



" M. Marius Moyret insists upon his statement that it 

 is only throwing money away to patent processes in 

 Europe for decorticating ramie or China grass. It will 

 not grow in Europ°,and it is far too bulky to bring here 

 iu its native form. It must be treated near where it 

 grows. He again states that the fibre can be separated 

 from the woody p^rt quite easily and cheaply. The cut 

 plant must be dried gradually as far as pos-'ible 

 in the sun, then put into a heated stove for a night. 

 All that is required is now to beat the dried plant ; the 

 wood falls off, and a bundle of fibre is left. If the 

 drying is done too rapidly, the real fibre become.s, as 

 it were, glued to the wood, and nothing can be done 

 with it. A final process is required for separating the 

 fibres from one another. This could be done in Europe, 

 But the celebrated chemist and academician, M. Fremyj 

 who iu conjunction with Urbain has made a special 

 study of ramie, spoke to the French Academy upon 

 this substance on June "iSth last, exhibiting some very 

 fine samples of manufactured China grass obtained by 

 a process which he has described. He remarked that if 

 was to be hoped that French agriculturists would no 

 longer hesitate to undertake the growth of ramie upou 

 a large scale, for France would then po.«se8s a vegetablt; 

 fibre resembling silk which skilful manufacturers woi<lJ 

 work up without loss of its silky lustre and produce 

 goods such as China had done for a long period. An- 

 other instance would then be created of the services 

 which science could render when it was associated with 

 agriculture and industry. There is, it will be seen, a 

 great difference of opinion upon the matter between 

 tl.e man of science and the man of practice." 



The first process is new to us and seems worth 

 trying, but so many sanguine expectations respect- 

 ing rhea and aloes have been falsified that we ar? 

 rather sceptical. 



