j(AN. i, mp'i 



tut fHaiPfCAL AdRXdOLftJHlSt. 



477 



and if we wanted to further, increase the capabilities 

 of the 8oil we would have to add the >vlii)le of the 

 mineral plant-food iu the proportion indicated in Mr. 

 Schrottky's analysis. What has been said of phos- 

 phoric acid holds, of course, good for any of the 

 other substances : they have all certain functions 

 assigned to them; they are all jointly and separ- 

 ately indispensible to the plant ; an 1 there is not one 

 more important than any other, as far as the require- 

 ments of the plant are concerned. If we should 

 find that there is plenty of available phosphoric acid 

 and lime, &c., but that for every 16 parts of phosphoric 

 acid there are only 15 parts of potash present, we nnust 

 add 21 parts of it in order to bring the proportion of 

 available plant-food up to the standard required by 

 the plant and thus enable the soil to proch'.ce its maxi- 

 mvm with a minimutn outlay 



In fact it is that ingrerlient of available mineral 

 plant-food which, if present in smsHer proportion 

 than required by the standard when 'jompared with 

 the rest, regulates the outturn of a tea garden ; 

 every additional pound of this substance added will 

 start, so to speak, into life the slumbering power 

 of the soil ; every pound added will have a marked 

 effect upon the outturn, until the quantity added 

 shall make up the proportion in which it is wanted 

 by the plant. It is, not always necessary to add the 

 exact mineral wanted, if, for instance, we find a 

 deficiency of available potash and phosphoric acid iu 

 a soil in which there is an abundance of these two 

 substances in chemical combination as insoluble. 

 Phosphate of lime and silicate of potash, and addition 

 of common salt and burnt lime, will have the effect 

 as the addition of potath and phosphoric acid. For 

 common salt will dissolve the phosphoric of lime, 

 and enable it to enter into physical combination with 

 the soil, whil« the caustic lime will decompose the 

 silicate of potash and set the alkali free to enter 

 into such combinations as are available to the plant. 

 It is, therefore, a most important point for the 

 tea planter to ascertain whether the availabe mineral 

 plant-food present in his soil comes np to the standard 

 required by the plant; or if not, whit constituent is 

 present in relatively minimum quantities. The deter- 

 mination of this point cannot be over-estimated in 

 its importance : it may save the planter hundreds 

 and thousands of rupeps, and it is the on'y way by 

 which he may know thoroughly the nature of the 

 capital he is working with. The knowledge of what 

 available plant-food there is in the soil, and in what 

 proportion, should be the basis of all agricultural 

 operations .- it should decide what manure is to be 

 applied, and in what manner. It falls, of curse, 

 within the province of the agricultural chemist to 

 supply the planter with the facts dilated upon, and 

 it is our opinion that any expense thus incurred will 

 be amply repaid by a judicious use of the knowledge 

 acquired. The first use of this knowledge should be 

 to supply to the soil the minimum constituent of 

 available plant-food, or if chemical analysis should 

 reveal that abundance of this minimum exists/in 

 chemical combination, to add to the soil such sSbs- 

 tances as will free it from its locked-up state, and 

 render it available for the purposes of the plant. 

 When the plant-food in the soil has by either of 

 these means been brought up to the standard, all 

 further manuring must have reference to what is 

 withdrawn fom the soil, and we cannot too much 

 recommend the plauter to bear in mind the Chinese 

 Axiom of agriculture that " without continuous manur- 

 ing there can be no continuous hoj'vest." — Indian Tea 

 Gazette, 



THE COLONIAL AND INDIAN EXHIBITION. 



West Indies. 



Vegetable products, as might be expected, formed 

 the bulk of the exhibits in this attractive Court, 

 which had an air of comfort and finish not excelled 

 iu any other part of the building. Entering the Oourt 

 from the northern end, the first hay on the left hand 

 TTRs deroted to 



Trinidad, an island celebrated both for the quantity 

 and quality of the cocoa grown upon it which indeed 

 is the staple article of produce. The value of coooa 

 exported from Trinidad in 1885 is stated in the offi- 

 cial Hand-book to have amounted to 421,974^., and 

 in some "Notes on Trinidad Industries,," by Mr. John 

 McCarthy, F. C. s., the Assistant Commissioner for 

 Trinidad, recently published, it is stated that the 

 quantity of cocoa imported into England in 1885 

 amounted to 10,5^0 tons, against 10,120 tons in 1884 

 and 9986 in 1881. Numerous specimens of cocoa seeds 

 are exhibited, as well as prepared cocoa and chocolate. 

 Mr. JlcCarthy describes the cultivation of the coco- 

 nut (Cocos nvcifera) us a very profitable industry, though 

 the tree does not bear much before it is eight years 

 old. Experiments, he tells us, "are now being tried 

 in Trinidad to make it act as a shade tree to the 

 cocoa (Theobroma)" instead of planting the quick- 

 growing " Bois immortelle." The idea of this plant- 

 ing is to realise from the same land a. double crop, 

 namely, that from the Theohronia and that; from the 

 Cocos. It is estimated that seventy trees planted 

 upon an acre of land would, when in full bearing, 

 yield 5000 nuts per annum, which would net, on an 

 average, from 3^. to 4/. per thousand in Trinidad. 

 The annual import of nuts into London is said to be 

 about 12,000.000, besides which, New York imports 

 enormous (|uautities, and they are also used to a very 

 large extent for the expression of oil in Trinidad 

 itself. Coffee has also a prominent place in the pro- 

 ducts of Trinidad, and the plant is stated to thrive 

 well, although it has not yet produced even sufficient 

 coffee for home consumption. More attention has, 

 however, been directed of late to coffee culture in 

 the island, so that it is largely increasing. The cultiv- 

 ation of tobacco is also an industry that promises to 

 become of some importance, and the tobacco is de- 

 scribed as being second only to the finest Havana, 

 There is a good exhibit of cigars, which are said to 

 have met with general favour, so that a demand has 

 arisen for them, 



Bahamas. — In the Oilicial Hand-book, Sir Augustus 

 Adderley gives a very readable sketch of the history 

 of these islands, and briefly refers to the natural pro- 

 ducts, foremost amongst which are corals and sponges. 

 He describes the "sponging and wrtcking vessels" 

 as fine models and fast sailers, built by the islanders 

 of native hard wood known as "horseflesh," and 

 planked with yellow pine obtained from North Caro- 

 lina. Couch shells are exported in large quantities to 

 the value of about 1200?. per annum, and the pale 

 pink pearls which are found in them to the extent 

 of 3000?. per annum. The sponge exports were esti- 

 mated at 60,000?. for 1885. Mention is made of the 

 abundance of plants valued a.s medicmes, many of 

 which might be further developed by systematic trial 

 of their effects in this country. Perhaps the two best 

 known medicinal plants are the Canella Bark (Canella 

 al a, Murr.) and the Sweet Bark or Oascarilla (Croton 

 Eleuteria, J. J. Benn.). The first has a bitter, acrid, 

 and pungent, taste, and a cinnamon-like smell. With 

 us it is used as an aromatic stimulant, and as a con- 

 diment in the West Indies. The sweet bark is a 

 bitter aromatic tonic, formerly used as a substitute 

 for Peruvian bark, but now chiefly as au ingredient 

 in pastilles and for mi.xing with tobacco for the sake 

 of its pleasant musky odour. The cultivation of per- 

 fume-yi Idmg plants is recommended as a probable 

 commercial success, demand for perfumes at the pre- 

 sent time being so great that it has even been pro- 

 posed to cultivate in Australia on a large scale such 

 plants as are now grown at Grasse, Nice and Cannes. 



Jamaica.—Tiie contents of this Court were both 

 numerous and varied. Kum and sugar were fully 

 illustrated by a large number of samples. Coffee was 

 also well repres nted ; of this article the Oi3iciai 

 Catah'gue states that two distinct c]a,8ses are pro- 

 duced in the island, the total annual export being 

 about 84,000 cwt.. per annum, of which about 10,000 

 cwt, is Blue Mountain cutt'ee, a fine quality, consigned 

 almost entirely to the Liverpool market, Pimentoe or 

 allspice is » product exculsively of Jamaica, wbej-g 



