5<5S 



tUE TROPICAL AGRICULTURrST. 



[FfiB. I, 1887. 



gtatiou situiite about 1,000 kilometres from St. Louis 

 on the Senegal, and there wait for the tribes and 

 their crop of gum, wliich is generally paid for in 

 printed calico, which the cnllectors resell in the in- 

 terior. — Chemist and Druguist. 



Maiuawaxte Tea Gakih:n gave over the 1000 

 acres, 1,051) lb per acre from Jan. to Dec. 1886, we 

 learn from Mr. Rutherford. This ought tore-assure 

 sceptics in India about Ceylon tea continuing to 

 yield heavy returns. 



"An iNEXHAUsriHLP; Mine of Wealtu." — Such is 

 the term which has oftentimes been applied to the 

 Pitch Lake of Trinidad ; and although in the past 

 the Government have made very little out of this 

 natural product, it may be hoped ia the future, now 

 that the " ring" has been broijen, that a very con- 

 siderable revenue will be derived by the issue of 

 licences " to dig." We learn from Trinidad that the 

 royalty has been fixed at 2s 6d per ton, which is the 

 sum named all through the legal proceedings. This 

 figure ought to prove remunerative to all concerned. 

 For the last four years tho« crude asphalte has been 

 valued at 1/ per ton, and the boiled {epv.rce) at ex- 

 actly double, and it is curious to note that while the 

 exports of the latter during the last three years have 

 slightly hicreased, the figures being 4,863^, 6,562, and 

 6,371 tons respectively for the years 1883-84-85, the 

 exports of the former have slightly decreased, being 

 31,277 tons for 1883, 33,383 tons for 1884, and 28,505 

 tons for 1885. Under the new regulation r however, 

 there is every reason to anticipate thaty' fvery much 

 larger trade will be done both in raw^^jjjg puree. West 

 Indian Colonists have cause to b^ ' ar*^'^"' ^'''^ small 

 mercies nowadays, and the opening ',,„ jf the Trinidad 

 Pitch Lake, which has hitherto/ ^jly been looked 

 upon simply as the island's chie'i natural curiosity is 

 certain ly a matter for general congratulation, — Colonies 

 and India. 



Coconuts. — Maha Oya Valley. — After seven months 

 visited I this district and could see signs of improve- 

 ment in almost every estate that I have k' *'! and visit- 

 ed for the lust twenty years. I found the ^"Tii^jTpal road 

 from Negombo to Giriulla bridge at the latter end 

 almost choked up with lantana growing on both sides, 

 covering up the side drains and actually overtopping 

 the fences of the estates bordering the road. I was 

 surprized to learn that for the first time this year 

 a gang of coo lies have been busy clearing this road 

 in this district ; they are now busy about the 20th 

 mile-post. Robbery and pillage seem to be making 

 rapid advancement, a large brass bell and other 

 valuables belonging to a llomau Catholic church 

 having all been removed. Cattle stealing not so 

 rife, but illicit sale of arrack aud coconut stealing 

 Bteadily progressing. What has astonished me most is 

 to have witnessed the manner in which estates belong- 

 ing to native proprietors are now kept, as compired 

 with what was the practice say five years back. AVith- 

 out exception the estates are all in splendid order and 

 the valley is well worth a visit from taose who care 

 to see coconut planting well done. I send you herewith 

 the rainfall registered in one of the " crack " Maha 

 Oya Valley coconut estates, belonging to a wealthy 

 native gentleman. You can make any use of same. If 

 necessary, I could most likely procure the registered 

 quautitv for bst year as well. [Would C2rtainly be 

 interesting — Ed.] 



Registere d rainfall in Mahaoya Valley for 1886 ending 

 10th December: — 



January ... ... 3'41 



February ... ... 2-53 



March ... ... 1-26 



April 8-95 



May 10-78 



June ... ... 15-1.5 



July ... ... 4-o4 



August ... ... 2-86 



September ».. ... 3 55 



October 12-53 



November ... ... 10-90 



December a-ic>) -71 



Total 



77-17 



Andrew's Patent Metal Tea Chests.— The first 

 break packed in these chests is now bemg despatched 

 from Mariawatte estate. Tea planters will watch with 

 mterest the report from London brokers on these 

 packages. We understand there are two kinds being 

 sent: the full sized chests, of steel sheets lined with 

 paper inside to prevent rust coming in contact with 

 the tea; the half-chests are lead-coated steel 

 sheets and require no inner lining. Taking into con- 

 sideration that wooden boxes require lead linings, 

 hoop iron, solder, and nails, and that there is a saving 

 in freight of 15 per cent iu favor of the steel boxes, 

 we are not surprized to learn that the total cost of 

 the steel sheet is slightly under the wooden package. 

 Should they be approved by the trade aud be pre- 

 ferred to the wooden leaden package, the patentee 

 will h^ve a " good thing " on his hands. He had the 

 pleasure of seeing the packages being put together 

 at Mariawatte, and although the men were quite new 

 to the work, they were already fixing them up in an 

 expert manner under contract at 12 cents per chest. 

 The packages all tare exactly alike, and if they had 

 no other advantage but this, it would alone make them 

 more suitable than the uresent package. — Local"Times " 



Cutting Rose Flowers.— Exhibitors of roses who 

 cut daily are said to have the most continuous dis- 

 play of blooms on their plants. This should be good 

 news for the inexperienced grower; there are many 

 who are afraid of weakening their plants by cutting 

 the flowers, but in practice this does not happen if 

 the blooms are taken singly. If with the first flower 

 that is cut several buds are also removed, the flower- 

 ing season will be short. My own experience is that 

 the more roses are cut, the better for those are left, 

 and this applies to all classes of roses, whether grown 

 under glass or in the open. I think cut roses for 

 room decoration never look better than when dis- 

 played in the Munsted glasses, or glasses of a similar 

 pattern. I like to have the glasses half filled with 

 water, and then a layer of green moss as a bed for 

 the flowers which, with sufiicient leaves, is capable 

 of making a very tasteful arrangement ; but in what- 

 ever way the flowers are arranged, there should be a 

 plentiful supply of their own foliage. Roses without 

 leaves never look well, however much taste may be 

 displayed in arranging them. Oheshunt Hybrid is 

 deficient in richness of colour, but its delightful 

 fragrance more than makes up for its lack of bright- 

 ness. Under glass, we have it here every ypar in the 

 middle of April very beautiful.— Taunton.— /('eZrf. 



Testing Seeds.— When you want new seed Peas 

 put one from the stock into your mouth and bite it. 

 If it is very hard it is more than one year old. If the 

 teeth enter it with moderate ease it is new seed. New 

 Carrot seed always has a green shade on it. Old seed 

 loses this, and is of a dead pale brown, and less fragrant. 

 New Parsnip seed has a shade of green, which it loses 

 if more than one year old. Onion seed is more difticult to 

 prove than most other seeds, but if you take a single 

 seed at a time and carefully bite it you will find that 

 old seed has a tough dry skin, with a very white and 

 harsh keruel, while new seed has a more tender, 

 moist skin, and the kernel possesses a greater degree 

 of moisture, and is somewhat oily. The s.-ed may be 

 eut with a penknife instead of bitten. Onion seed 

 that has no vitality at all has no keruel, or one per- 

 fectly dry. Test this by pressing the seed on a piece 

 of white writipg-paper. If it leaves no moisture on 

 the paper it is of no use, and his been tampered 

 with, or has lost its vitality by age. New cabbage 

 and Broccoli seed possesses a pale green shade in the 

 kernel when pressed out or cut, and a tinge of green 

 in the brown skin also. But old seed loses this in 

 proportion to its age, becoming of a dull, dark brown. 

 Cabbage. Broccoli, Kales, &c., will retain their vitality 

 longer than any other seeds, and will grow well 

 when three years old, or even six years, if well kept. 

 Beet seed has a faint tinge of pale green if new, 

 but is a dull brown if old, and its vitality is very 

 doubtful if old. New Celery seed has a faint tinge 

 of green, and is very aromatic, but it loses the green 

 and becomes less fragrant if more than a year old, 

 and is doubtful.— J/;ier<ca/i llorticidturist. 



