Jan. r, tSS;.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



44 1 



DELI PLANTING TOBACCO. 



(Translated for the '^Straits Times.") 

 One mischievous drawback to planting life in Deli 

 has always been the recurrence, year after year, of 

 incendiarism iu tobacco sheds on estates ; several of 

 the latter being continually marked out for the pur- 

 pose by fire-raisers. These fellows always turn out to 

 be Battaks exclusively, who take to this pastime not 

 from any grudge against the planters thus singled 

 out, but from causes which throw light upon certain 

 peculiarities of Battak character. The available in- 

 formation shows that the Malay rulers who domineer 

 over the Battaks treat them with indifference, harsh- 

 ness, and the utmost unfairness. The feeling of 

 resentment at injustice done is so highly developed 

 among these people that they turn to account every 

 means that serves their turn to gratify it, no matter 

 Sow strange the method may be to European ideas. 

 Burning down tobacco sheds happens to be one 

 favourite means to gain this end. They know, too, 

 that incendiarism is a highly effective way to bring 

 pressure to bear upon the planters, owing to the 

 burning down of tobacco sheds at certain seasons, 

 meaning nothing more or less than the destruction 

 of the whole crop gathered in. They have now taken 

 to destroying the standing crops as well, thereby 

 making the tobacco growing business very risky in- 

 deed, all through the fault of the authorities in not 

 taking stern measures to counteract the evil. The 

 authorities burden the planting community there to the 

 utmost limits with many and heavy taxes but afford 

 them scant protection against evil-doers. The pros- 

 pects in store for the planters are impoverishment 

 by attacks of Acbiaese marauders, the burning down 

 of their tobacco sheds and the destruction of their 

 standing crops. 



♦ 



DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING IN INDIA. 



BY J. liELMONT, 



Red and shades of bed. — The Indian dyers, in 

 us^ing cochineal, employ alum very largely as a mor- 

 dant, the result being a crimson. They employ a 

 yellow dye, such as " harsinghar, " together with coch- 

 ineal, to get a good scarlet. 



I have previously stated that cochineal finds a great 

 competitor in coal tar reds. This is a great pity for 

 the future of India, the country being so well adapted 

 for cochineal production. 



A shrub called Grislea tomentosa,, belonging to the 

 natural order Lythracece, yields a red dye. This shrub 

 is not known outside India. It grows to a height of 

 ten feet at least, and has long spreading branches. 

 The bark is smooth, peeling off in thin scales ; the 

 wood is pale nut-brown, and is used for fuel. This 

 shrub flowers between February and April, and the 

 petals contain a red colouring which is of no little 

 importance. It is found in many parts in India and 

 is largely used in the Punjab for dyeing silk. It is 

 valued at about two rupees per cwt. 



Another shrub, Lawsoniainertius, -^ielAmg a red colour- 

 ing mattter, is found iu several parts of India. 

 The Hindus call it henna. Dr. Balfour says that this 

 shrub is the camphire of the Bible and is mentioned 

 in the Song of Solomon. It has small leaves, and 

 greenish yellow flowers of great fragrance. The Greeks, 

 Arabs, and the Turk, Indian, and Persian Mahomed- 

 ans, often present the tiowers to their friends. 



There is no doubt but that the camphire, or as it is 

 also called iu English, the cypress shrub, has been 

 u-ed for many centuries as a dye. It is fairly fast 

 and is employed by the Mahomedan women as a dye 

 for their nails and their hands and feet, the colour 

 given being a reddish orange. By merely steeping the 

 leaves in water, a light reddish-brown colour is ob- 

 tained, which, applied to cloth mordanted with alum, is 

 fairly permanent. Acids destroy the colour, but alkali 

 and infusions of astringent vegetables deepen it. 

 Camphire is largely used as a hair dye. Sometimes 

 myrtle leaves are mixed with it, the resulting colour 

 btiug a purplish black. It is sold in India at five 

 rupees per raaund (82 lb.) 

 56 



One of the most valuable red dyes known to the 

 Indian dyers is the Indian madder. There are s.;v- 

 eral varieties of the plant, the roots of them all 

 I yielding a colouring matter. The plant is found in 

 several parts of India. One species {Morinda hracteata) 

 is a small tree with large shining leaves. It is known 

 I to the natives under various names, comprising hurdi, 

 1 hiddi-Kimj and ranch in Bengal, mfian-hin and yaii/oa 

 I in Burmah, and Yahooguha in the Sinhalese language. 

 I The bazaars of Bengal sell the wood, which gives a 

 j bright yellow colour. The native dyers use it very 

 j largely. Another species of Indian madder is the 

 I monnda tifrifo/ia, called by the Hindus ft/. This tree 

 i has also smooth shining leaves and white flowers. 

 It is found in several places outside India, including 

 Queensland and several islands of the . Pacific. In 

 Madras it is very 2>leutifu!. The bark, especially 

 that of the root, yields a red dye, which, fixed with 

 alum, is fairly fast. Most of the red cotton tur- 

 bans worn in Madras are dj-ed with this species of 

 madder. Many uses are made of this dye. It is 

 largely employed in dyeing handkerchiefs, cotton cloth, 

 carpet thread, and iu Calico printing. The root is 

 usually sold cut iu small pieces. This colouring mat- 

 ter is very cheap and plentiful. The best kinds can 

 be purchased for 8:*. to lOs. per maund (82 lb). The 

 cultivation of this plant does not appear to pay in 

 some parts of India, and its price has declined to 

 a very large extent. At one time it was sold at 

 the following rates : — The thinnest part of the root 

 (bhara), twenty rupees the maund the middle part 

 (jharan), ten rupees the maund , and the thickest or 

 upper part (ghatiya), nine rupees the maund. The 

 prices are now eight rupees, four rupees, and two 

 rupees respectively. It is thought in India that 

 European dyers would largely use this colouring matter 

 if they were onlj' better acquainted with its proper- 

 ties. Many of the Indian dyers use it along with 

 more expensive dyes for producing reds. The plant 

 after being dug up, is sorted into three qualities, and 

 packed into bags. It is sold to the dyers in this 

 state, and they extract the colouring matter when 

 required. — 2'he Dyer and Calico Printer. 



AGRICULTURE ON THE CONTINENT OF 



EUROPE. 



(Special Letter.) 



cows .\ND MILK — HOGS — MISTLETOE. 



Paris, Nov. f{ 

 M. Nicolas is a wealthy wine merchant in Pans, 

 and has forty depots distributed over the city for 

 the retail sale of his wines. Later we shall see how 

 he has utilized these. Like many commercial gentlemen 

 he desired to occupy himself with farming : so he pur- 

 chased an estate of 1,200 acres at Chaumes, thirty 

 miles from Paris in the department of the Seine and 

 Marue. The estate cost over half-a-mi!lion francs ; 

 it conT«ists as a rule, of poor and cold clay land ; 

 about 270 acres were wooded, and 530 had to be re; 

 claimed. The remainder were worn out from exhaus- 

 tive cropping. Reclaiming, draining, road making and 

 building suitable offices, were the first tasks under- 

 taken. M. Nicolas having put his hand to the plough, 

 never looked back. The soil requiring to be brought 

 into a state of tilth and heart, a three course rot- 

 ation was followed. This permitted the land to be 

 cleaned, divided and fertilized. Manures had to be 

 purchased, and these comprised the street-sweepings of 

 Pari.s, farmyard manure, Peruvian guano, super- 

 phosphates, marling and limings. Lucerne is grown 

 on a separate part of the estate; all the cereals are 

 cultivated in lines. To rapidly ameliorate a soil with- 

 out investing considerable capital iu manure it was 

 indispensable to maintain numerous live stock, but in 

 what end keep the latter ? What speculation would 

 bring in tangible profit ? It was in stuilying this piiase 

 of the question, that M. Nicolas decided to become 

 a dairy farmer, and utilize his forty wine depots in 

 Paris, for the sale also of the milk. It may be re- 

 marked here, that the generality of public houses in 

 Paris, now sell milk by the glass from capsulecj 



