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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May 2, 1887. 



PONDICHERRY STEAM PRESSED 

 GROUND NUT OIL. 

 The comparatively sudden development of the 

 ground nut traffic in Southern India has opened out 

 markets for the oil which but a few years ago were 

 not dreamt of, and Pondicherry has, from the early 

 beginning of the oil trade, taken the lead in the Indian 

 export markets. Last year's crushing operations were 

 restricted, owing to the unusually high price of the 

 nut, caused by a heavy export demand throughout 

 the whole season, and also by a decreased supply 

 arising from inundation damages to the crops. In 1884, 

 the total crop was estimated at upwards of 80,000 

 tons. Nearly 70,000 tons were exported in bulk and 

 in oil from Pondicherry alone, and this year's yield 

 •is expected to exceed 100,000 tons, about nine-tenths 

 of which will probably find its way to Pondicherry, 

 Just now, however, there is a depression in the trade, 

 in consequence of the exceptionally low quotations at 

 Marseilles ; still, there are buyers at growers' prices 

 — mostly, as yet, for crushing and for shipment in 

 shells to Coast ports, Calcutta, Burmah and the 

 Straits. It is calculated that, at KIO per candy at 

 the place of growth, cultivators can realise a fair profit 

 so that, at the present rate of R16-12-0 per candy, 

 either the producer, or "middle men " or both, must be 

 making extravagant profits. Last year the price touched 

 R22, and kept at above R20 for the greater 

 part of the season. The rapid devlopment of the 

 ground nut industry is traceable, in a great measure 

 to the comparatively easy method of cultivation. 

 Beyond the sowing and gathering of the crop there is 

 nothing to be done ; it requires no watering, and needs 

 no tending, and, as the coolies who collect the nuts are 

 paid in kind, the capital outlay is limited to the mere 

 cost of labour for scattering the seed. Within the 

 last year or two, and notably from the beginning of 

 the present year, nearly all the Eastern Coast ports 

 and Calcutta, Rangoon, Moulmein, and the Straits. 

 have been regular buyers of the Pondicherry oil ; 

 even at the current high rate of the nut, it can be 

 manufactured and sold at about one rupee per imperial 

 gallon. The ground nut oil trade is as yet but in its 

 infancj', and the cheapness and purity of the article, 

 together with its unquestioned general usefulness as 

 a cuisine commodity, must cause a steadily increasing 

 demand for it. — Madras Mail. 



TEA CULTURE IN SOUTHERN STATES OF 

 AMERICA. 



BY MBS. D. WALKEE. 



In one of last year's numbers of the Gardeners' 

 Monthly, I gave an account of the success of our tea 

 plants, which this autumn are profusely covered with 

 bloom and buds. The bushes have much increased in 

 diameter, are perfectly healthy, strong and vigorous 

 ■with dark heavy foliage. They seem impervious to 

 drought and floods, and vie with our native evergreens 

 in beautifying the garden. 



Now, about planting the seeds collected last year 

 from our own bushes. The ground where they were 

 to be planted was thoroughly mulched, the soil naturally 

 being very sandy. The seeds were dropped on the 

 ground and left uncovered. No further care was given, 

 the weeds for the whole of the past season not being 

 removed . 



And this time, there are a hundred or more fine thirfty 

 plants covering the spot; proving, indisputibly, that 

 tea can be grown in this State, and surely such an 

 industry should not be overlooked. What difficulty 

 could there be in importing some Chinese who are 

 accustomed to the manipulation of the leaves ; and, in 

 short, understand the proper process of preparing the 

 tea for market? 



Assam and other East Indian teas are largely 

 imported into Europe, and commonly drunk. There 

 can be no doubt as to their excellent flavour. While in 

 England this summer, I drank Assam tea every day, 

 and thought it much superior to our ordinary black 

 tea, for which we pay (retail) §1-10 per pound. 



Another fact is worth reporting. In England, the 

 duty OQ tea is twelve cents a pound ; here there is no 



duty, and good tea is far more expensive than abroad. 

 [This note is very acceptable as keeping before the 

 commuGity a topic it is apt to forget. There is no 

 reason for doubt that the tea plaut will grow as well, 

 aud produce as good tea in portions of the Southern sea- 

 board States, as in China. The whole question is 

 reduced to one of cost of production. The introduction 

 of Chinese labor would not help the question in the 

 least. All experience has shown that every new locality 

 mustbe a law unto itself. In the early history of vine- 

 growing in America, it was thought essential to import 

 vine dressers from the vineyards of Europe. Their art 

 was of no value here, and vine-growing was not a success 

 until we cut loose wholly from the experiences of the old 

 world. The most successful vineyardists of to-day never 

 saw the old world. And this must be true of tea culture. 

 When some enterprising young man shall take hold of 

 the tea question, note well just where its weaknesses 

 are, and go resolutely to work to strengthen these 

 points, tea culture will be one of the most profitable 

 industries of theSouth. And that person and that time 

 will surely come.— Ed. G, '^lA— Gardeners' Monthly. 



THE SPONGING SEASON AT BAHAMAS. 



An old and valued contributor to this paper, now 

 Governor of the Bahamas, sends to this month's Fcnrt- 

 nightly Review an excellent description of those islanda, 

 and we shall be surprised if the varied allurements 

 which Mr. Blake holds out do not cause some of his 

 friends to go over and pay him a visit. Among other 

 things he describes the sponge fishery. 



" From October to July the sponging season is in full 

 swing. There are over five thousand men and boys 

 engaged in the fishery, each schooner carrying a crew 

 of five to seven. The sponges are found all over the 

 banks, which vary in depth from two to four fathoms. 

 The fishing is managed on the share .system, the crew 

 being thus directly interested in the success of the 

 voyage, which lasts about six weeks. Arrived on the 

 ground, the small boats, of which each schooner carries 

 two or three, put off, manned each by two men, one 

 of whom sculls, while the other, armed with a thirty- 

 foot pole, bearing at the end a double hook, lies extended 

 over the bow, and examines the bottom through a 

 " sponge glass," or bucket with a glass bottom. Laying 

 this upon the surface, everything below is seen as 

 clearly as if no water intervened. Even in fifteen and 

 twenty fathoms the bottom can be clearly seen and 

 examined. The sponges when found are hooked up by 

 the armed pole, and as soon as the schooner's deck is 

 filled she sails away to a "ranche," where she deposits 

 her now evil-smelling load in a " crawl," or enclosure of 

 wattles in shallow water, where it remains for a fortnight, 

 during which the crew are fishing for a fresh cargo. 

 On their return all hands enter the crawl and beat out 

 the now-rotted fleshy part of the sponge, which, when 

 first gathered, presents the appearance of a roiind mass 

 of dark indiarubber freely perforated. When the 

 fleshy part has been thoroughly removed aud the 

 marketable skeleton washed, the heap is laid on h ore 

 in a secluded spot, while the lot that has taken its 

 pace remains in the crawl, and the schooner starts 

 agaiYi for the sponge banks, At length enough has 

 been giahered and cleaned to load the vessel, when the 

 sponges art- sorted by the crew into glove, reef. Iambs, 

 wool, gTai<s, ire, and each kind separately strungs in 

 rings of from one to two dozen. In this way they are 

 gold by auction in the sponge exchange, when the first 

 step of the preparation for the consumer is carried out 

 by the .sponge merchants. The sponges are exposed to 

 the sua to improve the colour. They are then clipped 

 and all irregularities and pieces of shell or rock 

 removed by the clipper, and once out of his hands they 

 are, so far as the Bahama sponge merchant is concerned, 

 ready to be pressed in bales and exported. 



It would be a good thing if all Governors of the 

 Queen's dominions abroad sent to Mr. Escott equally 

 readable accounts of the countries which they rule. It 

 ib well known that they are not as a rule overburdened 

 with work, — Pall Mall Budc/et. 



