June i, 1887.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



833 



^orr^spondi^no^. 



To the Editor of the ''Ceylon Observer,'' 



CINCHONA "THATCHED" AND "UN- 

 THATCHED— AS TO QUANTITY? 



Badulla, '2nd April 1887. 

 Dear Sir, — A late correspondent, in asking Mr. 

 Esdaile for explanations regarding thatched and un- 

 thatched trees, omitted one question, perhaps the 

 most important, viz. : Did the unthatched trees 

 produce as much bark as the thatched ? If Mr. 

 Esdaile can save us the expense of thatching, I 

 am sure we shall all be very much obliged to him. 

 Hoping you can find space for this enquiry.— I re- 

 main, &c., A PLANTER. 



CACTUS AS A FORAGE PLANT FOR THE 



NORTH-EAST OF THE ISLAND. 



MuUaitivu Agri:- School, 5th May 1887. 

 Deak Sie, — In the March number of the Tropical 

 Ar/ricidtitrist (page 586,) I came across an extract 

 about a thornless species of cactus introduced as a 

 forage plant into the eastern districts of tlie Cape 

 by Mr. J. B. HeUier. I doubt not that, as you re- 

 mark, the plant will be found useful in the north 

 and east of Ceylon. It will especially be a source 

 of great relief here at MuUaitivu where most of the 

 cattle actually starve during the greater part of the 

 dry season. Anyone, therefore, who will take the 

 trouble to introduce the plant here will deserve 

 our best thanks. One great drawback in cattle rear- 

 ing here is bad feeding. Country cattle, I need 

 hardly Bay, would be in a much better condition 

 were they well fed ; and any superior new breed in- 

 troduced here would soon degenerate so long as the 

 present bad feed continues. — Yours respectfully, 



E. T. HOOLE. 



SERICULTUEE. 



Colombo, 7th May. 



Sir, — Sometime ago I had a few hundred eggs of 

 silkworm sent me by an up-country gentleman. 

 I had according to his directions kept them in a 

 tray, and gave their young, tender leaves of the 

 mulberry tree at first, and larger leaves as they 

 grew older. I had also to take care that no mice, 

 birds or insects got at them and to feed them as 

 regularly as possible three times a day, or four 

 times in hot weather. The result was that after 

 the lapse of about a month, I had cocoons from 

 which I gathered a small quantity of floss silk say 

 about one or one-half lb. But as I did not know 

 how to comb it and put it to some use, nor get 

 further information on the matter, I left off making 

 further experiments. Also, I have not been able 

 to preserve the eggs yet the butter-flies laid. I could 

 not make provision for a further supply of these 

 worms. There is, however one thought that struck 

 me forcibly and that was that if proper and system- 

 atic efforts were made in the rearing of silkworms 

 in Ceylon, silk could be easily manufactured here 

 as well as is done in other parts of the world. The 

 following passage which I lately read in a book 

 confirms me on this opinion: — " The countries most 

 noted for their silk manufactures aie China, Japan, 

 Italy, France and England. The rearing of silk 

 worms enables many persons to earn a livelihood. 

 Old people and children unfit for hard-labour can 

 tend silkworms." 



I kave seen a large number of mulberry trees 

 growing freely in and around Colombe, and witli 

 their leaves, these worms could easily be fed, and, 

 105 



if needed, more trees might be grown for this par- 

 ticular purpose. As the silkworms or eggs are not 

 procurable here, I think it would be well if Govern- 

 ment would order out a supply for gratuitous dis- 

 tribution among the people, and they will, no doubt, 

 give an impetus to a new industry in Ceylon. And 

 if eventually the rearing of the silkworms succeeds, 

 a person could be ordered out in order to teach 

 the further process of combing &c. to the people.— 

 Yours faithfully, A WELL-WISHER. 



[We fear suitable labour is too expensive in Cey- 

 lon, and the Sinhalese too apathetic, apart 

 from questions of climate. The most promising 

 experiment we ever saw in the colony was at 

 Kowdapallella, somewhat over two years ago, with 

 eggs brought by Mr. Kobt. Fraser from Japan. It 

 threatened to break down and probably did so (?) 

 from the difficulty of supplying the voracious worms 

 with a sufficient (juantity of mulberry leaves.— 

 Ed.] 



PECULIAR TEA LEAVES. 



Kalutara, 8th May 1887. 



Dio.vR StR, — I enclose some tea leaves with a 

 peculiar rib running on each side of the mid-rib. 

 This peculiarity is common over hundreds of acres 

 in the district. Can you explain the cause of the 

 appearance ? No evil effect whatsoever appears to 

 accompany it, but it would be interesting to know 

 the cause.— Yours faithfully, R. MORISON. 



[We referred the leaves to Dr. Trimen, who 

 has been good enough to give the following inter- 

 esting explanation : — 



"The markings on the leaf are not ribs or veins, 

 but linear scars or bruises. The cause of their form- 

 ation would, in all probability, be found by examin- 

 ing them when ni the bud, before expansion. Nor- 

 mally the youug tea-leaves in that stage are rolled 

 in from both aides on the upper surface, a condition 

 technically known as 'involute;' but it would ap- 

 pear that in those before us there has been a. folding 

 inwards instead of or besides the rolling, f accompanied 

 with some pressure) along the lines so clearly marked. 

 These lines thus produced, though not normal in the 

 leaves of tea are always found in those of Erythroxtjlon 

 coca and give them a very characteristic appearance." 



COFFEE AND GREEN BUG :— No. I. 



9th May, 1887. 

 Sir, — Be the green bug question, people are too 

 apt to catch at straws of hope, instead of utilizing 

 the short time left them to rapidly replace coffee 

 by substitutes, and we are often airily told, in 

 planting notes, that " bug has been about, but has 

 gone again." Mas it ? 



It is perfectly characteristic of it to depart for 

 a short season, but the instances when it has not 

 returned again and again while a coft'ee tree was 

 left, are so very rare, that they are not worth count- 

 ing. Another straw is, that any coffee which has 

 been actually killed, was it not, perhaps, due more 

 to exhaustion than to bug? And a correspondent 



I wants to know whether any large acreage being 



i killed by it is upon record ? 



I Thous.\nds ok Acres have been killed in one and 

 two seasons by bug, and bug alone, and as cleanly 

 as if they never existed ; while, in many instances, 

 the best coffee (such as one sees round cooly lines) 

 made the poorest fight, caving in in one season 

 only. The great and only hope for such districts 

 now experiencing the bug for the first time, is that 

 some climatic influence, such as higher elevation 

 affords, may obviate much destruction by the pest ; 

 but, if the climate fails then the fact is no secret, 

 which every one with experience will maintain, 

 that before two years have elapsed, there will be 



