April 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



78. 



FORESTS SACRIFICED FOR LEATHER. 



One of the handsomest trees in California is generally 

 knoivn by the common name of chestnut oak. It is !i 

 tall, slim tree, having leaves like the chestnut tree ; it 

 is evergreen, ami never grows in open groimds. Its habit- 

 at is nearly limited to that of the redwood, or more 

 accurately to that of the madrono. It is the only oak 

 in that vicinity which furnishes a bark suitable for tan- 

 ning leathei-. At least, it is the only oak bark which 

 has ever been used in that state. Now, the leather 

 business has been unusually good in that state for the 

 two or three years last past. Over large districts this 

 beautiful chestnut oak is slashed ilo\vn for the bark. 

 The trunk is peeled and then left to decay. Great open- 

 ings are made in the forests, and the sun is let in, 

 evaporating the moisture .so rapidly that these trees do 

 not pro]>agate. The result will soon be that this im- 

 mense waste will terminate with the ilestruetion of this 

 tree, ^^'hat will the tamiers do when the tree disappears, 

 or is .so remote an<l iuacces.sible that it cannot be reached ? 

 In the Ea.stcrn States hemlock bark is extensively used 

 for tanning, but the latter is not found in California. 

 For at least a quarter of a century experiments have 

 been in progress to find some substitute for the tanning 

 of leather. Various chemical processes have been intro- 

 duced. Hut none of them have taken the place of bark 

 either because they were too expensive, or did not make 

 a good (juality of leather. There are many barks and 

 many drugs which have astringent properties, but the 

 discoverer has not yet hit upon the cheap and satisfact- 

 ory process by which bark can be dismissed, and the 

 chemical can be sub.stituted. 'When all the chestnut oak 

 of the Pacific Coast has disappeared, as it will within a 

 dozen years at the present rate of de.struction, what are 

 thi' tanners going to doV ^^'ilI they then find a new 

 and satisfactory process ? "Why not find it now, and so 

 let a few of the trees stand over for the benefit of 

 another generation ? The price of tan-liark in the coast 

 counties has advanced more than fifty per cent, in the 

 last three or four years. It is still advancing. The bark 

 men now go twenty to thirty miles from the coast, or 

 from the nearest railroad. They climb almost inaccess- 

 ible mountains, strip the bark and dr.aw it out on sleds, 

 or chute it down the mountains in troughs. With the 

 greater labom* of getting it, of eom'.se the price must 

 advance. But then there is no more, then will necessity 

 become the mother of invention ! Surelj', a satisfactory 

 preparation for tanning leather ought not to be beyond 

 chemical discovery. That it has not yet been reached is 

 evident from the fact that tanners in California are pay- 

 ing the largest prici's for bark ever paid, and that they 

 have not yet adopted any one of the chemical processes 

 which from time to time have 'been introduced. — liiijf'ulo 

 Liimhei^ JVoi'hK 



^NANKIN COTTON CULTIVATION IN MADRAS. 



At the instance of the Oovernment of India, the Super- 

 intendents of Government Farms, Sydapett, and of the 

 Central .Tail, Coimbatore, were called upon by tlie local 

 Government to consider and report upon certain papers 

 regarding the cultivation of cotton of the natural khaki 

 colour. Jlr. Robertson, the Superintendent of the Farms, 

 in replying, has forwarded samples of Nankin cotton in 

 the seed, and the clean lint, and states that the cotton 

 has been grown in this presidency as a botanical curiosity 

 for upwards of fifty years. It was originally imported from 

 China, where the fabrics made from it are in great demand 

 for their cheapness aud durability. At one time large 

 i|Uantities of Nankin cloth were exported from China, 

 but its export has now almost ceased. Mr. Robertson does 

 not think the crop is grown anywhere in this Presidency 

 except on a very small scale, but he is i)utting an acre 

 of land under the crop, and this should in four or five 

 montlis give enough seed for 20 or 25 acres of Land, which 

 will jjrobibly sufiice for experimental trials. Mr. Grimes, 

 Superintendent of the Coimbatore C'entral .Tail, reports 

 that from two seeds he was enabled to plant at different 

 times twelve acres of laud. It is a har<ly description of 

 cotton, grows in any jail, is perennial, and gi^'es more than 

 one picking a year. The plant in the field grows to a 

 height of about eighteen inches, but in favourable localities 

 99 



it grows into a large bush, quite four feet in height. 

 He has submitted for inspection some of the cotton in 

 the pod, some hanks of thread spun by the convicts from 

 it, and samples of cloth made therefrom in the jail. 

 Brigadier-General CUerk was supplied with some of this 

 " Nankin " cloth to try its suitability for tin- sunnuer 

 clothing of troops. Owing to recent orders of Governnient, 

 putting a stop to miscellaneous manufactures in jails, Mr. 

 Grimes rooted up the last field of this cotton, which «as 

 planted in 18"!), as he thought there would lie no furtlier 

 use in cultivating it. He has, however, means of obtaining 

 seed and can re-commence its cultivation if necessary. He 

 believes it is not cultiv,itcd by the ryots in the Coinilmtore 

 District, but is told that it is so in the Tinnevelly District 

 Its great drawback is its shortness of fibre, and Mr. 

 Grimes is anxious to obtain fresh seed from Chunar or 

 elsewhere to ascertain whether it is superior to what he 

 has grown. It will be thus seen that the mltimtiou of 

 this cotton has passed beyond the experiment:d stage in 

 this Presidency, and the Government of India have noH 

 an opportunity of pronouncing on the merits of a sample 

 of the cloth made from it at Coimbatore. A supply of 

 Chunar seed is to be procured in order that its identity 

 with this cotton may be established. Meanwhile the local 

 Government, we hear, does not think there is any need for 

 extended cultivation here, hut that a supply of seed should 

 be maintained for distribution to cultivators in the event 

 of a demand being eventually established. — Madras limes. 



COFFEE PLANTING AND CROPS IN OOORG. 



TO THE KDITOR " M.IDR.IS MAIL. " 



Sir, — Although I somehow missed seeing "South's" letter 

 in your issue of the 28th ultimo, about crops in South Coorg, 

 I have heard enough about it to incline me to give the follow- 

 ing statements, which I have taken from the books of a group 

 of estates of which I have lately taken charge. Only four of 

 the estates have been in bearing for over five years, and sub- 

 joined you will find the crop of the four from i87,'i to 1880: — 

 1st 2nd 3rd 4tii 



128^ acres. 138 acres. 151 acres. 131 acres. 

 1875-76. . 65 tons. 43 tons. 72 tons. 63 tons 

 1876-77... 56 „ 36 „ 44 .. 37 



1877-78,.. 47 „ 47 „ 30 „ 51 



1878-79... 66 „ 50 „ 07 „ 71 



1879-80... 61 „ 80 „ 60 „ 65 



295 „ 25G „ 273 „ 287 „ 



The above figures speak for them.selves, and I am only 

 sorry that they are not more in detail, as the crops were all 

 cured and shipped as one, aud the totals of boxes picked only 

 kept .separate. Should "South" care to come up and take "a 

 run through South Coorg, we will show him at least ten out 

 of .say 70 estates that average 5 cwts. per acre, and also that 

 instead of a round dozen of piping Scotchmen we are 

 South Coorg, Jan. Pifkhs. 



Sir, — In the last Coorg Admin.stratiou Report it is stated 

 that " the average yield in most European estates reaches 

 7 cwts. the acre." If "many" had been used inst^i-ad, of 

 "most" the information would have been strictly correct. 

 Your correspondent ".South" appears, however, in doubt 

 that any estate in Coorg has yielded so much for five con- 

 tinuous years. In answer to his challenge I instance four 

 estates, and having carefully collected the statistics, I can 

 vouch for their correctness. 



I. — The "Dabarry" estate has given six crops, and the 

 average yield has been 7| cwts. per acre. 



II. — " Hanchibctta " Estate 100 acres plante<l in 187-.', 20 

 acres in 1S73, and 20 acres in 1874. The crops from 1874-5 

 to 1881-2, inclusive, were per acre as follows: — 5-4, 10-2 7-8, 

 3-9. 10-fl, 70, 5'4 and 70, or an average for the eight years of 

 7'2 per acre. 



III. — "Chondiman Kadu " Estate, 130 acres planted in 

 1870. The first five crops, including the maiilen, were 10.3, 

 I3'4, 7'2, 7'7, and 5*4 cwts. per acre, or an average of 8 cwts. 

 Afterwards, from w.ant of labor, borer and other causes this 

 estate drooped its wings for two or three years. Notwith- 

 standing this temporary filling off, taking the eleven years 

 in which the estate has produced crop, and including the 

 present very indifferent season, the average out-turn has 

 been G'6 cwts. per acre. 



