738 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1883, 



fibie is capable of being effectually sized and dyed, 

 and th'it tlie paper does not crack when folded. TUeir 

 relative strength, qualiiy, and texture are to a 

 great extent uniform. Disintegration appears complete, 

 as there is no appearance of undigested fibre, either 

 in the form of long filaments, or knots — commrmly 

 known as "'sago" in the trade — a most unfortunate 

 transtormation if it takes phice in the machine chest. 

 The surface of the papers bears signs of cockling 

 on the machine, but this drawback may be obviated, 

 uo doubt, by using a blend of some other softer 

 and more elastic material. The colour is also against 

 the paper; hut this imperfection may likewise be 

 remedied, in all probability, by another treatment 

 which can only be arrived at by a sei'ies of experi- 

 ments. 



8. I'he following is a summary of the advantages 

 plantain fibre offers for paper-making : — 



(<7..) Unlimited supply. (6.) Uniformity of fibre. 



(c.) Facility for dyeing, (rf.) Adaptability for 

 sizing, (e. ) Minimum chance of impurities 

 as compared with most other fibres. 



(/.) Great strength of fibre as evmced by the 

 fact of its producing a thin paper, and 

 running oil the machine unassisted by the 

 addition of any other material. 



9. The Government of Bengal has recognised the 

 importance of encouraging a plantain fibre extracting 

 industry, and is prepared to give all reasonable 

 assistance to any mercantile firm or individual wish- 

 ing to try such experiments in the Chittagong Hill 

 Tracts, or elsewhere in Lower Bengal. It has further 

 agreed to supply wild plantain stems free of cost 

 on the spot for a reasonalde time, at the outset of 

 the experiment, and will arange for future supplies 

 at reasonable rates. The firm of Schcene, Kilburu 

 and Company have, we believe, turned their atten- 

 tion to the development of this new business, but 

 to what extent we are not prepared to say. 



10. Dr. George King, superintendent of the Royal 

 Botanic Garden, in his able report on plantain fibre, 

 gives it as his opinion that the plantain fibre industry 

 has a good deal of promise, and further states that 

 he has ascertained from a large English paper-maker 

 that if it could be delivered cheaply enough, plan- 

 tain fibre would be readily bought in England for 

 paper-making. He also states that, as the local 

 demand is very limited, the Bally Mill being the 

 only one in this part of India, London must be 

 looked to as the real market. This latter remark, no 

 doubt, is applicable to the present time; but if, as 

 we predict, at no distant date, India will no longer 

 depend on England for supplier of paper, then the 

 demand for plantain fibre in India will be quite equal 

 to the requirements of England in this respect at 

 present. 



Aloe. 



11. The paper next to be considered is that tnade 

 from the fibre of the " aloe." Although this exhibit is 

 a fair samjjle of the class of paper that can be produced 

 from this plant, we are not sanguine of it ever proving 

 a serviceable acquisition to the list of paper-making 

 fibres. For paper purposes it is desirable that the fibre 

 should be the yield of plants of regular growth, which 

 is not the case with the aloe, whose habit, is to send 

 out a succession of shoots requiring different modes of 

 treatment that could not be carried out when dealing 

 with large quantitie?. The p:iper has a spongy por- 

 ous appearance, which is very much against it. 



MooNJ. 



12. To this exhibit we draw particular attention. 

 It is made from the sheath of the grass that was 

 condemned by the home brokers as containing too sm.al! 

 a percentage of fibre [vide our concluding remarks, 

 paragraph 4). The quality ia stout and euiface flat. 



with inclination to harshness; not in the least bibulous; 

 colour wliite, wiiich speaks for the bleaching quality of 

 the fibre ; fibres well digested, and no appearance of 

 knots; well sized. The slight impurities on the surface 

 give the appearance of the paper having been run on the 

 machine after working "browns." Similar defects from 

 this cause are commonly met with. The creases on 

 folding show a tendency to cut, but to no appreciable 

 extent. 



13. This grass, which grows in prolific abundance in 

 many parts of India, offers an inexhauslible supply of 

 fairly good paper material, if it can be delivered at the 

 mill at a reasonable price; and there is no reason why 

 this cannot be done, if consignments are freed of all use- 

 less material and compressed into the smallest possible 

 bulk. 



14. We would recommend that this paper be added 

 to the list given in the Goverument resolution referred 

 to in the first paragraph of our cnnclndiiig remarks. It 

 is well suited for vernacular and English correspondence 

 (that is destroyed every third year), for drafting pur- 

 poses, for scribbling memoranda, and for all printed 

 forms used in departments where the records are not of 

 sufficient importance to be preserved for any considerable 

 time. The Sind administration, we conceive, would 

 consume a great deal of this class of paper with con- 

 siderable profit to Government. 



M0H.\LYNE, 



15. The Mohalyne cream-coloured paper apparently 

 has been made from the Baukitiia variegata. The fibre 

 of this creeper, which overruns the forests of India, has 

 been pronounced by paper-makers equal to the fibre of 

 the Arlansonia digitata, which is known to afford a very 

 superior material for paper. The cost of chemicals 

 necessary to convert it into a good white paper, however, 

 weighs too heavily against its other mfrits to admit of 

 its being utilized for this industry. The present sample, 

 though, strong, and of even surface, is wanting in colour, 

 and shoivs symptoms of difficulty in sizing. Possibly, 

 if delivered at the inill at a sufficiently cheap rate, it 

 might prove serviceable for strong "browns." — Journal 

 of Foreslry. 



Teees.— An area of 93,000 acres has been planted witli 

 trees in Kansas under the new law relating to arboricultm'e. 

 The cottou tree was largely planted on account of its rapid 

 growth, and b'UOO acres were set with walnut trees. The 

 expectation is that this will operate, in course of time, to 

 relievo the climate of its extreme dryness. — QueeiislaiiiJer. 



Bones as Man'ure. — For some years I have used crushed 

 bones in my small suburbau garden, as well as st.ablo and 

 cow manure. Bones are handy to use, and involve less 

 laljour and dirt than the other m.anures. They are marvellous 

 fertiii.sers. Let anj-one try them next 5i)ring when sowing 

 spinach. For vegetable seeds I use a mixture of Jin. bones 

 and bone dust (as sold by the dealers). This is sprinkled 

 in the row before the seed is put in. The sowing should 

 be thiu. For cabbage and other plants the mixture is 

 scattered on the ground, and dug iu before planting. For 

 lawns I have used bone meal, which is a fine powder and 

 quicker iu its action than larger matierial, but where small 

 quantities only are required, the above mixture does just 

 as well when rolled in. When planting fruit trees I use 

 ;Mn. bones. The tree is put in position and a little mould 

 is thrown over the roots and then about quart of ^in. 

 bones is sprinkled on the mould before filling in. In 

 November we give the trees a mulching of half-rotten 

 stable manure, or that and cow manure mixed, about a 

 forkful to each tree, taking care to keep clear of the 

 stem, so as not to bring out fibrous roots above the level 

 of the soil, as the manure will do if piled against the 

 stem. The result is the trees are strong, healthy, and 

 fruitful. The bones referred to above are sent out from 

 the mills iu bags of not less than IJ cwt. I estimate a 

 b.ag to be well worth from two to three loails of stable 

 mauure. I should add that my soil is light, with a sub. 

 soil of sand and gravel. — 0. G. ADDiiiCOMBE.—Atistralasian. 



