March i, 1883.] 



•the tropical AGRICULTURISf. 



709 



threatened to submerge it altogether. 2nd, A large 

 area of coffee was planted in wet unfavourable dis- 

 tricts, that turned out to be only so many sinking mines. 

 3rd, When plantation coffee reached its highest fig- 

 gure, notably three large new districts opened out, but 

 the clerk of the weather turned himself deid against 

 planting intruders and swore he would give thpni "such a 

 dose." 4th, Kven in tliis fruit-bearing climate from which 

 I write the season has been unpropitious and 

 the whole province is under a cloud. 5th, The 

 serpent's trail has been over every coffee tree 

 in Ceylon ; and, though we all agree with 

 you, thut it is not to be compared in its injurious 

 effects with the disease that has ruined so many vine- 

 yards in France and snuffed out the vineyards of the 

 island of Madeu\i altogether, yet it has done the 

 Ceylon coffee estates much harm. The only remedy 

 — and that is not in every case a specific — is 

 high cultivation. " W." has noticed that in the 

 Uva district the crop this year is strangely audun- 

 unevenly distributed on the estates, and this is quite 

 true, and a fSinna Durai may read a lesson in plant- 

 ing as he runs, and it is this: the coffee trees are 

 saying : — "We want feeding, durai ; we coffee trees 

 want good feeding, for see in the hollows where 

 the wash soil does congregate we give you crop this 

 year, and where the bones are decaying we yield 

 our coffee this season, and where the soil is 

 richest we shew you 4 to 5 cvvts. an acre, and where 

 the land shelves gently to the oya we fill your cooty 

 sacks, and had all been fed we would even in 

 this sunless season have gladdened your hearts, coffee 

 planters, as in days of yore ! " * F. 0. D. 



CINCHONA NURSERIES. 



January 30th, 1883. 



Dear Sir, — Can you or any of your numerous corre- 

 spondents kindly inform lue what is tbe best thing 

 to prevent cinchona seedlings from djing off in the 

 seed beds ? I have used Professor Herman's vermin 

 destroyer. At first it appeared to stop the disease, 

 but latterly it had little or no effect. I have also 

 tried a weak solution of carbolic acid, soot, &c., but 

 none of it appeared to do any good. — Yours faith- 

 fully, BLiaHT. 



[Occasionally a blight due to a fungus sets in over 

 a nursery, which, perh.ips, nothing can stop : our cor- 

 respondent seems to have tried most of the recog- 

 nized remedies : did he prepare the soil properly to 

 begin with ?— Ed.] 



COMMERCE BETWEEN INDIA AND CEYLON 

 AND THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. 



Colombo, 30th January 18S3. 



Sir, — In thanking you for the able way you have 

 \n'itten in today's paper, on my notes — rough and brief 

 as they were — may I beg to trespass on your space for 

 a little explanation ? 



1st as to Tasmanian hops, the supply is not 

 sufficient for AustraUau demands ; they stand at 

 4s per lb. Heuce the need of another hitter, viz. cinchona. 



2iii as to Ahi'lmoschus CKcnhnta. The Indian Secretary 

 of Commerce and Agriculture has promised, if possible, 

 to supply 30 tons (not maimds) at an estimated cost 

 of collection etc., of Rl^ per maund, but this it must 

 he remembered is only a trial price, and as a new line 

 must be introduced at a moderate rate ; but its true 



* Some coffee planters will Sity ; — " Yes, where the coffee 

 t rees were in good heart, the wood was vigorous and more 

 mature, and consequently bore well this .season. Such wood 

 takes always advautag of comparatively speaking a sunless 

 season. '' — Ed. 

 90 



market value will soon he found. Again, as compai-ed 

 with hemp, you quote £30 to 40 per ton, i. e., scutched 

 hemp in Londou, I offer at fery least, Kr20 for unscutclied 

 fibre (it is incoiTcctly stated to require scutching being 

 ready for sale after drying from the beetel) thus saving 

 labor, and fully 15 per cent loss in tow, also freight and 

 charges. From your description of the wild variety, I 

 think it is the one I allude to, hut the musk scent of 

 the seed and the fineness of fibre will at once determine. * 



3rd. — Aiioiia rdiculala is wild in Southalistan and 

 other parts of India ; where the trees having been cut 

 for fuel it sprouts up very like your cinnamon bushes 

 and keeps up a never-ending supply. It gi'ows on the 

 rockiest places, and does not require inigation I 



4th. — Sunflower. Its use while gi'owing is to shade more 

 delicate plants, such as tobacco, cabbage &c.; it does not 

 require shade ; qmte the contrary. As to price of the 

 fibre I do not allude to the present depressed price of 

 jute. I estimated jute at 5r. per maund of 82 2-7th lb. and 

 sive at 4r. 



In conclusion I shall at all times be glad to supply 

 any information in my power of utility or interest to 

 enquu-ers. Thanking you and the friends who have 

 made my short stay so pleasant and interesting, I am 

 dear Mr. Eilitor, yom's faithtidly, 



J. HARWARD DE EINZY. 



MR. STORCK'S CARBOLIC ACID REMEDY FOR 

 LEAF-DISEASE. 



Dear Sir, — Can you tell me why Mr. Storck's 

 carbolic acid experiment is not more universally tried 

 throughout the coft'ee districts ? Is it because of the 

 expense, or the disbelief in it ? Can any of those 

 who have given the experiment a trial pronounce it a 

 failure ?— Yours truly, ENQUIRER. 



[In the case of Liberian coffee, Mr. Wm. .Jardine of 

 Polgahawela, who tried the acid in all percentages up 

 to 100, has. we believe, lost faith iu it as a remedy. 

 We are not aware if the Dikoya experiments have 

 beeu closed. — Eu.] 



THE INDIAN HEMP. 



Dkak Sir,— It is a matter of surprize that tlie 

 " warrah" or Indian hemp is not made an article of 

 commerce. The " warrah" grows wUd all over the 

 island, and yields a very glossy silk-like fibre, ex- 

 tremely strong and durable. Owing to its strength and 

 durability, it is exclusively used by fishermen in making 

 their fishing lines. The fibre leaves the twigs cleau 

 and free of grit, and the outer bark falls off as the 

 shreds are separated from the twigs. The lines ob- 

 tained range from 9 to 12 inches. The twigs ought 

 to be cut before they attain woody maturity. In- 

 deed, pineapple silk is not to be compared with this 

 textile. Why is not the fibre of the "wetakeyiya" 

 or wild pine utilized? It gi-o-nsin abundance along 

 the seabeach, and, if carefully prepared, will yield a 

 te.xtile far superior to jute, and well adapted for the 

 manufacture of bags. — Yours truly, X 



[Tlie questions as regards the screw pine, are first 

 as to the quality of the fibre and next would it pay 

 to cultivate the plants along the sides of swamps ? 

 Because all the screw pines available would soon be 

 annihilated by anything like extensive operations. — 

 Ed.] 



* Fibres. — In re Abelraoschus (and not Abamoschus) : 

 the wild thorny-stemme 1 one referrinl to in your article 

 is the Hibiscus furcaf«is, also a fibre-yielding plant. The 

 Abelmoschus moschatus is not an uncommon wild plant 

 in C'eylpn.— -W. V. 



t '■ W. F. " thinks the fibre he saw with Btr. de Biuzy 

 was that of another plant.— Ed. 



