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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February i, 1883. 



irregular and dependent on the season. From the first 

 appearance of the blossoms, a period of four mouths 

 ela, ses before the berries arrive at maturity. But the 

 blooming is not simultaneous, and there are to be seen, 

 growiut; together on the same vine, clusters of flowtrs, 

 green fruit and berries already in a fit state for 

 gathering. As soon as any of the berries begin to 

 redden, and it is thought a favourable time for collect- 

 ing them, they should be plucked, for if delayed too 

 long they fall off. The natives make use of small 

 triangular ladders made of bamboo, with which they 

 go round the tr.'e aud reach all the fruit, which is 

 collectpd in small baskets slung over the shoulder of 

 the gatherer. It ia then con > eyed by women and 

 children to a smooth level spot of clean hard ground, 

 and there spread on mats to dry in the sun. The 

 vicissitudes of the weather are not thought to injure 

 it in this stage. As it dries it is occasionally rubned 

 with the hand to separate the stalks from the berries, 

 which soon become black and shrivelled, and assume 

 the wellknown appearance of the black pepper of 

 commerce. When dry, they are winnowed in large 

 round shallow sieves, and put under shelter into 

 vessels made of bark, until all the crop is gathered 

 in and dried, or until there is a sufficient quantitj to 

 be carried to the factory. That gathered in the pro- 

 perest stage of maturity will shrivel the least; if taken 

 off the tree too soon, it will, after being dried, quickly 

 become mere dust." 



The latest reference to Pepper cultivation we have 

 seen is in the BangooH Gazette, as follow.s : — " An inter- 

 esting experiment is going on in Sandoway, inauj^ur- 

 ated we believe by Colonel bladen, who found the pepper 

 vine growing wild in this district. An area of 623 acres 

 has been planted with cuttings in the hope that a new 

 industry will be inaugurated thereby. The pepper 

 vine take» three years to yield fruit, and then continues 

 bearing f.ir seven years. Tiie cutiii.gs when once put 

 down require very little care or attention, and this 

 produce therefore seems admirably adapted to Bur- 

 mese laziness. In Mergui, under Captain Butler's care, 

 both pepper and vanilla have succetded, and there is 

 ther.fore a good prospect of success for the experi- 

 mental cultivation of the pepper vine at Sandoway. 

 We should like to see cuttings supplied to other Go- 

 vernment plantation at Pahpnon, and Magayee, whilst 

 Mr. Petley, who lias succeeded fairly "ell with tea, 

 coffee and cinchona on the Toungoo hills would doubt- 

 less be glad to try his hand at pepper also if supplied 

 with cuttings. A pepper garden, at a distance, looks 

 something like a Keuti-'h hop field. At .Singapore and 

 Peiiaiig pepper is found to grow well on a fair upland 

 soil, the vini-s needing only occasional pruning and 

 weeding. Witb manuring the yield is aluudant, and 

 proves a good source of income to the Ch.namen and 

 Malays piincipallv employed in its cultivation. Clove 

 trees, which thrive so well in the Stra ts Settlements, 

 might be profitably introduced into Burma. The tree 

 is described as a lovely one which flowers freely. The 

 bud of the flower, just before its opening constitutes 

 the spice which is lu such great demand for export. 

 Tlie buds, which are white in colour, resembling snow 

 driips, are gathered by the young people of both 

 sexes aud dried in the sun which causes ihem to turn 

 dark in colour and shrivel up. The gathering time 

 lasts for a few days only as the bud after flowering 

 loses much of its strength." — Ed ] 



Cinchona Sked and Crotons in Java. — Batavia, 27th 

 Dei'ember. — Cinchouu planters here are greatly dis- 

 quieted at the announcement that, in future, cinchona 

 seeds will be sold to applicants at ttie Government 

 plantations in .Java. inste.ad of being supplied gratis to 

 encou age the culture. Not from any disiucliuation 

 to pay the price fixed but because knowing the extra- 



ordinary prices paid for seeds by British Indian 

 planters they dread competition from the latter. It 

 is even said that sometimes seeds thus given away 

 have found their way to British India at high rates. 

 At Batavia among the natives and foreign orientals, 

 there is a singular speculative trade in a sort of orna- 

 mental plant, the Australian croton, which is not 

 rare among Europeans here and brings at present, 

 in the native speculative market, prices ranging 

 from 40 to 100 guilders per plant." — Batavia Dagblad 

 in StrnUs Times. 



Cinchona. — There are evidently good times in store 

 for fortuuate cinchona growers when, in space of ten 

 months, renewed bark of 6 years old officinalis trees in- 

 creases fifty per cent the sulphate of quinine in it. 

 This is the case with lot .38 in the sale announced 

 by Messrs. Robinson and Dunlop. Lot 31 of renewed 

 Succirubra shavings is another instance of this kind. 

 Wheu one considers the enormous quantity of natural 

 bark shaved this year, it is quite permissable to live in 

 cheerful hope of the next shaving as one hkely to make 

 up for much of the failure of our coffee crops. — "Ceylon 

 Times." 



The Mowra Tree. — ThefuU text of the letter from 

 the Government of India to che Bombuy Government 

 stating the grounds upon which assent to the Abkari 

 Bill was refused, has been published. From it we 

 g.vther that, although the question of illicit distilla- 

 tion and the evils resulting therefrom was taken into 

 consideration, the main grounds assigned for the refusal 

 are the dangers incurred in placing a wild food-staple 

 such as the mowra flower* under official restraint. In 

 mauj" districts in the Bombay presidency, in parts of 

 Bengal, in a very large portion of the Central Pro- 

 vinces, in a portion of .Madras, and in the states of 

 Central India bordering upon Khandeish, the mowra 

 flower is extensivelv used as an article of food ; and 

 should the first promulgating of any such regulations 

 as those contemplated by the Bombay Government 

 hapijcn to coincide with a season <if scanty rainfall 

 an event of no rare occurrence, especially in the Bheel 

 districts, the danger of an out-break among the tribes 

 would be very great. And further than this, the pro- 

 posal to reuulate the trade, and to pay people for 

 collecting the flower, is opposed to the general policy 

 of the Government of India, which desires to interfere 

 as little as possible with trade. — Frieml of India. 



Native Agriculturb. — The attention of the Ceylon 

 and other Governments and of Agricultural Societies is 

 attracted to the following extract from an Indian 

 paper:— "With an intelligent knowledge of the treat- 

 ment of crops and soils, and suitable agricultural appli- 

 ances, which might be acquired in the course of 

 a year or two of practical study in agricultural 

 classes of the sort established with such marked I 

 success in Hyderabad, Sind, the sons of zemindars i 

 would, in their own districts and among their own ' 

 teiinants, be the means of scattering information, in- 

 troducing new and well tried methods, aud suitable \ 

 implements and contrivances, which otherwise would 

 scarcely be brought into notice. The influence which 

 men trained in this practical fashion would be able 

 to exercise on Indian agriculture would be much 

 greater and further reaching than anything which 1 

 hitherto Agricultural Departments and Model Farms 

 have been able to effect. Each zemindar, so trained, 

 would be a centre of knowledge and reference in ] 

 his own district ; and it is not all Utopian to 

 hope that many so trained would on their own 

 land curry on practical esperimeuts with crops of i 

 various kinds, that would be as likely, at all events, 

 as some experiments at Government farms are, to , 

 result ill the advancement of indigenous methods , 

 aud the development of textile 'and other agri- 

 cultural and commercial products." ' 

 * Mowra or Mowah, Bassia longifoUa. — Ed. \ 



