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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1882. 



really I did not bestow on its culture that minute 

 attention I might have done. I have growQ it here 

 (Redmyre); it flourished luxuriantly even in the dry 

 weather and bore well, and in many parts of the 

 colony it urows 'like a weed,' and is looked upon as 

 one. I wilt try now to reply to your questions seri- 

 atim : — 1st. Best Distance to Plant; Average Soil. — 

 It is a shrubby plant, with a tendency to branch find 

 grow straggly, if neglected, perennial in warm climates, 

 although an annual in Europe, will thrive on any soil, 

 will stand hot winds, is suitable even for arid lands, 

 thrives luxuriantly in good soil, and should be 

 ' nipped back' when making too rapid growth, as this 

 tends to increase productiveness. In ludia iud)go 

 planters usually grow it along the tops (or banks of 

 the ditches), alongside the factory roads. Tlic natives 

 line the tops of their eartheru boundaries alongside 

 their gardens and orchards with the plant. It is also 

 used to crop poor, sandy exhausted fields, as it .seems 

 to give a rest to lands which have been cropped with 

 cereals, pulses, or grasses. Wht-n thus planted in fields 

 it is 'set' as thick as vines iu a colonial vineyani ; 

 three to four feet average distance where gnotl cultiv- 

 ation is followed ; many ryots sow it broadcast, and 

 thiu out to suit their own ideas. It would be the 

 best plan by far to sow in lines and earth up, much 

 after the style of vineyard cutivations here ; or use 

 the plant as an outside crop, i.e. planted on the 

 'head rigs' and belts of 'tail' lands, round other 

 crops, such as tobacco, cane, &c. In this way it 

 forms an admirable 'breakwind,' and, if allowed 

 to grow up, economizes space ; and, being a very 

 hardy, quick grower, if. gives a quick return in 

 produce, besides being valuable as an aid aud shelter 

 to the other staple crops. 2ud. When I'irst Crop 

 Ripe : — It should begin to produce in about four months 

 from sowing — sometimes less even than that where 

 circumstances are favourable. Keep 'topping back' 

 the shoots and induce as shrubby a habit as yon can; 

 and picking can then go on indefinitely. By-aud-bye 

 you will have to lop oflf old wood ; and, indeed, you 

 must cultivate for branches aud seed, aud not for 

 leaf. 3rd. Yield . — Impossible to estimate this ; so 

 much depends on soil, management, picking, &c. You 

 should experiment only, at first. There are thousands 

 of other products equally valuable. Go in for, say, an 

 acre, or even ten acres, of castor, a specific quantity 

 of tobacco, cane, grain ginger, safflower, &c. , &c., 

 aud note carefully the results. Y'^ou will soon llnd 

 what pays best. Get Baron vou Mueller's '.Select 

 Plants for Industrial Culture in Extra-Tro]jical Count- 

 ries.' Subscribe to the Tropical AijricuUurist, pub- 

 lished by Ferguson's Observer office, Colombo, Cej - 

 Ion, aud nad up. Trees will grow on, bearing so long 

 as they are tended. We used to get so much from a 

 certain range of bank along well. known factory londs, 

 so that 1 regret I cann<it answer this question wi h 

 exactitude. Baron Mueller says of it : — 'The ea.sy and 

 rapid growth, the copious seeding, and the early re- 

 turns of produce render this important plant of high 

 value iu the warm temperate zone,' Ac. 4. Most 

 Remunerative Form to Sell Produce : — Oil decidedly, 

 chiefly because you save freight. It is better to sell 

 bacon than ship maize, to ship coconut oil than 

 copra or nuts, oilcake and oil than bags of linseed. 

 The seeds contain 50 per cent, of oil : the refuse 

 forms goods manure, and parts of it can be made 

 into soap. See page 290, V..n MuUer's ' Select li-^tra- 

 Tropical Plants.' 5. The oil is used both crude and 

 refined. 6. The stages of manufacture are : — i. Pick- 

 ing, 2. iJrying in fhesun. 3, Husking. .(.Extraction 

 by hydraulic pressure. 5. Bleaching. 6. Filtration 

 and purification. The secondary process is to again 

 treat the pressed mass with heated w.-iter, which gives 

 a second quality of oil ; and, thirdly, saponaceous 

 matters are atterwurds obtained, aud the refuse mass 



is useful as a manure. The leaves from a good fodder 

 in seasons of drouj^ht, and are a good feed for a. 

 species of tussur silfiworm, tho Bombyx Arrindi." 7. 

 Value of product.— That you know is Ss 3d to 3s 6d 

 per gallon. S. The market is capable of indefinite 

 expansion. It is, I believe, the cheapest aud best 

 lubricant we have. The customs returns will show 

 what are our imports. All our sugar, mirdng, loco- 

 motive, and other machinery should be lubricated with 

 our native.grown castor oil. We should not be de- 

 pendent on any but oui-selves for a solitary grdlon, 

 assuming of course that we can make it cheaply enough. 

 9. Could be sent to market m barrels, puhclieons, tins, 

 skins, jars, or iu the way that best suits the locality 

 \yhere grown. Present supply chiefly from ludia. 10. 

 Special plant required would be presses ; ordinary in- 

 telligence should make a good oil miller. It would 

 be no use trying to make the finer qualities without 

 steam machinery and a fair knowledge of chemistry. 

 Tlie planter's work is to make the crude oil and send 

 it to market. The refiner will do the rest. For 

 lubricating purposes, which is its chief use, lefiued 

 oil is not needed. The want of cheap labour may 

 have militated against the Queensland attempt. But I do 

 not know anything of the particulars." — Qaeendamler. 



HOW TO INCREASE THE CONSUMPTION 

 OF COFFEE. 

 ( Cmnmunicated. ) 



When Mr. Gladstone made his late onslaught on 

 coffee adulteration to court favor, it may be, 

 with the vote of the gr-ocers, he ban-ed chic 

 ory. Mr. Pasteur, in spite of the bad odour his 

 action has brought upon him, owing to the interests 

 of middle parties being interfered with, perseveres 

 in his good work. Why does not Mr. Gladstone do 

 the same and sit upon chicory too ? London Truth 

 made some very pertinent remarks with regard 

 to the fragrant berry, saying it was a question of " first 

 catch your hare." The hare seems to be in a fair 

 way of being caught ; so I would say the question 

 now resolves itself into "catch your coffee -roaster." 



The want of a really A 1 cheap roaster stops 

 the consumption of coffee in the United Kingdom. 

 It appears to me that one could be made for a 

 couple of shillmgs or so on the principle of the cheap 

 oil coo king stoves, now being advertized, having the 

 advantages of being •' lit and extinguished in a mo- 

 ment, smokeless and without smell, and the cost of 

 the oil used being infinitesimal." 



The Gaslight and Coke Companies, now being formed 

 to lend on hu'e stoves for heating and cooking pur- 

 poses, might also with advantage add coffee-roasters 

 to their stoves. Depend upon it if rich and poor had 

 some easy and sure method whereliy they could roast 

 coffee for themselves we should see a vast increase 

 in the rate of consumption per head. I now wi-ite, 

 however, more on behalf of the working classes, and 

 a cheap and expeditious oil coflee-roaster would 

 probably meet their case best (for the use of 

 such oil just now for lamps is pretty universal, 

 (where gas is not used), so that the material would 

 always be leady to hand, aud the kitchen tire, other- 

 wise employed perhaps, at tho time, wouM not be 

 interfered with. 



If the different Temperance Associations are in 

 earnest (aud who can doubt it, seeing the enoim- 



