Jvtv i; iS82,j 



THE TROPICAL AGIUCVVWRIST, 



49 



brushes for polishing tliread ; but before long science 

 stfjjped in aud a patent roller superseded the kiS- 

 tul brush. M>-anwliilo the brush maUers emyloj'ed 

 this fibre to mix wiih other well-known but cheaper 

 fibres in the manufacture of their brushes, but from 

 the first hesitated to make the brush alone with 

 kittul. The trade, however, has now visibly de- 

 clined, aud at the present moment there are large 

 quaniitips of this useful fibre in England unsaleable, 

 except at an enormous loss to the shipper ; and 

 bankers, merchants, and brokers are pressing the 

 sale, wiih a view of realization, for the purpose of 

 recoupiug themselves for their advances. That this 

 should be the case may seem surprizing, when it is 

 known tliat kittul is tlie best substitute yet discovred 

 for bristle ; hut the public will probahly be more 

 surprized to hear the reason of the decline in the 

 trade. The brush makers became friglit'ened : they 

 discovered, in course of time, that kittul would never 

 wear out, or virtually this might, be said of it, so 

 extraordinary are ito pi'opei'ties of standing wear and 

 tear. Then arose the cry that the trade would be 

 "spoiled." The resolute few have had to give way be- 

 fore these tradesmen who by increase of numbers have 

 ruled the marliet, the success of the latter b^ing 

 mainly due to the ignorance and consequent indifi'er- 

 euce ot the general public. 1 have tried in vain to 

 induce the brush-makers to use kittul for making tlie 

 brooms ordinarily us-d for sweeping fioors, shops, officef^, 

 mills, radway platforms, and indeed all places « here 

 hair or bristle biooms are used, but up to the present 

 the cry " it will spoil the trade " has nullified all my 

 eBVirts. The Government, and all other consumers, 

 would effect a very considerable saving by using brushes 

 only ma le of kittul. I have placed these facts before 

 Ihem, and p rsonally I am not at all despondent upon tlie 

 issue. I have lived hmg enough to see many intaiits 

 pass through terrible vicissitudes ef infantile maladie?, 

 yet in the end weathertheui all and grow up stout and 

 hearty ni'n aud women ; and in the same way I have 

 little doubt that when once the kittul fibre has passed 

 through this gate of opposition raissd against it by 

 the bruih-inakers. aud the public are fairly alive to the 

 value uf this product, the trade will thrive with a 

 yi-arly increasing vigour, and so create employment 

 in this at present almost unworkod and nnlimite i 

 branch of industry. 



The manufacture of kittul bi'ushes will demand a 

 somewhat higher class of labour than that required 

 in the manufa'-tnre of the Piassiva brooms, and 

 will const qnently SLCure liighcr wages, lu all new in- 

 dustries the transition period will involve somedifficulty. 

 But as soon ass line enterprising empl lyer turns his 

 atttention to this tmde. and is willing to manufactuio 

 brooms from the kittul fibre, a much extended 

 business mvy be looked for. As a sample of what 

 may lie done, I induced a manufacturer when in Buffalo 

 to try a s.imple of one cwt. , and he has been successful 

 in bringing it into general use on a large scale in th.it 

 part of the United States. At Messrs. Bright's works 

 at Uochdale, the kittul fibre has been for some time in 

 use with remarkable success. An ingenious person 

 in connection with the works iusisted on having the 

 brushes used for sweeping up the heavy dirt that 

 collects on the Hoors fitted in the centre with kittul 

 fibre, while the outer portion of the broom remained 

 as before of bristle. Though Messrs. Bright are in all 

 probability i.-norant of the name and quality of tin' 

 kittul fibre, as the brush-makeis fairly conceal tlie 

 niinie, they are fnlly alive to its superiority and resol- 

 utely refuse to use other brooms than those 

 just described. When in Constantinople, I observed in 

 one of the bazaars a small portion of English-prepared 

 kittul, and ou enquiry I learned that it had been sold 

 to go into Per.sia, bnt 1 was unable to arrive at the use 

 it was inteaded to be put to. 

 7 



The kittul brushes that are made in this country are 

 known by the name of " elephant-fibre" brushes. The 

 origin of this name lies in the fact that in Ueylon the 

 wild elephants are secured with kittul rope. Tina 

 brush wears much longer than bristles and can be had at 

 half the price. 



The kittur palm or Bynee {Cari/ota urm'<) is some- 

 thing like the Piassava palm and grows in the south of 

 Ceylon— it is found nowhere else. lu that country tlie 

 fibre is largely used for fishing lines, aud in England it 

 is sometimes called "India nut." 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS IN CENTRAL 

 INDIA. 



To the Government of India we are indebted fur 

 copies of correspondence resiiccting certain experi- 

 ments with new products i« the Division ofChhattis- 

 garh. 



We quote as follows from the remarks of the Chief 

 Commissioner : — 



An increased supply of forage is an object of gre.it 

 impoitauce. On it depend in a large measure the 

 improvement and maintenance in health of the cattle 

 suppl.i of the country. In the Chhattisgarh Division 

 the mortiility from cattle disease is annually very 

 great, and much of this mortality is believed to be 

 of a preventible character. If cattle were better 

 fed, better housed and more carefully tended in 

 health and disease, fewer would die. 



Experiments were made with: — (1) Kharif jowari, 

 (2) Rabi or ringni jowari, (3) Ileana Inxurians, (4) 

 Rain-tree (Pitheeolobium saman), (5) Lucerne, and 

 (6) Mangel Wurzel. 



The result of tlie experiments may be summed up 

 as follows ; — The kharif jowari failed ; the rabi or 

 ringni jowiiri appears to have been confined to the 

 Sarangarli State, where the yield obtained was extra- 

 ordimirily good : the attempts to acclimatize the reana 

 Inxurians and the rain-tree promise well ; Lucerne 

 thrives, but cannot, you think, compare with the 

 reana Inxurians ; while, as regards Mangel Wurzel, 

 no definite opinion can yet be fornnd in respect to 

 the suitability of the toil and climate of Chhattisgarh 

 to its cultivation. 



In regard to fodder crops, the experience gained in 

 the North- Western Provinces seems to establish that 

 the ordinary cultivator will prefer the ordinary jo»ar 

 to any exotic staple ; the former will give him a food 

 as w'll as a f dder crop, while the latter will only 

 give bi'ii a fodder crop. 



In reviewiofi the experiments conducted at the Cawn- 

 pore Experinientil Farm dnrini< the autumn of 18S0, 

 the Secretary to the Governmei t of India in the Home, 

 Revenue and Agricultural Department remarked : — 



" To judge from the results of the comparative cult- 

 ivation of exotic and indigenous fodder crops, the 

 common country jowar is practically equal in value 

 to the black seeded sorgho aud greatly superior to 

 reana luxuiians. Guinea grass seems to be a more 

 promising crop than the utiier exotics tested, aud its 

 fu'ther cultivation will be watched with interest." 



As guinea grass does not njipear to have been cultiv- 

 ated in your Division during the year, it may be of 

 use to quote the mention of it made by Mr. Fuller of 

 the North Western Provinces, in the report on the 

 Cawn[iore Experimental Farm for the Kharif season 

 ISSO:— 



■'Guinea grass gave an outturn, which was a 

 little larger than that of juar ; but independently of 

 this, it appears in many respects to be a crop eminently 

 suited to meet some of the rerpiiremeuts of Indian 

 farming. In the first place, it is a perennial, so that 

 when once planted out the only expense it entails, in 

 order to yield two good cuttings a year, i- an occasional 

 dressing of manure aud occasional irrigation. The crop 



