AUGUi5T I, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



107 



$otitti3sp(ind0ni3^» 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 

 THE BORER IN COCONUT TREES. 



Johore, 22ud May 1882. 

 Dear Sir, — I reply to " Sigma" 's letter, I have to 

 state : — 



1— Salt should be applied to every tree twice a year. 

 2 — The seasons for applying it are at the beginning 

 and end of dry seasons. 



3 — Tlie natives think it is of use applying salt to 

 attacl;ed trees, but I doubt it, as I have placed a 

 "borer" in salt, and it did «o< kill it. — Yours truly, 



E. E. A. 



THE ALOE FIBRE ENTERPRIZE IN MAURITIUS : 

 WHAT IS TO BE DONE IN CEYLON. 



Colombo, 10th .June 1882. 



Dear Sir, — I enclose two cuttings from the Manri- 

 tht.i MeirhaiUit and Planti'Tf:' Gazette, shewing that 

 planters there, ai'e also tuniing their attention to 

 ^lew products, to remedy the drawbacks attendant 

 on having all one's eggs in one basket : — " We have 

 to record the formation of another New Hemp Es- 

 tate Company, viz : Tlie Vale and Blach JRirer Hemp 

 Estate.-! (to include the estates: 1°. The Vale, 1,300 

 acres, partly under aloe ; 2°. The Carreaux, 200 acres, 

 under aloe ; 3°. The Salines, 700 acres, nearly all 

 covered with aloes ; 4°. Petite Riinire Noire and Belle 

 Vne, 1,000 acres in lease.) Nominal capital, RjOO,000." 

 The product w-hich is now being extensively cultiv- 

 ated there is aloe fibre. There are already five 

 Companies established for its cultivation, tlie aggi'eg- 

 ate capital of which is RSOO.OOO, and now another 

 has been formed to work 4 hemp estates with a 

 Commal capital of R.jOO,000. The shares of these 

 nompauies are mostly at a fair premium, and it 

 appears that a new gi'ateuse " has been invented, 

 which greatl}- improves the (piality of the fibre, with 

 an enormous saving in time and expense. Mauritius 

 Iiemp ranks next to Italian, and is worth £30 to 

 £40 per ton in London. Now, as every variety of the 

 "aloe" grows well in Ceylon, why, may I ask. is its 

 cultivation in our lowcounti'y to be neglected ? 



If we had a Government worth its salt, we should 

 have large prizes offered for the successful cultivation of 

 say 100 acres. Government should offer a prize of 

 RIO.OOO to any planter who could prove that he had 

 successfully cultivated a large area over a period of 

 three years. If twenty planters each clauned and 

 received the reward, it would be revenue well m- 

 vested. — Yours truly, C. S. 



P. S. — Of course the only drawback to its cultiv- 

 ation upcountry is the cost of can'iage of so bulky 

 an article. Probably the yield of fibre might counter- 

 act this : — ■ 



MORE OLD LEDGER TREES RICH IX 



QUININE, IN DIMBULA. 



Galkandevvatte, Liiidula, June lOth, 1882. 



Dear Sik, — I send yuu copy of auulyses made by Dr. 



B. H. Paul of samples of bark taken in January last 



from five of tlie calisaya trees growing on Ardneven 



estate at an elevation of about 5,200 feet. These 

 calisayas are from seed sent by the late Mr. Mclvor 

 to Mr. H. Humphreys in August 1875, and were planted 

 out in September 1876: — 



Crystallized Crystallized Cinchonidine 

 quinine cinchonidine (alkaloid), 



sulphate, sulphate. 



No. 1 8-40 trace — 



,, 2 9-03 030 trace 



,, 3 8 "24 trace trace 



,, 4 O'lO trace tr.ico 



,, 5 9-75 0-70 trace 



Dr. Paul remarks: — "The samples received from you 

 .are very good : much above the average quality of b.ark. 

 From the analyfiis, I should say that they are all from 

 the Le 'geriana varieties of calisaya which is the best 

 of all the einchouas." — Yours faithfully, 



JOHN TILLY. 

 [We congratulate the proprietors of these fine trees, 

 which are undoubtedly of the Ledger variety, the 

 analysis practically ehevviiig quinine only. — Ed.] 



THE FERMENTING OF COCOA. 



Pallekelly, Kaudy, 12th June 1882. 

 Dear .^ir, — In response to " Aberdonensis " I may 

 state that cocoa usually takes eight or nine days to 

 ferment.— Yours faithful^', FRED. H. GIBBS. 



PLANTING NEWS FROM THE PEAK VALLEY, 

 CEYLON. 



Maskeliya, June 12. 



Sir, — Wh.at has become of the monsoon ? Have 

 you got it in Colombo? As a proof of the mildness 

 of the weather here, I noticed, yesterday that my 

 neighbour I'U the opposite side had a large amouut 

 of bark out drying on his batbacue. He and I often 

 differ as to wheiber the sun has an injurious eifect 

 upon shavings ; he evidently is not yet a convert to 

 commonsense, as I observed he had covered his bark 

 with mats, to protect it from the rays of old SnI, 

 who was as brilliant as if we were still basking in the 

 brightness of Februarj' ; aud this proves (if any proof 

 were waiiting) the correctness of your views as to 

 the unseasonableness of our seasons recently. Ko 

 man who comes to take an unprejudiced view cau 

 donbt tliat our short crops during the last five yea s 

 ai'ise chiefly from this cause. 



By the bye, do .\ou think the blessing of Gcd 

 can follow the labours of those who persist in work- 

 ing on the sabbati! ? There is surely time enough 

 during the week to have one's cinchona bark dri-d, 

 without hurling the feelings of such as from youtii 

 upwards have oeen led to look upon the sabbath as 

 a day of meditation. 



We are deeply indebtid to the writer who lately, in a 

 series of able letters from this valley, defended our 

 district from the ungrateful detractors, who think it 

 their duty to go abaut the country repeating, in 

 season and out of seasou, all the hard things they 

 can imagine on the subj-.'ct of our soil, climate, and 

 prospects. W^ithout being a sanguine man, I think I can 

 honestly s.ay that, from the chnrch upwards, for at 

 least two miles, one can see as fine a sheet of coffee, 

 and as promising growth of young cinchona, as any 

 at present in the island.* Then this cottee has had 

 the benefit of careful treatment aud judicious cultiv- 

 ation, ,Tnd it would be folly to expect that withoutthese, 

 coffee, debilitated by leaf-diseae, can go on year 

 by year hearing the fine crops, which the owner of 

 these estates assures me he lias gathered from them. 



Have you heard of the sale of a share of Kelaniya 

 estate to the wealthy geutlemau who recently visited 

 our shores in his own yacht? I feel confident it will 



* And no finer cinchonas could be wished for than on 

 mauy of the estates " from the Clturch downward " — Ed. 



