112 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1882. 



AoRicnLTURAL EXHIBITIONS. — It has been decided 

 that the most suitable sites for district exhibitions 

 are tliose situati'd in the vicinity of the line of rail- 

 way, and if possible, places of pilgrimage, such as Sri- 

 rangam, Thiruua-nalai, Bellary, &o., and that tlie most 

 opportune time would be when fairs and feasts are 

 held, which annually draw a large concourse of people 

 together. — Madras Times. 



Ppogress in Johore.— Mr. Walter F. Garland 

 head of the Johore Governnient Survey, was a pass- 

 enger by the " Nizam," and went on by the " Rosetta" 

 this evening. Mr. Garland is likely to lay out the 

 first railway in .Johcre — a light line of some 20 miles 

 on the metre gauge, which will probably be con- 

 structed and equipped for a sum under £4,000 per 

 mile. It seems that the ex-Chief Engineer of the 

 Ceylon Stafi', Mr. Macnair, was lately out reporting on 

 proposed railways in Johore and the Straits Settlements, 

 his services bemg secured, we suppose, tlu-ough the 

 influence of his cousin, Major Macnair. Be that as may, 

 Mr. Macnair made his report and then disappeared. 



Ceylon Coffee : The Late Blossoming Season and 

 THE Weather. — A proprietor with good means of infor- 

 mation in reference to estates north as well as south 

 of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya writes with regard to the 

 discussion on this question: — "E.xtraordinary heavy rain 

 during December no doubt interfered with January 

 blossoms (especially would they do this, if the 

 bulk fell in the latter part of that month). But 

 this would not have been of much account, if blaz- 

 ing, hot, favorable, 'simply splendid,' weather had 

 followed in the following three months. Such 

 unfortunately was not our experience ; nor was it 



that of , who has been resident in the Kandy 



districts since December last. I learn he agrees with 

 my theory that most extraordinary weather prevailed. 

 Favorable weather not prevailing in January, February, 

 March, it follows, as a matter of course, that the heavy 

 rain in December under such circumstances is to he 

 equally deplored with the rest, for we wore cut off from 

 getting good January blossoms at the lower elevations. 

 Of course, a good deal would depend on liow the rain 

 fell ." 



Silk Worms and Mulberries. — We are glad to note 

 a renewed interest in silk culture, and trust that it 

 may not run into an excitement. Until silk culture 

 becomes a hoiue iuduslry and carried on by those 

 members of the family wiiose services cannot be 

 otherwise profitably employed, it will not be a suc- 

 cess. Inquiries continue to come for eggs. The first 

 step in silk culture is to secure a supply of food for the 

 worms. This must be some kind of White Mulberry 

 or the leaves of Os.age Orange. In many States there 

 are hedges of Osage Orange which can supply food. 

 Prof. Eiley, who has experimented with this food, 

 says, if, when the worms gel large, they are not fed with 

 the tender succulent leaves, but only the firmer ones, 

 there will bo no appreciable difference in the silk from 

 this food as compared with that from Mulbai rj'. Those 

 who have no hedges of Osage Orange must turn their 

 atteutiou to establishing a plantation of some kind 

 of White Mulberry. There is scarcely anything to 

 add to what was said in March. In all the older States 

 there are trees, mostly relics of the "Malticaulis 

 mania," from whicli cuttings may be procured. We 

 have before referred to the "Women's Silk Cultural 

 Association'' of I'hiladelphia, which we understand is 

 free from auy speculative motives, but it to act as a 

 medium between the widely scattered silk raisers and 

 the buyers, their chief object being to advice and 

 instructs. The Corresponding Secretary writes that in 

 the first year of their operations they sent trees to 

 20 States aud eggs into 25 States, and that they re- 

 ceived cocoons from 21 States. We cannot do belter 

 by our inquirers than to refer them to this Association. 

 — American Agriculturist, June, 



Tea Growing in South Carolina. — China's mono- 

 poly of tea production bids fair to be broken in 

 upon from unexpected quarters. The tea crop on the ex- 

 perimental farm near Georgetown has been gathered and 

 cured. It is pronounced superior in appearance, quality, 

 and flavour to the tea ordinarily imported into this 

 country from China, Japan and India. — Public Opinion. 



London Coffee. — At the instigation of a Mincing 

 Lane merchant Messis. Wigner & Harland have pur- 

 chased from shops in and near London 37 samples of 

 so-called coffee, and have tested them. One sample 

 was sold as taraxacum coffee, and contained no coffee ; 

 a sample of dandelion coffee contained 10 jjer cent., 

 and a samiJe of date coffee 57 per cent of coffee. 

 The other 34 samples were served in respionse to a 

 request for "coffee," aud of these two were com- 

 posed of 100 per cent of genuine coffee, and 32 were 

 composed of coffee varying from 7 to 68 per cent, 

 mixed with chicory, " tiuings," dates, dandelion, and 

 other vegetable matters. Of these mixtures 15 out of 

 the 32 were labelled " a mixture of chicory and coffee," 

 but 10 of them contained other matters in addition 

 to chicory. Fourteen were sold without auy label, 

 and of the remaining three one was labelled " specially- 

 prep.ared French coffee " (this contained 34 per cent 

 of coffee), and the others bore a label announcing 

 that they were "mixtures," but not s.iying of what. 

 Of the .32 samples of adulterated coffee one contained 

 over 60 per cent of coffee, four contained between 

 50 and 60 per cent, four contained between 40 aud 

 50 per cent, 10 contained between 30 and 40 per 

 cent, six contained between 20 and 30 per cent, six 

 contained 10 per cent, and one less than 10 per cent. 

 ^Chemist and Druggist. 



CircnoNA Analysis. — A correspondent writes: — "I 

 have heard complaints uijcountry of the varying re- 

 sults of analyses of the same bark in different hands. 

 It is difficult to sell sui.tII lots, none of which will p.iy 

 to be analyzed, aud the consequence is very lou' prices 

 are offered for bark, even though over 4 years old. 

 It is i^roposed that local analysts be asked to cheek 

 for themselves : — Now the plan I would propose 

 would be this : make every analyst out here check 

 himself. Whenever a jilanter or a merchant wished 

 to obtain an analysis of bark he should call in the 

 assistance of a brother-planter or merchant, and 

 (the bark being ready before them) they woidd pro- 

 ceed to divide it into two unequal parcels, exercising 

 every care, howe\-er, that the subdivision of each 

 piece of bark w'as jirecisely what it ought to be, in 

 order that, if the analyst did his work i>roperly, the same 

 figures identically almost would be produced in each case. 

 If the figures differed widely, I opine that, under such 

 circun;st.inces, no fees whatever would be demanded 

 or paid. If the figures closely approximated then the 

 double I'e^ incurred would, luitil one's confideuce was 

 restored, be money well spent. A few trials on this 

 basis, carefully conducted, might soon prove which of 

 our analysts could be most trusted. The parcels of 

 course would reach the analyst through difl'erent 

 channels and probiibly at different times, so that he 

 would not know that any connection existed between 

 them, nor (which is very important) would he ever 

 know when he was being cross-examined. A 

 guinea is surely ample to pay for auy analysis ; 

 yet we ;ften hear of much higher fees. Parcels con- 

 sisting of less than 1,000 1b. would scarcely bear this 

 charge. Then what can be done with numerous small 

 lots of bark (good, bad aud indifferent) which often, 

 generally owing to their smallnese, realize very low 

 prices ? I would say put all these througli a rapid 

 machine, cutting or smashing tbem into small pieces of 

 about the size of your finger nail ; then draw as amule. 

 The analyst, reducing this to still smaller pieces, would 

 again draw his sample, and so make an analjijis, 

 showing what the bulk of mixtures «aa really worth." 



