■jz 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1882. 



be called the national beverage in Sulu. Excellent tobacco 

 is grown here, and this, if skilfully prepared, would fur- 

 nish cigars equal to those of Manilla. Ootton would do 

 well, and the highest red land on the mountains, rich as 

 it is ivith ages of forest debris, might be advantageously 

 planted with coffee or other crops." (P. 221.) 



Mode of Tekeactng. — " The soil [near Kina Balu in 

 Borneo] is a reddish friable loam thickly sprinkled with 

 large sand-stone boulders and stones : while iu the lower 

 plains and valleys is a deep black deposit, which under 

 irrigation yields splendid crops of rice. Under Eiu-opean 

 protection and management, aided by systematic Ohiiese 

 cooly labom-, the virgin tracts on these hiU-ranges might 

 be worked with advantage in the production of coffee and 

 cinchona. Once fairly started, and with improved roads, 

 this district would possess many attractions, not the least 

 being a comparatively cool and salubrious climate. At 

 elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 feet a cool bracing air is 

 readily obtainable, indeed, as suggested by Mr. Low, the 

 Marie Parie spur would form a capital site for a sanat- 

 orium of the utmost value to Europeans. At higher 

 elevations a really cool climate, almost European, in fact, 

 is obtainable. To bring this fertile district into cultiv- 

 ation and to form anything Uke good roads, however, would 

 be a task Herculean, and one only to be accomphshed 

 by an immense expenditme of labour and capital. The 

 system employed by the natives in clearing their new 

 farms is to fell the trees and then to bm-n them dur- 

 ing the dry season. The old stumps are left, and to prevent 

 the rich earth and forest debris from being wa.shed away 

 by heavy rains, logs are laid against these horizontally 

 all down the steep shoulders of the spurs." (P. 289.) 



Mh. Dobkee. — " We were sm-prised by meeting a young 

 Labuan man — whom I had formerly employed * * * 

 and from him I heard that Mr. Pretyman, accompaiiied 

 by Mr. Dobree, a Oeylon coffee-planter, were following, 

 and that their object was to proceed to 'Kina Balu' in 

 search of land suitable for coffee cultui'o. A few minutes 

 later we met them and had luncheon together on the di-y 

 stones of an old river course. An answer to Mr. Dobree's 

 inquiries I told him what I have seen of the country, 

 of the large extent either actually under cultivation by 

 the Dusun or lying fallow as jungle, and that virgin soil in 

 large tracts would only be obtainable by felling the primaeval 

 forests on the enormous spurs of Kina Balu itself." (P. 298.) 



"About 4 o'clock we were surprised at the return of 

 Mr. Dobree and Mr. Pretyman, who had proceeded no 

 further than the hill just above Sineroup. The Chinese 

 cook, of course, received orders to augment liis food supply, 

 and we spent a agreeable evenings Mr. Dobree showed 

 us the skin of a young rliinoceros which he had shot in 

 the mudpool near the Sagaliad river, about '20 miles from 

 Sandakan. The lower horn was tlu-ee inches in length, 

 the upper one only just growing." (P. 301.) 



Hybeid. — " We were successful in finding all the large 

 species of uephenthes in one locaUty on the moimtain 

 for the first time, and in addition a distinct variety of 

 If. Kiliranhiam with shorter thick-winged pitchers, which 

 it is possible may prove to be a natm-al hybrid between 

 N. Edii-'anUiana and iV. Tillosa:' (P. 344.) [So this weU- 

 known botanist believes in hybrids, at all events ! — K. F.] 



CoNsuMPrioN OF China Tea in Ckylon : Grbat 

 Dfcrka-se in the Past Three Years. — The figures 

 we published shewing the consumption of i'l. ported 

 tea in Ceylon prove that, at length, the islaud-groftn 

 product ia finding favour in its own country. Up to 

 187S, the average annual consumption of imported 

 tea was about 71,000 lb., and perhaps Ceylon-grown 

 tea Tiiade up the rnund 100,000 lb. For the past three 

 years the average has di-opped to a little over ."l,Oi-'0 

 of imported tea, and we should hope that Ceylon tea 

 has not only filled the void, but that at least 100,000 

 lb. of Ceylon tea was consumed iu ISSl in additioii 

 to the 31JS65 lb. of foreign. As native coffee has so 

 largely disappeared a taste for tea as a substitute 

 ought to be cultivated amongst the natives, until the 

 consumption of " the leaf which cheers but not in- 

 ebriates " equals 1 lb. per caput of the population. 

 Tbat would be 2| millions of lb., instead of a little 



over 100,000 lb. now. The time for such a result is 

 doubtless coming as well as for an export equal to 

 ten and twenty fold the quantity locally consumed. 



Gems. — In the year 1S71 precious stones to the 

 value of g'2,346,732 were imported into the United 

 States, of which S2,2S3,350 were received in New 

 York. InlSSO the \alue of these imports was$6,698,4SS, 

 New York taking 16,294,392. Last year gems to the 

 value of $8,332,511 passed through the custom house, 

 $7,884,739 being for the New York market.— i^io News. 

 The Tea Competition between India and Chiua 

 is progressing apace. As far as regards the 

 United Kingdom, the imports in four years from the 

 former country increased by 20,500,000 lb., while those 

 of the latter decreased, in the sam^ period, 9,000 000 lbs. ! 

 In seven months last year India exported 185,0001b. 

 to America, and about half-a-million pounds of tea to 

 Australia. Considering that the growth of the former 

 trade is altogether recent, and the latter only two 

 years old, the figures mentioned are, to say the least, 

 surprizing. — Friend i>f India. 



Eain and Blossoms. — "Advance " writes : — " Many 

 a well-known proprietor approves of what I wrote 

 re untimely rain in January, February and March 

 on the Kaudy side. He said all his letters and 

 reports gave that as the reason for short crops this 

 year. Can you not give the figures in parallel columns ? 

 and shew daily comparisou for the 3 mouths." It is not 

 an easy matter giving the figures for a series of years 

 for three or four montlis fur a teries of iialions. How- 

 ever we have selected Dimbula, Dikoy.i, Maskeliya, 

 Pussellawa, Nawalapitya,Maturata, Kaudy, Eangalla and 

 a Matale stations, and, with the assistance of the Sur- 

 ve) or-Geueral's Department, we hope to make up such 

 a table as is required at our hands. 



The Pkouuction of Indigo and Quinine from Coal 

 Tar. — A correspondent has been good enough to send 

 ua the Journal of Qas-Uyhlin(j, which is full of articles 

 shewing how little chance the electric light has iu 

 competition with gas light. Amongst miscellaneous 

 matter we find the following, whioli need not, we 

 think alarm indigo or cinchoua planters : — 



The production ot artificial indigo from coal-tar products 

 wiU probaMy be extended, imder a recent patent of the 

 " Badische-Anilian und toda-tabrik," where the original 

 process of Piofessor Baeyer is worked. Tlie fifth step iu 

 this process consisted in the preparation of a compound 

 known as ortlionitro-phenylyropiolic acid. By the new 

 patented process certain bye-products obtained from this 

 acid are worked as sources of indigo. The action of 

 alkaline-reducing agents, such as ammonium sulphide, or 

 the ethyl salt of this acid, produces ethjlic injogeuate. 

 By s.tpouification of this saU a further product called 

 indogenic acid is 1 btiined, which e ^sily gives oft' carbonic 

 anhydride, eiiher by boiling in aqueous solutions or by 

 hetitiug to Its melting point. The residt of this is the pro- 

 duction of indogen, an Illy liquid, showing yellow-green 

 fluore.sc nee. Any one of these siibstaaccs — ethyiic indn- 

 genate, indogenic acid, or mdogen — readily yields indigo 

 blue by the action of weak acids or alkalies wlien freely 

 exposed to the air without lu-aling. Although the cost of 

 artibcial indiiio is st.ll above that of the natural dye, it is 

 for sone purposes more ecouomieai in use, because of its 

 freedom from waste, and a large trade is already done in 

 the product as i repared in Germany. With regard to the 

 other remarkable derivative from coal tar — artificial 

 quinine — it is stated tliat the commeioial produciioii of 

 ibis ittvaluable drug is no longer doubtful. Profe.ssor 

 iSkraup, of Vienna, aud a French chemist, claim to have 

 suceecded in producing pure ciiinohne — a substance which 

 has long been a known derivative of quinine — and which 

 may prove to be iis medicinal epuivali-nt. Pathological 

 experiments will liave to be made on an exten^ive scale 

 belore the confidence of the medical prolessiou in the new 

 alkaloid can be assured. This is now being done, and 

 Professor Morton is reported to have declared that, shoidd 

 the value ot" the artificial drug be established, the com- 

 munity will be greatly benefited, since tlie product in 

 question can be made for about 4s a pound, while 

 sidphate of quiniue is worth about ICs peroimce. 



