July i, 18S2.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



69 



-♦- 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 



CEARA rubber : TAPPING THREE TREES 



18 MONTHS OLD. 



3l8t May 1882. 



Dear Sir,— I send by this post an egg of CearA 

 rubber milk, which was taken by myself and a cooly 

 within l-'W to .3-10 p. m. on Gondennawa estate in 

 Nawalapitiya. My cooly Muttusamy. says that they 

 will have a luck in feature in collecting rubbers 

 under green shade : it seems that coolies are very fond 

 of collecting rubbers. 



1 think within a few years our old Ceylon will beat 

 Ceard in its rubber. So, dear editor, p!e.ase let iis 

 know your remarks on this egg of rubber and oblige, 

 yours obediently, . J. P. ABRAHAM. 



[The "egg of rubber" is as tough and elastic as 

 could be wi.shed, and the colour seems good. There 

 is some moisture on the surface, which has a power- 

 fully acid smell. We shall send the specimen to some 

 one better able to judge of its quality. Meantime we 

 hope Muttusamy cooly may turn out a true prophet 

 as to the "feature" of Ceylon in regard to rubber. 

 So many electric telegraph cables are bein_' laid that 

 a large demand is likely to continue for the gum. — Ed.] 



CINCHONA BARKING MACHINES. 

 No. I. 



Lindula, 1st June 1882. 



Dear Sir, — In justice to Mr. de Caen, I must say 

 that, when I wrote my first letter, I bad only passed 

 oflHcinalis twigs through his machine, and that, when 

 I and four coolies picked out the Mr/gest hranrhen of 

 snrriruhi-a, we mannged to get 1'2| lb. of wet bark in 

 about half-an-hour, or an average of 3001b. per day 

 for five coolies : but in justice to myself tool may say 

 that, had I known that the machine was only meant 

 to bark selfiUd xitccirubi-n branch's, J should either 

 have not invested in one or have kept a " calm 

 sough," merely muttering to rayselt : " Lejtu ne vnvt pas 

 la chandelle."— YmusfaithiuUy, KAROLY FURDO. 



No. II. 

 Mousa Ella, Lindula, June 1st, 1882. 



Dear Sir, — As there seems to be a g-neral desire 

 to have some reliaMe record of the amount of work 

 done by the various cinchona-quilling machines. I 

 beg to offer my e.xperience of Kae's bttle machine, 

 made by Messrs. Walker & Greig, Tillicoultry. 



I have been using one of the above for nearly a 

 month, and during that time have put it to some severe 

 tests with dying trees, and otherwise, and must say I 

 have every reason lo be satisfied with it. 



At present it is employed on officinalis branches 

 and suokers (varying from J to 1;^ inch in diameter), 

 and under these circumstances 1 ob'ain 10 lb. of 

 bark per cooly per working hour, mnkiiig 400 lb. per 

 day (of 10 hours) from the 4 coolies employed a} 

 the machine. 



The sample of quill obtained by using this little 

 " barker" is really excellent, and the percentage crushed 

 i« very small indeed. 



The^ieculiar construction of the rollers allows of the 

 bark of young tiees 5 feet or so long being removed in 2 

 long strips wilh"ut a single break, and that in much 

 less time than it takes to write it. 



The whole machine can be readily transported from 

 one place to another by one cooly. — Yours faithfully, 



T. Mc.L. 



No. 



III. 



Deliota, .Tune 2nd, 1882. 

 Dear SiR,--My e.tporience of Mr. do Caen's cinchona 

 machine is similar to that of your other corresnond- 

 ents. I purcliased one of his machines, believing it 

 would be a profitable investment to the estate, but I 

 only used it one day, the coolies bringing in the even- 

 ing I'.i,') lb., and they were very tired and had blistered 

 hands as well. The bark was very inferior to that ob- 

 tained by other processes, and the less by dust was 

 considerable in the drying. There was besides a great 

 deal of bark jammed in the wood, which would liave 

 cost a great deal to get out. I should be glad if Mr. 

 deCaen would send over 5 coolies to show me how to 

 use the machine, as this estate is only 14 miles from 

 his residence, they cau easily come, and, provided they 

 do the .advertized task b-iiweeu (! a. m. and 4 p m.,'* 

 I will give Iheiu a bonus of R2 each. Otherwi^e'l 

 think he should refund the money, my paying the 

 cost of repainting the machine. Two coolies can easily 

 carry my one. — Yours faithfully, R. p. H. 



CINCHONA SHIPMENTS TO THE UNITFD 

 STATES. 



Sir,— The Ceylon United States Consul writes to a 

 local firm with regard to cinchona as follows :— " I 

 note that cinchona is imported into the United States 

 free of duty, if direct from the producing country ; and, 

 I judge from a recent decision of the United States 

 Supreme Court, free also from differential duty." 

 The amount shipped to New York since 1st July 

 1881 to present date (5th June 1882) is 62,4.14 lb. most 



of which went via England on through invoice. 



Youis truly, CINCHO.Va'. 



[What are the Yankees doing? Surely a million lb. 

 ought to betaken by direct shipments.— Ed.] 



INSECT ENEMY OF CINCHONA. 



3rd June 1882. 



Dear Sir, — T send by this post several oin. offio. 

 leaves infected with a small insect. Can you inform 

 me through the medium of the Ohncrver what they are, 

 and if they are likely to do much damage ? 



When young the iu=ects appear to be quite white, 

 but in a few days they change rapidly and become 

 perfectly black. 



You will note that several of the leaves are perfor- 

 ated with holes. Whether these are done by these 

 insects I am not yet in a position to state, but as I 

 have never yet been able to tind any other insect or 

 caterpillar on the trees infecte'd I think they must be. — 

 Y'ours faithfully, X. Y. Z. 



[The insect is a Th.rips, belonging to the small order 

 Thyxanoptcra. It is described in "Garden Pests and 

 their Eradication," page 63. Westwood says : — " These 

 insects are found upon various plants, sometimes 

 swarming iii immense profusion. They feed upon the 

 juices of plants,' and are often extremely injurious, the 

 leaves upon which they reside being marked all over 

 with small decayed patches." In the case in question, 

 it is doubtful whether the remedies given in 'Garden 

 Pesis" could be advantageously applied. Their cost 

 would probably exceed the hiss sustained thiough the 

 danage done by the insect — unles-s the trees that have 

 beeii attacked are few in number. — Ed,] 



JAK TREES .iS SHADE FOR COFFKE. 



To the E'li/or of the Tropical AriricnUiirht. 



Dear Sir, — I should be obliged if yiu will allow 

 me a few words in answer to your correspondent 



* I stipul.ite that all the bai k must be taken off, 

 and allowance of two per cent made. 



