October i, 1S82.J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



275 



by utilizing it. It contains all the elements of coft'ee 

 So -do the hiijins, which hiehig leconnnended should 

 be grown auiougat our coH'ee and tiivned down into 

 the soil as "green manure." All the pid.ses are great 

 aljsorbers of nitrogen, and the rape plant lias been 

 specially recommended to our notice. Jiost opportunely 

 we find an article on the Indian culture of this plant 

 in tiie Iiiiliaii Aijririi/tiii-ist, which we shall subsequently 

 notice. We should feel more aliout the excessive wet 

 of tlie monsoon just closing, liut that, as far as the 

 application of manure to the soil is concerned, there 

 were so few nitrates to be washed away. As matters 

 stand, experienced planters hope mueli froiu a reaction 

 to hot, droughty weather. As plougliing on our plant- 

 ations seems out of the question, tlie problem to be 

 solved seems to be : — Can we by the lioe or fork 

 so prepare our soil as to eiuible it to bear a crop 

 of mustard or of rape so thielc as to choke all ordin- 

 ary weeds, tlie .sowni ci'Op itself being hoed down into 

 the soil before the flowering stage — during that stage 

 — or when the seed vessels are quite green ? We 

 suppose the plants will have absorbed the maximum 

 of nitiogen in this last stage ? In face of the opinion 

 that tlie whole of the ammonium salts applied to land 

 might be nitrified and lost in forty-eight hours from 

 tlie time of ap[>lication, it is comforting to learn that 

 the silicates in the soil (and our plantation soils con- 

 sist mainly of silica) have the power of absorbing 

 ammonia with which they come in contact. Our loss, 

 therefore, in this direction, may not be so gTeat as 

 we arc apt to fear, in view of doctrines whioli led 

 the correspondent of the Fidd to write that they were 

 " rather calculated to deter every Ijody from under- 

 taking the task of exciting in the soil a fertility 

 which, in addition to the labour and expense re- 

 quired to produce it, is stated to be extremely liable 

 at any time to be washed out of the soil, into the 

 drains." The answer of the editor is that the know- 

 ledge of tlie truth will not aggi'avate the c^-il, and 

 that the loss of nitrates "may be prevented by a 

 crop." In our ease when coffee, cinchona, tea cocoa, 

 &:c., are full gro\\'ii, \\'e have standing ci'ops, the 

 feeding rootlets of wliich ought to absorb a very 

 large proportion of tlie nitrates. It is the case of 

 young clearings, especially in the hot " low-country," 

 which is calculated to excite anxiety. A corre- 

 spondent of our own. "X.," has impressed on the 

 planting coinmunity the gravity of the subject and 

 contended that altogether one iitidion ■■^IrHhii/ jier fin- 

 iiHiii was lost through causes more or less reinediablel 

 As this correspondent is compelled to concede, plant- 

 ers will not be read\' to admit tliat they have erred 

 in being so careful to take weeds out of and put 

 drains into their lands. If on our steep hill sides an 

 experiment in terracing, similar in priiici[ile to that 

 which the natives apply to their rice fields can be 

 carried out &t a moderate cost, we shall bo glad to have 

 the details. Where we have seen terracing for tea, 

 on the rich deep soil of the Kastern Himalayas 

 (I)arjeeling) and in the decomposed lavas of .Java, 

 the process was facilitated by two qualities of the soil ; 

 the earth was easily worked, and the subsoil turned up 

 was in no respect inferior to the surface soil. In fact 

 the distinction of soil and subsoil did not exist. Of 

 how few of our soils in Ceylon can this be said ? In 

 our ov.'ii experience a small oxpeiiinent in terracing 

 for line quality cinchonas was Aery expensive, and the 

 result by no means so liencticial as we hoped. One 

 experiment is not conclusive, however. On a consider 

 able propo-'-iou of our plantation land, terracing is 

 simply inadmissible, the inclines being too steep even 

 for stirring with the fork. Crops of which any part 

 is to be taken away from the soil, such as beetroot, 

 iive open to grave objections, l^^ven kurakan and sweet 

 potato gi'owing amongst coconut palms is exhaustive 

 ill the humus of the soil. But cither mustard (said to 



be an antidote to wireworm) or rape, which can, with 

 all its absoibed nitrogen. Vie turned down into the soil, ■ 

 seems to be in quite a dilfereut category. Experi- 

 ments in tins direction ought, we think, to be tried. 

 The question asked by our correspondent "X.," too, 

 whether the presence in the soil of bacteria necessary 

 to the formation of nitrates and their passing into ' 

 water may not account for the existence of fever, is i 

 worthy of attention. ^Ve do not know if tlie idea has 

 been previously started, but it seems deserving of 

 being followed up. For no one has ever yet 

 really laid his hand on the origin of jungle fever. 

 "Malaria" iw, after all, a very iudefiuite term. 



But to the praeiical point of rape as a nitrogen- 

 absorbing plant, to be grown amongst coffee, cinchona, 

 tea, &c., on plantations. From the article in the 

 Indian AgrkulliiriKt we find that, in class, order, and 

 scientific name, rnpe is closely allied to mustard, and 

 that, like that puogeut plant, it is in India largely 

 cultivated for the sake of its oil. But some of our ' 

 readers may be surprised to learn that this plant,' 

 with its "robust, succulent tap-root," is not only a' 

 member of the cabbage tribe, but is a type from 

 which, by cultivatiou, have originated the Swedish 

 and Teltower turnips. Both rape and mustard are 

 annual plants, and the writer in the article we are notic- 

 ing states : — 



The short duration of its life, the almost no cultiv- 

 ■ation given, without irrigation and manure, the com- 

 parative heavy yield — 2-5 maunds an acre, and the 

 high market the seed commands — 12-16 seers to the 

 rupee, prompt many cultivators to grow the rape plant, 

 as extensively as their means and suitableuess of the 

 soil and climate will admit. 



Of course it would not be cultivated on estates 

 for the sake of its seed. From the fact men- 

 tioned, that the plant is largely grown in parts of 

 Oudh bordering the Himalayas, the probability 

 is it would flourish in our hill country. Etipe o 1 

 as an edible as well as a lamp oil enters very lai;_cly 

 into ludian cookery. From a long list of savoury 

 prcparatiouf described, we copy the first : — 



Pooree or looclne. This is made of coarse wheatcn 

 flour (H. (ltd) made into dmigh and balls, pressed and 

 shaped like l:iiscuita by means of H. hclan and chowh'-e 

 (wooden roller and circular piece of wood or stone slab) ; 

 and fried in boiling oil (H. el B. t<l) in a II . karliai, B. 

 kirae (circular iron or brass pan). This is poor man's 

 pooree. The i ich, however, substituting mo/i/a B., maida 

 H., for((ft(aud ghee, for oil. Among the Hindus, ijouree 

 IS considered a dainty food, and is the fa\'ourite viand 

 on all high occasions; in festivities, marriages, etc. 

 It is termed poka Ichana H., and chapatis H., and bhat 

 H,, kttcha khana. 

 We quote again : — 



The residue oilcake is sold by the name of scrson 

 kakhnli H., shorphryrc kliol B., which is used as food 

 for the live-stock in the winter seiiscn. It is not 

 ndministered in the summer, being considered heating. 

 This oil-cake sells much ohe.iper th.iii that of the 

 linseed, and is therefore available as valu ible manure — 

 rich in most elements required by plant life ; especially 

 in phosphoric acid, potash, magnesia, liine, ?nd silica 

 (oidc analysis.) 



The pericarp leaves and stem are good .sheep- fodder ; 

 but is r.irely given in India. Indian go.Tts and animals 

 of th- bovine species do not appear to have much 

 predilection for them ; and they are available as very 

 good manure (vide analysis). 



Lastly, the fresh flowers and peduncles, tied in a thin 

 cloth, boiled and mixed with a little iniisia d oil, salt, and 

 a pinch of powdered black pepper, are rati n in tJengal by 

 the name of 47ior.</(ciicrc i>hoolere, bh"rta !5 The tender 

 top, nipped, and fried iu mustard oil v ith admixture 

 of chillies and salt. Kateu by both Ben. , dees aud Hin- 



