October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



335 



Cinchona. — The advanced rates obtained fnreinchoua 

 of yooil quality at tbe last public sale and tlie very 

 Bpirited bidding are explained bv onr morning c- iitemp- 

 orary as IoIIoas: — "It appears that two Lond"u Firms 

 had forwarded an op nioii. based on advices of sales fro.ni 

 tliis i^ide, tiiat the margin between the Colombo and the 

 London rates was greater Irian cirL-umstances warrantcil, 

 and in order to put this to the test, orders for a good 

 extent of baik were sent out to two local houses, who 

 by their competition advanced the rate^* by about 

 seven cents the unit of quinine, which, as our readers 

 are aware, forms the ba-is of oalcnlations for value." 



Gum Leaf-disea.se. — With reference to this newly- 

 developed pest, the interesting question has been 

 Incidentally suggested to us. whether the affec- 

 tion has ever been seen on the large primary foliage 

 of the blue gums, and, if it has not, whether the 

 exemption • from it of trees on the Lover s Leap 

 plantation and elsewhere may not be due to the 

 fact that the advice which Dr. Thwaites. C.M.G., 

 formerly gave to us and others, to keep the trees 

 topped, so as always to presjrve the original leafage, 

 has been followed ? We confess that the cause for 

 exemption if such exemption exists, does not seem 

 to us sufficient, but we shall be glad to have in- 

 formation on this and other heads from those able 

 to afford it. The extra virulence of tlie attack this 

 season seems clearly enough to Vie due to the ex- 

 cessive and incessant rainfall. 



Amateui! i;ardener8 are not generally aware that saw- 

 dust has beeu found of great servic- in striking cut- 

 ting.s. A writer in the Journal of Ifortkulfiirc reconi- 

 meuded it in very strong terms some time back, and 

 other journals, devoted to agriculture have rep ati'd 

 it on the experience of others, so that it a|)pears to 

 be an established tact in propagating at the present 

 time. The testimony given concerning it agrees in 

 this, that it tends to produce roots more quickly, 

 surel^^, and numerously than any other materi d ; and 

 if the material is obtained fresh from the pits it will 

 not require renewing for twelve months. Cuttings of 

 soft wooded and hard wooded plants alike strike 

 freely in it, and the kind of sawdust mostly tried iu 

 this way has been soft wood. Sawdust as a fertiliz- 

 ing agent is of little or no value unless bedded down 

 to iininials. — Que mlander. 



Creoles axd Coolies in Beiti.sh Guiax.a : a Stking ■ 

 ENT Act AGAIN.ST INDOLENCE REQUIRED. — The Royal 

 Gazette says : — The first, and we might safely say, 

 the only source of permanent wealth in a colony 

 such as this is. lies in agriculture and its operations. 

 Every other means of livelihood hinges on the fruits of 

 the soil, and there is more truth than is generally 

 credited to it in Mr. Russell's contention, tliat to 

 the immigrant population shotild be charged the en- 

 tire prosperity of the Colony, and the ability of its ui- 

 habitants to meet the taxation necessary to grease 

 the wheels of the state, and which led to its ultimate de- 

 velopment. Without the coolie these means would 

 shortly be nowhere, and British Guiana would speedily 

 revert to the deplorable position it was in prior to 

 1851. Coidd the vagrancy act only be carried out, 

 and the lazy youths now hanging round our towns 

 and villages, be forced to gain an honest livelihood 

 whether on their own gi-ounds or in the sugar estates 

 we would speedily see a vast improvement on the 

 face of the whole country ; and the present cry of 

 the merchants regarding tluU trade would be soon 

 changed in its tune. It is not to the coolie and his 

 saving habits- this condition can be attributed but 

 to the lazy Creole. The sooner this fact is recognized, 

 and pressure brought to bear upon the Goveniinent to 

 cause each member of the community to add by his 

 labour, the qieota to the public weal, so much the 

 earlier will the trade of the Colony improve and its 

 merchants regaui theii- former prosperous position. 



Planting and Cotfek Leaf Disease in the 

 ■Struts.— Mr. T, H. Hill, a w.dl known ex-Matale 

 planter, write-: by thi- mail : — " I am anxiously 

 watcliiiig results of expovimiits with .Mr Storck'a 

 vaporzation core for leaf-disca<e. I have tried all 

 remedies that have been advocated while I was in 

 Ceyhm, and did not ever try one .1, second time. 

 1 have liad Mr. Storck's systi-m at work here since 

 Airil and 00 Lilierian trees tha (they came from CV\ Ion) 

 were very bad indeed in .\pril : the results are all one 

 could wish. 1 have ordered a lirge quantity of No. 5 

 acid. A nursery also has been ■ ured hereduiiri;; the past 

 f'lup mouths: that took a long-time before the catholic 

 had any visible effict on it. It is no use trying with any 

 hut the reiil acid : it it is only di^uppointing. 5 months 

 is a short time and previous failures engender caution 

 bill so far I quite think it wid prove a success. There 

 will be a large rise iu the revenue heie, and, if there 

 was an Olt.ierner to proinoie, review and discuss 

 plaTiting matters, it would be a want supplied." 

 Ceylon is not so far awav : let the Straits planters 

 freely utilize these columns and those of the T. A. 

 and they will find the Straits authorities carefully 

 considering their suggestions. 



TissAMAHAEAJH Tank IS Ceylon is the subject of an able 

 report by Mr. J. H. Dawson, emhoiUed iu a Sessional paper 

 just published. His subject is really " Irrigation " imder 

 the tank iu the valley of Tihawa, the confonnatiou of 

 which he describes. He next refers at some length to 

 the ancient scheme for the iii-igation of the vaUey, and 

 Mr. Dawson sums up with the beUef that these and 

 other similar works " so generally found to be projected 

 on scientific principles," are, " if rude in the method 

 of their construction, admu-ably adapted for the achieve- 

 ment of the objects for which they were designed." 

 Next we have a table of rainfall for 8 years — the extremes 

 being 23-82 in 1876, and 73-94 in 1878— the average tor 

 1873-80, being 46-10 inches. ThenfoUows the more pract- 

 ical part of a Supply scheme from EUagaUa, Tissawewa 

 tank, Yodayawewa tank, distribution uuder Tissamaha- 

 rama tank, a synopsis of report and estimate of cost 

 of works, description of plans and ' Financial. ' The 

 latter exhibits a most glowing estimate of the advant- 

 age to Government which in revenue alone should "et 

 13J per cent on an expenditiu-e of R300,000 ! Later on, 

 Mr. Churchill deals n-ith Mr. Dawson's second and more 



modest scheme, and confli-ms his estimate as follows : 



"The Tissamahi'irima works, as they are at present, 

 will sene ti irrigate l,.'iOO acres ol piddy land. Tuey 

 were originally designed ou a small scale (with the 

 exception of the anient across the Magam river) with 

 the view of ascertaining wheiher people would go and 

 .settle down and pnrchase and cultivate their lands. 

 If this h«s proved to be the case, I think it would 

 be desirable that the works should be enlarged for the 

 irrigation of 5,000 acres more land. This could be 

 doue at a cost of 5i',S00 rupee-. Mr. Dawsou, in his 

 report, . calculates the return to the Government from 

 one fiftecu-fold crop over the extent of this 5 000 

 acres at 71 per cent, on the total expenditure on' the 

 works (fi im the first commencement) of 200 000 ru- 

 pees. This, I think, is a very low e»timate of what 

 "lay bo • xpected. As the land becomes sold and 

 cnltivatioii extends over these .^i,000 acres, the works 

 could thi u be further enlarged and auotlier reservoir 

 formed .-.t a cost "f about 100,000 rupees for the 

 irrigation if another 5,000 acres, the return from which 

 W' uld no', be lei-s ih.in from the other .''i.OOD acres." 

 liut it is idle estimating and speculating at a time 

 when the ivhole of the revenue is absorbed iu Estabhsh- 

 ments and the mere routine motion of Goverument 

 machinery. We doubt if £20,000 can he spared dm-ino- 

 1883 out of .i;i,250,000, for invest-,pr>nt in a work of 

 a decidedly reproductive character; a ad yet there are 

 gentlemen iu our midst who are in _ itient at the «•>■ 

 tor Retrenchment ! 



