November i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



395 



digging a ring around the tree twenty or tliirty iuclies 

 from tlie trunk, and burying tlio manure, whirli should 

 never be otlier than pen manure, the nourisluuent is thvis 

 given to the extreme tender roots, which are tlie points 

 whence nourislimeut is received from the soil. 



In selecting seeds for planting two practices are adopted, 

 they are cither taken from the fresh ripe fruits and planted 

 at once or they are allowed to remain in the fruit after 

 gathering till the fruit becomes somewhat dry, or rather 

 the pulp does which surrounds the seeds. The best system 

 is considered to gather the fruits when ripe, and stack 

 them in heaps for a few days, after which the seeds are 

 said to germinate more rapidly. 



"When the young trees are fully established the spare 

 trees may be removed, and may serve for transplanting 

 into other parts of the plantation, to fill up vacancies. 

 In trimming or pruning the trees, the object to be attained 

 is to have three or four healthy primary branches, and 

 to prune back the others so as to j^revent them touching 

 each other, and thus to shut out light and air. The 

 branches should not be allowed to ascend too perpendi- 

 cularly : the object of this is to keep the trees down to 

 reasonable limits, so that the crops may bo gathered with 

 greater freedom. " The cocoa throws out a great many 

 branches, which injure the productive power of the tree. 

 It is most important that they should not be too numerous, 

 nor the foliage too redundant ; the one is ■ the result of 

 the other, and together they weaken the tree, and keep 

 off that strength and vigour which the access of the sun's 

 rays and the circulation of ah- naturally produce. Though 

 the leaves of the tree are the imbibers of much moisture, 

 and the sources from whence, equally with the roots, the 

 tree is nourished, it is essential to allow only the growth 

 of a necessary quantity, in order that the rays of the 

 sun may penetrate, and the air circulate, among the 

 branches. It will, therefore, form the most important 

 ))art of the planter's duty to prune into form the young 

 cocoa tree." 



IMost jjlants are liable, and unfortunately, those that arc 

 of the greatest use to man seem specially liable, to attack 

 liy insects or fungi, therefore a sharp look out should be 

 kept in all plantations that the cocoa plants are perfectly 

 clean, equally as much from an overgi'owtli of mosses, 

 lichens, &c., as from insects at the time of flowering ; this 

 is especially nece^ary, and it is also the custom in the 

 best kept plantations, to clear the ground of weeds and 

 other foreign growths, preparatory to gathering the crops. 

 The fruits are ripe and ready for picking when they begin 

 to turn yellow ; as the fruits are g.athered they are placed, 

 usually by boys and girls, in heaps, where they are allowed 

 to remain for twenty-four hours at least, when they are 

 opened by a slit made longitudinally with a knife or cuthi-ss, 

 and the seeds pulled out by the hand ; they are then 

 removed in baskets to the works, where they are placed 

 on a slope to allow what moisture remains to drain off, 

 after which they are placed in boxes for the pui-pose of 

 slight fermentation, or sweating as it is called. The acid 

 juice that drains off is easily convertible into riuegar or 

 spirit. This sweating process is continued on an average 

 for :il>out 24 hours, but it must not be continued too long, 

 or a sourness is produced instead of the aroma which is 

 intended. Upon removing the seeds from the boxes they 

 should be spread out to dry, and for this purpo.se they 

 should be exposed as much as pos.sible to a free current 

 of air as well as to the sun's rays. The object of care- 

 ful drying is to produce a clear, dark red-coloured seed, 

 w'nich is generally considered a test of good quality, "VYheu 

 thoroughly dry the cocoa seeds .are packed either in ba"s 

 or barrels, the latter are not only the most secure, but 

 the contents are better protected from externa! moisture 

 or from being spoiled by coming in contact with other 

 products of a totally different character, which may per- 

 chance be stowed away with it in the same vessel. 



The various uses of the cocoa beau are so well-known 

 that it is unnecessary for us to go into them here. There 

 is always a demand for cocoa, and more especially for 

 cocoa of good quality ; it should, therefore, be the aim 

 of the planter to produce a seed of good size and colour, 

 and with a delicate grateful aroma. These may all be 

 obtained by caie and practice. It is generally considered 

 that the best prepared cocoas for use as a beverage are 

 those from which a certain portion of the butter or fat 



has been taken. The infusion is thus lighter and more 

 easily digested; but it must not be forgotten that the 

 fat of the cocoa beau is not a waste product, but a very 

 important commercial article, both in medicine and for 

 mauufactiu'ing purposes, in consequence of its non-liability 

 to turn rancid. — PUmteys' Gazette. 



iU'SKiN .says that linseed oil is one of the most durable 

 of materials supplied by nature. — Oil mid Drxnf J\V»\s-. 



Aktificui. Indigo Aba.vdoned. — The Badische Aniline 

 and Soda Fabrik has abandoned the idea of being capalile 

 to produce artificial indigo at a price low enough to com- 

 pete with the natural color, and therefore has abandoned 

 the experiments made according to Professor Baeyer's 

 process. It remains to be seen, however, if the idea of tl: ■ 

 artificial production of indigo, although given up as im- 

 practicable at jiresent, will not be realized at some future 

 time, as a!so it remains to be seen if indigo will always 

 be capable of holding its own against the indophenols dis- 

 covered by AVitt and Koechliu, or any other dyestuffs which 

 may be discovered at some future time. — OH and Drua 

 News. 



The Eoxe Tree. — Captain JIaclear, commanding H. M. 



surveying ship Alert wi-ites to the Stamhird last month : 



"In August last there appeared in the Standard a letter 

 from Lieutenant de Hoghton about the pearl-shell fisheries 

 in Torres Straits. In this he mentioned a curious tree 

 that picked up bones. The account was so curious that 

 I wrote to Jlr. Chester, the resident magistrate at Thur.sd.ay 

 Island, for an explanation, and I think his answer will 

 interest your readers: — 'I have made inquiries about the 

 tree, and I find that it grows at Marbiac, not far from 

 Pearson's .Station. It is a kind of Banyan, or fig tree, 

 and sends down long vines, or tendrils [roots], iVom its 

 upper branches ; these i un .along the gi'ound, and t«'ine 

 round any small obstacles in their path, such as bones 

 and other unconsidered trifles. The vines afterwards contract 

 and draw up whatever is attached to thom. This is Pearson's 

 explanation of the phenomenon.'" — .louniid of Forestry. 



Ipecacuantta. — The propagation of this medicinal plant 

 is nov/ carried on at the Ootacamund Botanical Crardens 

 with artificial heat. This operation was previously con- 

 ducted in the branch garden at Burliar 2,500 feet above 

 sea level, but in consequence of the difficulty of securin" 

 the services of a tr.ained gardener to live in so feverish a 

 locality, the change to Ootacamund was aihased and 

 adopted. In the coiurse of a year the number of estalilished 

 plants was increased from 130 to over a thousand. AMien 

 once rooted the cuttings can be put out and demand little 

 attention. They require a well prepared compost of veget- 

 .able mould, with a liberal allowance of manure. AVater 

 must be sparingly applied so as to keep the soil moist 

 but not wet or the plant will sicken and die. AVith the 

 requisite temperature the cultivation of the Ipecacuanha 

 is a simple matter requiring no skill. So far as we can 

 ascertain there lias hitherto been no demand for the cut- 

 tings with the stock on hand, the superintendent ought to 

 be able to supply a good number to those desirous of 

 giving the plant a trial. — South of India Ohsener. 



Protective Moulding of Potatoes. — I beg to inform 

 you that since the publication of my little book, I have 

 made further experiments which have confirmed in the 

 most sat isfactory way possible aU the princijjal results laid 

 down in my pamphlet, as far as the " protective mous- 

 ing " ar I the different soils are concerned. I fear no 

 contradi tions from practical field experiments if only they 

 are can\ad out in exact accordance with my directions. 

 Two things, especially, are necessary, riz. : — 1, The earth 

 covering given by protective moulding must be no less 

 than ab' ut 5 inphes over the upper surface of the upper- 

 most tu')ers (settling by-and-by to about 4 inches^ • ^ 

 The protective mou'.diiig must be executed before tlie 

 disease in the leaves has set in, or at least as soon as 

 the first traces can be noticed by a careful inspection of 

 the leaves. A covering of i inches is, however, quite 

 sufficient for sandy soils, but for medium and .stronger 

 soils .5 inches (to bcgiu with) will ' e necessary. These 



suggestions rest on experimenis re ntly corroborated 



J. L. Jensem, Copenhagen. [We shall be glad to hear more 

 of the results you obtam.— Ed.]— Gai-dCTcr.!' Chronicle. 



