420 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[November i, 1882. 



that of the uoiirigated cereals the sot-ghum sacchara- 

 turn, gaveja poor crop owing to the unusually .heavy rain 

 and the low temperature. On the other hand the 

 Planter's Friend, which is closely allied to tlie sor- 

 ghumsacoh., did remarkably well.' This crop is evi- 

 dently a hardy one, and capable of withstanding 

 adverse conditions that would prove disastrous to a 

 crop of sorghum sacch. Irrigated cereal food crops were 

 raised on an area of 16'()3 acres of land irrigable 

 from the Mylapore tank. On most of the land two 

 crops were raised, the latter ones being watered iu 

 later stages of their growth, by biling, the tank water 

 not then being available at a sufficient height to 

 admit of it flowing on the land. For some of these 

 second crops sufficient water could not be got, and 

 the out-turn from them waa accordingly considerably 

 lessened. The total area of crop raised to maturity 

 was 26-82 acres. 26,5171b. of grain, and 67,0671b. of 

 straw were in a period of seven months produced on 

 16'63 acres; the average out-turn per acre being thus, 

 grain 1,5941b., .and straw 4,0331b. As has already 

 been noticed, much of this crop was second crop, 

 which, from unavoilable circumstances, did not receive 

 as good treatment as was desirable. However, how 

 many of our native paddy growers can show such 

 results ? Some interesting facts are elicted with 

 regard to sugar-cane. The land occupied with this 

 crop was planted with cane on the 21st De- 

 cember 1879. The land had previously carried 

 plantains, and during their growth had been brought 

 into a fair condition. The soil however, like the 

 BOilB of the farm generally, is naturally poor. Earl.y 

 in December powdered bones were applied broad cast 

 and ploughed in just before trenching for planting. 

 In April slaughter house refuse was applied. In 

 August 1270 canes were taken out for use as seed 

 cane in another field of the farm, and again in Nov- 

 ember 304 canes were removed for the same purpose. 

 By the eud 6f December the canes were ready to cut. 

 "Some of the canes were sold standing; a row 80 

 yards long being sold for K. 2-4-0, or at the rate 

 of R. 136-20 per acre." Such a statement as thie, 

 the result of the sale of one single solitary row of 

 canes, is of very little value. The statistics which 

 follow, though, are of importance : — during January 

 and the early part of February, the whole crop was 

 removed, and the greater part crushed in one of 

 Thomson and Mylne's beheea Sugar mdle, and the juice 

 boiled down into jaggery. Canes weighing 12,383 lb. 

 were crushed, and yielded 780J lb. which sold for 

 K. 46-9-0. The yield of jaggery from an average row 

 of cane was about 34 lb., worth R. 2-0-4. The result 

 showed that it is more profitable here to sell the 

 canes standing for retail sale in the baza ir, and that 

 on soil of the nature of that iu tlie field where this 

 crop was raised, the crop does better in every way if 

 planted in rows only three feet and not six feet 

 apart. The result of careful cultivation was that the 

 farm-grown canes produced much more juice and 

 much more jaggery than canes whbh were purchased 

 in the neighbourhood for the sake of comparison. 



What Mr. Robertson writes about arrowroot should 

 be read by our agricultural readers, especially natives, 

 and we give the whole paragraph : — 



Arrowroot (Curcuma anyustifoUa). — A plot measur- 

 ing -25 acre was planted with this crop at the end 

 of 1879, and remained down during the year under 

 report. It was taken up at the end of J.inuary 

 last and yielded 986 lb. of tubers or at the rate of 

 3,944 lb. per acre. The yield of flour obtained has 

 generally been about 12J ft frun 100 lb of tubers, 

 so that the above yield would represeat an outturn 

 of 493 lb. of dour per acre. In another case in the 

 College Experimental Garden, a plot measuring 1,160 

 squareyardsplanted with this crop yielded 1,7981b. or at 

 the rate of 7,600 lb. per sure. The culture of this 



crop is very simple: it is only necessary to plant the 

 sets in properly-prepared soil, and to water them 

 occasionally during the dry season. The removal of 

 the crop is tedious unless the tubers can be ploughed 

 out, as potatoes .are done in England, which is seldom 

 possible owing to the dryness of the soil, so that 

 the tubers have to be dug up. The preparation of 

 the flour is also very simple and easy. The tubers 

 have only to be reduced to pulp on a grater, after 

 being well washed to remove soil and dirt, and then 

 the pulp is mixed thoroughly with water so as to 

 separate the starch completely from the fibrous mat- 

 ters. The whole is afterwards strained through cloth, 

 through which the starch and water passes, and the 

 fibre left behind. After this the starch has only to 

 be thoroughly washed by decantation with clean water, 

 and dried in the sun. It is then rolled on a table 

 to break it up thoroughly into fine flour and is ready 

 for sale. The flour can be produced at a very low 

 price ; it could be sold profitably at 4 annas per pound. 



The results of the analysis of tobacco grown on 

 the farm show how much the farm soils have been 

 improved by careful cultivation. Smokers will be inter- 

 ested to learn that 



On the proportion of organic salts of potash in the 

 leaf the "whiteness and permanency of the ash of a 

 cigar depend," and their presence also " modifies the 

 burning of tobacco in a peculiar way, to the improve- 

 ment of its flavour, and also positively facilitates 

 burning." In real Manilla tobacco the amount of 

 this substance is above 9 per cent , whilst the ash of 

 the best American tobaccos often contains from 25 to 

 35 per cent rent. 



Having been agreeably surprized to see what a 

 change has been created in the neighbourhood border- 

 ing the road to Eunore by the successful planting of 

 casuarina trees, we were pleased to find some remarks 

 abeut casuarinas in the Saidapet Report. Weread : — 



The casuarina trees planted in 1878-79 continued 

 to progress well during ths year, many of them 

 making a great growth ; they are now nearly safe 

 from the etfeots of bad seasons. Those planted in 

 1879-80 have also done very well on the whol , 

 most of them having been manured early in the 

 year. The watering required was but little, owing 

 to the shade and protection afforded by the dholl 

 sown between the lines fur the purpose. One large 

 plot (5 acres) was planted iu three portions ; in one 

 portion the rows of trees were 4 feet apart and the 

 trees 3 feet apart in the rows ; iu another tlie rows 

 were 4 feet and the trees 4^ feet apart and in the 

 third the rows were (i feet and the trees G feet 

 apart. Of these, the first portion h&ve done much 

 the best, and the last much the worst ; but the 

 latter portion is situated on the poorest portion of 

 the field, and niauy blanks ■ ccurred from deaths, 

 which bad to bo replanted during the year. 



Various causes combined to spoil the effect of the 

 manuring experiments, but onreful notea are being 

 tnken to attbrd information in this direction next 

 year and in following years. 



The Adeu cuw referred to iu the last report con- 

 tinued to yieJi' large tjuantiiies of milU, and a 

 carefully kept record of cost and of the amount re- 

 ceived for milk and calves prove how protitahle the 

 breed may he made. Since the report was submit- 

 ted, a fresh consignment of cattle of this bieed has 

 been received from Aden. Some steps have been 

 taken to improve the breed of indigenous sheep, but 

 much remains to be done in this direction, and Mr. 

 Robertson recommends the importation of a few 

 merino sheep from Australia. 



Upou a farm used for such ex(jerimeutal purposes 

 one cannot expect a profit. As Mr. Robertson writes. 



It must be obvious to all who have given the 

 matter a moment's thought, that the interest the 



