492 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[December i, 1882. 



Cinchona Planters ought to take hearts of grace 

 over the splendid prices obtained today by Messrs. 

 Eobinson & Duulop for the Waverly and Holmwood 

 Crown Bark from 6-year old trees : E3 55 and R2-10 

 per lb. are equal to 6s 9d aud 4s 3d in the home 

 market, and they shew that good bark will sell as 

 well locally as in London. 



Peesekved Bananas.— a new method of preserving 

 ban.-.uss 1 a; b c:i patented in Jamaica, aud although 

 its results have not yet been subjected to a com- 

 mercial test sufBcient to form the basis of a decided 

 judgment, we may say that there is at any rate a 

 fair prospect of a new and important industry being 

 thus opened up. A sample of the Iruit prepared 

 nearly twelve months ago is now before us in ex- 

 cellent condition, and retaining its flavour in a re- 

 markable degree. We are not. acquainted with the 

 details of the process, but it is evident that the fresh 

 ripe fruit has been cut in half lengthwnys, aud sub- 

 jected to some method of slow drying, which has 

 prevented fermentation and decay. It is believed that 

 7d or 8d per lb. would he paid for the fruit by 

 manufacturers of wine ; and that it would also com- 

 mand a sale amongst the general public for culinary 

 purposes. — Planters' Oazetle. 



"Cinchona Bark Allowances" which were so 

 frequently complained of by the planters as running 

 away with a large proportion of their consignmeuts, 

 abolished according to the telegram which Messrs. 

 Eucker and Bencraft have been good enough to send 

 us — all but the "tare." We should suppose this to 

 be a concession of importance, because if we mistake 

 not oooassionally planters pointed out that from 15 

 to 20 per cent, was swallowed up in this way. Of 

 course the object in abolishing is to attract bark to 

 the London market. But if a marcantile friend is 

 correct, the allowances abolished are of less consequence 

 than was generally supposed and any meterial change 

 in the trade rather improbable. He writes : — 



I have been looking at some account sales of cin- 

 chona : — 



S. Q.— No. 1...5 bales gr. wt. L060 lb. 



Tare 24 lb. 



Draft 10 „ 



Dust 30i ,, 



Tret 38J „ 103 „ 



Nettwt...957 lb. 



S. Q.— No. 2. .9 pack. gi-. wt. 1,694 lb. 

 Tare 235 lb. 

 Diaft 18 ,, 

 Dust 4.3S ,, 

 Tret 53i „ 350 „ 



Nettwt.. .1,344 lb. 



No. 3... gi-. .3,249 1b. 

 Dust ajid tret 210 „ 



3,039 lb. 

 The allowances, draft, dust and tret come to about 

 7 per cent. But h the dvst, an allow.aiice abolished ? 

 it is roughly 3 per cent. Leaving out the dust, the 

 other allowances abolished would be about 4 per cent. 

 Opinions are divided about the effects of this mea- 

 sure I think it will after a time end in the 

 reduction of prices in Loudon to the extent of 

 allowances abolished. Another authority writes : — 

 The London Brokers, seeing the bai k trade going 

 past them, and going to the Continent, have come 

 to their senses. If there ever was a mistake it was 

 in fleecing the poor bark-grower, but it has done 

 some good, for it has assisted him to sell locally 

 and so has opened up a good continental trade perhaps 

 more quickly than would otherwise have beenthe case. 



The " T. a. "—From Messrs. Haddon and Co. we have 



received some numbers of the Tropical Agriculturist for 

 naturalists and planters, published at Colombo, at the 

 office of the Ceyloti Observer. Vol. 1 appears to contain 

 a varictj- of useful articles on the cultivation of the cine- 

 houa, the introduction ijfLiberian coifee into Ceylon, the 

 tea-plantations of India, and similar topics. — Graphic. 



Abnormal Coffee Bereiet. — Mr. Dewar of Rose- 

 neath, Kandy, writes to us : — " I send you a sample 

 of curious coffee, which grows at ' Auniewatte. ' 

 There is only one tree of it, and year after year it 

 goes on bearing this abnormal bean, and that alone." 

 The cherry is certainly curious — not larger than or- 

 dinary C'oJ'ea Arahica, but it is flattish and split 

 open with 4 or 5 small beans instead of two forming. 

 Has Mr. Dewar ever attracted the attention of Dr. 

 Thwaites or Dr. Trimen to the tree or berries ? The 

 latter, we feel sure, will be interested in seeing 

 the cherries aud the tree. How does it stand leaf- 

 disease ? 



COJIMENCEMENT OF TeA CULTIVATION IN InDIA 



and Ceylon. — The following may be accepted as the 

 dates on which tea cultivation commenced in the 

 different districts : — 



Assam... ... ... 1835 



Kumaon... ... ... 1850 



Cachar... ... ... 1855 



Dehra Doon... ... ... 1855 



Sylhet... ... ... 1857 



Kangra... ... ... 1858 



Darjeeling... ... ... 1860 



Tera ... ... ... I860 



Chittagong... ... ... 1860 



Neilgherries... ... ... 1862 



Chota Nagpore... ... ... 1872 



Dooar... ... ... 1875 



These dates are from a London contemporary, and we 

 believe are generally correct. — Iiidiijo Planters' Oazeite. 

 [If by cultivation, growth in appreciable quantity is un- 

 derstood, lu the case of the Neilgherries, for instance, 

 a Mr. Rae sent us a specimen of tea grown aud prepared 

 by him, a dozen years before 1860, while the plant 

 had been introduced many years earlier still. In 

 Ceylon we date the regular cultivation of tea from 

 1867, but it isimly siacel875 that special attention has 

 been paid to the cultivation of the plant. — Ed.] 



Maize in India [and Ceylon.] — Mr. Robertson, 

 of the Saidapet Farm, reports very encouragingly 

 of his experiments last year with maize, the seed of 

 which he procured from Sydney, Australia. From a 

 sowing of 80-5 lb. of seed, an outturn of 3,37Slb. of 

 grain and 24,5951b. of straw was obtained. Before 

 sowing he tarred the seeds, to prevent them from 

 being eaten by crows, squirrels or coolies ; the de- 

 coction in which the seed was dipped being composed 

 of one-and-half pints of hot water and one-fourth of 

 an ollock of tar. He has been able to place about 

 2,5001b. of maize seed at the disposal of Collectors 

 for district experimental cultivation. Mr. Robertson 

 •mites : — " The maize crop is one worthy of much at- 

 tention in this country. Without the aid of U'riga- 

 tion water, on the poor soils of the farm, good till- 

 age and the moderate use of manure secured the prod 

 duction of an average outturn of 984 lb. of grain an-t 

 6,2701b. of straw per acre; valuing the grain a, 

 30 lb. per one nipee. and the straw at R8 per ton 

 prices readily obtainable, the crop was worth R55-3-1 

 per acre, while tlie expenses incurred on tillage, 

 manure .and harvesting amoimted to not more than 

 R30 per acre." The straw of maize is also very rich 

 in sugar, and from the juice of crushed straw he 

 obtained 3 per cent of jaggery. Mr. Robertson is 

 surprized that maize has not yet received any atten- 

 tion in this counti-y for the production of malt for 

 tise in brewing. — Madras Mail. 



