December i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



503 



Plants from the Northeen Teemtort. — Tlie 

 Minister of Kilucatiou lias receiveil ti-uni the Nurtbern 

 Territory some vt-ry gooil samples of the prouuoe of 

 one of the plantations there. 'I'hey compiize maiza 

 of both kinds, cotton, tobacco, auil coconuts. All 

 8ave the cocouuts, which were evidently plucked too 

 early, are so excellent as to leave no room for adverse 

 criticism by tiie greatest critic. They were produced 

 wiihoul the use of any scientific aids to cultivation, 

 and the tobacco was simply dried in the sun. They 

 come from .Messrs. Harris and Head's plantation, near 

 Delissaville, on Cox's or Douglas's Peninsula, about 

 eight miles from Palmerstou, across the harbour. — 

 South Australian Reyister. 



A Hill Model Farm : An Example to follow at 

 NtJwARi Kliva.— The Asian learns that " a model farm 

 has been started in Bengal as a private speculation. We 

 allude toUr. Green hill's farm in the Darjecding district, 

 which hois just now beginning to get into working order, 

 and which he intends to spare no expinso in work- 

 ing in a proper manner. As a proof of this we may 

 mention that ho has just brought out from England a 

 practical gardener and heidsman, the former to look 

 after the laud and its products, and the latter to 

 look after his herds and flocks. The extent of the 

 holdiuj; is, we understand, about 5,000 acres but part 

 of this will be devoted to tea, part of course consists 

 of woods and jungle, with some land not suited for 

 anything but grazing. It is as a stock farm for the 

 improvement of the breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs 

 thut a great part of the efforts will be devoted to 

 though the Doctor intends also to become a market 

 gardener, and to grow vegetables and fruit for the 

 supply of the Calcutta and Darjeelins; markets. This, 

 however, is at present in the womb of time. What 

 has been actually carried into practice is the establish- 

 ment of a small part of the stock farm. We lately 

 insiiected at IMessrs. Cook & Co.'s stables, of which 

 firm Dr. Greenhill has been the senior partner for 

 many years, some of the animals with which it is 

 projjosed to encourage the natives to pay more at- 

 tention to their live stock. As the native mind is 

 fully capable of appreciaiiua any impr..vcnient that is 

 likely to result in an increase of rupees in his own 

 pocket, we think thht the experiment ought to be 

 a success. First we saw some well-bred and well- 

 shaped pony stallions, which if crossed with the Bhoo- 

 tea ponies viouhl certainly improve the breed. Then 

 there were three yearling bulls— a Devon, a short- 

 horn and a half-bred Ayishire, all well grown and 

 haiidouie specinuus of their ila,«e, and not too heavy 

 for the country cows. Then came five cows— two 

 Ayrshires, one a maguiticeut animal, of great length 

 along the back, with great girth, and short well- 

 shaped legs, two shorthorns and a Hereford. As some 

 of these give twelve quarts of milk daily, Kambux 

 ouglit. soon to see the advantage they possess over 

 thi- country cow, advertised, as when in full milk, 

 to give five seers daily. Besides, the increased size 

 it makes thein all the more valuable for the butcher 

 when that destiny awaits them. In addition some 

 Guernsey cattle, rams and ewes, and boars and sows 

 of the best breeds, will be imported, an.i we believe 

 that even geese, ducks .ind poultry will not be for- 

 gotteu. Dr. Greenhill has kindly invited us to go up 

 and inspect his arrangements— an invitation of which 

 we hope to be able to take advantage, as then we 

 mat be able to give a better description of what is 

 being doue. But now all we can do is to wish him 

 every sucess, convinced that if he succeeds he will 

 have pioved a real benefactor to the country." 

 We are awarej that a proposal was made to the 

 Ceylon GovcTnmeut to establish a farm after this 

 fashion without costing the revenue a cent; but so 

 far it has not been responded to. 



This Year'.? Java Coffee Crop is officially estimated 

 at 1,030,800 piculs in the latest returns.— Straits 

 Times. 



The Soil' of India- and Nitrogen. —The follow- 

 ing extract from a notice in the Pioneer of the 

 report on the operations at the Cawnpore Experi- 

 mental Farm during the rubbi season, 1881-82, is 

 interesting in connection with recent discussions : — 

 " The experiments in manures were supplemented 

 by a careful analysis of the soil of one of the un- 

 manured plots made by Mr. S. A. Hill of the Muir 

 College. The chemical analysis, and the results of 

 the experiments with different manures, go to prove 

 that the chief requisite for fertility wanting in Indian 

 soil is nitrogen. This is a most important discovery, 

 as henceforth one main problem of practical agri- 

 culture ill India will be to supply nitrogen in the 

 form of a cheap manure. Irrigation experiments 

 showed that a single watering more than trebled the 

 produce. There was no rain worth speaking of dur- 

 ing the whole of the half-year, yet the natural 

 moisture in the soil was sufficient to genninate the 

 seed sown in the middle of October ; and Mr. Fuller 

 adds : — ' When there are facilities for cheap irriga- 

 tion, such as are enjoyed by the farm, the occurrence 

 of winter rains is not a matter of importance. In- 

 deed, it is probable that the total absence of fungoid 

 disease (rust, smut, &c.), which characterizes a dry, 

 cold weather more than compensates for the expense 

 of having to give (say) three waterings, instead of 

 one or two.' Well-water proved more efficacious than 

 canal-water — a result which Mr. Fuller considers 

 surprizing, and refuses to accept as conclusive." 

 If the well water was permeated by salts, as the 

 Jaffna wells are, we see no cause fur surprize. 



The Weather and Crops in Demerara seem 

 to be all that could be desired, and it is refresh 

 ingto hear of the prosperity enjoyed by the colonists. 

 We quotefrom the Royal Gazette :—" Vo.e weather 

 they have experienced has been as hot and 

 ' steamy ' as is usual at this time of the year. 

 But, while unfavourable for out-door sports, it 

 has been almost unusually suitable for the de- 

 velopment of the cane-pieces. These are now be- 

 coming rapidly in a condition for reaping, and the 

 weight of cane in them is quite unjirecedented. The 

 'arrow' is coming out fast and will soon commence 

 to fade. The chimnies of each estate in the colony 

 ■will soon be belching forth their clouds of smoke, 

 and will continue to do so until the end of the year. 

 Estates will have hard and unintermitting work to 

 'take oil' all the canes due for this season. We 

 trust they will experience favourable weather for 

 their reaping operations. The shipments of sugar to 

 date amount to close upon 85,000 hhd., and are nearly 

 30,0C0 in excess of the same period last year. The 

 health of the colony is, on the whole, extremely satis- 

 factory, the principal complaints at present being 'sun' 

 colds and low fevers. ' But there is a very dark side to 

 the picture : — " The Registrar-General's return for last 

 year, lately published, and which has already been com- 

 mented on in these columns, and byour contemporaries, 

 has drawn attention to the enormous death-rate of the 

 colony, when compared -sWth its birth rate. Dysentei-y 

 and diai-rhcea, phthisis, fevers, convulsions, debility 

 and marasmus, dropsy and thrush, are she^ni to lie 

 the chief causes of this deplorable condition of the 

 public health, and claim for their victims jire thousand 

 ami lirtnty-two out of the eight thousand" and ninety- 

 five deaths recorded. As these are all, to a con- 

 siderable extent, at least, preventative diseases, the 

 ' Report ' furnishes grave and important subjects for 

 consideration." 



