January i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



5»S 



are the best). Then, when the basin is pretty full, place 

 it directly under a wasp's nest, lead a long; stick from 

 the basin to the nest, get behind a chik promptly, and 

 watch results. The auts, unable to crawl up the slippery 

 side of the basin, will swarm up the stick straight into 

 the wasps' nest. Then commences an awful tight. It ends 

 by the ants nijjping the wasps in two and strewing the 

 verandah with dead bodies. Such is the tale as told me. 

 Never having tried the method I can't say whether it 

 would turn out a success or failure. By the way, have 

 you noticed that in almost every black ants' nest there 

 is sure to be a scorpion, goes there, I suppose, to fatten 

 on the larder of its unwilling hosts. Pom- some hot water 

 into the hole and you will soon fetch scorps out with 20 

 or iJO ants sticking to him most affectionately. 



KiTERINE. 



[With reference to "Eiverine's" method for destroying 

 wa.sps see our extract from the Gardeners' ChrunicU, on 

 page 272. It will be seen that the carnivorous propensities 

 of ants are utilized in China most advantageously. — Ed.] 



CUTTINGS FROM EUO.ILTPTUS GLOBULUS. 



Sir, — I have never heard of any one making cuttings 

 of £. ijlohuliis, although the practice is perhaps extremely 

 common. So I write to tell you of my success in grow- 

 ing, transplanting, and putting out cuttings in the Himalayas 

 at an altitude of 6,700 feet. 



I obtained a large packet containing some 16 species 

 of Eiicaliiptiis from a Vienna firm in March 1881. I sowed 

 all the seeds in my garden in rows about 1^ feet apart 

 dm-iug May. The position was most unfortunately chosen, 

 as my garden is on a ridge, and every day I am treated 

 to a stroug wind from the south-west which commences 

 at noon and lasts till sunset. By July the seeds only of 

 (jluhulus, resinifera, and another species had germinated; 

 all the rest had failed utterly. In October I transplanted 

 all the weaker and smaller E. glohidtis plants, now about 

 ten inches high. In December I covered them all over 

 with grass to protect them from the snow. On my return 

 from the plains in April I found the transplants had out- 

 grown the plants left in the nm-sery, and were now two 

 feet six inches high. With the return of warm weather 

 all the plants made astonishing progress, so much so that 

 the brauches were getting too heavy for the parent stock. 

 I cut off all the lower ones, and my gardener stuck them 

 into the ground in rows. To my delight, after the lapse 

 of ft fortnight, I noticed that the cuttings were putting 

 out tiiij leaves. This decided me to try the eti'ect of 

 transplanting the trees remaining in the nursery, now grown 

 some six feet, and also the last year's transplants, which 

 were even higher. I took them all out during a heavy 

 rain and planted them on the north-east side of the ridge 

 so as to protect them from the wind. For a few days they 

 all looked very sickly, but now they are growing rapidly. 

 The conclusion I have come to is that the ylohulus is like 

 the Pansy — " the more you transplant him the better he 

 is." Now for the resinifera. This is a grovelling sort 

 of plant; at least I can't induce mine to grow up. It 

 prefeis lying prone, although, when stretched out, the 

 biggest plant is over five feet high. Strange to say the 

 stem is thicker than any of the globulus. Has the Forest 

 Department succeeded with larch? Last year I had a bagful 

 of seed fresh from England given me. I sowed the seed 

 in every likely and unlikely way, in all manner of soils, 

 and in all months, commencing from April and ending 

 in October, but I have had no success whatever. What 

 is the Scotch method of sowing the seed? The hazel I 

 got from England is succeeding admirably (there is any 

 amount growing wild in the Kernaithi forest between 

 Narkanda and Kotghiu-, but the nut is worthless^. My 

 gorse too has had the effect of putting the langurs to 

 flight when they attempted the passage to my garden. 

 I want now some Spanish chestnut; it ought to succeed I 



well. ElVEEINE. 



Mundi State. 



[The larch seed was probably bad, or was sown too deep. 

 If the soil be sufljciently friable, and the seed be good, 

 and only just covered with soil, there should be no diffi- 

 culty about its germination, but vide Brandis' Forest Flora, 

 p. 532. where it is stated that all attempts to grow larch 

 in N. W. Himalaya have failed. — Ed. Indian Fohestee]. 



WHITE PEPPEE. 



The columns of our contemporary, the Grocer, have con- 

 tained diu-ing the last few weeks quite a furious little 

 discussion about white pepper. The editor opened the ball 

 by alleging that a secret combination had been formed in 

 the marke to force the price of white pepper far above 

 its real value. The evidence, so far as it is published, is 

 scanty. The statistics of the pepper trade for the first 



thirty-seven weeks of the years are as follows : 



Import.s Deliveries Stocks 



1382 1881 1880 1882 1881 1880 1882 1881 1880 



Tur>s Toils Tons Tons Tons Tons Toiu Tons Tons 



Bl.irk... 3,850 5,000 5,300 ... 5,800 3,990 4,700... 2,240 4 830 3 700 



Wl.ite. .1,020 1,340 2,145 ... 1,530 1,320 1,330... 710 1,480 IMS 



One point mu.st be further noticed: "The .stock of white 

 pepper iu London at the end of December, 1881, was 

 1,402 tons, to which were added 90 tons landed in January 

 makiug together 1,492 tous ; from this had to be deducted 

 3lJl tous returned as delivered, leaving 1,131 tons as the 

 stock on J.anuary 31; but the official compilers of the 

 stock gave it as only 931 tons. Still more surprising, the 

 360 tons referred to as having been cleared included 75 

 tons thrown in as a sort of make-weight, so that the 

 stocks and deliveries during the fii-st month of the year 

 might be made to tally with each other. If this is not 

 manipulation, it is something that does duty very well 

 as a substitute." 



The exports of white pepper from the Straits during 

 the last five years, accoriling to Mr. W. E. Scott, have 

 been 13,165 tons, or 2,637 tons a year. Up to September 

 15 of this year they have been only about 1,600 tons. 

 According to the editor of the Grocer, on October 7, exports 

 of white pepper from the Straits to all parts up to the 

 end of August this year were 1,532 tous ; ditto in September 

 (as advisedper cable), 246 tons ; total 1,772 tous, against 

 1,759 tons in the corresponding period of 1881, anil show- 

 ing an actual excess of 13 tons over last year's crop. The 

 present price of white peper is 9|d. a pound ; in our prices 

 current for September 15, 1882, it is quoted at 7^d. 



In spring, wlien the probable crop was not known, two 

 or three firms made "bear" sales of at lea.st 6,000 "bags, 

 or 350 tous of white pepper for delivery iu October—^ 

 December at 8Jd. to 8|d. per lb. They have not covered 

 their liabilities, and are now cornered according to an 

 anonymous "Holder of White Pepper." 



At this juncture appeared in the market an artificial 

 white pepper, made by decorticating by machinery good 

 black pepper. The grains are rather smaller and more 

 polished than those made in the East by " sweatiug-off " 

 the black outer skiu. The new article has been analysed 

 by Dr. Sedgwick Saunders, who finds that it yields 1-76 

 per cent of ash against 250 of Penaiig white pepper; 

 and by Mr. G. H. Ogstou, F.I.O., who finds that in moisture^ 

 soluble ash, total ash, alcoholic and aqueous extract, there 

 is remarkably little difference between the single samples 

 of the two kinds examined. On September 20, 100 bags 

 (of H cwt. each) were sold by auction, without reserve, 

 and fetched 8§d. to Sjd. per lb. The coincidence of the 

 new appearance with the rising prices and "bear" sales 

 has set rumours afioiit. The anonymous " Holder of White 

 Pepper " says he is told that the idea of decorticating 

 black pepper is thirty years old, and abandoned because 

 it did not pay ; and that one of the firms interested in 

 bringing down prices has taken it up for that end. 



According to Mr. W. E. Scott, of Fenchurch Avenue, 

 overtures have been made to the " holders " by the 

 " bears " to run the price up much higher if the lattur's 

 forward sales are covered. These overtures Mr. Scott re- 

 jected. 



The two facts that seem certain are that the price of 

 white pepper has gone up, and that a new artificially 

 decorticated pepper has appeared in the market.— C'/(fmis« 

 ahd Drufiyist. 



THE G0VEEN3IENT OULTUEES IN JAVA. 



The East India Company who, as a commercial body, 

 speculated more than they governed, sought gaiu especially 

 in an advantageous purchase of produce on which lari-e 

 profits were certain to be made. " 



In the countries which they ruled either by conquest 

 or by treaties, their speculation system was greatly assisted 

 by taxes ahready existing from ancient times. These taxes 



