7° 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1884. 



bo that, taking into consideration only those factors 

 which I have assumed at the outset, and the heads 

 of the various columns, the system of shaving, or shav- 

 ing with a coppice at the end of 10 years has a de- 

 cided "pull" over the system recommended by 

 the D. P. A. Committee. Of course it is uncertain, 

 meantime, whether the trees would stand so many 

 shavings ; but they have been shaved seven times at 

 least, in actual practice. In any case, it seems to 

 be more profitable to go on shaving every 10 or 12 

 months, until the trees show signs of inability to re- 

 new the bark and then coppice. If the trees were 

 not shaved till four years old, it would make very 

 little proportional difference in the tables, as the shav- 

 ing in the third year is the same in all. — Yours faith- 

 fully, A. M. W. 



GERMINATING TEA SEED, ETC. 



Dear Sir, — Could you or any of your correspondents 

 give me the following information ? What is the 

 quickest and best way to germinate tea seed before 

 planting in nursery, and what distance apart in the 

 beds should the seeds be planted to ensure good strong 

 plants ? ENQUIRER. 



[Our correspondent, if he had read carefully, would 

 have observed in our columns recently a statement 

 that tea seed germinated splendidly in dnmp saw- 

 dust. As to distance in tea nurseries, we suppose 

 three inches is a common distance and a fairly good one, 

 inferior plants being rejected. In situations where 

 drought is feared at planting time and where the use 

 of transplanters is contemplated to take up a large 

 ball'of earth with each plant, perhaps four to six inches 

 might be allowed. But nurseries with seeds six inches 

 apart would be very expensive. Perhaps experienced 

 planters may answer this question. - Ed.] 



CINCHONA CULTIVATION. 



Sir, — We have just read the very lucid and in- 

 structive report of the Sub-Committee of the Dimbula 

 Planters' Association on cinchona cultivation, but may 

 we ask for fuller information on, and explanations of, 

 the following somewhat contradictory and confusing 

 statements : — 



In paragraph No. 3 of the Committee's report, they 

 say : — " By the majority, no difference has been noticed 

 between trees raised from foreign and local seed ; 

 but by some that have tried it, they are considered 

 to be less liable to canker." Who, may we enquire, 

 are considered to be less liable to canker ? The men 

 who have tried it ! J 



In paragraph No. 4 — " Harvesting : — * * * The 

 majority are of opinion that shaving checks the growth 

 of the tree, especially after five years old, and in 

 some cases it is said to kill the tree." They also 

 say: — "There is a good deal of evidence in favour 

 of stopping shaving when the tree is five years old." 

 Further on they have it : — "The majority are of opinion 

 that trees will renew bark well, if shaved after five and 

 half years old." How are we to reconcile these conflict- 

 ing statements ? 



In appendix, section 2 — Planting — in answer to 

 question 1, " Have you found plants, stumps or cut- 

 tings to answer best ?" Nos. 15'and 2 say : ' ' Plantsfrom 

 cuttings ;" and No. 4 says : " Plants cutting in doubtful 

 weather." Can you explain what is meant? 

 Section 3 — Cultivation. 



Question 3. — " What style of lopping do you find to 

 answer best?" 



No. 11 answers : — " Two branches twice a year," How 

 does he do it ? 



Section 4— Harvesting. 



Question 4. — " What material you covered with, if 

 any ? " (A strange question !) 



No, 4 answers :— ■• Dried patana." What s's this, and 



how is it applied ? Is it liquid or solid ? [Clearly 

 patana grass was intended. — Ed.] 



Question 12. — "What time of the year you consider 

 best for shaving '! " 



No. 3 replies :— " Light shaving weather." Never 

 heard of it before ! What is it like ? 



Question No. 14. — "Have your trees, ivhen covered, 

 rotted after shaving ? " (I suppose this question should 

 be : — " Have your trees, when covered after shaving, 

 rotted ?" The original question is queer !) 



No. 3 answers :—" Not covering in weather." What 

 can one make of this ? 



Section 5 — Coppicing. 



Question 8. — " What in your experience is the pro- 

 portion of bark obtained by coppicing as opposed to 

 shaving, &c. ?" 



No. 15 answers : — " Sixteen times as much." 

 Oh ! Oh ! ! 



The italics are our own : there are several other 

 discrepancies in this report which we would like 

 explained, but we fear we should take up too muoh 

 of your valuable space if we noted tnem all. 



Trusting you can give us information on the above 

 quotations, we are, yours truly, UVA. 



[Our hypercritical and jocative correspondent has 

 simply succeeded in showing that a report Containing 

 much valuable information is not a model of faultless 

 composition. Some of his conundrums beat " facts and 

 fancies " hollow. The information alluded to in a 

 private note will be very welcome to us. — Ed.] 



CINCHONA BARK : QUALITY AND PRICES. 



Dear Sir, — You give us from time to time in your 

 paper a quotation of the prices of cinchona bark per 

 unit, but can you or any of your readers enlighten us 

 as to how the priceB per lb. of bark have decreased in 

 the local market? 



I hold a considerable number t>f certificates of 

 analysis by Mr. Symons extending over more than 

 two years, and within that short time I see a gradual 

 decrease in the percentage of quinine, and my barks 

 do not now yield one-half what they did some 

 time ago. 



Why don't you give us the names of the firms who 

 openly buy cinchona bark in Colombo ? 1 do not hold 

 it just for the tame people to buy as well as sell 

 such an article as cinchona bark. It short, let your 

 r aders know who make it their business to sell 

 their constituents' stuff, and who are buyers only. 



SHAVINGS. 



[Our correspondent asks us to give information which 

 is beyond our reach. At public sales, and with com- 

 petition, bark ought surely to sell at its value. That 

 value fell greatly, but is now recovering with the 

 breakup of the "ring" and the consequent large 

 sales of cuprea bark. — Ed.] 



BEES ON COFFEE ESTATES. 



Dear Sir, — I do not think that the apparent in- 

 crease in the number of bees can be ascribed to 

 either of the reasons put forward interrogatively by 

 " More Light," but their appearance is due to 

 the natural course of events, for, as each year shows 

 a decline in the extent of coffee cultivation, pro- 

 portionately will an apparent increasement in the 

 number of bees visiting the remainder be noticeable. 

 As coffee only blossoms at periodical iutervals, the 

 existence and numbers of those valuable insects cannot 

 be dependent upon its acreage, but rather upon the 

 permanence of those different wild flowers that 

 blossom in succession throughout the year. Naturally 

 they are to a great extent influenced by the extension 

 of the cotf c industry, since the destruction of their 

 habitations and feeding-grounds to make room for 

 cultivation must necessarily cause a considerable 



