December i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



457 



Cinchona Babk Analysis.— Dr. Paul, the well- 

 kuowu analyst, has issued a Circular, stating, that, ithaviug 

 been strongly urged upon him that the present state of the 

 bark trade requires a reduction of the charge for analysis 

 of samples — especially since many parcels are too small 

 to admit of the charge of a guinea and a half — and as 

 it is certain that if such a change were made there would 

 be sufficient increase in the number of analyses to com- 

 jieusa e for the reduction, he has decided upon acquiescing 

 in the desire expressed that he should reduce his charge 

 rfo analyses of bark to one guinea eacli for the future. 



Ceylon Tea is thus noticed by a " Peripatetic 

 Planter" of the Indigo and Tea Planters' Gazette. I 

 have again visited the Health Exhibitiou several times 

 of late, aud have noticed a decided improvement in 

 both the arrangement of the tea sa nples on the Indian 

 tea stall, and in the cups of tea provided at the Indian 

 tea refreshment stall. If my letter to you in your 

 issue of 1st July has in any way tended to this im- 

 provement, planters in every district save Kangra 

 have reason to be pleased, as half the stall when 1 

 first visited the Exhibition was not only d voted to 

 Kangra, but the printed circulars gave most unfair 

 prominence to Kangra teas. Even now planters from 

 other districts than Kangra might not be fully satisfied 

 with the arrangement, but I will not be too critical 

 and am hippy to be able to record the great improve- 

 ment that has taken place. As regards the cups of 

 tea provided, here also there is a notably improve- 

 ment, perhaps tbe attendants have leirnt their work 

 now. The Ceylon coffee is now excellent, and the 

 Ceylon tea served at the Ceylon stall or bunijal w 

 is really very good indeed and fur ahead, in point of 

 flavor of the India tea. 



Wash and Weeds.— "A correspondent, writing to the 

 ' fl Agriculturist, brings to notice that in Coorg, on 

 the Suinpajee Ghat, no etforts had been made by planters 

 to save their soil, that hundreds and hundreds of tons had 

 been washed away and then the planters could not under- 

 stand why there were no crops." Of course, under such cir- 

 cumstances, all the manuring in the world would be useless 

 aud this is precisely what has occurred in Ceylon. Clean 

 estates and no provisions for wash are sufficient to ruin 

 any estate. There is but one system for catching, or 

 rather preventing wash, and that is never to weed in June 

 July, and August, but simply to cut over the weeds with 

 grass knives, and keep your pits between every four trees 

 open to catch any wash. A rainfall of fifty inches in a 

 month, such as they have in Coorg, cannot be lightly- 

 treated, but demands the most stringent measures. The 

 writer asks if it is not the constant rainfall in Ceylon 

 which causes the cinchona trees to go out. At Neddiwuttum 

 the rainfall is 120 inches aud the trees do not go out, 

 because the sub-soil affords drainage; canker has nothing 

 to do with it, it is simply that the roots become poisoned 

 by the water-logged soil, drain it and the trees live.* 

 The cinchona s. ems to be quite unable to thrust its roots 

 through a stiff clay soil, unlike the Eucalyptus which is 

 stopped by no soil however stiff. The same writer asks, 

 why. if trees are allowed to seed, the bark should be 

 inferior in alkaloids r We know that one year, we took 

 off every blossom from trees on sixty acres of six year 

 old cinchona, and they felt the effects of it for three 

 years, by showing an increased vigour of growth. We 

 should recommend the blossom to be taken off on all 

 occasions, as the trees have then all their efforts directed 

 to making bark instead of seed, and the whole forces of the 

 tree are concentrated upon the leaves and bark. Ou the 

 same principle we prune a tea tree to prevent flowering 

 and cause all the juices to be concentrated in the young 

 flush. Indeed, to ensure good bavk, cinchona trees should 

 be as regularly pruned as tea trees.— S. 1. Dl uer. 



* No : trenching and draining to the most liberal ex- 

 tent have I ailed to cause cinchouas to grow on certain 

 patches of soil, while the plants flourished close by 

 The sod is in such cases at fault, but . :: planter 



has been generally unable to ascertain : Soil which looked 

 excellent has failed to grow cinchonas —En 

 58 



Tea in the United States.— Three thousand dol 

 lars will be expended tins year by the Agricultura 

 Department for the cultivation and distribution of the 

 tea plant. — American Grocer. 



Tobacco in Borneo.— Over two hundred thousand tobacco 

 plants have been put out on the Suan Lamba Estate aud 

 planting is going ou as quickly as possible. The manager 

 expresses bis satisfaction with the experiment so far — 

 JVorth Borneo Herald. 



Crop Pkospects in Brazil.— Brado da Lavoura S Paulo 

 Without doubt our next crop of coffee will be much smaller 

 than any of the preceding three years. Beyond theextra- 

 ordirjary damage to the plantations, some of wh'ch were 

 entirely destroyed (inutilkadas) by the frosts on 16th and 

 27th July, it. seems that theplantations that escaped these 

 frosts, through the rainfall of the end of June and middle 

 of July produced an extemporaneous bloom, which did not 

 fructify, for tbe excessive heat of July and August com- 

 pletely destroyed this bloom. Now, the frost bitten trees 

 will produce nothing and those of the other bloom will 

 product' but little, and this only in the spring, and there- 

 fore it will iufallibily result that the crop will be very small 

 — llio .\ i « n. 



Cueing Cardamoms.— In reply to " Naiker's" letter 

 if 19th ultimo, I can inform him that the fruit ought 

 to be dried with the stilk attached, which should be 

 cut off with a scissors when tbe fruit is dry. He 

 will iiud that the large quantity of split frui' le com- 

 plains of, is due to the wasteful and primitive process 

 of picking in vogue in Malabar, viz., picking the 

 mature and immature fruits, at one operation, and 

 also pulling off the laceme instead of cutting the' fruit 

 oft. Hence the ripe and unripe fruit are equally 

 expo el to the sun. and the fully- matured fruit, re- 

 quiring but very little suu, is split. By judicious 

 picking, the split fruit will not exceed 15 per cent.— 

 COONGICOT, — Madras Mail 



COFFEE AND SUGAR FROM CENTRAL AFRICA— The Rev. 



Horace Waller recently sent to Mincing Lane samples of 

 coffee and sugar— the first fruits of the Highlands of Cent- ' 

 ral Africa— grown by a young Scotchman a little to the 

 south-east of Lake Nyassa. As the incident is fraught with 

 the greatest importance, the report upon these samples, 

 furnished by Messrs. Patry & Pasteur (whose opinion will, 

 of course, carry all weight), will be of interest to our read- 

 ers. The sugar, it is believed, was made without the aid 

 of any European machinery. "Both samples," say Messrs 

 Patry & Pasteur, are remarkably good of their kind, and of 

 qualities which are very current, aud would always find a 

 ready --ale in London supposing there was a regular supply 

 of them. Both samples reflect much credit on those who, 

 in that distant land I E.ist-C.-ntral Africa), have succeeded 

 in growings and especially in preparing, both the coffee aud 

 tie- sugar for the market. The coffee particularly is remark- 

 able for the depth and brightness of its colour, which gives 

 to it a value probably much greater as a fancy coffee suit- 

 able tor certain foreign markets than it would possess merely 

 from its strength when roasted ; and it compares favour- 

 ably, tor appearance, with the products of European plant- 

 ations m British India, Ceylon, aed Java. It is, however 

 a rather soft coffee, and not likely to keep its fine colour 

 very long. Indeed, some of the berries are already getting 

 a little taded, with a mottled appearance, which, if it made 

 further progress, would soou detract a good deal from its 

 value m its present state. In all other respects the coffee 

 is as w, 11 prepared as possible ; it is large, well-picked, and 

 very clean looking, smooth and even, and of bright deep 

 bluish-green colour, and worth in this market about 85s per 

 cwt in bond. As to the sugar, it is of good grain and colour, 

 good smell and taste, and quite suitable for refining pur- 

 poses ; of a greyish yellow, aud equal in colour to the Dutch 

 standards, Nos. 13 to 14. In appearance somewhat [ike 

 Porto Kico or Barbados sugar. In the present state of de- 

 pression in the sugar market we cannot put a higher value 

 on it than about 14s to 15s per cwt. We have obtained 

 the opinion of our leading sugar aud coffee brokers aud 

 dealers on these two samples, and they quite coincide with 

 ours."— Colonies and India. [Coffee seems to be indigen- 

 ous over a large portion of Africa. The latest notice we 

 have seen is of " wild coffee " growing freely at some of 

 Stanley's stations on the Congo.— Ed.] 



