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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1885. 



A Model Province for a Variety of Products 

 and Industries is that of Pernambuco, Brazil, 

 which is stated to have 2,00U sugar making establish- 

 ments, producing 170,000 tons of sugar annually. The 

 culture of cotton is augmenting. Of coffee, -whose 

 culture was commenced iu 1876 there are 500,000 

 trees ; and of cacao, also recently introduced, there are 

 200,0 trees and the culture is progressive. Wheat 

 growing has been iuitiated successfully and two crops 

 per annum can be obtained. Tobacco is exported in 

 cigarettes and twist. The carnauba palm wax is ex- 

 ported into England and Germany, but the manu- 

 facture of candies from it has been commenced in the 

 province. Besides various excellent fibres, the pro- 

 vince possesses a large number of cinnamon trees, 

 yielding well, but the product is not exported. The 

 province Las one cotton factory, several soap factories, 

 tanneries, &c. — South American Journal. 



Samarang, 25th October.— A German traveller recently 

 saw fit to gladden us by the information that he had 

 detected a cinchona leaf disease in Java during a three 

 weeks stay iu the Preanger Regencies, and it speaks much 

 for his sharpness of eyesight that, within such a short time, 

 he noticed that there was every prospect of the disease 

 becoming as destructive in almost all cinchona plantations 

 as the Hemilcia vastatrix is in coffee estates, though the 

 managers concerned were wholly unaware of its existence, 

 which the German traveller was destined to reveal to them, 

 not at once, for that would perhaps have had a disturb- 

 ing influence on his travelling plans, but later on in a 

 Batavia journal. Several Cinchona plantation managers 

 made inquiries in consequence on different estates finding 

 that neither on trees in prepared ground nor among seed- 

 lings in the nurseries was there any sign bearing the 

 character of new epidemic disease. The spots always noticea- 

 ble on the leaves of almost every variety of cinchona as 

 foretokens of their periodical fall had been taken by the 

 German traveller for symptoms of disease, whereby he 

 gave proof of particular greenness in the domain of Cin- 

 chona cultivation. His rash and groundless assertion might 

 notwithstanding, have done much harm, had not the above- 

 mentioned managers come forward with their positive 

 statement grounded on thorough inquiry that there was 

 nothing iu it — Locomotief. 



Sugar and Coffee Planting in Java have fallen 

 on evil days to judge from the following extracts 

 which we take from the Straits Times. We fear the 

 anticipation of an early disappearance of the leaf- 

 disease in coffee is not likely to be realized : — 



By last advices, in East Java, owing to the low quot- 

 ations ruling for sugarcane, planting has been relinquished 

 on several estates, while, on others, employes have been 

 discharged in great numbers to cut down expenses. A cor- 

 respondent of the Java Bode asserts that leaf-disease has 

 wrought such fearful havoc on coffee estates in Mid Java 

 that, on plantations from which, last year, the shipments 

 of coffee amounted respectively to 11,000,3,300 aud 2,200 

 piculs, the crop this year barely reached 1 000, 170 and 150 

 piculs. With results thus set forth :— It is universally ac- 

 knowledged that leaf-disease is of a temporary nature aud 

 that the growing crops can only he saved from it by heavy 

 manuring. For this purpose, a large capital is required ; 

 but, instead of planters meeting willi facilities iu getting 

 it, credit of any kind is refused them perhaps in con- 

 sequence of the heavy losses experienced' in sugar, whereby 

 they are compelled to sell off their estates. The latter are 

 generally bought by the firms that advanced the working 

 capital, and they are now sure of being -vithin 3 or 4 years, 

 when the disease shall have ceased, in possession of several 

 plantations with which formerly only consignment con- 

 tracts were concluded. It needs no proof that in this way, 

 the outlook for the planters is gloomy indeed. Wo know 

 the names of several persons who, after having grown coffee 

 for upwards of 30 years, have, along with their large fam- 

 ilies, become destitute. Cinchona and tea planters in West 

 Java have every reason iu that case to be glad that they 

 .ire can ying on these kinds of cultivation, though the yield 

 fromtheirciuchonaestat.es is still scanty and though the 

 price of tea is no longer what it was three years ago.— Java 

 Bode, 3rd Nov. 



A Proposal is on foot to start aD dry F;.rm Company, 

 Limited, at Darjiling, with a capital of R50.000 in 

 5,000 shares of R10 each. The object of the Company 

 is said to be to provide Darjiling with dairy produce, 

 vegetables and provisions, from a farm which is 

 to be established on the most modern principles in 

 the immediate proximity of Darjiling. A plot of 1,800 

 acres has already been secured on which it is proposed 

 to build a Manager's House, the necessary farm build- 

 ings, dairies, &c. The whole will be under a European 

 Mauaging Director, who is stated to have had eighteen 

 years' experience in dairy farming in Lincolnshire 

 Sussex. — Madras Times. 



Planting in Perak. — A correspondent writes to us from 

 Kwala Kangsa, Perak, as follows : — " A six foot road is 

 now being made from Kwala Kangsa to Patani, which 

 will open a very fine tin and agricultural country, and 

 bring back many Malays who have, some time ago, 

 moved on and on. Using this road as far as Engor, and 

 crossing the Perak river in a boat.a foot-passenger from 

 Kwala Kangsa can easily reach Salah — the coming tin 

 district— within three hours. Another road is also being 

 made from here to Ulu Bernam, which, when finished, 

 will complete the route from Perak to Malacca via Se- 

 langor and Sungei Ujong. Both these roads are now in 

 progress, and we expect to see them nearly finished in 

 six months, or a little more. Another road— this one a 

 cart-road— is being made from Thaipeng through a great 

 tin-mining district— Selama. This road is only just com- 

 menced, and will, most likely, take some time to finish, 

 as it is to be some thirty miles long. The railway is not 

 yet open to the public, but we hope to see it at work 

 before very long. During the last three months, several 

 men have come from Ceylon, and turned from coffee to tin. 

 Let us hope they may have better success than the other 

 European Companies up to date. The Government Coffee 

 Plantations are doing very well, and a well-known Ceylon 

 planter has just arrived and taken the management of 

 them. That Perak will eventually become a great coffee- 

 producing country, I quite believe, as do many others. 

 The town, as it is now called, of Kwala Kangsa is going 

 ahead with brick shops, and is becoming quite a large 

 and important place. Some months ago, there were only 

 three Europeans living here, and there are now ten, 

 which speaks well for the place. This is a great field for 

 sportsmen, aud the wonder is that more of them do not 

 come over from Singapore." — Singapore Free Press. 



Can it be true ? — The Indian Agriculturist states : — ■ 

 Our readers have become pretty familiar with the tree 

 known as the eucalyptus globulus, an indigenous tree 

 of Australia, the product of which has been so largely 

 utilized in the arts aud manufactures. We now hear that 

 a process has been invented in America for the manu- 

 facture of a preparation of the gum of the eucalyptus 

 globulus, which promises to be of invaluable help to ship- 

 owners and others interested in the shipping interest. It 

 has the effect of removing thoroughly the scales which 

 form in engine boilers, aud prevent rust and pitting. A 

 Company has been formed and a factor}- erected at Pied- 

 mont, with a capacity of 1,000 gallons a day and em- 

 ploying 30 men. The result of the introduction of this prepar- 

 ation has bten so great, as to create an immense demnnd 

 for it both iu America and Europe to an extent of which the 

 Company could hardly form an idea wheu it started the 

 concern. The effect of this preparation in preventing the 

 pitting and corrosion of boilers will, it is expected, extend 

 the period of their usefulness 100 or 150 per cent, and 

 at the same time effect a great saving iu fuel, as 

 scale is a non-conductor of heat, aud therefore more fuel 

 is required to generate steam in old boilers than in clean 

 new ones. This may, if all that is claimed be true, tend 

 to decrease the manufacture of boilers, but, on the other 

 hand, it will lessen the liability of explosions. The Com- 

 pany have also embarked iu the distillation of the essential 

 oils of the eucalyptus globulus, which are extensively used lor 

 medical pnrpeses, and which have heretofore been sup- 

 plied iu Australia, it being found that the oils can be pro- 

 duced at a profit. With this object in view, the Com- 

 pany propose to set out extensive forests of eucalyptus 

 trees, in order to have at its command a sufficient supply 

 of leaves, the portion of the tree consumed in the manu- 

 facture of the oils. 



