536 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1885. 



In these calculations it has been taken for granted that 

 the proportion of the flesh forming constituents has been 

 equal in each cake, but as a matter of fact the sample 

 which contains least nil will have a decidedly higher pro- 

 portion of albumenoids, as well as more mucilage and 

 digestible fibre, while from being hard-pressed there will 

 be less water and the cake will be likely to keep better. 



In conclusion it may be mentioned that capital machines 

 are now to be had for readily crushing cakes into a meal 

 day by day as required, so that the objection against hard- 

 pressiug goes for nothing, and it is a recognised fact that 

 cakes are more economically used for feeding purposes 

 when given in the form of meal than in hard lumps or 

 broken pieces, which can scarcely be properly digested with 

 a view to future assimilation by the most robust of animals, 

 and which in the case of inferior quality of cake frequently 

 produces serious internal irritation in young or weakly 

 animals. — John Hughes, f.c.s., Agricultural Analyst. 



Enemies of Tea. —Our entomological authority re- 

 ports as follows on the caterpillars sent to us from 

 Dolosbage:— "They appear to be the larva: of a moth 

 belonging to the genus Orgyia. They are often found 

 in vast numbers and are very destructive to vegetal ion.' 

 Coconut Planting. — An energetic countryman of 

 yours, Mr. S. T, Muttiah, has largely invested in land in 

 the Puttalam district which is the best suited for coconut, 

 cultivation. The venture is regarded as a very bold one 

 as Mr. Muttiah has had to pay rather high for the 

 land, as the result of competition from a quarter whence 

 he least expected it, but it is hoped that the richness 

 of the soil will make up for the enhauced price, and 

 that under [careful management a valuable property may 

 be formed. ' Coconut is king all over Ceylon— Com.,— 

 "Jaffna Patriot." 



Rubber : what do Ceylon Planters say to this :— 

 The province of Amazonas has passed a law prohibiting 

 the tapping of rubber trees 2J meters from the ground, 

 the tapping of young trees, or those less than 25 years 

 old and the injury or destruction of young trees. The 

 fine is fixed at 1,0008 for each infraction. A premium 

 of 1 000$ is offered for each thousand trees planted and 

 cultivated, at two years of age, besides other favours 

 to cultivators. To guard against foreign competition, 

 an export duty of 58000 is levied on every rubber plant, 

 and 1008 on every kilogramme of rubber seed exported. — 

 Indiarubuer and Qutta.pt rcha -Journal Oct 8th. 



Gall Insects on Tka (Referred to by Mr. Karslake).— 

 "Koyal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, 27th Nov. 1.S84.— 

 The* tumours are without doubt, as you suggest, galls. 

 They are produced by the irritation and consequent hy- 

 pertrophy caused by the fluid injected by the female insect 

 along with the egg or eggs. The gall insects are hymen- 

 opterous, and called Cynipidce. In these tea leaves the 

 e"gs are evidently laid in the under surface near or in 

 the mid-rib of the leaf. All the specimens sent are quite 

 recently formed, and no larva have yet appeared. I have 

 not detected the eggs, but that is not surprising, as they 

 are probably extremely minute. The jambu-trees here 

 and elsewhere are very liable to a somewhat similar gall.— 

 (Signed) Henry Trimen." . 



Bomb time since Dr. MiiUenhoff arrived at the conclusion 

 that in sealing honey cells bees add formic acid to the 

 honey by thrusting the abdomen with the sting protruding 

 and a minute drop of poison adhering into the half-closed 

 cell The honey taken from sealed cells is said to be 

 much more stable than that taken from unsealed cells, 

 and Dr MUllenboff attributed this to a difference in re- 

 spect to its contents in formic acid, which is known to be 

 a powerful antiferment. He, therefore, treated lOOgrams 

 of unsealed honey with 01 gram of formic acid and pre- 

 served it and the same quantity to which no acid had beer. 

 added under similar conditions; after a tune it was found 

 that the first sample remained unaltered, whilst the 

 was undergoing fermentation. He, therefore, proposes to 

 make a technical application of this observation by adding 

 the formic acid to the unsealed honey, ami thus sparing 

 the bees the time and labour iuvolvediu sealing th c ill 



Dr MiiUenhoff states that one part of 25 per 



is sufficient for 250 parts of honey.— Pharmaceutical Journal. 



The Growth of Flax. — Climate and soil are, of course, 

 most important factors iu the successful cultivation of the 

 flax plant. Mr. Warden says the climate most suitable for 

 the growth of the plant is one having a regular supply of 

 genial moisture iu spring, without an excess of wet in 

 autumn, and where the temperature is equable. The delicate 

 leaves are then unable to exclude the scorching rays from 

 the surface of the soil, and as the roots have not had time to 

 penetrate sufficiently deep to secure a supply of moisture, 

 the plant droops, turns a whitish yellow, and, if the drought 

 continue long, it dies. Long-continued droughts are, there- 

 fore, a great enemy to the flax-grower, and these are less fre- 

 quent in the British Islands than on the Continent. — 

 Public Opinion. 



AVhy Contagious Diseases attack hut Once. — Professor 

 Tyndall thus endeavours to explain the immunity obtained 

 against a second attack of a contagious disease: — **One of 

 the most extraordinary and unaccountable experiences in 

 medicine was the immunity secured by a single attack of a 

 communicable disease against future attacks of the same 

 malady. Small-pox, typhoid, or scarlatina, for example, was 

 found as a general rule to occur only once in a lifetime of 

 the individual, the successful passage through the disorder 

 apparently rendering the body invulnerable. Reasoning 

 from analogy, I have ventured to express the opinion that 

 the rarity of second attacks of communicable disease was 

 due to the removal from the system, by the first parasitic 

 crop, of some ingredient necessary to the growth and propa- 

 gation of the parasite." — Phrenological Journal'. 



A Decoction of Lemon is reported by Dr. Aitken, of 

 Home (Brit. Med. Journ., Oct. 4, p. 653) to be a very 

 valuable remedy in the treatment of ague. A dose is pre- 

 pared by cutting a freshly gathered and unpeeled lemon 

 into thin slices, adding three teacupfuls of water, boiling 

 until reduced to one teacupful,aud allowing the decoction to 

 stand all night in the open air, when after being separated 

 by filtering and pressing from the rind, pulp and seeds, 

 it is ready for administration, and should be given at once, 

 first thing in the morning. Dr. Aitken says it has never 

 seemed necessary to give more than one such dose daily. 

 Although the method of preparation is somewhat crude, 

 this may be condoned in consideration of the results reported 

 to have been obtained. Dr. Aitken's speculations have failed 

 to identify the active principle to which the antipyretic 

 action is due, though he is sanguine that it will soon be 

 extracted and come into general use; but he remarks that 

 '•the alkaloidal principles, hespericlmeandlimonine, said to be 

 obtained from lemons, are quite unknown to medicine," and, 

 it maybe added, to chemistry too. — Pharmaceutical Journali 

 The Preparation of China Tka.— A correspondent at 

 one of the Chinese tea ports furnishes the following part- 

 iculars of the way in which the trade is conducted, and no 

 one knowing auything of the very different way in which 

 Indian and Ceylon teas are prepared for tie' market wilt 

 wonder that they command better prices than the China: — 

 In former years teas were carried to Canton for sale, and 

 brought fine prices. Of late years, however, there is 

 ally a loss of 20 per cent on cost of production, but bow 

 they can manage to carry on a trade under such cireum- 

 stances I cannot understand. The preparation of the tea 

 is a costly and tedious affair. The tea trade commen 

 now in May. People are bringing in their teas in small 

 parcels of three or four pounds to the receivers or lion us. 

 Some of these Hongs have a hundred men or more em- 

 ployed to select and pack the teas. These men have to he 

 well paid, as the work must be done smartly and well, so 

 as to catch the market and preserve its quality. Iu the 

 first place the tea has all been sorted by hand, and both 

 ends of each leaf nipped off, leaving just the body of the 

 leaf only to pass as first quality tea. The work is done by. 

 women, whose nimble fingers manage to do a lot in one 

 day, and at lower wages than men would do the work for. 

 The careful selection and equal nipping is thus an im- 

 portant matter, but the proper firing is undoubtedly the 

 most important of all. Careful packing is also an indis- 

 pensable necessity in order to preserve tin- aroma of the 

 tea on the voyage, as no amount of proper firing can pre- 

 serve the quality unless it is also well packed. — Planter.? 

 Gasette. [The above paragraph must lie from the pen of 

 a careless observer, for we suppose the statement that both 

 ends of a tea leaf are nipped off is absolutely incorrect. — ■ 

 Ed] 



