March 2, 1885.J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



721 



THE COUNTRY FOR RICE-GROWING. 



Mr. Hallett is the coadjutor of Mr. Colquhoun 

 in promoting Railway Construction from British 

 Burmah to Slam, the Shan Country and the borders 

 of China, and he has been giving a glowiug account 

 in Calcutta of the richness and populousuess of the 

 interior. When his railway is made, the supply of 

 rice for export from Burmese ports will bo indefinitely 

 increased. To take one instance, Mr. Hallett re- 

 ports : — " The people in the Kiang Sheu State told 

 him that the land was very rich ; that last year 

 the outturn of paddy was 250 times what they had 

 sown." Most certainly the clay is coming when 

 Burmah and Northern India will supply Ceylon with 

 all but au infinitesimal portion of the rice we require 

 at a far cheaper rate than it can be grown here ; 

 and the sooner, therefore, our Government and rev- 

 enue officers direct the attention of the people to the 

 industries for which our climate and other conditions 

 are peculiarly adapted in the several provinces, the 

 better. At present we have the anomaly that the 

 Oeylon authorities only spend money, comparatively, 

 to increase the breadth of rice culture, while the Com- 

 missioner for Burmah, Mr. Bernard, is most anxious 

 to supplement the splendid agricultural resources of 

 hie province, by a planting iudustry in tea, coffee, cacao, 

 rubber, &c. In Ceylon, with only a few meritorious 

 exceptions, the revenue officers ignore planting or new 

 products among the natives. 



THE USE OF TREES IN WAR. 



The War Office has direcled the immediate attention 

 to the planting of suitable trees to mask works of 

 defence, and the question has beeu fully discussed in 

 Madras. As the matter may require attention in Ceylon 

 we quote as follows : — 



Letter from Colonel McLeod, to the Agri- Horticult- 

 ural Society, dated 14th December, 18?4 : — With | 

 reference to the enclosed, 1 had told Colonel Burton 

 that, in my opinion our Society could give him the best 

 information on the local shrubs and trees that could | 

 be made available for masking purposes. The require- I 

 ments are of 4 kinds: To cover mounds and con- I 

 ceal their outlines. For this I think "Ipomasi pes- I 

 capr;v and Spinifex" would probably ba suitable. 

 Shrubs to the height of to 9 feet to cany on out- 

 line and merge it in the surroundiDg'countrv. Prob- 

 ably Divi divi, Screw piues, and coppiced Casuarina 

 and Corkapillay would answer. Trees to mask bat- 

 teries should grow from '20 to 30 feet. Casuarina, 

 Portia, Palmyra would assimilate to surrounding 

 scenery I think. For abattis or obstacles, Corkapillay, 

 Aloe, Babool. There is no doubt that you can give 

 niuch fuller information and particulars as to time of 

 sowing, watering, cutting, &c, and if jou will take 

 the matter into consideration, the Society might make 

 a communication to the Commanding Engineer on the 

 subject ; and with a view to put it in a correct light, 

 I have endorsed the letter to mo to you as Honorary 

 Secretary. 



Notes by the Honorary Secretary, Agri-Horticultural 

 Society, on the subject : — Having many years ago 

 watched the fkilful arrangements of the Engineers to 

 mask some of the batteries elected for eoa«t defence in 

 England, it is comparatively easy to understand what is 

 now required for the batteries at Madras. Presumably 

 the main objects nt the Engineer are really two, (1) to 

 Conceal the position of the gun or guns without in any 

 way obstructing the view of the gunners or interfering 

 with the efficiency of the fire from the batteries, and 

 (2) to delay and impede an enemy attempting to get 

 to close quarters with those working and protecting 

 the guns ; and assuming this presumption to be Corn ct, 

 the question now to be considered is bow best to carry 

 out these object) with the materials at hand. From 

 91 



the War Office Memorandum it appears that the most 

 approved plan of attaining the first object is by plant- 

 ing masses of trees in rear, and raising natural-like 

 mounds in front and on the flanks of batteries ; and 

 the litter by entanglements of low and close growing 

 trees or thorny shrubs. To answer at once all the 

 purposes required probably nothing could excel the 

 casuarina ; and, as for many miles North and South of 

 Madras, little else is to be seen from the sea but dense 

 casuarina woods, a few extra lines and clumps along the 

 sea face of the town would certainly not attract attention. 

 Taking the case of the battery near the Light-house : — 

 a thick belt, or even a double or triple avenue of 

 casuarinas running along the road side, say from Messrs. 

 Parry & Co.'s office, then nearlyto the glacis of Fort 

 St. George, swelling out here and there into deep 

 clumps, in one of which the battery might be em- 

 bowered, would most effectually break, or in fact obliter- 

 ate the sky line of the battery itself. On the sea 

 side the plantation would naturally take the form 

 required. Probably no tree is more tolerant of the 

 sea wind, or when the tender tips are blighted sends 

 out so strong a growth to fill their places. The nature 

 of the tree is to seek for sunlight and air, so when 

 its under branches are uncut and untrammelled by 

 neighbouring obstruction they shoot out along the 

 ground, struggling to get from under the shade of 

 those above them. The nipping off of the tender tops 

 of two or three outer, or seaward lines of trees by 

 the wind seems to throw greater 'strength into their 

 lower and outward growth. The leaves falling from 

 above and particles of sand, sea-weed, and otheranimal 

 anil vegetable matter blown by the wind against the 

 line of trees form a sort of hotbed iu which the 

 trailing braucbes readily take root and send out count- 

 less suckers, and each sucker in (its turn repeating 

 the procss, a slope of dense growth is in course of 

 time formed from the water's edge to the tops of the 

 highest trees behind. Such a plantation might be made 

 even in front of the battery, as if clipped while young, 

 the trees can be kept to any required height, and tho 

 dense intertwining of their branches on the sea si de 

 would form a fairly efficient entanglement. 



In planting casuarina the only nquirement is that 

 the tap root be directed straight downwards, and that 

 the young plants have sufficiency of water. The for- 

 mer is best attained by raising the plants in baskets 

 and planting them out, baskets anil all, before they 

 grow too large ; while there is no difficulty about the 

 latter on the so» beach where sweet water can be 

 found any where by digging a few feet. If the plants 

 be set out about June they should require watering 

 in dry weather for two years only. The plantations 

 would of course require to be carefully fenced to keep 

 out fuel-gatherers, cattle, and particularly goats. Every 

 leaf that falls Bhould, though inflammable, be left on 

 the ground, as the trees thrive much better, that is 

 to say, tire more dense iu foliage and rampant in 

 growth, when their roots are so covered. The con- 

 tinuity of the inflammable surface would nee ssarily 

 be broken by the approaches to the shore cros-ing 

 the plantation. For fencing, in preference to all oi her 

 forms, a ditch and low bank crowned with two rows, 

 say two feet apart, of Agave vivipar, commonly known 

 as Indian aloe — Dot Agave americana as used for the 

 Railway fences, and not Fourcioya gigantea as no.v 

 used at the batteries as both a<°e shorter lived plants, 

 needing more frequent renewing — may be recommend- 

 ed. Tne bank of sand would be improved by hav- 

 ing a little admixture of stronger soil both to hold 

 it together and to stimulate the growth of the agaves. 

 Many other trees would grow well if sheltered at first, 

 as they would be immediately iu rear of the batteries; 

 and if variety be desired Coorcapillay (Inga dulcis), 

 Portia (Tespesia) populnea, Banyans and several 

 other species of Ficuse Cathewuut (Ancadium cccii- 



