April i. 1885.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



799 



mainstav of the whole Hue. Now, if the Southern 

 route were adopted, uo great increase on ilio present 

 traffic could he looked for, posing, as it doe,, through 

 a country whoie the native wants are few, and where 

 they produce for themselves the bulk of what they 

 require; and this is home out by the experience of 

 the Ceylon railways, where the hue passes through 

 about 50 miles of similar country to Travaucore be- 

 fore it reaches the hills, and where the traffic is al- 

 most entirely composed of estate produce down, and 

 food-supplies for labourers, aud mauures up. 



To make the scheme complete, the Qmlou harbour 

 should also be taken in hand ; aud if it were, who 

 could doubt that the hue would pay handsomely, 

 and that a great poition of the export aud import 

 trade of Southern ludia would pass over if; i he 

 Quilon cotton mills aud the proposed paper mil Is al- 

 ready shown in which direction the current of busi- 

 ness inclines, in spite of preseut difficulties, aud they 

 would be multiplied many times if shipping and rail- 

 way facilities were supplied them. 



His HighneES the Maharajah is too prudent to show 

 any decided personal perference for either route ; hut 

 with his acknowledged ability as a ruler and his intellig- 

 ent grasp of the requirements of his country and 

 people and seconded as he is by a Prime Minister 

 whose admirable litness for his position is well known, 

 I look forward with confidence 10 the time when a 

 Travaucore Railway, via Camp Gorge, to Quilon, will 

 bo paying its 10 or 12 per cent, on cost of making 

 a similar one here has already done. — Madras Times. 



increase the weight and improve the colour of Uva coffee, 

 once we get the railway at the top of the Haputale Pass. 

 Recently I had au opportunity of tasting some tea manu- 

 factured on Gonamotava estate by Mr. J. Orchard and found 

 it very good. AVe now have three estates Jin this district : St. 

 Catharine, Gonamotava and Kalupahaui at respectively 

 high ( 5,000 ft.), medium (4,000 ft.), aud low (2,000 ft.)elev. 

 ation — three estates that can turn out manufactured tea on a 

 very small scale. Some ladies iu the district have pronouncej 



all throe samples excellent, and who will be so bold 

 to deny that ladies are not the best tea-tasters 



the 



■get married. 



NOTES FROM UVA, CEYLON. 



Haputale, 20th March 188"). 

 There is not much to report from this district since 

 date of my last, beyond that the weather has been very 

 dry indeed aud almost quite unprecedented iu my experi- 

 ence of weather at this time of year. Scarcely a third 

 of the rainfall which was experienced last year has fallen 

 to date this year, the register kept on Happootella 

 estate has been kiudly furnished to me by Mr. Andrews, and 

 is as follows: — 



1885. 1884. 



Janury 1'42 inch against 207 inches. 



February 0'72 „ „ 4'49 



March to 15th 0'3'J „ „ 5-00 „ 



Total... 2-53 inches against 1102 inches. 

 Fortunately this unusual drought was dispelled by a few 

 heavy showers of rain during the end of last week, falling 

 more or less all over tho district, and clouds are still 

 hanging about from which we may get more rain. Spring 

 eroptis holding back and will ripen up with a rusli next 

 mouah. 



Oarts for conveyance of what little crop is already 

 gathered are pleutiful at preseut and drivers com- 

 peting with one another at low rates of hire, asking only 

 ufty cents per bushel parchment from the top of the Pass 

 to Colombo and doing the journey all the way by road 

 in unusually quick time. I loaded some cinchona bark on 

 the evening of tho 5th iustaut at Haputale Pass in a cart, 

 which was delivered in Colombo ou the 12th: the waybill 

 was made out "to be conveyed all the way byroad,"— 112 

 miles iu six days for a cart is unusually quick time. I 

 fancy Appuhami thinks it best to make bay while the 

 sun Bhines aud before the railway looming iu the distance 

 drives him otf this road too aud when he will find his 

 vocation of coffee-stealing gone. The Cart Registration 

 scheme or Carriers Ordinance, as worked by the police, 

 must be doing good work and keeping cartrneu up to the 

 time in delivery, when any delay occurs between station and 

 station the bobbies are nowadays so zealous and anxious 

 to get " bucksheesh " from the " durais " when they 

 detect anything wrong (not to say anything of how 

 innocently bobby can fleece Appuhami) that the poor 

 cartman have not got it all their owu way. The streams 

 along the Ratuapura road and tho Kalugauga will once more 

 run smoothly along, as little water will be required to 



world ? A hint to bachelor tea planters- 



♦ 



ALCOHOL IN TODDY. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE " IIOMIUY GAZETTE." 



Sir, — AVith reference to certain correspondence on the 

 Abkari system which has lately appeared in your columns, 

 the following facts may prove of interest, as showing that 

 toddy, even when freshly collected, is an alcoholic liquid, 

 and not a nou-alcoliolic beverage like tea or coffee, as 

 asserted by one of your correspondents. 



Between March 1883, and May 1884, I examined a 

 large number of samples of freshly-drawn toddy. I found 

 that, when toddy is collected in the usual way, iu pots 

 which have previously been used for he same purpose, it is 

 invariably, on removal from the tree, in an active state 

 of fermentation, aud contains more or less alcohol. Of 

 eighteen samples of toddy collected in March 1883, I 

 found the average strength at 9 o'clock on the morning 

 of collection, or three hours after the removal of the pots 

 from the trees, to be equal to 5'G per cent of prots 

 spirit. The same samples at 2 p.m. on the same day, or 

 eight hours after collection averaged in strength 7'5 per 

 ceTit of proof spirit. About twenty-four hours after collec- 

 tion the average amount of alcohol contianed in the same 

 sample equalled 102 per cent of proof spirit. As will be 

 seen from the figures below, this means (1) that the 

 average strength of the samples three hours after removal 

 of the pots from the trees was more than twice as great 

 as that of London small beer, and over two-thirds of 

 that average London porter ; (2) that eight hours after 

 removal from the tree the average strength of the samples 

 was about the same as that of average London porter ; aud 

 (g) that about twenty-four hours after removal from the tree 

 tile average strength of the samples was slightly less than 

 that ofaverage Loudon ale : — Quantity of proof 



spirit per cent. 

 Toddy 3 hours after collection ... ... 56 



Do. 8 hours do. ... ... 7'5 



Do. about 24 hours do. ... ...10-2 



London small beer, average (Brande) ... 23 



Do. porter do. do. ... ... 7'ti 



Do. ale do. do. ... ... 11-2 



Very similar results were obtained from experiments on 

 samples of toddy collected month by month during the 

 year ending May 1884. J. B. Lyons, f.c.s., f.i.c. 



Graut Medical College, Feb. 23rd. 



.Millipedes in Soil (H.J.).— When we find land so infested 

 with the pests of which you enclose samples — a species of 



Julus we have always a suspicion that it needs draining. 



If this is so in your case, and you can determine the 

 point by a few trial holes in winter, you should drain it 

 effectually. AVhen water settles in excavations 2 feet deep 

 draining is needed. If the ground is not naturally wet 

 then we should give it a very heavy liming. Unslaked 

 lime should be placed iu convenient heaps at the rate of 

 100 bushels per acre at least, the heaps to be covered with 

 soil dug from around them. In the course of a short 

 time the lime will swell and burst through the soil, the 

 moisture causing it to "fall," when it should be spread 

 and forked iu as quickly as possible. The best plan is 

 probably to ridge up the land before the winter, level it 

 down in spring, and use the lime then when the soil 

 works freely.— Journal of Bortieuliure. 



THAT HUSBAND 

 Is three times the man hi 

 " Wells' Health Renewer." 

 Madras, Sole Agents. 



OF MINE 

 was before he began using 

 Druggists. \V. E. Smith &Oo. 



