104 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 18S5, 



4 per cent clean ultimate fibre .—Dr. Forbes Watson on 

 Kbea, page 15 to 17. 



YERcmi.—Calolropis gigantea.— 10 tons green stems will 

 give 582 lb. 6bre. Say 24 per cent.— Strettel's New Sources 

 of Kevenue for India, 1878. 



Aloe. — Agai'e Americana.— 6 to 10 per cent fibre from 

 leaves 8 to 10 feet long and 1 foot wide.— Spon's Encyc, 

 div. iii., page 912. But in a report to the Bengal Gov- 

 ernment published in the Tropical Agriculturist, vol. ii. 

 page 655, it is stated that it requires as much as forty 

 maunds of aloe leaves to make one maund of fibre. Say 

 2h per cent of fibre. 



Manila HEMP.-3/Hsa (er/t'is,— Average weight of tree 

 50 lb. 1-4 per cent of fibre. 3,200 trees may give one ton 

 of fibre.— Spon's Encyc. div. iii. page 984. 



Marul. — Sanseviera Zei/lanica.—FaW-gTovra leaves 3 to 

 3i feet long, yield at the rate of one pound clean fibre 

 for every forty pounds leaves. Say SJ per cent.— Spon's 

 Encyc, div. iii., page 995. 



1 have not been able to ascertain the percentage of 

 fibre from ereeu jute stems.- 1 am, dear sir, yours 

 faithfully, J- W. MINGHIN. 

 « 



IRRIGATION IN JND14.. 

 Mr. A. B. Fforde, of the Settlement Depart- 

 ment, has addressed a valuable letter, on "Irrig- 

 ation Works," to the Times of India; and as 

 we agree generally in the views expressed by Mr. 

 Fforde, we reproduce the letter below :— I have read 

 with interest your leading article on irrigation. The 

 ryot is, as you say, in the habit of declaring that 

 canal irrigation is not so fertilizing as well irrigation. 

 He says that the canal water is too " cold," requires 

 more manure than that from wells. He does not say 

 this of canals, from small streams made by himself but 

 only of Government canals. The reason lor his objection 

 lies, I think, in the fact which I have often noticed, 

 that he uses toojmuch water when he takes it from Gov- 

 ernment canals, and waterlogs his soils. Where the 

 small village canals are used, he is restricted to a 

 very limited supply of water, and gets no more than 

 is absolutely necessary. His neighbours watch care- 

 fully to see that he takes no more than his proper 

 share. Where the supply is practically unrestrained, 

 as in the ose of large Government canal--, he keeps 

 the water going all day and drowns out his crops. Again, 

 since he can get much more land uuder water, he is 

 tempted to spread his available manure over a large 

 area, and compared with laud under wells the crop 

 is poorer in consequence. In the Deccan the ryot 

 will often leave his well unused if he can get water 

 from a local canal, because the labour is bo much less. 

 I imagine that, all expenses considered, canal irrig- 

 ation, even if showing a poorer out-turn, is cheaper 

 than that from wells— gives a larger profit. As to 

 deterioration of soil by canal water, that applies 

 equally to wells. I have seen soil, formerly of the 

 beat, so ruined by well-water as to be perfectly barren. 

 la the famine year I saw crops killed by water 

 from wells. The smaller quantity of wa'er probably 

 caused concentration of the salts in the water-beating 

 stratum. If canal water caused the silts to r'.se from 

 the lower strata where they generally He, so does 

 well-water, and in such strata the Utter is even worse, 

 because the water i3 drflwh dil'eot fi'iim the under- 

 lying strata and is not surface water like that from 

 canals. AVhtre canal iirigatiou is iltlpraoticable, well 

 tionstruction would be of great value. Seven yeafs ago 

 I advcicated, iu one of the Bombay piipera, the con- 

 struction of wells by private capitalists in suoli dis- 

 trict?. There is no doubt that wells could be cou- 

 (truoted and hired to the ryots at rates which would 

 pay very largely indeed. Such wells woulil be a 

 most v.aluable property. The comparative failure of 

 Government canals to return large profits is, I think 

 due to the fact that many of them are not perennial. 

 Ike people will not pay high rates £or water, uniees 



they can get it during the summer months, and some 

 large canals are, as I know, unable to give water 

 all the year round. That the people are willing to 

 use canal water is beyond doubt. In one taluk 

 alone in the Deccan there are upwards of 800 small 

 canals from rocky streams. None of these can carry 

 down anything but sand or stones on to the soil, but 

 they are used wherever there is the slightest chance 

 of making them. Well-water may be more fertilizing, 

 but very slightly so. It would naturally contain 

 more earthy and vegetable matter from infiltration. 

 — Indian Agriculturist. 



♦ 



WHOLESALE TEA DEALERS IN COUNCIL. 



At the annual general meeting of the members 

 of the Wholesale Tea Dealers' Association several 

 matters of interest to tea-planters were discussed. 

 The report was read by the Secretary. 



The Chairman iu moving the adoption of the report 

 congratulated the trade on the point which the Associ- 

 ation had carried, which had put a stop to the 

 short weight delivery of teas to their customers. 

 For, as they were aware since October last, the sjstem 

 of reweighing had been carried out with most satis- 

 factory results. The next question referred to in the 

 report was that of Indian tea, and he was glad to 

 say that by the action of their Association it had 

 been arranged that when there was any difference 

 beyond the net weight in Assams, the Customs 

 authorities turned them out and the tare wag properly 

 calculated. One or two cases had come under his 

 own notice in which customers had not had the 

 weight they were entitled to, but he hoped that by 

 the new regulation this would be remedied, 



Mr. John Harrison then referred to the heavy 

 charges on the handling of teas in the warehouses, 

 and believed that if they took united action, they 

 would be able to get a reduction of them. He 

 would move therefore, " That this meeting is de- 

 sirous of entering a strong protest against the ex- 

 orbitant and very unjust charges made in connection 

 with warehouse rent, and the handling of teas, and 

 undertakes to support the committee in any action they 

 may the, for the purpose of securing their reduction." 



The resolution was unanimously agreed to. 



Mr. Oglesby referred to the question of sampling. 

 They might legislate but they oouKl not make the 

 brokers sample in the same way as the leaders, but 

 if it was discussed with the former he thought they 

 would be very likely to content to some mutual 

 arrangement. He thought the present mode of in- 

 fpeotion was very far from what it ought to be. He 

 had recently had a ose iu which the inspection was 

 most outrageous, the lid had only been lifted, and the 

 inspector took out a fair sample only stating that thu 

 surface was slightly damaged, wherias when the bnx 

 was turned out the back was in a bad condition, 

 fortunately the box was kept, aud he was able to 

 taovr it to the broker, but it wa? only after a ureut 

 deal of correspondence that he got the amount which 

 he claimed, He oouoidered it most unjust that ihi-y 

 should have euoh insufficient inspection. He hope I 

 tliey would be able to get it reformed, for he be- 

 lieved by so doing they would beuetit merchants as 

 well as dealers. — //o;?ie and Colonial Mail. 



AN OPENING FOR CEYLON TEA IN CANADA. 

 With very much information laid aside to be dealt 

 with at a convenient season are papers connec'cd 

 with a brief visit we paid to Canada in passing 

 through America last year. It will be remembered 

 that Mr. Stimson visited Australia, Ceylon and 

 India in 1883, in connection with a proposed Ex- 

 hibition at BoitODi He took back with him a con- 



