154 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September i, 18S5. 



almost certain will be realized only in exceptional 

 instances. Woreover, the extrava6;ances of hope will 

 almost suroly ajjain, as already often in the past de- 

 stroy all chance that otherwise might exist of its 

 own I'ullilraeut. 



" Nil desperandum " is an excellent motto ; but " ni/ 

 minimum sperandiim " is its logical Bupplemeut. The 

 infancy and childhood of Ceylou tea-growing have been 

 singularly free from drawbacks arising from the greedy 

 hopes of man. While coffee and cinchona have both 

 been the subject of overhaste to be rich, tea seems 

 to have been left at all events till lately to those 

 vpho have studied solely how best to grow and 

 raauufLoture it. May its adolescence and maturity be 

 as healthy as its childhood and youth ! And may 

 the day come when, both in c[uantity and quality, 

 Ceylou will stand first among the countries of the 

 world as an exporter of tea !— Yours faithfully, 



W. M. L. 



The Cultivation of the pearls of freshwater mussels 

 b»s become an industry of considerable impiatince in 

 Sa xouy and other xiarts of Germany. The pearls are 

 generally iuferiur to those of the genuine pearl oysters, 

 uui occasionally a gem of real excellence is produced. — 

 American Groc(T. 



DiKOVA, July ISth.— We are having what is a most 

 welcome change : from con.stant rain to bright and warm 

 sunshhie. Tlie rain has la stRd long enough to enable every- 

 body who desired to plant out tea to do so to his heart's 

 content ; and now the warmth of the sun will enable the 

 plants to put out their first rootlets and lay well hold of 

 the ground, besides giving the older tea a chance of flush- 

 ing, which it has not had for ever so long. As for the 

 effect of the weather on the coffee up here, there is not 

 much to he said about that as there will be so little left 

 for crop yieUiiug in the future— the more 's the pity as 

 some think. I know of at least one substantial proprietor 

 not Ion" out from the old country who is convinced that 

 there is" a great mistake being made in the too general 

 unrooting of coifee. His argument is that, although it is 

 quite true that some estates give but 1 cwt. the acre 

 taking the entire acreage of the estate, and that, therefore, 

 it is not worth while to keep up the whole estate ; but 

 that in reality the crop comes off a very hmited area, 

 equal in fact, to perhaps 3 cwt. an acre, and that it is 

 well worth keeping up the portion giving that amount of 

 crop, replaciiu;- the rest niih tea. He is confident that 

 it will be a great mistake for planters to once again cultivate 

 only one product: the lessons of the past should teach us 

 the unwisdom of this cour.se in the future; aiid,if forno other 

 purpose it will be prudent to maintain a certain extent 

 of laud under cinchona, even through the returns yielded be 

 not great.— Local '• Times." , ,, • 



Effioiencv of Sulphur —We take the following in- 

 formation from an Italian newspaper. Dr. Vergani of 

 Naples has just discovered an efifeoine protection agrainst 

 croup and diphtheria. The abovementioned phyeioian 

 happened to notice that, in villages w here water charged 

 viilh sulphur is conlinually used for drmUiug m default 

 Of Vietler, these dieadfiil diseases are unknown, the result 

 being tl.at he was led to try experiments on the subject. 

 To oue of his sons, three years old, durmg eight days, 

 h« gave nothing but sulphured water to drink and, at the 

 end of that period, touk him to a children's hospital 

 where he allowed him several times to play with others 

 Of his age suffering from diphtheria without the lad 

 catching it. From the results proving so sattsfactory. 

 Dr Vcrg^uii prescnbd sulphured water to his children. 

 For thfin it was sufficient to put a cyliudrical piece of 

 sulphur in a bottle and fill it every night for use, the 

 sulphur remaining serviceable for an indefinite period. 

 It may be tubsti utod by loz-nges of sulphur to be taken 

 by ciiildren ev.ry morning on rismg from bed and 

 whenever the abovementioned diseases were nit, each 

 taking another lozenge in the evening, tfulphur is 

 besides a powerful means to deliver children from many 

 Jiiud S.diseaBte,~.-S'<)-«iV< Timim, 



THE "CAROLINE ISLANDS:" A NEW FIELD 



FOK ENTERPRISE. 

 Spain has joined in the colony grabbing race, and 

 proposes at once to acquire the Caroline and Mariana 

 islands which are situated about 700 miles to the east- 

 ward of the Philippines. 



They may be said to be contained between the 7th 

 and 10th parallel of North Latitude and extend from 

 134 degrees to l(iO degrees East Longitude, and to put 

 it roughly, about 1,600 miles distant from this. 



The northern part of the Pellew Islands from Corror 

 upwards, is moderately high, and could with a more 

 industrious class of inhabitants be made very product- 

 ive, as the soil is extremely fertile. The southern por- 

 tion of the group, with the exception of the Pillelew 

 and Ngour, is uninhabited. The islands are small and 

 of basaltic formation, densely covered with hardwood 

 trees, the cabbage palm, etc. Pillelew has a fine tarro 

 land, but the root is small, and the natives of this 

 island are dependent in a great measure on the northern 

 islands for their food during certain eeasous of the year. 

 The bread fruit, however, is more plentiful here than 

 in the other parts of the group. The cocoanut is also 

 abundant, and from its fruit the Pillelew people made 

 oil and molasses which they exchange with the northern 

 people. The Pellew Islands produce beche-demer, 

 tortoise-shell and pearl-shell, the latter however of in- 

 ferior quality and known in commerce as the " black 

 lipped.'' The soil from Corror northwards is rich and 

 produces a great many tropical fruits (most of which 

 were introduced by Cap. Cheyne) in abundance and 

 without any cultivation. Tobacco of a superior quality 

 is g'owu by the natives, and cofi'ee could be raised with 

 very little trouble. 



The Uap group, lying between the Matelotas and 

 the MackenzieS, consist of three principal islands, which 

 are comparatively high, and are thickly inhabited by 

 a people similar in appearance to those of the Pellews ; 

 their manners and customs also in a great measure 

 resemble those of the Pellew natives, but they are 

 however, a superior class of men and far more indus- 

 trious. They cultivate large Ciuantities of yams and 

 sweet potatoes, tobacco and some of the tropical fiuits, 

 The whole of the coast is thickly planted with cocoa- 

 nut palms and a large quantity of coppra is produced 

 annually ; coppra being, I may mention, the dried 

 fruit of the cocoanut. The reefs surrounding the group 

 formerly furnished beche-de-iner, but at present only 

 a very little can be procured. Pigs are plentiful, and 

 there is also a kind of half domesticated fowl which 

 can be procured cheaply. Deer and goats are seen, 

 but the natives do not protect them as they destroy 

 their plantations. The rat appears to be the only in- 

 digenous animal, and the large edible iguana is found 

 in the jungle, but is protected by the natives, who 

 regard it as sacred. The money of these people con- 

 sists of large worked pieces (in the shape of a mill- 

 stone) of a semi-transparent spar, which is procured 

 from the I'ellew Islands and esteemed very hghly ; 

 its priuci| al uses are to pay war indemnities and the 

 funeral expenses of the chiefs. Pearl shell of lar3e 

 size is gi\atly valued and much sought after, and ve» 

 sels trading in this group cay supply themselves with 

 a considerable quantity of provisions for a Sew pieces 

 of pearl shell. — Hongkong Telegraph. 



Seychelles — We hear that the Acting Chief Civil 

 Comnussioiier has dismissed all the men formerly 

 employed in the Forestry Department, and that many 

 valuable economic plants aud seeds that had been 

 forwaid-d from the Botanical Gardens of Mauritius 

 have been in consequence abandoned. This is much 

 to be regretted, for every encouragement should be 

 given to the inhabitants to turn their attention to 

 other cultures than the fast decaying coconut, and 

 "example is better thao ■pTWft,"—JiIerca?tUleSe(or(l 

 ftni Cammerfitl QoMlit, 



