204 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September i, 1885, 



afield as soon as they found their gardens falling off in 

 yield, instead of applying manure. From the top of 

 any hill you will see innumerable park-like glados which 

 are very pleasing to the eye at a distance, but on closer 

 inspection they turn out to be cultivated and abandoned 

 gambler and pepper garden'^, the abandoned ones being 

 overgrown with lalang grass, and are in the proportion 

 of at least 2 to 1 of those in cultivation. To enable 

 you to understand how this state of things comes out 

 I will try and explain the system pursued by the Chinese 

 gambler and pepper planters. "When a Chinaman wants 

 to open a garden he generally goes off to one of his 

 countrymen in Johore or Singapore, enters into an 

 agreement with him to the effect that the merchant 

 advances money, food, and opium to the planter from 

 time to time, taking good care not to let his advances 

 exceed, say, two-thirds the value of the garden. The 

 planter for his part has to sell all the produce of his 

 garden to the merchant at a fixed rate, which rate is 

 always considerably below the real market value. You 

 can, therefore, understand that the profits of the merch- 

 ant are enormous, and that the planter is generally in 

 del-it. The gardens as a rule are from 8 to 10 acres, 

 which are planted in the following proportions, viz., 

 about 1 or 2 acres of pepper vines and the balance with 

 gambler. The forest is felled and burned off as for 

 coffee, the piece intended for pepper is dug up and 

 prepared most carefully, pepper cuttings planted about 8 

 feet apart, and a jungle post about 10 feet high sunk 

 in the ground beside each plant, to which it is even- 

 tually trained. The balance of the clearing has very 

 small holes cut about 6 feet apart, in which yoimg 

 gambler plants are put and left to fight it out with the 

 lalang grass, ferns, and other weeds, which soon spring 

 up. In IS months from planting, the gambler gives a 

 return which helps the planter to pull along till his 1,000 

 or 2,000 pepper vines begin to give crop when 3 years 

 old. On each side of a gambler and pepper garden here 

 is a reserve of forest 8 chains wide, in which he has 

 the right of cutting any timber he may want for posts 

 for his vines, firewood for boiling down his gambler or 

 for making burneil earth, which with the refuse from 

 the gambler boilers is the only manure applied to the 

 pepper vines when the garden is any distance from a 

 town. If a little more care was given to the gambler, 

 there can be no doubt that, not only would the returns 

 be greater, but the garden would last much longer — the 

 gambler being generally worn out long before the pepper 

 begins to fall. As soon as the planter finds that the 

 pepper is giving out, he looks about him for another piece 

 of forest and starts afresh. If this kind of cultivation 

 is allowed to grow unchecked it is only a question of 

 time, and that of no great length, before the whole of 

 the valuable forest iu this country will be destroyed. 

 The rise in the price of pepper some months ago has 

 given a great impetus to the opening up of gardens. 



The only remedy I can see to stop the destruction of 

 so much valuable timber would be to try and induce the 

 planters to grow their pepper vines on trees planted for 

 the purpose, such as dadap, cotton tree, &e, and they 

 might also be bout,d down to cultivate their gambler, 

 at least to the extent of keeping out the lalang, and, if 

 the land was to be abandoned, the planter should be 

 bound to plant a certain quantity of forest trees on it. 

 It is a well-known fact that pepper grown on live trees, 

 such as dadap and cotton, is much nioro lasting, costs 

 less in cultivation, and gives more crop than it does 

 grov/ on the jungle posts; and that the gambler would 

 be all the better fo>- a little more cultivation is also 

 certain. When land has been " chenaed " in Ceylon it 

 certainly deteriorates, but not to the same extent as the 

 land here after gambler and pepper has been grown on 

 it. In the former case "cheddy" soon grows up and 

 eventually jungle trees, but when the lalang grass 

 once gets hold of the land nothing will grow in conjunc- 

 tion with it. 



I am glad to see Mr. Hole spoke favorably of tea in 

 Johore. The gentleman who is carrying out the experi- 

 ment of making Olong tea in the l-'ormosan f»shion 

 tor the American market has just brought down some 

 more men from Amoy, also boxes, lead, paper, and in 

 jaot, everything required to turu out tea similar to the 



above. As soon as India labor is available, however, I 

 fancy he will revert to the Indian method, as there is no 

 comparison between the cost of preparation with Tamil 

 and Chinese. Indian labor will be available very soon 

 now. as the labor question is virtually settled and Johore 

 will be able to get Indian labor on the same terms as 

 Singapore and the protected native states. Mr. Hole 

 would have been more orrect had he said that the 

 construction of a railway vas contemplated. So tar only 

 a fiyiug trace has been made for about 10 miles out of 

 Johore Bahru in the direction of Gunong Pullai. If the 

 proposed r.ailway is made, it will open up a most valuable 

 tract of country for planting purposes, and at the same 

 time the splendid timber will be made available. I very 

 much doubt a railway ever being made round the island 

 of Singapore, but, if a tramway was laid down from Singa- 

 pore to Kramji, on the opposite side of the island, facing 

 Johore Bahru, I believe it would pay handsomely. The 

 distance is about 14 miles, and 3 coaches run both ways 

 twice daily. — G. — Local " Times." 



AGRICULTUHE ON THE CONTINENT OF 



EUROPE. 



(Special Letter.) 



Paeis, June 13. 



It has now become a maxim that farming profits depend 

 largely on the superiority of the animals maintained. 

 Hence, the judicious breeding and rearing of domestic 

 animals becomes the basis of successful agriculture. In- 

 ferior eat as much as well-bred stock, are more diflicult 

 to develope and to fatten. In the case of cows, the milk 

 is le.ss abundant, and certainly iu point of quality not rich, 

 ^ These iileas are rapidly sinking into the minds of Con- 

 tinental agriculturists, Iu France, especially in the breeding 

 of horses, there is progress to note. The Government, 

 as far as it has been able, has discouraged the covering 

 of mares with half-bred stallions. A closer eye is kept 

 on mares, to see they have no transmissable defects. If 

 sire or dam has straight shoulders, or a large head, the 

 effort is made to minimize these points, by selecting a 

 parent which has neither of the faults. Breeding mares 

 ought to have deep and sloping shoulders. There are 

 breeders, who in case of draught animals, prefer the 

 upright shouldei, but this formation is considered to be 

 at the cost of rapidity of motion. Perhaps the truth 

 lies between the extremes. Farmers are giving up the 

 habit of breeding from mares too young. The mother 

 ought to be fully developed, before beiug put to the 

 stallion, and such cau hardly be earlier than five years. 

 Stallions seven years old, are considered the youngest 

 age for breeding ; their joints will thus bo well-knitted 

 and the formation of the frame compact. Fat stallions 

 are not in favor ; obesity is a sign, not of health, but of 

 disease. It is only wheu 30 months old, foals are now 

 put to their first farm work, as an amusement rather 

 than a task, and gently treated. 



In feeding horses generally, they ought never to have 

 too much or too little food ; they must never be 

 stinteil when in the growing stage or employed at work. 

 They must never bo overfed, because, hke cattle, pigs 

 or sheep, they are not destined for the butcher. Encourage 

 the putting on of flesh or muscle, but not of fat. Ex- 

 ce.ssive feeding in animals or man induces lethargy. Now 

 a certain amouut of vigour is necessary for healthy life 

 aud work. The Percheron horses, drawing ttie busses and 

 doing van work in Paris, are now in excellent condition 

 as compared with former years; they receive more maize, 

 and their fodder is said to be cliatfcd ; they get less oats, 

 that which has taken the fire, but not the strength out 

 of them. Experiments are being conducted to test the 

 value of rye-bread in feeduig draught horses, which is not 

 an uncommon iliet in Belgium aud Germany. In Belgium, 

 the farm horses receive white-drinks — of rye or buck — 

 wheat flour, iu water, aud often a little colza oil-cake is 

 added. The Flemish farmer seeks ever to have his horse 

 in the best working condition. 



Ill Central Asia, the Turcoman covers his horse day 

 and night, to be so warm as to melt its fat, muscle being 

 all that is wanted. Its food and water are reduceil to 

 an incredible minimum. Dry luceru is replaced by cut 



