122 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1885, 



from the old country. The pine land in this vicinity 

 is supposed to be as good as any in Florida, and is 

 owned by private individuals, most of whom started 

 groves about five years ago, so that it is not advertised 

 up in any way. Fruitlaud is 125 miles from Jackson- 

 ville on the St. John river, or tweuty-five miles from 

 Palatka.— John E. D. King, Fruitland, Putnam County, 

 Florida, U. S. A., March 22.— Field. 



BfiCHE-DE-MER FISHING IN JAPAN. 



Sir,— Having just read the very interesting article by 

 Wr. ■\Vilford Powell on beche-de-mer fishing in your issue 

 of Dee. 27, 1884, it has occurred to me that a few 

 particulars about the same industry, as carried on in 

 Japan, woiddnotbe unacceptable to some of your readers. 



Bcche-de-mor (called by the Japanese " irico "), although 

 found more or less all round the islands which compose 

 Japan, is only obtained in any quantity on the island 

 of Yezo and on the N. B. coast of Nippon. From these 

 pl.iccs it is sent to Hakodati, the only treaty port in Yezo, 

 and is shipped thence to Shanghai by the foreign merchants. 



The mode of capturing the fish is different from that 

 described by Mr Powell. They are caught here from 

 small boats, manned by two men ; a small trawl net 

 is used. The process of preparing, also, differs from 

 that employed in Australia, and is as follows ; — The fish, 

 having been caught, are thrown, as soon as the boats 

 return to the shore, into large boiling pots, and boiled 

 for about one hour. They are then taken out and 

 spread on straw mats to dry in the sun. Before boil- 

 ing, the fi.sh spoil if kept for a longer period than 

 twenty-four hours ; but .Tfter having been boiled and 

 dried once, they may be kept for some time without 

 any danger of their going bad. When thoroughly dry, 

 the fish are again boiled for about one hour, and then 

 dried as before. At tliis stage they should be hard ; 

 if soft, it is a sure sign that they are not sufficiently boiled. 



In this state it is bought by the merchants at Hako- 

 dati, where it undergoes the process of being doctored 

 for the Ohinoso market. The beche-de-mer most in 

 demand is the prickly black kind, and the more spini'S 

 it has, and the blacker it is, the better price it fetches. 

 Now, although known as black beche-de-mer, yet it is of 

 a dirty brown colour by the time it arrives at Hakodati, 

 after having undergone the processes of preparing. As 

 this dingy appearance would depreciate its value if sold 

 iu this state, it is subjected to the operation of colour- 

 ing. This is done by p'unging the fish into a caiddron 

 of boiling water, in which Indian ink has previously 

 been dissolved, for about half a minute. AVhen taken 

 out and dried in the sun, the fish should be hard, 

 and of a dull black colour. It is then sorteil and put 

 up in boxes holding one picul (133Jlb.), to be shipped 

 to Shanghai.— H.—i'/c/-/. 



FUEL FOR 'lEA ESTATES IN THE NEW 

 DISTRICIS OF CEYLON. 



Anyone passing through those districts through, 

 which the newly opened hue of railway has been con- 

 structed cannot help being struck with the great extension 

 of tea plnnting now in progress. At Ihe same; time, 

 the question naturally arises how will the fuel be 

 obtained necessary for the manufacture of leaf from 

 sucli immense areas of tc::i ? Coal or wood will have to 

 be .foinid and tr.snsported up to these districts. If wood, 

 it may have either to come from Kurunegala or Matale. 

 If coal, from (■olonibo. This naturally opens up the 

 (inestion as to whether sonie of the forests which 

 exist beyond Matale could not be utilized for the purpose, 

 and so contribute further towards the maintenance' of, the 

 Matale railway line. It may be of coursn thnt wood 

 will be found much nearer upon some of the <livitlitig 

 ranges ; indeed it is to be expecteil that it will. 



AVhatever is to be the material used, whether wood, 

 coal, or coke, it will not be long before the demand 

 comes, and I look upon it as a (piestion that should be 

 brought before the public. To utilize the long and costly 

 pieeo of new railway recently cousliuctcd, rather than 



that it should be left solely for the running of a train 

 or two up and down its length daily, surely fuel might 

 be carried upon it at rates so low as to look for a 

 profit upon the consequent down traffic it would aug- 

 ment. It is time too the question arose, as, thereby, 

 by the time everyone is ready for it, some cheap and 

 certain source may be found. The question too is one 

 which may take our rulers some time to decide upon, but, 

 if there is wanted an incentive to the extension of tea 

 in the .so-called new districts, some safe figures as to 

 the cost of the fuel necessary for the manufacture of 

 tea would greatly increase it. Now, it is a great and 

 moot question, which no one can satisfactorily answer ; 

 consequently few people care to ask it ; yet, it is of 

 immense importance to all interesteti in tea in these 

 districts, for the time is not far off when fuel will have 

 to be purchased for the factory, bungalow and cooly 

 lines, and the only way it could be cheaply supplied is 

 either from the forest reserves on the Uva side of the 

 range or the lowcountry. In either case it should be 

 carried at exceptional rates. 



The nearest spot is the forest along the route to 

 Haputale, along the new trace, and this may form 

 another claim for the extension of the railway to 

 Haputale. — Wn, FoEBES LiuaiK. — Local " Times." 



TEA PRUNING. 



I have just read Mr. A. K. 'Wright's letter upon 

 the very interesting and important question of tea-prun- 

 ing ; referring specially to the two opposed systems most 

 in vogue among tea-planters. 



The one, as he clearly explains, keeps the single stem 

 of the plant intact and its shape like a small tree with 

 a flat top, without allowing young wood to grow from 

 the bottom upwards within a distance of six inches from 

 the ground. The other system is opposed to this, inas- 

 much as it, if anything, encourages the growth of young 

 shoots from the ground, and, as they grow and occupy 

 the space of the original tree, are allowed to take its 

 place ; a gradual removal of the original tree by prun- 

 ing from the top downwards follows until in a year or 

 two the whole, except a foot or so, has disappeared in 

 the process ; iine red young wood taking the place 

 of white. At one period in India, I believe, the first 

 of these two methods had the larger number of votaries ; 

 hut of late, upon lowliinds as well as upon hill gardens, 

 where it has ever been popular, the second system has 

 gradually grown into favor. For my part, I am in- 

 clined to believe that the tree-system (in contradistinction 

 to the bush) has arisen out of the idea of cultivating 

 fruit and other trees, where matured wood is necessary 

 for flowering and fruiting, and that the second has, as 

 a rule, proved with tea the most profitable. Owing to 

 tho short period that tea has been cultivated in Ceylon, 

 I am not prepared definitely to urge the advantages of 

 either, but as far as my experience goes, I am inclined 

 to believe a better class of wood results after the centres 

 of bushes have, been cut out, the shoots ensuing after 

 thepi being both stronger and stouter and more evenly 

 distributed over the bush. I would, however, in explan- 

 ation add that I do not oppose the removal from the 

 treq-stem within (3 inches of the ground of all weakly 

 branches ami shoots; and also that 1 am not advocat- 

 ing carpet bushes which should only be grown where 

 larger ones, owing to wind or general exposure, are 

 impracticable. As unnecessary height is not desirable I 

 do not quite see the use of the wasted six inches at 

 the stems of the trees being kept absolutely free of 

 young shoots, for, practically, it only adds six inches 

 of unnecessary height to their stature which may make 

 them just too high to allow children to pluck them well ; 

 or it may afford so much more unnecessary wind exposure. 

 Of the two, the single trees afford by far the prettier 

 aipcarauce. reminding us of our coffee of former ycirs; 

 the shorter bushes (to me) appear, however, closer to 

 their work and have less white wood upon them. 



Some discussion, howevej, upon this subject before the 

 ])runiug seiison, would, as Mr. Wright says, be generally 

 beneficial.— W. F. L. — Ibid. 



