Nov, 2, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



3fS 



the next morning wnth my shoes ! He had gone 

 from Antigua to Zapote 25 miles, back to Antigua 

 25 miles, then to Guatemala 27 miles, altogether 

 77 miles in 2S hours. 



In regard to the endurance of these little mount- 

 ain mules I mav mention that I rode " Mootamah" 

 from Coban to Eanzos in 27 hoiu-s ; I only stopped 

 on the road to unsaddle, and let the dear little 

 thing roll and pick a little, then mounted and 

 went on again. I would not have been so long, 

 but I had a pack mule which I had to lead, and it 

 was very troitblesomc. These stoppages were never 

 longer than half-an-hour. I had to catch the steamer 

 and was in a hurry. No more till next time. 

 — ♦ 



ExEstiKS OF Tea. — A planter writes: — '•! sent 

 you yesterday some caterpillars which I found eat- 

 ing the young flush on lately pruned tea trees. 

 Have you heard of their doing damage on other 

 estates ? Are they likely to do much mischief ?" 

 Our entomological referee writes : — " The caterpillars 

 appear to be the larva" of some moth. I do not 

 think their identification would be of any service 

 towards getting rid of them. The only remedy 

 would be to collect and destroy them, if it could 

 be done at an expense that would be less than 

 the loss caused by injmy inflicted by the 

 creatures.!' An Ambagamuwa planter sends us some 

 tea leaves covered with white scales, on which 

 our entomological referee reports as follows: — "A 

 minute species of scale bug that appear to be very 

 common on tea. judging from the number of speci- 

 mens that have been sent to me. It is to be 

 found in some Colombo gardens, but much scattered 

 and only on a leaf or two of the same plant, 

 and does no harm." 



Or.\xge Wine. — Some time ago in the Querists' column 

 oi the Queen^iltintler the subject of making wine from 

 oranges was mooted. In response to our rci|uest for 

 practical information a vinegroweraiul wine maker who 

 has within the last few years visited many of the Kurop- 

 ean continental vineyards called upon us". He informs 

 us, and wishes the fact to be made widely known, that 

 a most exceileut wine can be made from the juice of 

 the orange, and that since the troubles caused by the 

 phylloxera a large proportion of the "sherry" of com- 

 merce is orange wine. Moreover, if properly prepared, 

 he says this orange-sherry is a most pleasant and health- 

 ful wine ; indeed, in his opinion it is only a matter of a 

 few years and the greater part of the wine m the world 

 will be made from oranges, for the product is equal to 

 that made from the juice of the grapi- and the yield per 

 acre considerably more. His .argument is that in conse- 

 quence of this discovery the planting of orange groves 

 iu suitable localities in Queensland cannot be overdone. 

 As endorsing these conclusions, iu the Melbourne L'ailer 

 we find the following paragraph : — '• It is stated the 

 manufactureof orange wine is (levclo])ing into averyex- 

 tensive business in Florida, where a magnificent 

 American wine is being made in large quantities from 

 the juice of the sweet oranges surpassing in purity any 

 of the European wines. ' It is said to be the best tonic, 

 medicinal or otherwise, that can be taken into the human 

 system. It is nourishing, of agreeable flavour, and, 

 what ia more, a perfectly pure native wine' No part 

 of the fruit is used in the manufacture of the wine but 

 the pulp of the perfectly ripe oranges, and none of the 

 wine bottled from the casks until it is at least three 

 years old. In taste, it ia marvellouily palatable, and con- 

 tains but 8154 percent of absolute alcohol and slightly 

 over 5 per cent of sugar. Florida, filleil with orange 

 presses, says the l'hila<ielpbia riuies, will outrival the 

 famous vineyards of F'rauce and Italy in time, for the 

 manufacturers of this splendid wine are pushing ahead 

 with new and improveil machinery, are setting out count- 

 less orchards of the precious fruit and investing thousands 

 of dollars in the cnterprizc, which they .arc satisfitd will 

 soon become one of the greatest industries of the 

 couutrics. Thi- supply now is no ways e.|ual to the 

 demand." — Queemlander. 



I Oeteon Tea in Lovdon.— Messrs. Geo. White & Oo., 

 the well-known Tea Brokers, in the course of a busi- 

 ness letter to our publishing otfice, add the following 

 encouraging note:— '• It is a matter for congratulation 

 to notice the increasing demand for Ceylon Teas and 

 the way in which tliey continue to grow in favour, 

 .fudging from the information we receive from time 

 to time, this industry promises to become a very im- 

 portant one, and we trust that planters will use every 

 effort to maintain the quality which has so justly 

 earneil for them the high position they now hold in 

 public esteem." 



COPPEE IN Yeecattd, October.— The result of this 

 abnormal weather seems yet destined to bear a bitter 

 fruit in the futnre, it we may judge from what has 

 already been disclosed. A planter, on cutting some 

 coffee berries to see how the beans were (developing, 

 found, to bis surprise, they contained only the empty 

 parchment skins and on others doing likewise to 

 ascertain if they were in a siniil.ir predicament, arrived 

 at similar results. One planter went so far as to get a 

 measure of b<-rries, I am told, and, on oijening them, 

 found that the whole, with perhaps a few exceptions, 

 contained only the empty skins without any beans! ! 

 Cheering results to arrive at after spending and 

 being spent in coffee, to be sold outright in the end ! 

 Anyhow, dark though the prospect is at present, let 

 us hope there are bright days iu store for us, and 

 that the star of coffee will yet be in the ascendant 

 and maintain its character. — Madras Times. 



Copra.— Five or six hundred sacks, partially opened, 

 lay on a San F^rancisco wharf the other day, and were 

 the object of much curiosity. The contents consisted 

 of small particles of some substance that resembled 

 dried leaves, and the lookers-on wondered what poss- 

 ible use such apparent trash could be put to. Inquiry 

 showed that the bags contained copra, which is one o"f 

 the leading staples of the Polynesian islands. The 

 copra came from Tahiti. In a conversation with one 

 of the sailors the following facts were learned about 

 the product. Copra is nothing but the dried meat of 

 the coconut. The natives break the fruit into small 

 pieces and allow them to dry in the sun until the meat 

 is thoroughly dried and hardened. When the coconut 

 is thus exposed it becomes of a dark brown color. It 

 is then packed and shipped. Copra is made by all the 

 islands of Oceanica. The natives manufacture'eoconut 

 oil out of copra, and also a marine soap, which lathers 

 with the sea water. But the great bulk of the staple 

 is shipped in its dried form to the United States and 

 Europe. It is used in the manufacture of candles to a 

 large extent. Beside pomades and coconut oil. copra 

 fmmsbes a volatile oil which is used in the manu- 

 facture of perfumery. The importation of copra into the 

 United States is yearly increasing. — American J'aiiei: 



ExTHACTiON or Aloe FasEE.— The Jlauritius Gov- 

 ernment recently sent to the Government of Madras, 

 to acknowledge the receipt of a letter asking that 

 working models or specimens of the ' Casse-fi-tc ' and 

 ' Gralteuse ' used iu Mauritius for the extraction of 

 aloe fibre might if possible, be despatched to Madras. 

 ' With reference thereto,' writes the Colonial .Secret- 

 ary, "I beg to transmit to you the enclosed copies of 

 the reports from which yon will see that the machines 

 mentioned in Mr. de Ohazal's pamphlet are the same 

 that were used on the estates where the accidents 

 alluded to iu Mr. O'Coimor's report occurred, and that 

 they are considered inefficient. Some i'>-provrmcnts have 

 been made rendering their use safer, bu( they are still 

 considereil as machines requiring caution in their use. 

 The feeding of these machines is reporteil to be danger- 

 ous, although a ' guard has been devised to prevent 

 the operator's hand from conuJig into contact with 

 the 'gratte' as it revolves. But this has not cpiite 

 attained its object." The Goverinent of Madras has 

 decided that "in view of the existing imperfections 

 pointed out in the letter read above in the various 

 machines used for the experimental extraction of the 

 aloe fibre, the Governmeul of Mauritius will bo in- 

 formed that no specimens or models will at pri^sent be 

 required by this Government."— J/arfras JIfail. 



