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1PHE TROPrCAI, AGRrCULTURIST, 



[Nov. 2, 1S85, 



WvNAAD. Sept. I9th.— Truly it is a difficult tljing to ' 

 plcas'e fvcr} body all round. A month or so ago we were 

 crying out. bfcau.se tbure was tco much wet, and our ; 

 yomii^ cleaiiTigs, iicwly planted, were i]i clanger of being j 

 -twanjped out. Now, these are recovering ttnd getting 

 on well, but still there remain tlie "foolish virgins" 

 (rtictaphorically) who have waited too late abeil and 

 who are left to mourn over bsked earth, and blazing 

 sun. and delicate plants not yet out of the nurseries ! 

 It is :istonisl ii?g how rnpidly the. country appears to be 

 drying np already. The chan^je in the weather 

 is also affecting the crop, which in places is turning fast, 

 so that the picking season will ])robably commence 

 early this year. I regret to say that the general verdict 

 on crops seems to he unfavorable as to (juantitj', 1 ut we 

 hope lor better things in the matter of prices. I lately 

 noticed a new disease (at least it is an unusual variety) 

 on some coffee trees in this neighbourhood; the young 

 snrouts of leaves seemed suddenly to curl and shrivel 

 u'p, becoming black and dry. A small jwochce is gener- 

 ally to be found .'somewhere about the affecteil )iarts. 

 The old cinchona c'earings are exceedingly tiourishing in 

 ap]>earance ; very little signs of canker, and a general 

 vigor ot growth, which, with the rei)ort of better prices 

 in prosi.iect, is a splendid panacea for drooping spirits. 

 South Wyiniiid seems esjjecially adapted for the cultiv- 

 ation of the Ledger variety; and on one fsfate an 

 anal\>is, made at home, on the bark of some four year 

 old Ledgers, produced a result of S per cent quinine, 

 than which nothing much better could be desired. 

 Canarese labor literally swarms all about here, though 

 our neighbours in the Batiery direction etill seem to 

 differ from difficulty in obtaining sufficient coolies. — 

 Modi'fia Times, 



A Household FiltiiE. — A correspondent sends us 

 the following — In your issue of the 7th instant yon 

 give a few remarks on the general results of L)r. 

 yrankland's experiments with filtering nieilia for 

 purifjin; water for drinking purposes. Many of your 

 readers would, I am sure, hi' glad to know how to 

 make a simple good filter ; and this they may easily 

 do ly attending to the following directions which 

 are based on the facts that when water is treated 

 with powdereil clean iron, organic matter is decom- 

 posed and living organisms killed ; that a Inyer of 

 Hakes of talc forms an efficient mechanical st.raiDcr 

 not subject to oxidation. The filter may be made 

 with two or three chatties like the common country 

 filter, or a patent tiltir maybe converted on the same 

 principles after the original filtering medium has been 

 removed. The best form of powdered clean iron is 

 caslirou borings. These can generally be obtained 

 from any workshops where cast-iron is worked up, 

 and may be procured at little cost. Talc abounds ill 

 many parts of India, and is for sale in most bazaars. 

 Small pieces, not larger than a rupee, answer best 

 for filters. Boil the talc in walerto make the lamhuB 

 neparnte easily; split it up into the thinnest Hakes, 

 Wash it two or three times in d'an water with a little 

 permangftnalo of potaeh or Coudy's fluid. If chatties 

 lire to be used, niiike six or cijiht lioli s close togetln-r 

 In ttjc bottom of the u) ppr and middle chatties. Ii\t>i 

 !hf«e plit Mi<?i('ieiif of tlie tab' Hakes to loni a biver 

 ith'iiit thiVeqllartei" nf Ru inch t liii'k. fnto |lieii|)per 

 '■hitty f'"' ilboiit kIx tiibh-.'ipooiitfiil of the ('. ni-iron 

 ! itriiig", flttd into the niMdli' ehulty tilioii! one (|'iiii-lt!r 

 t)f :l [loiin.'l of l^owdl'tttl chaicoitl over (be l.Hyer.i of 

 laic. ('Ml the npller rbalijvilth w.-.liT, ;lvd U't It dr'p 

 (lirough the two challie.s until it bee 'Un'S (jMife cb'iil'; 

 itieii ji'aee tile low'-r cliatty willi a le,'i.«pooiifnl of 

 iliH boiiM;;.s III it nllderU' .itli, ftn.l drilw the diinli'ng 

 yiitet from this 1 wi !■ cli)ltt> onlvi (.)nep a itionth or 

 so leiuoVe the t Ic, iron, allil i hnrcmd from tin' tlireF 

 din I lies waali the tbiioer in pi rlnauganalR of potash nnil 

 tVHter, and replace itaiid renew tlieboiings and eliar- 

 eoal. Water thus liltued fihouM be uned not only 

 for drinking hut for m.-.kmg t"a, coffee, kc, aivl for 

 boiling v.'getabhs in. The la, ler will be foniul unieh 

 more tasty when boiled in filtered than nrdinary un- 

 tiltered water. When praeticable, the water to be filt- 

 ered shoiilil first he h(>'t\i'(\.—!pwiirn; 



A Pearl five-sixteenthi? of an incli in diameter, 

 and estimated to be worth from loO to 9100, wa- 

 lately fonnd in a clam taken from the river in Mids 

 dlesex, Yt., by a citizen of that town. — Anuiiraa 

 Grocer. 



Los.s OF WmcnT ix Cinn.^mon, kc. — In a recent 

 article we commented on the very serious loss' of 

 weight which cinnamon account sales show, and pointed 

 to the need there exists for united action or firm in- 

 tlividual remonstrance to secure relief. "With tea a losa 

 of three per cent is considered excessive ; and even 

 the reduced loss of 1;! per cent in a recent shipment 

 was considered by the proprietors of the '* Ceylon 

 Advertiser" — enterprising business men in the Fort — 

 to be capable of still further reduction. M''e have tow 

 before us an account sale of cinnamon sold on the 

 2Tth .July last, and ref<r to some of the figures in 

 the hope that shippers will carefully scrutinize their 

 own accounts and see how heavy and unjvistifiableis 

 the loss they are called upon to bear. The Fhipment 

 consisted of 20 bales weighing 2,000 lb. and two bags 

 (cuttings and clippings) weighing 112 lb. ; total weight 

 2,112 11>. The account sale accounts for only 1,970 lb. 

 — the loss being 142 lb., or about Gl per cent. 

 ! That ]iroprietors cannot afford this loss at pre.sciiL 

 I prices does not need proof; but whether th(y can 

 afford it or not, is the loss justifiable L^ ^Vethi^kDot. 

 The usual draft is said to be a lb. on every parcel — 

 heavy enough in all conscitnce — and will account for 

 I 22 1b. What then has become of the other 120 lb. 

 I worth, according 10 the prices realized, at least SiG 

 I sterling '^ Appropriated by someone at the warehouses, 

 or by careless weighing made over to the purchasers. 

 ' Surely, lo.«ses like this shouM not be submitted to 

 without demur. The shipper in question had, by fre- 

 quent letters, succeeded in reducing the loss in weight 

 from 7 to iihont Z\ per cent, and rested satisfied. 

 His silence for .'^ome time has resulted in the 

 lo.<s in weight being doutjled again ! It cannot be any 

 error in weighing here, because reniostrances led to a 

 reduction in the loss. It cannot be that the loss was 

 due to driage, because dnnamon shipped with 7 per 

 cent of moisture would not reach in a fit condition 

 to be sold. It will bo mouldy and have to be thrown 

 away. The loss represents the carelessness or dishonesty 

 of the employes of the 'Warehouse and Dock Companies 

 or some of their li;iugers-on ; and Loudon agents should 

 be pressed not to permit such outrageous appropri- 

 I ations. "We may say that the shipment was sold with- 

 ! m a month of its arrival. This leads us to the warehouse 

 charges which amounted to £8-10-3 on 22 parcels lor 

 3 weeks, and against ,£11:1-10-3 gro<s procr^eds. The 

 bulk of the charges is owing, no doubt, to tho un- 

 ' doing and re-doing of e^vry single bale of cinnamon 

 — a ruinous operation, which fari itates and explains 

 the loss in weight. The loss in weight is a matter 

 which each shipper must deal with individually with 

 his own agent ; but united action, through the Agri- 

 cultural Association or otherwise, is necessary to do 

 away with the system, involving both loss and expense, 

 of opening out every bale of cinnamon. The only 

 parties heneSted, so Inr an wc can sec, ore those inter- 

 e.sfe 1 in the •v'trebr.oses ; and |iErhap^ London agents 

 lire iiiiii-e interested In liictn tlttti tlieir Ceylon priu' 

 tipalsare ,iwi!rc'. The fiime 'yetrtri of utjpaoking every 

 (liicel tihUilicd with tea, but vii<. rolls I'elhonislrimce 

 has led to Its liliandonmcnti Ahy Wliy, \le ces ho 

 fe/isoii iVIiy it .iholilil not be silfficlrht to OpCIl oiiS 

 liale of eiich qliality for a ."Jimplc. Sliippere are not 

 iik. ly to attempt to practise Bny deception, find rUd 

 the ii>,k iif Iiavinga niised or udulterflti'd bHledpelied; 

 for this Wotdd rigitlat',' the rate for their good cin- 

 namon. It Is to their nuiiiifi et interest to be fair ; 

 alid if the lending sliip)iers combine, there is no reasoii 

 why they should not sicnre the abiindonnient of a 

 system which imposes an unneces.sary charge, damages 

 , the spice by exposure, and renders abstraction poss- 

 ' ible. We trust we have written enough to induce 

 cinnamon proprietors to endeavour to guard against 

 losses and charges which, wc think, can be guarded 

 pgaipst.— " Kxaminer." 



