42.S 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Dec-, I, 18S5. 



A CrriE FOB Buo. — An old Ambagamuwa planter 

 of the "forties" and "fifties," who in his day 

 had every tree on the estate bugsed and who 

 h:ul long conferences with Dr. ll..idner about the 

 pestiferous insect, is certain from what he has 

 lately seen that the bug now troubling the coffee 

 norlii of Kandy is the same, and that lime and 

 sulphur (though inefficacious with leaf-fungus) will 

 bf: found a radical and cffb'otual cure for bug. 

 Will our ■' blaelcbugged" corresiJondent try this 

 ciiio and report progress? 



To riLEAcii ferns, take one half-pouud of chloride 

 of lime and one pound of washing soda, add three 

 pints of water to the lime, and five pints to the soda. 

 in separate vessels : let each stand twenty-four 

 hours ; tlieu pour them together, and a lluid re- 

 sembling mill; and water is the result. Allow to 

 reltle pour the clear liquid over the terns, and 

 li-t tliem air until bleached: then take them out. 

 put tliem in cold water for two or three hours, 

 take them out upon paper like seaweed, and press 

 tiiem after they are a little drained. — Indian Gardener. 



Can.uues. — Referring to "Enquirer" about breed- 

 ing canary birds, I have successfully had several 

 out of a pair from China. They should have a 

 well ventilated cage (rather large) in a secluded 

 spot with good air, but not to be caught to a 

 draught; the nest must be covered with lint, allowing 

 them a little cotton, fibre and small feathers to 

 complete it. As soon as you know the hen has 

 laid the lii'st egg remove the male, and as soon as 

 the eggs are hatched allow thcni to grow up on 

 tender salad leaves and a small qunatity of the 

 yellow of hard-boiled eggs with fresh supplies of 

 seeds, fi-esh water, keeping the cage clean with a 

 sprinkling of sand and ehunam. — Cor. 



I.N'uiAN Tea Prices. — The Indian Tea I'lanlerx' 

 (iazeltii contains an analysis of the working of 

 various Indian Tea Companies, and appends the 

 following note : — 



-Av.'raf^L' gross price procfeils s:ile of crops iiicliuliiig all re- 

 ciipls excepting Kain in Exchange : 

 1S79. "="" 

 per 

 II). 'lb. ib. 

 I SI 1/21 ijj 

 1/2J 14? 



1880. ISSl 

 Jier per 



1884. 



per. 



lb. 



Assam Cotiipaiiy 



HorelliTea Cnmiiauy \'h\ 



Doom iJnomu Tea Com l/.'if 



Willaa Tea Company l/Sj^ 



1KS2. 18.53. 

 Ijer per 

 lb. lb 

 1,21 1.1 Sl-32 imj 

 I'lj ~]/2 1/2 13-Hi 

 1/1 l-'d* 1/0 O'llJ I'OI 

 1,03 1/3} 0/11} 1/OJ 1/Oll-IH 



What is noticeable is the serious fall in prices in 

 ISSO as compared with IST.K the recovery in 1881, 

 and tlien the nmch lower prices for three years 

 ending 1884. The adoption of machinery and other 

 improVeraents may possibly secure economy of manu- 

 facture such as to atone for the serious difference 

 in prices. 



Pi.uMiiAOo FiiOM luos. — It has been announced 

 that !\I. Fourquignon has obtained graphite, or 

 plumbago, in an unusual manner. He treated 

 cast iron in a vacuum to a temperature of from 

 1G30 to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit without melting, 

 when he found the metal became malleable and 

 its surface uniformly black and dotted with black 

 grains of amorphous graphite, his explanation of 

 the process being " that the formation of carburet 

 of iron, or plumbago, is a function of the temp- 

 erature." This description is open to objection, 

 for graphite, or plumbago, is an allotropic form 

 of carbon, and is not carburet of iron at all. 

 Certainly, graphite often contains some iron, but 

 the quantity is so small and uncertain that its 

 presence may be regarded as accidental. It is 

 only iu old chemical text books that plumbago is 

 described as a carburet of iron. Graphite cau now 

 be obtained quite free from the uuntal. The ex- 

 periment is nevertheless an interesting one, and 

 it may lead to something of industrial importance. 

 — " tKdipus" in Leader, 



The Kaddam for Tea Boxes.— Mr. Peal writes:— 

 I am planting out Koglui here (.1. Vadnmba). and 

 expect it will be fit to saw up iu S to '■) years, Some 

 were planteil iu June lSS-1, and now say 18 months 

 old, are 24 feet high, and 12 and 14 inches -girth. 

 From what I see I think one inch per annum ,<idius 

 can be relied on for the first eight years, after which 

 it gets .slower ami slower, down to quartir iju-h at 

 16 years. The plants are got from my tea nurseries, 

 and no one so far can raise Roghu from seedf, but 

 thousands sprout iu all clearings.* — Jmiian I'ore<ler. 

 [Has A. Cudawha been introduced to Oeylou? — iiu.J 



New Electkic Plant. — A recent (4erm,in pnblic- 

 acion contains a description of n new electric plant 

 that lias been elirister.ed PJn/talncea thcfriea. which 

 possesses strongly marked electro-magnetics projierties. 

 in breaking a twig the hand receives a shock th,it 

 resembles the sensation proilnced by an induction 

 coil. Experiments m.ade on this plant showed that 

 a small compass was alfected by it at a distance 

 of about twitnty feet. On a near approach the nei'dle 

 vibrated, ami finally !)eg:in to revolve t]uite r.apidly. 

 The pheunnienou was repeated in reverst; order ou 

 receding from the plant. The energy of the intiueuce 

 varied with the time of day, being strongest at 

 about two o'clock p.m., and becoming almost nothing 

 during the night. It was also greatly increased in 

 stormy weatlier; and when it rains th'b plant seems 

 to wither. It is said that no birds or insects are 

 ever seen on or about this plant. The soil where 

 it grew contained no magnetic metal like iron, cobalt, 

 or idekel. and it is evident the plant itself possesses 

 this electrical property. — Iiiduiruhher and. Guttaperclin 

 Jovrnat. — Hum ! [Ed.] 



Lettcces and Potatoes in BIaueitius. — The 

 President laid on the table some seeds of the Citiehnjia 

 Ledjceiiiaj Ciitclioua Hyhrid and Dieidivi. He said 

 that the Cinchona Ledjcritia was very rich in quinine. 

 The President then presented two new varieties of 

 lettuces where were sent to him by the Hon. Mr. 

 Fraser who obtained them about two years ago. The 

 Hon. Mr. Fraser said last year he did not succeed 

 with these two new varieties, but this year the result 

 was satisfactory, the lettuces were large and hard, 

 but they were somewhat bitter. Mr. Vankeirsbilck 

 presented six varieties of potatoes, three introduced 

 by Mrs. Vigier Latour and three by himself. The 

 three introduced by Mrs. "S^igier Latour were the 

 "White Elephant,'* two tubercules of which h.ad pro- 

 duced 110, others and which in Eui-ope gives ot'OCO 

 kilos per hectare, the " Anderson '' two tubercules of 

 which had yielded 130 others, and. the Magnum 

 Bonum." The three varieties introduced by Jlr. "\'an- 

 keirsbilck were the " Snucisse de Hollaude", •* Belle 

 Blonde " and " Ma Tante." He presenteil also some 

 potatoes obtained from cuttings. The Hon. Mr. Fraser 

 said that he planted half an acre with Bourbon Pot- 

 atoes, and the yield was about 8,000 pounds an acre, 

 out of which 2.5 jier cent were large potatoes, TiO ptr 

 cent middling and 25 per cent small. This at two cents 

 per pound would give $l(iO. This result could only 

 be obtained in four months. He had this to say, that the 

 potatoes produced here conld not be preservcal, 

 whilst those of Iteuuion kept well. It was the same 

 thing witli the Beaus. The Presiileut said that the 

 best manner to preserve tliem would be to have them 

 in ensill.age. — The Acelimatatian {society, 2nd Septemiier 

 1885. 



* There is also a difficulty about ensuring germin- 

 ation of the Hnldu (Jdina cordifnlia), a plant allii'd 

 to the Koghu or Ivaddam, but wo have succeeded iu 

 raising seedlings of the latter, iu raised beds of line 

 charcoal dust, in the same way as Ficii^ efmiica is 

 sown iu the Charduar plantation iu Assam. — Ed. /./■'. 



CATARRH OF THE BLADDER. 

 SriN'OlNQ irritation, inllauiation, all Kidney and simi- 

 lar Complaints, enreil by " JJuchu-paiba." 



AV. E. Smith i>c Co.. Madras. Sole ^Vgents. 



