March i, 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



64f 



forrespnudonoi:? 



To Oie Edllov of the " Cei\lon Observer." 



RLACK AND BED ANTS, TICKS ON FOWLS 



(JIGGEES OF THE WEST INDIES), 

 ■ BUaS AND MOSQUITOES. 



Sm, — With reference to Dr. Wright's letter in Wed- 

 hesday's Olifen-fr on some of these subjects, 

 is there a housholder of any standin;; in 

 Colombo, who does not know the castor-oil ami chalk 

 cures for ants ? and the fact also that nftcr a 

 time a film forms over the eastor.oil on which, the 

 ants walk. 



Chalk rubbed over the legs of tables and stands 

 regularly is a cleaner and better preventive than 

 the castor-oil cure for black and red ants. None 

 of these insects can walk over chalk. 



For vermin in fowls the best cure is, the 

 pounded root of the sweet flag (the wadalalia 

 of the bazaars) pnt with clean saw-dust into boxes 

 of the fowl-house. For the flea-like insects that 

 burrow hito fowls' heads, and sometimes blind and 

 even kill them, I do not know of any cure better 

 than kerosene oil'. Instead of the cure given in 

 the, letter liefore-mentioned, of the kerosene oil 

 and the mode of its administration for the cure, of 

 vei-min on fowls, and in rooms of houses, I think 

 most jwople would prefer chopping the heads off 

 the fowls and eating tliem, and leaving the rooms 

 to the ants and vermin. 



One of the best cures for mosquitoes in fiouses 

 is, after all, Keating's Insect Powder, which is 

 made of the flower-heads of Piiffthriim lim'rnrite- 

 I'oliiini and Piiivtiiniiii cariti'iim collected in large 

 finantities in Dalmatia. If the freshness of this 

 powder can be depended upon, shut your doorB 

 and windows, get a small Hat chatty with some 

 t-mbers in it. sprinkle the powder steadily over this 

 and fumigate the rooms and the sides of the bed, 

 and all the mosquitoes will either escape, or swell 

 and get black and die. 



This is a temporary and expensive cure, 

 pnme preferring the smell of clean kerosene oil on 

 I he hands and face, and this is pretty effectual. When | 

 Miss fiordon-Cummiug was in Ceylon she used the ! 

 oil ol lavender, ivhich is the most pleasant and 

 I'tfectual cure of all, but, seeing it was then sold 

 at lt4 an oz., it was rather an expensive cure. 

 During those lulls between the two monsoons 

 when the uios juitoes congregate in houses in 

 Colombo, see that all the clothes-horses and dark 

 corners where mosquitoes lodge are well dusted 

 out sever.il times a day. 



Two firms iu Colombo imported the mosquito 

 powder from China, so much laaded by the late 

 Mr. Fortune in several portions of his work on 

 China, and as far as I recollect found utterly 

 worthless. 



No properly kept clean house in Colombo should 

 have the domestic bug in it, excepting when they 

 are brought in the •■clean" clothes from the dhoby. 

 If these loathsome insects by any means get a 

 footing in betlsteads or other furniture, pour boiling 

 water over all the joints, and when this is dry 

 paint all these places and those likely to be 

 occupied by these insects with a saturated sol- 

 ution corrosive sublimate either in water or spirits 

 (>aini,e.d well into the joints. This a most effectual 

 i;iire, but care should be taken in U'-in^' it, as the 

 jiii\ture is a most deadlv poison, \\, F. 



SI 



I ' ' CBOTON-OIL CULTIVATION. 



Madras, 4th Feb. ISirtti. 

 Dkau Sib, — Several notices have appeared in your 

 magazine (the Tropieal Auriciiltiii-ixt) from time to 



• time relative to the cultivation of Croton titiUnm 



• in Ceylon ; \vill you kindly inform us whether it 

 I has been successful and has paid the cultivators? 

 ' If it has, we shall be further obliged by yoiu' in- 

 forming where we can get information regarding 



I the most favorable elevation, soil, etc. — Yours 

 1 faithfully, GORDON, WOODROFFE & Co. 

 ( [.is to croton-oil cultivation paying, we have 

 j only to refer to Mr. Westland's letter publislied 

 recently. A good deal of information on croton 

 1 culture will be found in back volumes of the 

 I - ff. -■!■— Ed.] 



IRON' SPIKES IN COCONUT TEEES. 



Colombo, Sth February 1880. 



, SiB, — I shall feel greatly obliged to you, or any of 



j your numerous correspondents, for a bit of inform- 



} ation on a matter of very great importauce to me. 



Is it likely that a coconut-tree would be damaged 



I in regard either to its fruitfulness or durability by 



the insertion of say a dozen screws about half ao-inoh 



long if) its truuk ? The idea is to knock off the heads, 



flatten and sharpen the top ends, and drive them into 



j gimlet bores, with the aid of a key; aiid tlius if pos- 



silile protect its fruit from thieves. 



i No doubt it will last Ioniser than the bunch of thorns 



usually fastened half way up coconut trees to serve 



' the same purpose; aiid iu the longer run, perhaps, 



I prove more economi'^al too. After due uotic- hag 



! been given to the village headman that such a t' ing 



has been done, should a thief go up the tree so tie ted 



and get injured, may T inquire whether tlie iand-owner 



would be held responsible? — Yours obedient servant, 



X. Y. Z. 



[We nhould think the spike's would do more har.n 



j to the trees than to the thieves, bu'- we donbt if 



the exjjedient is more legal than spring-guno are.— 



I Ed^ 



! "A PLANT BICH IN TANNIN": CASSIA 

 i AVniCULATA: BANAWARA, SINH. 



Sir, — In glancing over the T. A. for this month 



I I noticed your footnote to Mr. Price's letter on 



the cultivation of this shrub. As you say. the plant 



, is very common in Ceylon, being found all over 



I the lowcountry and plentiful along the cast coast. 



I It is very easily cultivated and will grow in any soil. 



The tannin qnahties of its bark are well-known in 



the English market, being largely exported from 



India and some from Ceylon. It is a shrub that 



springs up freely when coppiced and a profitable 



crop cut e\'ery second or third ye^r. Bound the 



Northern and Eastern coasts it is annually co lected 



by the Moor traders, nnd I have seen gan^j at work 



in t'jc forests pee'-ini? the bark and carrying it off 



to Trincoma ee. " This shows another of our forust 



products pilfered through the laxity and want of 



proper forest administration." The shrewd Moor 



trader of Co ombo has hi.i agents everywhere and 



gives from B4 to E7 per cwt. dry bark delivered in 



(jolombo. 



You wi 1 find Cassia bark quoted in the Ijondou 

 market at E12 per cwt. J. A. 



TEA ROLLERS: THOMPSON OF THE 



■•CHALLENGE" VEESUS BARBER 



OF THE " SPHEROID." 



Colombo, l.Sth February 188C. 



Dear Srit, — In reply to " Tea" 's letter in the 



Ceylon Obserrer of the 4th instant, as it would 



seem from this letter that Mr. Barber is in blies- 



fill ignorance of my views, intentions and aotion« 



