57S 



■VtiK tRdPlCAL AGRtCVLTVmsr. [i'SS. i, iSS6. 



of Wh acres of casuarina 40,236 lb. of fodder was ob- 

 tain il, ;iTnl a second crop was ready to be out. This 

 will be welcome information to owners of plantations, 

 especially in places not far from Madras, where ex- 

 pensive plols of land have been acquired and plant- 

 ations are thriving. Guinea grass may not be a very 

 remunerative fodder to grow, but with a large demand 

 always for the fodder and with municipalities utilising 

 cv» ry spare plot of ground for the growth of grass, 

 there shi)uld be no difficulty in owners of casuarina 

 plnntations adopting the plan successfully introduced 

 at th<- G.jverument farm. Casuarina plantations were, 

 n few years ago, all the rage among small capital- 

 ists, and in the Madras and Chingleput districts, some 

 thou^an«is of acres were taken up and planted under 

 the (Uukast rules. Those who embarked in the vent- 

 ure with care and ^ecoucpmy are reaping the fruits 

 thereof. Casuarina is largely availed of for fuel pur- 

 poses, and etforts still continue to be made in the 

 formation of small plantations. As sand binding plants 

 they have proved to be very useful, and that is one 

 reason why almost over the whole coast line from 

 Madras to Wellore, northwards, and as far as Oud- 

 dalore southwards, the cultivation of casuarina con- 

 tinues to receive attentio . The trees at Sydapet 

 are planted at the rate of 1,800 per acre, and the ir- 

 rigation charges are returned at IIUS per acre. The 

 total expendilure per acre for establishing a casuarina 

 plantation with guinea grass between the lines, is not 

 iDore than K50. 



A little time ago particular attention was given to 

 the growth oi divi-divi, a most useful plant, the fruit 

 of which is extensively uscil for tanning purposes. 

 The pods were said to possess many useful properties, 

 and for a time large shipments of tliii-dici, collected in 

 the jungles not far from Miidras, were m.ide to England. 

 The pries of the seed was quoted at Rlii per oz. and 

 owners of private ganleus paid particular attention to 

 the cultivation of the tree and smnil plantations were 

 formed in the outskirts of Madras. But the demaml 

 seems, for the present, ii have ceased and we hardly 

 hear of furiber experiments in this direction. At 

 Sydapet three acres of laud were planted with divi- 

 divi and about 521 plants reared. An attempt made 

 in this direction in 1879 produced a supply of 7-'i lb. 

 of pods, and 22 lb. gave 2 lb. of seed. No particulars 

 are given in the report of the maikitablo value of the 

 pod, of the efforts made to extend the cultiv.ition 

 of divi-divi, or if any distribution of the seed took 

 place. From the fact that at one time the pods 

 were in great request and their usefulness for tanning 

 proved, further experiments at Sydapet or under the 

 auspices of the Agricultural Department, might have 

 a gooil effect on the? cultivation of this u.seful tree. 

 Tne cultivation of coconuts has also been un<ler- 

 takeu in the farm, and a small plantation of eighty- 

 five tres is maintained. Cotoiiiits can, with little 

 trouble, be grown on saltish soil ; the attempt made 

 in the farm has proved successful. It has been planted 

 fllteruately with casuarina, and the actual cost of laying 

 out the Qeld was K12 an acre. Some \ears ago the 

 cnllivation of the coconut was more extensively car- 

 ried ou than at present, imd, according to some 

 authorities this u.seful tree is not so (iiodiictive as 

 it onco was: large gardens aud topes were planted 

 ill connection with chuttrums, churchen ami other 

 charilable institutions, This i.s mote e.spccially the 

 case in all the S:>outl!ern ilijtricts of the premdency— 

 nttached to every work of charity is a coconut tnpc 

 fire produce of which goes a grest way to support it. 

 KverJ' part of the coconut tree, like the palinvrii, is 

 li etui ; the fruit, the fibre, the leaves are marketab!f, 

 Biid though the oil of the coconut is not extensively 

 i1~ed for domestic purposes at the present time, still 

 Ka think that the formation of iil-intatioiis should be 

 encouraged. Small native capitalists preferred, up to 

 a few years age, to invest their surplus cash in coconut 

 plantatioi s. The returns from these investments were 

 net large ; people were then satisfied with small returns 

 on oiit!lHy. Hut what satisfied them then is now insuffi- 

 cient. Jiove remunerative speculations ore sought after 

 and a steady apd i.u. e source of income lb being gradual- 

 ly Jaeglecteij.— HodrM St^niayd, 



TOBACCO CULTUliE: 



SEI.Ee'TlON or GBOCND A\D PLANTr.VG OF TOBACCO. 



The following advice as to selection of ground and 

 planting tobacco is given by the same gentlemen to 

 whom last week's article on plant beds aud seeding 

 was credite.l — Capt. R. B. Davis, of Hickory, N. O. — 

 and will be found to contain much that will be of benelit 

 both to the beginner and the experienced planter. 



'Se/rrt!n.i and Prepo^rathi of the Soil. — As soft, deep, 

 sand.y soil is preferable, which before planting shouiil 

 be always put in the finest tilth, it being au adage 

 with good farmers that a "crop properly planted is 

 half worked.'' If the land is new ground, it should, 

 after having been grubbed and chopped, be raked 

 cleanly, and all leaves and litter burnt. It is then ready 

 for the plow, and should be closely broken twice and 

 cros-wise witli the bidl tongue, and as often harrowed. 

 It should next be marked off by the bull-tongue in 

 horizoutal rows three feet apart, into which shoulil be 

 drilled three hundred pouuds per acre, unless where 

 the land is naturally rich, of a good aud active fertil- 

 izer. It is then ready tj be listed or bedded with a 

 turning plow. I prefer the list, since it lightens the 

 hoe work for hilling, and is at the same time a more 

 economic il use of the fertilizer — the balks between can 

 be thrown out at the first weeding. "With a broad 

 weeding hoe these lists or beds should now be worked 

 into conical hills, placing them three feet aud three 

 inches apart. I know that many recommend more 

 crowded planting, giving the rows and hills a distance 

 of only three feet. But iu doing so nothing in my 

 opinion is gained in weight, while something is lost in 

 length, breadth and body of the leaf, which, with the 

 mauufaeturer. are prime requisites. The hills can be laid 

 off with great accuracy by .stepping or otherwise measur- 

 ing one row, and then placing the hills of the next 

 between those of the first, anil so on, or what is called 

 dodging them. To prevent crowding or irregularity in 

 hilling, this rule will be found of use where raw hands 

 are employed. The hill culture, both in the prepar- 

 ations and the subse(iueiit workings of the tobacco crop, 

 should never be departed from, for the reason that that 

 metho<l of cultivation gives the land the best drain.ige 

 of which it is capable. Aud in this crop drainage is 

 one of the first things to be consitlered, for the reason 

 that all the diseases to which the plant is liable — such 

 as frenchiug, firing, spotting, rusting and shedding — 

 come from excessive rain, accompanied by excessive 

 heat. The gi'owth of the plant itself would suggest as 

 much, for in time of drouth the leaves stand up to gather 

 the rain, but so soon as it has enough of it they turn 

 down and throw it off. I repeat, tl en, let no water 

 fitagn.Hte upon the ground. For new ground the hilling 

 can be done as early as April or JIay. and should be 

 always when the soil is iu good working order and 

 neither to wet nor dry. In the one case it will bake and 

 prevent the ready growth of the plant, and in the 

 other it will require much rain to put it in the condition 

 for planting. If the laud is not new ground, either forest 

 or pine field, it should be fresh, or at least long rested and 

 in gooil heart, and upon which neither corn uor sorghum 

 h;n been lately cropped. For such land the preparation 

 is i 1 all respects siniil.ir to that for new ground, ex- 

 cept that a turning plow may take the place of the 

 bull-tongue, a. id the hilling should not be done earlier 

 than the first of May for fear that the hills may become 

 grassy while waiting for plants or a seaBou to plant 

 them. To preserve such lands aud to prevent daniagea 

 to the growing crops from wa.shing rains, water 

 furrowing or guttering is recommended. 



FcitHi.erx. — Tobacco land, more than almost any 

 other, .should be manured with a liberal hand. Stable 

 or barn yard manure is every way the best, but when 

 net to be had in sufficient quantity, must be substituted 

 by soTiic good cimimercial fertilizer, of which there are 

 ciiiiitliss varieties upon the market possessing more or 

 less merit. 



rhxiiling. — The tobacco plant requires usually one 

 hundred days from the time it is transplanted to grow 

 mid ripen properly. To secure the best results, there- 

 fore, the planting should not be earlier than the lOtU 

 of May, and if possible no latter tbtu the 30tb of /uD«, 



