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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Feb, i, 1886. 



not mix -vith water, au emalsioa should be male 

 with milk. Aq emulsion composed of oae-third oil 

 and two-thirds milk, either sweet or sour, is foaaJ 

 to be most serviceable. This emulfcio i may be applied 

 iu the same maunfir as Pari.? g^'-aen. 



3. Jirring off certain insects on to sheots spread upon 

 the ground. This i« the bjst method of destroying the 

 plum and peach curcuUo, aud it is effective in other 

 cases. 



4. Proviiling places where insects may hide. Tyiug 

 bands of woollen cloth or felt paptir ab^ut tree 

 trunks is a means of catching the larvae of the 

 codling moth. The Ransom method of catching 

 curculioB provides pieces of bark or blocks about 

 the base of the tree where the insects congregate 

 at night. When we know more fully the habits of 

 insect enemies, this principle may be greatly extended. 



5. Applying the soap wash for the purpose of 

 killing bark lice, scale insects, etc. The scale insects 

 may be destroyed by a soap solution, which is injected 

 on to the branches by means of a syringe, 



6. Gathering by hand, as in the case of t<gat cater* 

 pillars, Fall web-worms, etc. 



7. Killing borers with a twig or a wire, or cutting 

 them out with a knife. 



8. Burning infested twigs, as in the case of the twig 

 borer, twig pruuer, etc. 



9. Attracting night-flying insects] to fires or strong 

 lights in the orchard. 



According to Prof. Lintner, there are 176 difierent 

 kinds of insects known to attack the apple tree in the 

 United States. The greater number of these insects 

 make the apple tree only an occasional food plant, 

 however, but altered conditions made by cultivation 

 nmy at any time cause any of them to attack the 

 orchard. It is, therefore, highly necessary that the 

 orchardist keeps in mind the leading preventives and 

 remedies for insect depredations. — American Cultiv • 

 ator. 



■NEW GUINEA AS A FIELD FOR SUGAR 

 AND COFFEE PLANTING. 



The question of tropical agriculture in Quftens- 

 land has of late years assumed such vital importance 

 that auy information concerning the neighboring 

 island of New Guinea cannot fail to be of interest 

 of everyone connected with sugar or coffee cultivation. 

 The following remarks on the land laws under which 

 the Papuans enjoy their holdings, their system of 

 tillage, the nature of the soil and of the crops it 

 produces, may prove interesting to your readers as 

 well as to the sugar planter. 



At Port Moresby all land is strictly private property, 

 but the owner enjoys a life interest, and cannot 

 sell in perpetuity. At his death it is divided equally 

 amoug his children, or, failing issue, his nearest 

 relatives profit by its distribution. This system has 

 one great disadvantage in that its cjnstaut tendency 

 is to cut up the laud into infinitessimai patches; 

 thus, for example, a man may hold twenty acres, but 

 these will be cut up into perhaps fifty different lots, 

 situat 'd in as many separate localities. The diflBculty 

 of purchasing land under such conditions becomes 

 self-evident, as a bargain has to be concluded for each 

 plot, and the purcliaser may be dispossessed at any 

 moment by the demise of the seller. At Kabadi, a 

 district sevi^nty miles west of Poit Moresby, the whole 

 area is held hy the head chief, and the tribe cultiv- 

 ate such portions as he may poiut out. His right 

 is undoubted, and no one can burn grass or commence 

 planting unlil his permission has been obtained. 

 Here the purcha^^e of -land w mid not be attended 

 wit*n any ' ry serious difiiculties, but it would be 

 necB^■-ary to rei.ew the bargain with everv .'mcsssive 

 chief. T' - i. land tribes— Uoiare, oegore, Mook, Havor, 

 Favere DuJouri, and Saramina — seem to observe tha 

 same ' .• very nearly tli-^ same laws as the Motu or 

 Po t Moresby t'ibe. Here, I believe, land will be 

 pro' ur»bU- in tim •, ns the people po-nsess more than 

 th y ii-qure, aud are anxious tu see European? settled 

 in their midst. This is accounted for by the fact 



I that, being constantly engaged in inter-tribal wars, 

 they would enjoy an immunity from attack as long 

 as the white maa and his ride remained among them. 

 The system of cultivation in vogue throughout New 

 Guinea is necessarily a primitive and faulty one; yet 

 ['he fertility of the soil is so great that these people 

 often produce tenfol I more than they require, and are 

 thus enabled to dispose of the surplus' to less fortun- 

 ate tribes on the coast. Whenever it has been decided 

 to form a plantation, the people set about finding a 

 suitable piece of land. This, as a rule, is situated on 

 the steep slopes of some mountain side or on the 

 crest of a leading spur. The jungle is cleared off and 

 burnt, and land having been fenced in, preparations 

 are made to break up the soil. This is no very 

 difficult operation as practised by the Papuans. A 

 number of men fall into line, and each being armed 

 with a heavy stake or lever, they commence chant- 

 ing some monotonous words ; at proper intervals they 

 raise their levers and drive them into the soil, break- 

 ing out a spit twelve inches wide. The boys and 

 women pass over this roughly turned up soil and 

 break it up with hoes and smaller stakes. This done, 

 the plants are put in, and the whole operation is 

 concluded by going through an incantation to Vata, 

 as their evil spirit is called. A peculiarity of this 

 system is worthy of record: it has taught the people 

 the value and importance of co-operation. Thus they 

 willingly assist each other in any undertaking requir- 

 ing much labour, and this is done without payment. 

 The crops grown are sugar cane — four varieties — the 

 best being a rather light green one streaked with 

 yellow. This I have seen six feet long after topping, 

 and it grows admirably at an elevation of 2,500 feet 

 above sea level. A purple cane also seems to do well, 

 but of course faulty cultivation affects the joints, 

 which are generally too short. I have often been 

 obliged to wash the stickiness from my hands and 

 beard after eating a few joints. I presume such cane 

 must be good, and would strongly recommend its 

 introduction into the Queensland cane fields. Bread 

 fruit (artocoiytis incisa) abounds everywhere in its 

 indigenous state, but it is largely cultivated in the 

 plantations. Tare [colocosia sp,), is largely cultivated, 

 three distinct species being used. One of these has 

 iongly leaves 6 ft. 20 iu. wide. Yams of several species 

 are cultivated everywhere, and form the staple food 

 of the people. Immense quantities are housed and 

 kept for winter use. In the Kabadi district a sweet 

 yam is very largely cultivated and exported to Port 

 Moresby, but it is very fibrous and its sweetness de- 

 tracts from it as a vegetable. Bananas of several 

 species flourish aud yield large returns. One species 

 I noticed had fruit lin. long, very plump, and a 

 bright golden yellow wheu ripe. This is a delicious 

 little fruit, and well deserving cultivatiou in all trop- 

 ical gardens. The bunches of fruit are carefully 

 swathed iu dead banana leaves, to the entire exclu- 

 sion of light. This etiolates the fruit and ensures the 

 production of the greatest possible amount of starch. 

 Sugar, the Papuan docs not seem to care for ; starch, 

 being more nourishing, is held in greater estimation, 

 and the banana has consequently been degraded to the 

 status of a vegetable. Tobacco is grown in every 

 village, and 1 believe it is our common species 

 Cnicotina tobacum). The natives pluck a few leaves, 

 dry them over the coals, aud incontinently use them. 

 Turmeric I found cultivated on the Kabad country, 

 where it is used for dyeing purposes. Ginger grows 

 wild everywhere and is highly prized hy the Ooiasi. 

 Ooconnts thrive on the littoral. Betel nut (areca 

 catechu) is cultivated on the littoral and grows wild 

 on the inland ranges. The natives of the latter clear 

 the jungle from these, and gather prodtgous quant- 

 iti-^s of the fruit. Pepper is grown iu all the villages 

 of Kaoadi. aud is used for chewing with betel. Nut- 

 meg, as might have been expected, tlirives in tlie 

 i warm and muist coast country of Knliudi. I here 

 saw a large village surrounded with a belt of nutmeg 

 trees 80 ft. high, and lo?»ded with fruit, but the 

 KabadirtUB do not use it for any purpose that 1 cnuld 

 diHcorer. Sago is manufactured from the sago-palm 



