730 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April r, 1886. 



of fibrous product, free of duty, from Mexico, Cuba, 

 Janifiica, Central America, Venezuela, Brazil, etc., 

 and made into commercial textile fibre in New Orleans. 

 JCvery innovation, as also every new culture, however 

 us. ■111! it may be and bounteous its promises, must 

 wrestle against routine and old established precedents, 

 and must have tne help of a high patronage. 



Tlu^ Irish potatoe, without which people could scarcely 

 exi.^t at present, had a hard fight against routine and 

 ancient customs, and the help of the court of Louis 

 XVI beciimo necei-sary for the assertion of the claims 

 of that useful plant to the patronage of Europe. The 

 noljlest lailies of that age wore the pretty little violet 

 Howcr of tin: pjtatoe as au ornament, and in that 

 way gave to flower and fruit the desired popularity. 



L'ONCI.USION. 



I therefore place the ramie plant under the protection 

 of the ladies of Louisiana. Unfortunately it has no 

 flower to speak of, and could scarcely be used as a 

 button-hole for a *' dude " or a bouquet for a lady, but 

 every Louisiana or Creole lady should make it a point 

 to have at least some of these plants in her garden, and 

 I hereby make a tender of the precious roots to all 

 who will call for them, and I beg them to take under 

 their special care the future of the ramie culture, 

 which then cannot fail to pro-sper. Thus will the 

 ladies of Louisiana, the fairest flowers of the sunny 

 South, help their native laud to retrieve its prestine 

 prosperity and splendor. 



T thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the extreme 

 kindness with which you have listened to me, and if 

 any more information about ramie is wanted, please 

 call or address at our company's stand. Machinery 

 Hall, i' 5, Exposition Grounds. I will gladly respond 

 to any inquiries. — liiuea-Deiiioorat. 



Mil. D. Moiiuis.— We understand it ia the inten- 

 tion of Mr. Morris, on leaving .Jamaica to take up 

 his appointment at the lloyal Gardens, Kew, to 

 make a tour of the West India Islands, tor the 

 purpose of becoming personally acquainted with 

 their circumslances and resources, and with the 

 view of being able afterwards to give them advice 

 and assistance in the development of new indus- 

 tries. Several of the islands have already been 

 visited by him ; but it is, we believe, his inten- 

 tion to make nosv a careful study of their cir- 

 cumstances, to be afterwards embodied in a special 

 report, or utilised in directing the wonderful re- 

 sources of Kew to the amelioration and improve- 

 ment of West Indian industries. — Colvnia: ami Imlia, 



AspiLVLIK A\'ai.ks. — Take two parts of very dry lime 

 rubbish and one part coal ashes, also very dry, and 

 both sifted fine. In a dry plaei', on a i1rv day, mix 

 them, and leave a hole in the middle of the heap, 

 as bricklayers do when making mortar. Into tins pour 

 boiling hot coal tar ; mix, ami when as stilT as mortar 

 put it down .3 inches thick to fnrni the walk. The 

 ground should be dry and beaten smootli. Sprinkle 

 over it coarse sand ; when cold pass a light roller 

 over it, and in a few days the walk will be solid 

 and waterproof. An old path will only reijuire to 

 be swept clean ; a new made one to be well beaten 

 and rolled- Ohoose a warm day, the warmer the better ; 

 let the t.ir be boiling hot; use the common, long- 

 handled, irou-b:)und tar brush, and iron kettle holding 

 about a gallon, for the purpose of taking only so 

 much tar from the boiler at one time as can be used 

 in about a quarter of au hour, and paint over with 

 a good coat. Let a lad follow with dry sifted sand, 

 throwing over enough to prevent the tar sticking to 

 liis feet, and then go over with the roller. Two men 

 tarring will employ a lad to follow with the sand, 

 and another to attend the fibre and supply the tar as 

 fast as used. This repeated every three years the 

 surface will become quite hard, and the paths will 

 .always be [lerfectly dry and pleasant to walk upon 

 even in the worst of weather. The walks are made 

 .soft by the sun if the tar has not bei'ii male ipiite 

 liot when used, — Indian Oardiner, 



In Sodthern Locisuxa, 200 or 300 feet below the 

 surface are strata of solid, pure crystalline sulph- 

 ur, 100 feet in thickness and of unknown ex- 

 ent. — AitKr. Grocer. 



Among the curiosities of Brazil is the Pottery 

 Tree. The trunk does not exceed a foot in diameter, 

 but it grows to the height of one hundred feet. The 

 chief peculiarity, however, ia in the nature of the wood 

 and bark, which contain so much silica that they are 

 used in the njaking of earthenware. The fresh bark 

 cuts like soft sandstone. — Indian Gardener. 



The Qdeensl.vxd Sugar iNnr&TRv : Maekay .Jan . 13th. 

 — December rains were very heavy in Cliristmas 

 week, and reached the respectable total of 11 in. for 

 that month. Under the inliuence of the hot weather 

 which has followed, the young plants are growing 

 with a tropical speed that requires to he seen to 

 be credited, and should present ijrospeets continue 

 next season's output is likely to rival that of 

 1885, high though it has been. Matured canes do 

 not benefit by summer rains, as on account of the 

 growth of new shoots from the stool the density of 

 the piece becomes lowered, and this it is that 

 renders January grinding to some extent unprofit- 

 able. Land bearing ratoon crop must be cleared 

 in order to preserve a regularity of area under crop 

 each twelvemonth. Thus as the required space for 

 1887 crop becomes available on each estate, the 

 busy period will close in the factories, results will 

 be analysed, and a future course of extension or 

 retrenchment considered accordinly. The district 

 has already exported some 78,000 tons of the staple 

 product, so the season's total yield is likely to 

 exceed 21,000 tons, or au average return per acre 

 of about 80 ewt. of sugar. The outturns from 

 all centres within the tropics, excepting the 

 Burdekin Eiver, will exceed considerably figures of 

 previous years, the Johnstone Biver, in particular, 

 having made astonishing progress. From there and 

 Herbert Kiver gratifying results are reported, and 

 at both places plenty of cane will be left to stand 

 over until next season. — Austrulaximi. 



The " Bevue Fran(;^.vise de l' Ethanger et 

 OES Colonies" is the title of a monthly review, 

 commenced last year and published in Paris, 

 the editor being M. Edouard Marbeau. The 

 number for November last contained, among other 

 interesting matter, a paper by the veteran 

 planter M. Es-Ghassi5riau on Liberian coffee 

 cultivation in Singapore and Johore, in which 

 he gives a most glowing account of his own 

 success with this product and holds out encourag- 

 ing prospects of its success in Singapore and 

 on the peninsula. The writer says that 

 Ilemileia i-astatrix is identical with the ohlinm 

 of the vine, which it certainly is not. 

 From what he says of himself one would 

 almost think he was a Scotchman in disguise, 

 for he evidently has a " guid conceit o' himsel'. " 

 He estimates the outlay on an acre at ?.S00 for 

 six years, while the return he puts at $ri-20, 

 leaving a profit of 1f2'20, but he says that 

 this is a very moderate estimate. He also recom- 

 mends the planting of Assam tea in conjunc- 

 tion with with the Liberian coffee, and 

 proposes the formation of a company tor this 

 purpose. The January number of the Tirviic 

 contains a paper on the Malayan Peninsula, ac- 

 companied by a map, the writer being M. J. 

 de Morgan (a French Welshman?). This paper 

 gives a succinct history of the Peninsula and an 

 account of its resources. There is also a timely 

 paper on Burma, by M. H. de la Martinii'.re. 

 The February number contains articles on a variety 

 of subjects, all of interest. Wo wish the Heme 

 every success and a long and useful career. 



