872 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1886. 



'J'oBAcco.— 'rii« crop this year <1oes not appear to be 

 a large one. High prices are deniamled for the best 

 stuff which U gi-uwii iu parts of the Patchellapallai 

 District and at K;iratchi, Puoueryu anil Illupakkaflawai 

 iu the I\Iainland ami which is all converted into cigars 

 for the Colombo market. I am informed that in cer- 

 tain localities thti tobacco plantations have been damaged 

 by a species of leaf dise;ise due to the presence of 

 worms. — "Ceylon I'atriot." 



Bee Cclture. — Much attention is being paid 

 in British India to hee culture. Bees can be 

 Icept in all parts ot the country and Ceylm with 

 the most satisfactory results. A gentleman recently 

 returned from India, who has been very much 

 interested in this subject, says: "1 look forward 

 to the time when bee culture will yield no incon- 

 siderable revenue, and I fear the time will come 

 wheii Brother .lonathan will tind that his tons of 

 delicious nectar will liave to compete with honey 

 gathered in India." — Anieiictin Grocer. [Whatever 

 may be the case ultimately, it is not true, as 

 yet, that either in India or Ceylon, beekeeping has 

 been attended with satisfactory results. — Eii.j 



Mn. Moiuus, the ex-director of the Public Gardens 

 at .Jamaica, prior to taking up his apiJointment 

 at Kew, has been making a tour of the West 

 Indian Colonies. Bemg interviewed at Castries, on 

 the subject of bananas, he said that the ijuality 

 suited for the American market is the Fii^ue 

 Martinique, which is of pale greenish yellow colour. 

 Eaoli regime must have seven pattes. The price 

 paid by buyers is '2.^. per regime at Jamaica. 

 This trade has grown wonderfully. Ten years ago 

 •Jamaica exported only 85,000 hunches, valued Ci.OOO/. 

 In la.Si the expnrts of bananas were 1,'.)0(),000 

 bunches, wortli l'.)2,000/. An acre planted in ban- 

 anas should give a profit varying from 1.5/. to 25/. 

 after the first year. Mr. Morris also recommended 

 the cultivation of oranges. The white blight or 

 " mealy bug," he added, could he got rid of with 

 attention. They should be packed wrapped up in 

 paper, and put in barrels having plenty of holes 

 drilled in them. It may be hoped that St. Lucia 

 will profit by this information. — Coloniex ami Imlia. 



S-U.T. — Calcutta imports every year 300,000 tons 

 of salt for the consumption of the inhabitants of 

 the Bengal I'residency and of the N. W. l^rovinces. 

 Formerly Madras was supplying about i of that 

 ijuantity. All the ships going from Mauritius and 

 J3ombay to Caclutta used to call here, and load 

 salt either at Covclong or Mnnore, and, as they 

 were proceeding in ballast, it did pay them at 

 small freight. At that time they were allowed to 

 piiy the cost of the actual quantity of salt landed, 

 or a deduction if so much per cent was alluwed 

 them for wastage at the port ot shipjuent. This 

 MO.OOO or 1,00,000 tons salt shipped from Madras 

 was, no doubt, adding to tlie revenue of this 

 I'residency under tliat head, but a gre it reformer 

 came and the allowance granted to the sliips tor 

 wastage was suppressed, with the result that not 

 one ton ot salt is now shipped to Calcutta from 

 the ports of this Presidency. The goose tliat laid 

 golden eggs was killed. We call the attention of 

 the Commissioner of Salt and Abkary revenue to 

 this former current that could be easily revived, 

 and would give an impetus to the salt' levenue, 

 where a decrease ot 50 lakhs i-; announced. - ,l/(ii/ras 

 Timex, 



.Japan Te.\ M.u'UiNKin .- We have inspected at 

 the offices ot Messrs. ,1. M. Robeilson A Co. a set of 

 models of .lapanese Tea machinery, wliicli Mr. H. 

 D. lleane of Maskeliya is about to present to t)ie 

 Colombo Museum. The set is a most complete 

 one, including all utensils used in the numufacture 

 (»f tea, down to the paste pnt, used in covering 



the boxes with paper, and a fan ! The models are 

 all beautifully made with a correctness which only 

 Japanese workmen can attain. It is impossible to 

 enumerate all the articles uicluded in the set but 

 our readers got a good idea of the same when 

 we discussed "Tea Preparation iu Japan " a short 

 time ago. The principal items in Mr. Deanels 

 set, are : steaming furnaces — steaming taking 

 the place of withering — firing boxes, — extraordin- 

 ary arrangements which u;j entirely air-tight, the 

 tire apparently burning without the slightest 

 draught; at the top ot these boxes are fitted paper 

 trays on which the leaves are spread — steaming 

 trays, square baskets, sorting baskets, sieve, pick- 

 ing table, tray rack, tea boxes, papered and un- 

 papered. with lead lining, &-c. The little baskets 

 are beautifully made, as indeed are all the other 

 articles. They are all made to scale and with the 

 greatest attention to detail so that they may be 

 relied on as correct models of the utensils in use 

 amongst our Japanese friends in the preparation 

 of their tea. Ceylon however, has nothing to learn 

 from Japan either in the way of manufacturing tea 

 or the machinery witli which it is prepared. The word 

 "machinery" is a misnomer, for the .Japanese have 

 not yet advanced to the use of machinery but 

 are content with the simplest utensils. The col- 

 lection is a valuable one and thanks are due to 

 Mr. Deane for a very interesting gift to the Museum. 

 Our upcountry readers will no doubt be interested 

 in an inspection of them at the Museum, when in 

 Colombo. 



Effects of a Hi-iimcANE i.n Fiji. — The following 

 details ought to make Ceylon planters thankful 

 that they are beyond the reach of cyclones : — 

 It was a scene not to be forgotten— the inky 

 darkness, the roaring of the storm, through whiclr 

 could be heard the crashing ot timbers, the falling 

 of trees, and the occasional shouting of laborers 

 seeking shelter. By the time named most of the 

 buildings on the estate had been blown down. 

 From 10-30 p.m. till 11 15 p.m. there was a dead 

 cahu, a most unnatural calm after such a tempest, 

 stars came out for a short time leading the un- 

 itiated to believe that the storm (iend had done 

 his worst. Suldenly at tlie hist-named hour, the 

 storm set in again, this time from S.W. harder 

 than ever with perfect cascades of rain. It was 

 about this time (although the hour ot low water) 

 that the high wave came in, wh.ich from its elTeets 

 and other evidence, must have come up like a solid 

 wall, from 4 to li feet high. Tliis swept over the 

 beach and low flats carrying everything before it, 

 including the debris of the falling buildings with 

 a vast quantity of other nuxterial, lodging them in 

 a great layer from 100 to ;i00 yards inland. It 

 must have been at this time that the loss ot 

 life referred to took place, viz., an Indian man, 

 an Indian woman, and two Indian infants. In 

 the earlier part of the blow the Polynesian laborers 

 cleared out of their houses and took refuge in the 

 fibre store and cotton house, but the Indians re- 

 mained in their houses until they wei-e blown 

 down, and then sought other shelter to which they 

 were materially helped by the Polynesians. Some, 

 however, would not accept their \\o-\\) or aid. with 

 the above result. The scene of desolation that met 

 tlieir view as the d,ay dawned, is indescribable - - 

 not a standing building to be seen —where the cooly 

 lines, the over.seers' hou.ses, factories, stores, Jtc.. 

 had been, was swept over clean by tlie tide and 

 the wliole Hat between the bungalow and the .sea 

 was covered with uprooted trees, coeoiuit husk, 

 leaves, sheets of iron, timber, bags of sugar, rice, . 

 flour, nails, libre, copra, tanks, broken boats, punts, 

 iVe.. in one general chnotio mass,— Fi/i '/'(?« .«. 



