364 
years before it is necessary to plant again. To obtain the oil from 
the grass by distiilation a small plant is required, consisting of 
one boiler costing £250, and a tank and condenser with pipe 
connection, costing £85, A round tank, 16 feet in diameter, 
would be sufficiently large to treat four crops a year off 209 acres, 
if worked day and night. 
“While I would not recommend this as a principal crop in 
Papua, I think it should be cultivated, as in Java, as a catch- ee 
between the rubber and cocoa-nut trees.” 
Cultivation of Lemon Grass in the Malay Peninsula.—A second 
notice of the cultivation of a scented oil-grass, in the 7imes of 
Malaya, is here reprinted from the Agricult. Bulletin, Straits and 
Federated Malay States, vol. v. (given as vili.), pp. 282, 283. 
' The most remarkable feature in this reference to Lemon Grass 
cultivation is the great difference of view as to the yield expected 
as compared with that anticipated from Citronella Grass. The 
latter is supposed to be likely to give four crops a year, the former 
only two. Yet the produce of these four crops of Citronella Grass 
from ten acres is expected to realize only £46 16s. as against 
£266 13s. 4d. per acre from the two crops of Lemon Grass. The 
cultivation of Citronella Grass is only advocated as a catch-crop, 
but even on this assumption the first estimate seems low; the 
second is probably too high. The note is as follows :— 
“A product for which there is at present a good demand in the 
London market, late quotations being from 8}d. to 84d., is the oil 
of Lemon Grass. The value of the product has steadily increased 
from a trifle over Rs. 40 to Rs. 58 per gallon, and is iieety to rise 
higher in the near future. 
‘Lemon Grass luxuriates in a well-drained sandy soil, but has 
been known to thrive also upon laterite provided the dry weather 
be not prolonged. It is also a lover of moisture in the soil but is 
unable to withstand waterlogging. For the highest purposes of 
its cultivation, however, the most suitable soil is an arenaceous 
clay, and the best climate one which presents distinct alternations 
of sunshine and shower. 
“The crop will, under ordinary conditions, be ready for 
harvesting in the cold weather of the third year from planting it 
out. On cropping the grass it is committed to the still with as 
little delay as possible. The usual method adopted with the grass 
is aqueous distillation in copper stills. In plantation-grown grass 
at least two crops can be harvested in the season, so that, calceu- 
lating on an average on a bundle of the grass (of six inches 
diameter) from each of the 5,000 clumps which may safely be - 
counted upon to attain to maturity out of the 7.260 planted out, 
the yield of an acre may be estimated at 10,000 bundles. Fifty 
such bundles yield a quart (40 fluid ounces) of the oil, so that the 
10,000 bundles would yield 200 quarts or 8,000 ounces. Valued at 
8d. per ounce, which is the current average selling price of the oil 
in the London market, the produce of an acre would realise _ 
£266 13s. 4d. Even should the crop cost £66 1ds. 4d. to raise, tend, | 
harvest, distil and transport the oil to market, a profit of £200 per 
acre would be obtainable from it from and after the cold weather 
of the third year of its establishment.” 
