178 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



I refer to iudigo. Due to the cultivation of a 

 better yielding variety of the plant, to improved 

 methods of manufacture, and to the marketing 

 of the dye in the form of a paste, natural indigo 

 can now be made considerably cheaper than the 

 synthetic dye and an indigo industry on up-to- 

 date methods of manufacture will once more 

 become one of the most profitable undertakicgs 

 of the tropical planter. 



For, apart from the profit which the outturn of 

 dye yields, we have as a by-product the refuse 

 of the indigo plant, after the extraction of the 

 dye, one of the most perfect manures in the world 

 which Prof. Rawson states is equal to the best 

 English farm-yard manure, and the commercial 

 value of which —ammonia., potash and posphates 

 only — he gives as amounting to §21 per 8,200 lb. 



The Malay Peninsula — as regards climate and 

 soil — is eminently suited for the cultivation 

 of indigo, either alono or between young rubber 

 or coconuts. It is one of the few plauts 

 which enrich the soil by deposits of nitrogenous 

 products from its root nodules and its long 

 tap roots draw nourishment from strata, which 

 are not ordinarily reached by rubber or coco- 

 nuts, in the earlier stages of their growth. 



Grown in Ceylon between young rubber, 

 the rubber trees have grown best where the 

 indigo was growing close up to them and 

 where it was thickest. 



An outturn of 40,000 lb. of green plant per 

 acre may be expected here in the Malay 

 Peninsula for the year, in 4 to 5 cuttings, and 

 the plant will continue to yield for 3 to 4 

 years, without re-sowing being necessary. The 

 40,000 lb. green plant after the extraction of 

 the dye, will yield 32,000 lb. green manure, and 

 this applied to rubber or coconut tiees should 

 return a good value, far and above its commer- 

 cial caanurial value, in the quicker and more 

 robust growth of the youDg trees, a larger yield 

 of latex and a quicker renewal of the bark, as 

 regards rubber, and in the case of coconuts 

 quicker growth, earlier bearing of nuts and an 

 outturn of a greater quantity of nuts per acre. 



But it is chiefly in connection with rubber 

 that I want to draw attention to indigo. 



There can be no doubt as to the serious- 

 ness of the position. Sir William Ramsay is 

 at the head of his profession. Synthetic rub- 

 ber has oome, and Sir William Ramsay will 

 make good his statement that it can be made 

 at one shilling per lb. Let the rubber in- 

 dustry face this, and take timely measures to 

 strengthen its position. — Yours, etc., 



SOHKOTTKY. 



Singapore, July8bh, 1912.— Straits Times. 



TEA ESTATES AND SOIL EXHAUSTION. 



(To the Editor, ' Financial Times.") 



Sir, — May I ask for the courtesy of your colu- 

 mns in order to draw further attention to the 

 exhaustion of soils which appears to be taking 

 place on tea and other estates in India and the 

 East ? It was specially referred to by Sir An- 

 nesley C C de Renzy at the annal meeting of the 

 Jokai (Assam) Tea Company, Ltd., reported in 

 your issue today. In this particular case no 

 less than 237 acres of what were " not long ago 

 regarded as the most valuable of the company's 

 lands " are at present derelict through ex- 

 haustion. The speaker considered it possible 

 to restore the fertility of these lands at a mode- 

 rate expense, and undoubtedly every possible 

 means will be considered by the company in 

 order to bring about this desirable end. The 

 same problem mu6t be appealing for settlement 

 to many other companies in a similar position. 



I do not know what was the solution in Sir 

 Annesley de Renzy's mind, but 1 should like to 

 suggest to him, and, through you, to all other 

 directors, that more attention should be paid to 

 the restoration ot exhausted lands by the 

 means of green manuring. I know that the In- 

 dian Tea Associatiorrhas dealt with the matter 

 to some extent, but I am not aware that the 

 practice is generally carried out on estates. 

 Even if it is, it is probably confined to the use 

 of Crotalavia, D idaps and the like— perhaps 

 also some Soya beans — but there is a little 

 known West Indian legume called "Desmodium 

 tortuosum," which has been strongly recom- 

 mended by the United States Board of Agri- 

 culture, that 1 think ought to be of considerable 

 value to such estates as the Jokai. 



The " Farmer's Bulletin," issued by the U. S. 

 Bord of Agricultue, is too long to quote here, 

 and it is, unfortunately, out of print at Wash- 

 ington but I am having it reprinted for distri- 

 bution to any who may be interested, if ap- 

 plicants will be good enough to send a stamp tor 

 return postage. 



Summarising it, the more important of the 

 advantages claimed for this fertiliser are : — As a 

 legume it, of oourse, collects nitrogen from the 

 air ; also, it takes up large quantities of lime 

 and potash, one-half of the total amount of 

 ash coneistingof these elements. If turned under 

 for green manure, a 4-ton orop of " Desmodium 

 tortuosum " would supply an equivalent of half 

 a ton of the best commercial fertiliser. If sown 

 for feeding, two crops are available iu a season, 

 and it is taken greedily by all classes of stook, 

 making also excellent hay. — I am, &c, 



Stcakt R. Oopb. 

 33, Great Tower-street. E. 0., 13cu June. 

 —Financial Times, June 15, 



