416 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Truly a scene of health— the sweet sc9nt of the 

 lime blossom is wafted by healthy breezes — the 

 gulden fruit is gathered by healthy negro women 

 who are lithe and upright with the constant 

 carrying of baskets on their heads ; then in ' his 

 isle of invigorating breezes the limes are pre- 

 pared by the Montserrat Company, the juice is 

 put into large casks — the shore is covertd with 

 the casks, line upon line, row upon row, like 

 billows upon the seashore; these casks are ready 

 to be shipped, and to leave the island on a sea 

 that is "all aglow with brilliant, sunlight in 

 which the white sails of the coasting boats 

 sparkle like ice." Then on the arrival of the 

 casks in England, the lime-fruit juice is allowed 

 to settle, aid afterwards it is claritied and 

 bottled by the sole consignees. 



For many years the Navy, our first line of 

 defence, and our Mercantile Marine, suffered 

 severely from scurvy, and on that account the 

 Admiralty decided to supply the service and all 

 British ships with lime juice. The results e how 

 the wisdom of their action, both are now practi- 

 cally free from that terrible scourge. Small 

 wonder, then, that Kingsley described lime juice 

 as "that most useful of all sea me licines," 



Then take another arm of defence. When 

 our armies go forth to war the commissariat 

 invariably selects lime juice as the needful 

 beverage. There could be no more striking 

 picture of perfect health in manhood than the 

 C. I. V.'s, when they returned from South Africa 

 — and we are told that lime juice was their 

 drink during an arduous campaign, Therefore 

 it is no exaggeration to say that by its physique 

 shall a nation stand or fall. 



It would appear, from a medical and common- 

 sense standp ,int, and in comparing the opinion 

 of experts, that ifc would be difficult, to find a 

 more healthy and satisfactory drink than lime 

 juice. 



The demand for lime juice among athletes is 

 now-a-days very considerable. On the cricket 

 field, in the tennis courts alone, it is in frequent 

 use. — Century. 



MECHANICAL TRAGTEON IN 

 AGRICULTURE. 



Progressive Move at Bombay. 

 Bombay, Nov. 2. — A Press Note issued by the 

 Bombay Government states : - For some time 

 past the Agricultural Department have been 

 investigating the question of introducing mecha- 

 nical traction for ploughing and other opera- 

 tions of cultivation. The question is becoming 

 more and more important owing to the growing 

 scarcity of fodder, cattle and labour, besides 



hand-digging being an insufficient means of 

 cleaning the soil of weeds. The Bajac windlass 

 plough, drawn by bullocks, has now been in- 

 troduced, and there is a rapidly growing demand 

 for its use, but progress is slow as it works at 

 the rate of one-fourth of an acre per day. In 

 view of the enormous areas of weed-infested 

 lands that require deep ploughing steam traction 

 was absolutely necessary. 



A scheme was accordingly prepared and sub- 

 mitted to the Committee of the Sir Sassoon 

 David Trust Fund who provided funds for obtain- 

 ing a double engine steam ploughing plant. It is 

 expected that this plant will plough 8 acres per 

 day at a cost R17 per acre, or about half the cost 

 of the Bajac. In sugarcane tracts the introduc- 

 tion of steam plough promises excellent results 

 as the soil requires deep cultivation during the 

 dry season, an operation which under existing 

 conditions puts the cultivator to great expense. 

 — Madras Times. 



ABOLITION OF JAVA GOVERNMENT 

 COFFEE CULTIVATION. 



Amsterdam, Oct. 16. — A Bill has been intro- 

 duced in the Second Chamber of the States- 

 General for the abolition of the Government's 

 coffee cultivation in Netherlands India. It 

 may be recalled that this was established more 

 than half-a-century ago, and for a long time 

 a vast profit of over fl.20,000,000 annually was 

 obtained from the compulsory cultivation in 

 Java. This was partly spent in the interests 

 of the Colonies, but the biggest part was ex- 

 pended on railway construction, &c, in the 

 Motherland. But gradually the cultivation be- 

 came less remunerative, and for a long time 

 now it has been abolished in the regions where 

 it was little remunerative. Now it is to be en- 

 tirely given up, the plantations being, however, 

 sold. The necessary measures are only to be 

 gradually carried out.— L. & C. Express. 



FRENCH RUBBER INDUSTRY 

 PROTECTION. 



The French Government proposes to protect 

 the rubber industry in French West Africa, by 

 prohibiting the manufacture, sale of, and traffic 

 in, coagulated rubber, otherwise than in 

 "sheets" or "cakes'' of a maximum thickness of 

 one centimetre. The tapping of rubber trees is 

 also prohibited during not more than three 

 months of each year, the particular period to be 

 decided separately by the Governor of each 

 colony.— H. & Mail, Oct. 18. 



