and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— Jan. t 1910, 95 



TEA IN NATAL. 



The cultivation of both sugar and tea is 

 steadily progressing in Natal. The attractions 

 are great, for a large market is near at hand. 

 There are now upwards of 5,000 acres in the 

 Colony under tea, for the growth of which the 

 climate of Natal is said to be admirably suited. 

 The average return is said to be 600 lb. of dried 

 leaf per acre, which corresponds to the yield of 

 Oeylon. It is not so freely used in South Africa 

 as is the Colonial sugar, because the dealers 

 can make a larger profit on the imported tea. 

 Most of the Natal tea crop is sent to Lon- 

 don, where it is used for blending purposes. 

 — Grocers' Journal, Dec. 18. 



PLANTING IN ANGOLA. 



The following information is from the report 

 by H.M. Consul at LoancU (Mr H G Mackie) on 

 the trade of Angola in 1308, which will shortly 

 be issued : — 



Kapok. 



Kapok grows in abundance at Icolo e Bengo, 

 Golutigo Alto, Cazengo, along the banks of the 

 River Lucalla and in many other places in the 

 district of Loanda. The natives, who are ignorant 

 of its market value, do not collect it, but en- 

 deavours have been made from time to time 

 to obtain small quantities for shipment to 

 Europe. A trial consignment was accordingly 

 made to a firm in the United Kingdom last 

 year, but it did not turn out to be satisfactory 

 because the product could not be cleaned and 

 prepared in a suitable form for the market owing 

 to there being no machines in Angola for re- 

 moving the kapok cotton seeds from the fibre. 

 Cleaning by hand entails too much labour to 

 compensate tho native for his trouble; but if 

 labour-saving machines were used, the industry 

 might admit of development. 



Proposed Government Fibre- Extracting 

 Station. 



It appears to be the intention of the Govern- 

 ment to erect a station at Lunuango, on the 

 Congo River, for fibre-extracting by machinery, 

 for which the home Government has voted £400. 

 It is proposed to extract the fibres of the 

 Sansevieria cylindrica (bowstring hemp), which 

 grows in a wild state and covers extensive areas 

 close to the coast. The average length of the 

 leaf of the Sansevieria cylindrica is stated to 

 be about 6^ feet. Samples of the fibre have been 

 sent to Hamburg and the prices offered were 

 equal to those of sisal hemp. 



Experiments with Caravoniga Cotton. 

 In view of the dearth of labour in Angola 

 the local planters have been endeavouring to 

 grow perennial varieties of cotton. With this 

 object in view the Governor-General recently 

 invited the originator of a cotton tree, known 

 under the name of Caravonica, [that is, 

 Dr.Thomatis.— A.M.& J.F.] to visit Angola after 

 inspecting the cotton fields of German South- 

 West Africa. It is claimed that this species 

 of cotton, while being superior to the American 



and Egyptian varieties, does not require reso- 

 wing for 20 years. The originator of the species 

 has pronounced Angola to be well adapted for 

 cotton growing, and several local firms have 

 entered into contracts with him. It has been 

 agreed that, in return for the gratuitous supply 

 of seeds of the Caravonica cotton to the extent 

 of a little over a pound for every acre planted, 

 all the cotton produced in Angola for a period 

 of 10 years shall be shipped to Bremen, where 

 it will be sold at the market price of the day, 

 and the amount credited to the shipper after 

 deduction of a commission of 10 per cent. Should 

 the trials now being made prove as satis- 

 factory as is expected, Caravonica cotton will 

 quickly supersede all the other varieties grown 

 in Angola. — Board of Trade Journal, Dec. 16. 



THE MANURING OF CACAO. 



The following is taken from the seventh of a 

 series of articles bv J H Hart, f.l.s., on Cacao, 

 which are appearing in the West India Com- 

 mittee Circular. Reference to these articles has 

 been made already on pages 260 and 292 of the 

 present volumo of the W.I. Agricultural News: — 



The application of manuro is a subject upon 

 which chemists and vegetable physiologists 

 differ in many respects. The chemist is apt to 

 insist upon the manure being buried beneath 

 the soil, or, he says, much of its value will be 

 lost owing to the dispersion of its volatile pro- 

 perties by moving air ; but the cultivator may 

 easily ascertain the best method of applying 

 manures of all kinds, if he studies the life 

 history and character of the plant, and the 

 nature and morphology of its organs of assimi- 

 lation ; and moreover, the frequent showers of 

 the tropics prevent any great waste of the vola- 

 tile constituents, unless they come so heavy as 

 to wash them away. 



The destruction of roots which the operation 

 of burying manure occasions, would, in most 

 instances, completely nullify the action of the 

 manure applied, as the broken roots would not 

 have the power, or the same amount of surface 

 for absorbing food, as when uninjured ; and 

 the manure applied, through its coming into 

 direct contact with injured tissue, would tend 

 to destroy the roots by its caustic character, 

 rather than to be absorbed by them. That 

 beneficial results follow the application of 

 manure when buried beneath the surface, is, 

 of course, patent to the novice, but in the case 

 of surface-feeding plants, it is only after the 

 roots have recovered from the injuries done by 

 the digging, that they are able to take up any 

 manure which has been applied when these 

 organs are again in a condition to perform their 

 proper functions. Even granting that no special 

 harm is done to the trees, there is inevitable 

 delay in economy of growth, the hazard of losing 

 a flowering season and consequent loss of crop. 



With tieep-routing plants the burial of manure 

 is the most economical method of application, 

 as there can be no loss of volatile constituents. 



If we think over for a while the course which 

 Nature has pursued for ages in supplying plants 

 with their food, we shall find that the method 



