Miscellaneous. 



148 



[February, 1910. 



blady grass. It is then planted, the 

 method of planting being to set three 

 small plants (obtained by breaking up 

 an old stool) about 8 in. apart in trian- 

 gle form, such hills or clumps of 

 young plants being about 2 ft. 6 in. 

 apart each way. The cultivation subse- 

 quent to planting is all done with a 

 hoe, and is simply to keep down weeds, 

 At six months of age the crop is harvest- 

 ed, subsequent cuttings being made at 

 intervals of four months. The grass is 

 cut by hand with a hook, and when 

 cut is gathered into a bunch and placed 

 on the top of a stool to wilt for three 

 or four days, when it is carted to the 

 factory and the oil extracted from it 

 by distillation. After the extraction of 

 the oil, the grass is readily eaten by 

 stock. But they will not touch it in the 

 green state. The grass is a shallow 

 rooter, and as it grows forms quite a 

 stool on the surface of the ground. 

 When manuring is necessary, the 

 manure— cow or horse — is placed on the 

 top of the centre of the stool in a 

 similar manner to what is known as 

 centre manuring of pineapples in Queens- 

 land. 



The crop is not a difficult one to grow, 

 and is one that is worth trying in the 

 North, as there is a good demand for 

 the oil. 



In addition to Citronella, there was a 

 little lemon grass, Andropogon Schoenan- 

 thus. This is grown and treated in a 

 similar manner, but is distilled separ- 

 ately, as the oils are quite distinct and 

 of diff erent values. 



An important industry in Malayia, 

 Sumatra, and Java is the manufacture 

 of Kutch, a tanning material obtained 

 from the bark of a species of mangrove 

 locally known as Tingal tree (Ceriops 

 candolleana). It is an excellent tanning 

 material, and is probably identical with 

 the Kutch of Java and Sumatra. 



Whilst in the Malay [ Peninsula I ob= 

 tained considerable information and 

 assistance from several gentlemen, in- 

 cluding Mr. Alex. Gunn, Secretary of the 

 Chamber of Commerce, Singapore ; Mr. 

 T. W. Main, of the Botanic Gardens, 

 Singapore i Mr. Fox, of the Botanic 

 Gardens, Penang, and several other 

 public officials. I left Pena^ng on the 5th 

 December, and returned to Colombo, 

 where I ai rived on 10th December, and 

 proceeded to Kandy. Whilst at Kandy 

 I paid two visits to the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens, Peradeniya, and vVas shown 

 round the gardens and experiment plots 

 by Mr. R. H. Lock, the Assistant Direc- 

 tor. The gardens and experiment 

 station embrace some 700 acres, so that 

 there is ample scope for carrying out 



experiment work on a commercial scale. 

 The gardens are very fine, and contain 

 a good assortment of economic and 

 ornamental plants and trees, including 

 a great collection of tropical fruits. 

 The part, however, that interested me 

 most was the experiment work, which 

 included cultural and manurial experi- 

 ments with various crops, testing of 

 new varieties of economic plants, treat- 

 ment of plant diseases, &c. 



Cocoa is grown extensively, and some 

 very interesting experiments were in 

 progress at the time of my visit. These 

 experiments consisted, in the first place, 

 of manuring with various commercial 

 fertilisers, as the soil, which is a poor 

 sandy loam, is found by analysis to be 

 deficient in humus and all essential plant 

 foods. The results of the experiments 

 up to the date of my visit were some- 

 what confusing, and nb definite results 

 had been obtained. The yield varied 

 from 3,000 to 10,000 pods per acre in the 

 different plots, but this is not considered 

 good, as it takes 2,000 pods to produce 

 one cwt. of dry beans, and a good crop 

 should give at least half a ton to the acre. 

 A really good crop should average 100 

 pods to the tree, and with 225 trees to 

 the acre this gives 22,500 pods, but this 

 result can only be obtained by careful 

 cultivation and the right shading. 



The shading of cocoa trees is a very 

 important matter, as if the shading is 

 too dense the trees are attacked by 

 fungus, and if it is too sparse the pods 

 are seriously injured by a sucking bug. 



The trees are usually planted 15 ft. by 

 15 ft., and are shaded by Dadap trees 

 (Erythrina indica), which are pruned 

 when necessary, aud the primings 

 allowed to lie on the ground and rot for 

 manure, as the Dadap is a nitrogen 

 gatherer, and acts in a similar manner 

 to the leguminous plants that we grow 

 for green manuring. 



Proper pruning and shading have 

 produced more beneficial results than 

 manuring, and forking the ground has 

 proved detrimental, purely surface 

 working having the best effect. In 

 future experiments the ground will be 

 thoroughly prepared prior to planting, 

 and it is probable that manuring under 

 these conditions will have a marked 

 effect. From what I saw of cocoa culti- 

 vation here and in the Kandy district 

 generally, I am of opinion that cocoa can 

 be grown successfully in the Daintree, 

 Bailey's Creek, and Bloomfield districts. 

 Care will have to be taken to obtain the 

 best kind of cocoa, as there are several 

 varieties that vary considerably in the 

 growth of the tree, productiveness, and 



