and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— February, 1912. 171 



about Rs, 75 to extract a ton (2.240 lb.) of fibre. 

 Add to this Rs. 45 for freight, traders' commis- 

 son, baling, &c, and the total conns to Rs. 120 

 and for this sum of Rs. 120 a ton of fibre reaches 

 the London market. The price there is about 

 Rs. 300 a ton — of course subject to fluctuation. 

 From this we see that the profit on a ton ol fibre 

 is Rs.180. I arrive at this figure on the presump- 

 tion that the stems could be bad free. About 

 1,500 plantain stems would be required to pro- 

 duce a ton of fibre and even paying at the rate 

 of 2 cts. for every stem we may require only 

 Rs. 3u for the whole lot. Deducting this Rs. 30 

 we could be positive of a nett profit of Rs. 150 

 on every ton of fibre exported. An acre of laud 

 could be planted with 1,500 plants and it takes 

 about 18 months to bear fruits. The bunches 

 could be sold (putting the lowest average 

 value) for 40 cts. each, which would give 

 Rs. 6U0 and about Rs. 250 would be more than 

 enough to cover the cost of cultivation and 

 the balance Rs. 350 could be added to the 

 profit on fibre. 



I am sorry I have not got a list of the different 

 species of plantains found cultivated in Ceylon, 

 but i am sure Mr Drieberg, the talented Secre- 

 tary of the Agricultural Society, would be able 

 to tell us. 1 am myself writing to that gentle- 

 man on the subject. That particular kind found 

 in Malabar known there as Etta or Neutra 

 Vazha (Musa Paradiasica, I believe) is not found 

 in Ceylon. The fibre extracted from this species 

 is a very superior quality. This kind should 

 be introduced into Ueylon. Some years back I 

 brought a few seeds from Travancore and tried 

 them here in Jaffna, but 1 am sorry none of 

 them came up. 



I think I have said enough on the subject 

 and I sincerely hope that some of my country- 

 men will think of this industry seriously. 



T. P. MAS1LAMANY 



Jaffna, Jan. 23rd. 

 P. S. — Since writing the above Mr. Drieberg 

 writes to me about a " wild plantain com- 

 monly fouud growing in Kadugannawa, which 

 bears an inedibie seedy fruit," which the gentle- 

 man expects to be " identical with the Travan- 

 core variety" — the Etta Vazha. But I don't think 

 so for the fruit of the Travancore variety is 

 edible — both in the raw and ripe state. The 

 peculiarity of this fruit is that the rind can be 

 peeled off as we would do the outer cover of the 

 tamarind. In Malabar this fruit is dried in sun 

 and converted into flour, which they consider as 

 good as or better than arrowroot. The kind 

 Mr. Drieberg is speaking of is, 1 think, the 

 kind kndwn in South India as Mala Vazha 

 — hill plantain.— This, they say, is identical 

 with the Manilla plantain. Mr. Drieberg speaks 

 also of a new machine imported by the Agri- 

 cultural Society* suitable for extracting plan- 

 tain tibre, and very kindly offers to place it at my 

 disposal for trial, for which I am indebted to 

 him. I am writing to the gentleman suggesting 

 to send this machine to the different agricultural 

 instructors and to ask them to give public de- 

 monstrations. — T, P. M. 



THE GRAPE FRUIT AND THE PUMELO. 



Jan. 9th. 



Deak Sir, — I find that the supplement to the 

 January T. A. contains two references to this 

 fruit, and in each case a hope is expressed that 

 the Ceylon Agricultural Society will procure 

 seed. 



I should wish to state that the Society pro- 

 cured seed of the grape fruit through the 

 U.S. A. Department of Agriculture some years 

 ago (as recorded in the Progress Report), arid 

 raised plants which were disposed of to 

 members. 



The grape fruit is only a variety of our pumelo, 

 and those who have judged fruits at Shows can 

 testify to the fact that we have local strains of 

 Citrus decumana which are hard to beat. There 

 were some excellent specimens at the last 

 Bandaragama Show. Somehow the fruit is 

 seldom seen on our tables. 



There are similar instances of fruits which are 

 much written about but hardiy appreciated as 

 local products. The Avocado pear, for instance, 

 which is a good deal adveitised as a salad 

 fruit," is by no means a general favourite, and I 

 know of people who do not consider the fruit 

 worth the picking. — Yours truly, 



C. D. 



THE COCONUT IN WEST INDIES. 



We have received a pamphlet issued by autho- 

 rity of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the 

 West Indies (Dr. Francis Watts, whose name 

 has been mentioned in connection with the 

 Directorship of Agriculture in Ceylon) dealing 

 with coconut cultivation. At the present time 

 when there may be said to be a boom (not 

 the violent boom such as we have had in the 

 case of rubber, but the slow and steady boom) 

 in this crop, a handy and popular treatise on 

 the subject is most welcome. The information 

 embodied is clearly and shortly put, and a few 

 useful illustrations help to explain the text. 



Dr. Watts in his preface remarks on the ex- 

 traordinary fact that the coconut has not been 

 cultivated on any large scale in the Lower 

 Antilles with the exception of Trinidad, and 

 that it is only comparatively lately that estates 

 of any extent have been established; and he 

 goes on to suggest the opening up of groves in 

 many suitable localities in the coastal areas. 



The subject is dealt with under the following 

 heads : — Climate, Soil, Botanical Description, 

 iieed Selection, Nurseries, Preparation of Land 

 and Planting, After Treatment, Periods of 

 Bearing, Yield, Diseases aud Pests and their 

 Treatment, Commercial products. 



A lew points of interest are worth noting. 

 It is recommended that on average soils plant- 

 ing should be done not less than 25 ft. apart, 

 on rich soil 30 or even 35 ft. The following 

 legumiuous plants are recommended for green 

 manure : — Crotalaria strata, Phaseolus mango 

 and P.lunalus, Arachis hypogoea, Canuvnlia ensi- 

 formis, Tephrosia Candida and T. purpurea. 



It is advised that a space of 6 or 8 ft. iu 

 diameter be kept free from weeds and the dia-< 

 meter of this increased as the tree grows,; 



