568 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



carry out the local Government's endeavours to 

 improve the standard of coconut cultivation, 

 which is apparently not very high. The idea 

 would appear to be the gradual 



CONVERSION OF MIXED GARDENS OF CLOVE AND 

 COCONUT INTO EXCLUSIVELY COCONUT 

 GARDENS, 



and should this be realised, Zanzibar may cease 

 to be the world's largest supplier of clove9, its 

 gardens having hitherto produced about four- 

 fifths of the clove crops of the world. Doubt- 

 less, the authorities of the Protectorate realise 

 that coconuts will in future serve as a better 

 foundation of prosperity than spices, of which 

 latter, however, the clove is not the only 

 one largely raised in Zanzibar, pepper, cinna- 

 mon and other descriptions being also con- 

 siderably produced and exported, in addi- 

 tion to which gum, copal and rubber represent 

 fairly important items in the list of exports. 



THE TEP.MS OFFERED 



to the dozen families were particularly attrac- 

 tive. For the first year after arrival they will be 

 permitted to cultivate where they like in the 

 coconut and clove areas, while in the rice area 

 each family will be^ given up to three acres rent 

 free. After the first year special land purchase 

 facilities will be afforded, and for the next three 

 years the work these emigrants will be required 

 to do will be the conversion of mixed clove and 

 coconut gardens, into purely coconut gardens, 

 and we note that each family is required to take 

 its own native hand implements. Moreover, the 



EMIGRANTS ARE INVITED TO TAKE GOATS, 

 CATTLE AND POULTRY, 



which they would be able to raise under favour- 

 able conditions. Labour conditions in the Pro- 

 tectorate would seem to be particularly good, 

 as it is said that in the close season a man and 

 his wife working together can earn Rl-8 a day, 

 besides which they may, if they choose, take up 

 the ordinary plantation labour under which the 

 men at present employed are said to earn R24 a 

 month. Then, task work conditions are ex- 

 ceptionally good from the labourer's point of 

 view, involving large wages and plenty of leisure. 

 Altogether, the attractions are undoubtedly 

 great, but, having regard to the general con- 

 ditions of Indian emigration, it is not surprising 

 to learn that 



COMPLETE SUCCESS HAS NOT ATTENDED THIS 

 ZANZIBAR EMIGRATION EXPERIMENT 



of inviting entire Indian households, men, 

 women and children, to found new homes 

 and eeek fortunes under strange skies, not, 

 however, that the emigrants would be en- 

 tirely among strangers, for there are already at 

 present 35,000 Indians in Zanzibar, all from 

 the Bombay side and chiefly Mahometans, with 

 a sprinkling of enterprising Bunias. The official 

 referred to has only succeeded to the extent of 

 securing a number of adult male emigrants who 

 have undertaken to takeover their families in 

 the event of their finding the conditions of ex- 

 istence suitable for their women and children. 

 It is perhaps superfluous to state that 



THE LABOUR HAS ALL BEEN RECRUITED ON 

 THE MALABAR COAST. 



A few years ago, owing to insufficiency of labour 

 in Zanzibar and Pemba, the authorities had to 

 import labourers for the gathering of the clove 

 crop, and even then the supply was in defect and 

 the native population had to be attracted to the 

 work by the offer of liberal terms. Whatever 

 may be the reason for the decision to replace 

 cloves by coconuts, there can be no doubt that 

 the reduction of the Zanzibar clove area will 

 affect the world's supply of this spice, the dis- 

 tributing centre of which has long been Bombay, 

 from where cloves imported from Zanzibar and 

 Pemba are sent to all parts of India, being also 

 largely exported to China and Japan. In India, 

 clove? are raised only to a very limited extent, 

 and it might be worth while to experiment with 

 this cultivation with a view to its extension. — 

 Statesman, May 16. 



JAGGERY MANUFACTURE. 



Practical Demonstration at Coimbatore. 



Madras, April 10.— An interesting demon- 

 stration in improved methods of manufacturing 

 jaggery was given by Mr R Wood, Super- 

 intendent of the Government Agricultural Farm 

 and Principal of the Central Agricultural Col- 

 lege, Coimbatore. Sugarcane is one of the staple 

 crops of the district and jaggery manufactured 

 there is sent in large quantities to the Bombay 

 Presidency. About 300 sugarcane growers and 

 manufacturers from all parts of the district atten- 

 ded the demonstration. Pamphlets in English 

 and Tamil describing the improved process were 

 distributed, and during the practical demonstra- 

 tion questions were replied to and explanations 

 given to those who had any doubts regarding 

 the new process. Many of the sugarcane growers 

 took away with them canes from the farm for 

 seed purposes, while others decided to substi- 

 tute the new procoss of manufacture for that 

 hitherto used. — Statesman. 



CASSAVA AS A PRODUCER OF 

 ALCOHOL. 



Adverting to Mr D M Weigel's letter, apper- 

 ing on page 559, acorrespondeutsurmisesthatthe 

 plant referred to as producing cheaper alcohol 

 than either potatoes or turnips must be the 

 Cassava or Manioc, grown in many parts of the 

 island as an edible; but he fears Mr Weigel's 

 estimate of crop (20 tons to the acre) is far too 

 high, while the price quoted (R5 a ton) is 

 far too low, considering that at present a lb. of 

 the yam is selling at three or four cents. 

 Mr Weigel also overlooks the exhausting nature 

 of the plant. Even if the Government were to 

 stop all thieving and cattle trespass, our cor- 

 respondent thinks it would not pay the planters 

 handsomely, as Mr Weigel asserts, at R5 a ton 

 however extensive the cultivation might be. 

 In this connection we are reminded of a remark 

 made during the Peradeniya Rubber Exhibition 

 in 1906 that a good deal of the Tapioca grown 

 in the Federated Malay States re-appeared Ia.ter 

 as Scotch Whisky 1 



