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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



here, under the title of the Imperial Domains 

 Estate, has for several years past cultivated 

 tea in considerale quantities, the growth and 

 preparation of the tea being under the supervi- 

 sion of Chinese brought here for that purpose. 



A large firm of Moscow merchants also have 

 a tea plantation located here, that for several 

 years did a considerable business in raising and 

 selling tea ; but during the past year, owing to 

 financial difficulties and the unsettled condi- 

 tion of the country, this plantation has not 

 been worked to any extent. In addition to these 

 two estates a number of owners of lands along 

 the Black Sea coast, immediately to the east 

 of Batum. are raising tea in small quantities, 

 which is sold in the local market at a reason- 

 able figure, and the prediction is frequently ex- 

 pressed that when conditions permit and the 

 small land owners become educated in tho pro- 

 per method of its raising and curing, a consider- 

 able portion of the tea consumed locally will be 

 of home production. 



A trial shipment of 40 chests, containing 

 some 2,000 pounds of Batum tea, was sent to 

 the United States some little time ago, but 

 no further shipments have been made. — Spice 

 Mill for April. 



THE CASHEW TREE, 



In the Kerala Sanchari, a Malayalm paper 

 published in Calicut, there recently appeared 

 an interesting article showing that a stimulus 

 has been given to the cultivation of the cashew- 

 nut tree in the South Canara District and to the 

 demand lor the nuts, oil and other products of 

 the tree. It is said that this season alone mer- 

 chants in Mangalore have purchased and stored 

 up for export about 50,000 moodas of the un- 

 shelled nut — the current price of the nut being 

 quoted at R2-2-0 a mooda of 42 seers. The pro- 

 duct is shipped to Bombay, but it is also dis- 

 posed of locally to some extent. An oil is 

 expressed from the coriaceous covering, consist- 

 ing of two layers, in which the kernel is enclosed. 

 The price of the oil in Mangalore is said to bo 

 10 annas a kutti, i.e., about four quart bottles. 

 In addition to the nuts and the oil, some export 

 business is said to be carried on in confectionary 

 prepared from the kernel of the nuts. In the 

 country between Mangalore and Nileshwar, 

 ground which is considered unlit for other crops 

 is now being planted with cashew. 



I hear that during the past two or three 

 years an impetus has been also given to the 

 export of cashew nuts from the port of Cochin, 

 the produce being drawn from neighbouring 

 portions of British Malabar and the States of 

 Cochin and Travancore. The Cochin shipments 

 are understood to go mostly to Europe direct. 

 All these details indicate a growing foreign 

 demand for products whose economic value has 

 hitherto been very indifferently appreciated on 

 the West Coast. » 



Along the strip of coast country from the 

 northern limit of South Canara right down 

 to the southernmost extremity of Travancore, 

 the cashew tree is one of the most familiar 

 features of the sub-arborescent vegetation. In 

 portions of the Ponani Taluq of Malabar, and 



in several localities in South Canara, Cochin and 

 Travancore, extensive groves of cashew may be 

 met with, stretching sometimes for miles to- 

 gether. The native name of the tree is Ferin- 

 ghee mango, and it derived this appellation pre- 

 sumably from the fact that it was introduced 

 into this country from its native habitat, the 

 West indies, by the Portuguese, who were also 

 instrumental in acclimatising the tree in Ceylon, 

 where it may almost be said to run wild in 

 many aieas. The cashew tree (Anacardium. ocei- 

 dentalc) is without doubt one of the hardiest 

 members of the vegetable kingdom, thriving 

 well on almost every conceivable description of 

 soil. Its drought-resisting properties are es- 

 pecially remarkable. It is well able to take care 

 of itself, and wants no watering, manuring or 

 any other attention from man. But it may be 

 assumed that, if systematically cultivated and 

 tended, its economic possibilities would be 

 considerably increased. It ordinarily comes to 

 maturity and bears fruit in from four to live 

 years, and is long-lived. The period of flower- 

 ing and fruiting on the West Coast is the same 

 as in the case of mango, and the crop is invari- 

 ably an abundant one. The tree resembles the 

 walnut in general appearance and the leaves 

 give oft' a similar scent. 



The cashew fruit is a kidney-shaped ash- 

 brown nut on the apex of a yellow or crimson- 

 coloured torus called the cashew apple, which 

 latter, when ripe, is very succulent and some- 

 what tasty, in most parts of the West Coast, 

 the apple is used as fodder for cattle, while in 

 South Canara and Travancore, a strong liquor, 

 considerably more intoxicating than coconut 

 arrack, is expressed from the juice. In South 

 Canara the manufacture of this beverage is pro- 

 hibited under the Abkari Act, though there is 

 reason to believe a certain amount of illicit 

 manufacture regularly goes on. In the hot season 

 tho apple is also largely consumed by thelabour- 

 ing classes, and in some of the towns it is hawked 

 about for sale, several being strung together on a 

 broomstick or a strip of some fibrous bark. 



The covering in which the kernel is enclosed 

 yields a thick black acrid oil, which possesses 

 medicinal properties. A palatable edible oil, 

 reckoned superior to European olive oil, 

 is also obtained from the nuts, whose dried 

 kernels, however, are mostly roasted, in which 

 condition their flavour compares very favour- 

 ably with that of almonds. It is said that the ker- 

 nels are employed in Europe for the purpose of 

 flavouring Madeira and that they are also mixed 

 with cocoa in the manufacture of chocolate. 

 These facts doubtless account for the increase 

 ing demand for the kernels in Europe. 



From the trunk of the .tree a valuable gum 

 exudes in stalactiform masses varying in colour 

 from reddish to pale yellow. It makes a good 

 varnish, is a tolerable substitute for inferior 

 gum Arabic, and is also useful as an insecticide. 

 The bark of the tree is employed by the natives 

 as a tanning agent and also as an ingretlient in 

 certain medicinal preparations. The wood fur- 

 nishes a good quality of charcoal, while the 

 dried leaves, twigs and lesser branches are all 

 patiently and regularly collected by the women 

 of the poorer classes for fuel for domestic pur* 

 poses. In several portions of the country there 



