280 The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



THE ALCOHOLIC VALUE Of CACTI. 



A New Souuce of Supply. 

 To the ordinary traveller through India the 

 country seems to be a vory fertile one, and, as a 

 matter of fact, so it is, taking it all together ; 

 hut in a hurried journey across country by rail 

 there is nothing to indicate to the traveller that 

 there are in India more than 113 million acres 

 of waste land, that is to say, land much of which 

 the agriculturist believes it would not pay him 

 to cultivate; so a good deal of it remainsin the 

 same neglected state today as it probably did 

 millions of years ago. But India is not the only 

 country having large tracts of what is called poor 

 land, and, if such tracts can be made to pay hand- 

 somely elsewhere, why not here ? They have a 

 lot of inferior land in the United States and thoir 

 Agricultural Department decided sometime ago 

 to see by actual experiment what could be done 

 with it. Some of this laud is so poor that it 

 will only grow cacti. The question then arose, 

 what profit could be made out of cacti and 

 the answer was a considerable surprise. But 

 first of all the somewhat amusing fact was as- 

 certained that prickly pear and other cacti 

 almost object to having any care bestowed on 

 their planting arrangements, for if pieces are 

 thrown on the ground, anyhow, 85 per cent of 

 them grow, whereas if all the attention and 

 expense in the world are devoted to planting 

 them in furrows in the orthodox way, the per- 

 centage is only 91. In either case, the plants 

 require no replanting or irrigation and grow on 

 the poorest soil even in arid regions. In the 

 experiment we are thinking of the cacti were 

 "planted" in rows ten feet apart and were left 

 without any attention whatever for three, four 

 and five years. The rows spread to about eight 

 feet wide and left only a narrow passage between 

 them. When the plants had matured a long 

 series of experiments began. The fruit, which 

 is about the size of an egg, of dark red colour 

 and filled with seeds, was found to contain an 

 excellent colouring matter for jellies and con- 

 fectionery, and what is of far more importance 

 six different kinds of sugar, each of which was 

 fermented and turned into alcohol. It was ulti- 

 mately found that denatured alcohol to the value 

 of about R460 per acre could be obtained after 

 an average growth of four years for the plants, 

 so that if all the neglected land in India was 

 put under cacti, in four years time the annual 

 wealth of the country would be increased by 

 the magnificent sum of 5,198 crorers of rupees. 

 And that is not all. The juicy leaves of the 

 cactus, particularly the spineless variety, make 

 splendid famine food for animals and the fruit 

 for man. As to the rest, it was pointed out 

 in these columns the other day how urgent is 

 the need for a plentiful supply of cheap alcohol 

 lor commercial purposes, in the absence of which 

 the arts and industries of this country can 

 hardly be expected to prosper. There is cer- 

 tainly a ready-made market for all the industrial 

 alcohol the growers of cacti are likely to pro- 

 duce for some considerable time, presuming 

 that the American cactus experiments receive 

 in this country the attention they seem to de- 

 serve.— Pioneer, Sept. 3. 



MADRAS AGRICULTURE. 



CJenteal Committee's Circular. 



We extract the following from a circular 

 letter issued to the District and Branch Agri- 

 cultural Associations by the Hon. Secretaries of 

 the Central Agricultural Committee, Madras : — 



In his admirable note on " Agriculture in Japan," Sir 

 Frederick Nicholson mentions among other matters how 

 the system of holding competitions and giving prize- 

 awards has contributed to make the work of the Agri- 

 cultural Associations in Japan solid, useful and practical. 

 Field and farm competitions of different kinds are held on 

 all possible occasions and during appropriate seasons, the 

 chief among them being competitions in (i) staple crops, 

 such as rice, (ii) other agricultural products, such as vege- 

 tables, (iiii seed beds, (iv) growing crops, (v) improved 

 methods of cultivation, such as planting paddy with singlu 

 seedlings ami (vi) improved agricultural implements. 

 Agricultural Inspectors are employed to visit the localities 

 and to select the most successful examples among the 

 exhibits to whom prizes are awarded. The priz.s are 

 generally given only when real improvements in agricul- 

 ture have been introduced and demonstrated. In addition 

 to these prizes, small premia and rewards are offered. 



As a first step towards the introduction of a .similar 

 system into this Presidency, the Director of Agricul- 

 ture, Madras, has suggested to the Associations at 

 Gam* am and Kumbakonam the desirability <f offering 

 prizes for the best field crops either of new varieties, 

 as of Mauritius sugar-canes, or grown on improved 

 methods, as paddy crops grown with green manur- 

 ing or singly planted paddy crops. Both the Associations 

 have cordially adopted the Director's suggestions and have 

 offered prizes. The Director considers that something of the 

 same kind might be done in other Districts to stimulate in- 

 terest in the Associations and to introduce improvements 

 by means of competition. Some of his suggestions are 

 noted below. 



In all paddy growing districts prizes might bo offered for 

 the best green manure crop grown on wet lands or for the 

 best singly planted paddy crop. In the case of Malabar, 

 South Canara, Tinnevelly and Ganjam, prizes might be 

 given for the best Mauritius sugar-cane crop3 ; in South 

 Arcot for the best crop of Cambodia cotton and of Trans- 

 vaal cumbu and maize, in addition to the paddy-prizes sug- 

 gested for all districts; in North Arcot. for the best crops 

 of Transvaal cumbu and maize ; in Tinnevelly for the besi 

 crop of cotton sown with the seed-drill. It will, of course, be 

 open to the Associations to select other objects for prizes. 

 As pointed out by Sir Frederick Nicholson, these prizes 

 need neither be very many nor very costly. In the minds of 

 the simple villagers, the real attraction of and interest in 

 the prizes consists not in their money-value but in the 

 honour that is associated with the prize- winning, especially 

 when that honour is conferred by the Head of the District. 



We f ust that the matter will receive your earnest con- 

 sideration and that a sufficient sum will be set apart for 

 the award of prizes during the current agricultural year. 

 We also request that a programme of work proposed to, 

 be undertaken during the fasli may be forwarded befote 

 the next meeting of the Committee in October next.— M. 

 Mail, Sept. 5. 



SUCCESS OF THE INDIAN MANGO 

 IN JAMAICA. 



Mr. Aston VV. Gardner, of Kingston, last year 

 shipped some mangoos to London; The original 

 plants were brought over from India by Sir 

 Henry Blake. The produce of a single tree 

 belonging to Mr. Gardner gave an income of 

 £70, the fruits fetching from 1/6 to 2/6 each in 

 England. Another mango known as the ' Bom- 

 bay' or ' Poter's ' was introduced by Govornor 

 Grant. This is described as a very fine variety 

 and suitable for export, the tree being hardy 

 and prolific. Fruits of this variety shipped to 

 London fetched and weighing from 1 to 1-J lb. 

 $1 to $1*50 each, Surely with such prices it 

 should be worthwhile making some serious at- 

 tempt to get the best Ceylon mangoes into the 

 London Market. 



