Edible Products. 



28 



tJuLV, 1908- 



in any form, and where crop rotations 

 can be practised, the needed suplycan 

 be maintained through turning under 

 leguminous crops. Where the rice straw 

 is fed and the farmyard manure return- 

 ed to the land, the problem of main- 

 taining the nitrogen-supply in rice- farm- 

 ing should not be a difficult problem. 



On the other hand, phosphoric acid is 

 contained in but small quantities in the 

 waters used for the purpose of irrigation. 

 This important element is necessary to 

 fill out the grain and make a stronger 

 and more vigorous plant. It should 

 frequently be applied liberally on lands 

 that already contain an abundance of 

 nitrogen, as the failure to mature seed 

 in such instances is nearly always due 

 to a deficiency of available phosphoric- 

 acid. For the purpose of supplying the 

 needs of rice, acid phosphate, ground 

 bone and dissolved bone may be used 

 with satisfaction. Probably the cheapest 

 and most satisfactory form in which to 

 apply phosphoric acid would be through 

 the medium of acid phosphate, and, as a 

 rule, we believe the ri^e farmer is justi- 

 fied in using from 100 lb. to 200 lb. of 

 high-grade material. 



It will also be seen that potash, which 

 has much to do with the transference of 

 starch and with the maintenance of 

 vigour, and hence high yielding power 

 in the plant is used in considerable 

 quantities by rice farmers. It is claimed 

 by some that the supply will be main- 

 tained through the flood-waters, but 

 many analyses of the waters used do 

 not indicate this as a possibility or 

 probability. It is true that waters 

 from some sources contain considerable 

 amounts of potash, but, as already 

 indicated, it is a question whether the 

 rice plants utilize much of the food 

 brought to them through the medium ot 

 the flood waters. It will therefore be 

 the part of wisdom and good judgment 

 to use some of the potash fertilizers in 

 connection with the cultivation of rice ; 

 at least every farmer should obtain the 

 most positive evidence that potash is 

 not needed before withholding the appli- 

 cation of this important and essential 

 element ot plant food. We would say 

 that at least 50 lb. of muriate of potash 

 should be used on the average farm, and 

 very often 100 lb. A low grade potash 

 fertilizer may be obtained in the form of 

 kainit, and, of course, there is no objec- 

 tion to the use of sulphate if it can be 

 purchased and applied as cheaply as the 

 muriate or kainit. The importance of 

 applying fertilizers to rice lands is 

 further emphasized by the fact that a 

 rotation of crops is exceedingly difficult 

 to pursue on these soils, as the other 

 crops Avliich it is desired to cultivate 



within a given series of years do not 

 need to be irrigated, and, in fact, do 

 better on soils that are well drained and 

 porous. This necessitates opening the 

 levees and draining the land, which is 

 an expensive proposition, and one that 

 does not generally meet with favour on 

 the part of the rice planter. 



Prom the foregoing it would appear 

 that the following formulae might be 

 used with advantage in rice farming ; 

 2 per cent, of nitrogen, 8 per cent, of 

 phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent, of 

 potash ; 3-2 per cent, of nitrogen, 9-2 per 

 cent, of phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent, 

 of potash. The former of these formulae 

 may be prepared by mixing 1,000 lb. of 

 high-grade acid-phosphate, 300 lb. of 

 dried blood, and 169 lb. of muriate of 

 potash, and adding sufficient filler to 

 bring the total amount up to 2,000 lb. 

 The second of these formulas may be 

 prepared by mixing 000 lb. of high-grade 

 acid phosphate, 800 lb. of tankage, and 

 169 lb. of muriate of potash, and sufficient 

 filler to bring the total amount up to 

 2,000 lb. On those farms where there is 

 an abundance of nitrogen, as evidenced 

 by the raukness of the growth of stem 

 and leaf, this element may be discarded, 

 or left out of the mixture. We believe, 

 under these conditions, that heavier 

 applications of phosphoric acid and 

 potash will be justifisd, and will, as a 

 rule, be found profitable.— Tropical Life, 

 Vol. IV, No. 4, April, 1908. 



COPPEE CURING ON THE MALABAR 

 COAST. 



A correspondent, signing himself "P.,"' 

 writes in the Madras Mail :— In these 

 days of travel many people have visited 

 coffee estates in India and are acquainted 

 with the growth of coffee from the 

 beginning to the time it is sent away 

 from the planter. It is the stage inter- 

 mediate, between the time when the 

 bean has left the estate and until ic is 

 ready for roasting and grinding for the 

 breakfast table, that the public know 

 little about, and it is with the period of 

 drying, picking and sorting, or in one 

 word '•cuiing," that it is now proposed 

 to deal. 



At Mangalore, Tellicherry, and Calicut, 

 on the Malabar Coast, are the most 

 important curing works, and there the 

 busy season starts about the end of No- 

 vember, with the early crops from Coorg 

 and the Wynaad, and goes on till nearly 

 the end of April, when the later ones, 

 from North and South Mysore, are safely 

 gathered in. During those months strings 

 of carts arrive at the works, sometimes 



