464 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



RUBBER AND TOBACCO IN SUMATRA. 



Encouraging Views of a German Planting 

 Expert. 



Mr. Sandmann, the German planting expert 

 whose arrival in this part of the world in the 

 interests of rubber-cultivation we noticed the 

 other day [and who is now in Ceylon. — Ed. 

 CO.] has visited Deli where he was inter- 

 viewed by a representative of the Sumatara 

 Post. He has travelled extensively in the tropics, 

 and has taken up rubber as speciality. He 

 spoke highly of rubber prospects in Deii, espe- 

 cially as regards the Hevean kind. The trees he 

 saw there appearod to be in no way inferior to 

 those of the same age which he had seen in other 

 lands. As rubber has only just been taken up 

 in Deli, nothing could be forecasted as to the 

 probable yield. In his opinion, high quality 

 rubber best suits the market in sheets and blocks. 



Mr. Sandmann then spoke of tobacco growing 

 in Deli, and compared it with what he had seen 

 in that line elsewhere. He had nothing but ad- 

 miration for what planters had done in the 

 Colony. In his opinion, nowhere else in the 

 world is tobacco grown with such care and grasp 

 of scientific principles. Planters had no need 

 to be alarmed ac the efforts made in the United 

 States to grow an article equal to Deli loaf, 

 judging from what he had seen of shade tobacco 

 cultivation there. Experience shows that Deli 

 tobacco planted elsewhere soon degenerated. 

 Deli planters have besides the advantage in 

 trained and cheap labour. -Straits Times, Sept. 15. 



TOBACCO IN NYAS ALAND : REPORT 

 BY MR. STEWART McCALL. 



We learn from the above .-eport dated Zoinba, 

 Nyasaland, 31 at July, to hand today, that the to- 

 bacco industry is now permanently established in 

 Nyasaland, and increasing in importance yearly. 

 Six yearsago. little was cultivated by Europeans 

 in the Protectorate. The establishing of the Im- 

 perial Tobacco Company's Factory at Limbe near 

 Blantyre has given considerable incentive to 

 production ; the acreage under the crop has risen 

 rapidly. In 1905, 421 acres were under culti- 

 vation, and this year 2,368 acres. The local prices 

 range from 2£d. to 9d. per lb., and the return 

 varies between 400 and 600 lb. cured tobacco 

 per acre. The experts attached to the Factory 

 are satisfied with the product, their chief com- 

 plaint being shortage of supply. In the Shire 

 Highlands there are large areas of suitable land. 

 The area of tobacco which can be successfully 

 cultivated by a planter is much less than of 

 cotton or coffee, but a planter can grow cotton 

 and coffee on the same estate as tobacco. 200 

 •ecres is a maximum with, tobacco, 600 to 1,000 

 of cotton can be superintended by one planter, 

 with less work. There is a splendid opening 

 for energetic tobacco growers in the Pro- 

 tectorate, Mr. Stewart McCall says. The re- 

 port of the Director of the Imperial Insti- 

 tute on tobaccos from Nyasaland says that 

 five samples were received. All burnt fairly 

 well and gave off a smoke of pleasant aroma, 

 which, however, differs slightly from that of 

 American tobaccos (of similar types, and recalls 

 to a certain extent the aroma characteristic of 



South African tobaccos (so-called " Boer ; ' to- 

 baccos). The results show that on the whole 

 these tobaccos are of satisfactory composition. 

 The percentage of moisture is somewhat low, 

 but this is inevitable in small samples trans- 

 ported without special precautions. The per- 

 centage of nicotine is in all three cases notice- 

 ably small and lower than the average found in 

 American tobaccos of similar type. The total 

 nitrogen is also satisfactorily low. The results 

 of the ash analyses of these Nyasaland tobaccos 

 show that they are all moderately high in potash 

 and low in those constituents which exert a 

 deleterious action. They seem to have been 

 grown on soils deficient in nitrogen, and as 

 regards Nus. 3 and 12 on soils also deficient in 

 soluble mineral constituents. Samples of the 

 five tobaccos were submitted to two firms of 

 tobacco-manufacturers for commercial valua- 

 tion. The first firm reported that the tobaccos, 

 so far as appearance went, compared favourably 

 with similar types of American tobaccos, but 

 that the flavour was different and this would 

 lower the commercial value, unless the flavour 

 proved on trial to be popular. The second firm 

 valued the samples : No. 1 at 9d. per lb., No, 2 

 at 9d. per lb., No. 3 at 7d. per lb., No. 4 at 5d. 

 per lb., and No. 12 at 6d. per lb. 



WASHES FOR CACAO THRIPS. 



The annual report on the Experiment Plots, 

 St. Lucia, for 1908-9, describes experiments 

 with different washes for the purpose of deter- 

 mining their efficiency in controlling thrips on 

 cacao trees. The trials were conduced with 

 those described in the West Indian Bulletin, 

 Vol. IX, pp. 19-2, which are (1) resin wash, (2) 

 kerosene emulsion, (3) emulsion with whale-oil 

 soap, (4) resin and whale-oil soap compound. 

 It is stated that each of those was more or less 

 effective in destroying thrips, but that the resin 

 wash appeared to do the best work, on account 

 of its property of sticking firmly to any surface 

 with which it may come into contact. ' More 

 of this mixture adhered to the leaves than in 

 the case of the other washes, and dead thrips 

 were observed in greater numbers on trees 

 treated with it, Some care is necessary, how- 

 ever, in applying this wash, as the trees treated 

 with it dropped their leaves within a few weeks 

 of being sprayed. This circumstance was 

 probably due to the fact that it contains caustic 

 soda. — Barbados Agricultural News, Sept. 4. 



CACAO IN LA GUAIRA. 



Cocoa (says Mr. Vice-Consul Brewer) con- 

 tinues to be the principal article of commerce 

 of La Guaiia. When the cocoa crop fails all 

 the trade of La Guaira suffers. This is only 

 natural, as tho exchange of commodities takes 

 place entirely with tho district on the coast to 

 the eastward, within a distance of some 200 

 miles, where the cocoa is principally grown. 

 The cocoa is sent to commission agents here for 

 sale, as well as for its preparation for export, 

 and this traffic and tho work of cleaning, sorting 

 and shipping the article form a considerable 

 part of the commercial activity of the port. 

 — Financier, Sept. 23. 



