188 



The Supplement to the Trojncal Agriculturist 



MANURE. 



Any information on this subject should be 

 gladly read by agriculturists, so the following 

 paragraph may strengthen planters in their 

 appreciation of bulky manure versus artificials : 



Much to the surprise of those connected with the 

 Cleansing Department of Leith, a sudden demand has 

 arisen fur the street sweepings, agriculturists now show- 

 ing a preference for this kind of manure. No less than 

 eighty tons of street sweepings are collected in the town 

 pur ciav, and the fact that this is now so easily dis- 

 pi.sed of would seem to suggest that farmers are viewing 

 with less favour artificial manure, the cost of which is 

 of course, so much greater. 



1 do not know whether ray persistent writing 

 against artificial manures and in praise of bulk 

 is bearing fruit amongst the farmers near 

 Leith ; but I can see, with pleasure, the good 

 effect produced in my own neighbourhood. 

 Frequently 1 am told by some neighbour that 

 he has taken my advice and, for several 

 years, has spent nothing on artificials, but 

 plenty on feeding stuffs, so that his cattle 

 manure is far superior to what it used to 

 be, and the crops he is growing have im- 

 proved in a like ratio. Naturally 1 am pleased 

 to know that I have been of good service to 

 my neighbours, and, naturally, the manure 

 merchants dont like me for having burst up 

 their little game. The street sweepings of Leith, 

 mentioned above, should be very valuable, as I 

 know how much benefited land is by being top- 

 dressed with the scrapings off a turnpike road. 



Cosmopolite. 



BURYING VS. BURNING PRUNINGS. 



Lindula, Jan. 14th. 

 Sir, — As regards burying prunings my advice 

 is " don't." My experience of it, and thank 

 goodness a very small one, is that a 19 acres 

 operated on " moreover basic slag " has ever since 

 been a martyr to leaf disease (grey blight). 

 Luckily I read Dr. Watt shortly after the experi- 

 ment ; that put me off it for ever. He says, and 

 I believe truly, the roots take up uisease from 

 the leaves.— Yours faithfully, 



E. R. WIGGIN. 



The Economic Disposal of Tea Pkunings.— 

 There can be no doubt about Mr E R Wiggin's 

 opinion on this matter. It is expressed else- 

 where with an emphasis, which to borrow a 

 musical phrase, somewhat suggests the pro- 

 cess of " forcing the note." The tendered 

 advice, judging from Mr Wiggin's experience, 

 may be very good for estates upcountry ; but 

 we know there are those who will question 

 its value to lowcountry properties. As a 

 matter of fact, we have heard very keen advo- 

 cates of burying prunings admit that on 

 upcountry estates, where the decomposition 

 of prunings is likely to extend over a con- 

 siderable time, there may be a danger of root 

 disease being started. On lowcountry estates, 

 where decomposition is rapid, it is held that 

 no such danger exists ; and for every estate 

 upcountry where burying prunings has been a 

 failure, a case in the lowcountry can probably 

 be quoted where the result has been conspic- 

 uously successful. The estate of Mahawale for 



instance is a case in point. That estate was 

 at one time considered a poor one. Prunings 

 have been buried since 1904. Artificial manure 

 is also applied and albizzia leaves buried ; and 

 the following table, showing an annual increase 

 in the crops, indicates that the buryir.g of 

 prunings has had anything but an untoward 

 effect on the tea :— 



1904 ... ... 482 lb. per acre. 



1905 ... ... 552 „ „ 



1906 ... ... 578 ,, 



1907 ... ... 746 ,, 



1908 ... ... 807 ,, 



The cost of production on this estate is 23 - 38 

 cents per lb. but that includes the supervision 

 of G50 acres of rubber. If this were deducted, the 

 cost would approximate 22 cents. " QuoAcibu 

 est cdiis, aliis est atre venerium " appears to be 

 true of estates as of individuals ; the question, 

 therefore, seems more or less to resolve itself into 

 this : that what can be practised with safety and 

 much benefit on some estates, may be attended 

 with the most disastrous results if tried on 

 others where different conditions prevail. 



THE COPRA INDUSTRY. 



IN SINGAPORE. 

 It has been brought to my notice on one or 

 two occasions recently that the Singapore market 

 price of Copra is nearly always less than that 

 quoted for Ceylon and the Pacific Islands. In 

 order to ascertain* the reason of this I recently 

 made careful enquiry into the state of the 

 market and the quality of the Copra offered for 

 sale. What surprised me most was the very 

 poor quality of the Copra imported from the 

 surrounding Islands and the Malay States com- 

 pared with that from Java and other Dutch 

 Islands. After examining numerous samples 

 taken from consignments from many different 

 parts I am not surprised that Singapore prices 

 do not compare favourably with those of other 

 markets. There are several causes which 

 account for the inferior quality and price of 

 local copra. The principal cause appears to 

 me to be the absence of some system of super- 

 vision over the native and Chinese Growers. 

 I believe that in Java and other Dutch Islands 

 the Dutch Government examines all Copra for 

 export and only that which is up to standard 

 quality is allowed to be shipped. This, in a 

 great measure, accounts for the excellence 

 of Dutch Copra. The second cause is that 

 it is a common practice to pick the coconuts 

 before they are quite ripe, thus accounting for 

 the large quantities of thin, soft and decaying 

 Copra on the market. Quantities of good ripe 

 Copra are frequently ruined by mixing it with 

 this half matured stuff. The third reason is 

 that the Copra is badly dried. That said to 

 be sun-dried is only partially dried and as soon 

 as put in bulk becomes mouldy and rots. 

 That said to be kiln-dried is practically roasted. 

 A fourth— and by no means least important — 

 reason is the absence of any form of beneficial 

 cultivation on the estates. In the majority of 

 instances trees are never by any chance manured, 

 nor is any form of beneficial cultivation prac- 

 tised. The result of this neglect is an inferior 



