502 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



A few hundred pounds would enable any man 

 to start in Nyasaland. The purchase of land or 

 lease is a mere trifle and the rest of his capital, 

 if employed to grow a crop of tobacco, he can 

 double in a year to 18 months' time, getting 

 spot cash for the leaf from the Imperial To- 

 bacco Co. in Blantyre. Actual cost of opening 

 100 acres of land in Nyasalaud for coffee in 1898 

 was as follows : — 



Felling anjl clearing .. 100 men. 



Holing and falling in .. 80 



Lining and peg-making .. 10 



Planting anil supplying ., 20 



Shading . . . . 30 



240 



Equalto £1 per acre .. ,. £100 



Roads 8 miles 800 men— per acre .. 4 



Supplying 100 acres, 5 men- per acre .. S 



Weeding 100 acres, 20 men -per acre .. 8 



Nurseries seed, &c. . . 10 



Superintendent . . . . 80 



Tools .. .. ... 10 



£214 



SECOND YEAR. 

 Weeding as above .. £i 



Nurseries and supplying .. ..3 

 Superintendent .. ..80 



Drains .. .. ..10 



£101 



There was no bungalow built, as the Superin- 

 tendent lived with a neighbour. In the second 

 year the yield of chillies planted between the 

 lines of coffee paid for all the expenses in con- 

 nection with the opening and left a handsome 

 prtfit to the owner. No estimate is given for 

 the planting of chillies as they were simply 

 dibbled in and the cost was absorbed in the 

 other items of expenditure. 



Labour is a trifle dearer now than it was in 

 1898, but the above estimate is near enough and 

 quite reliable. Of course the cost of opening 

 and bringing an estate in bearing may bo any- 

 thing from £2 or £3 per acre to £-20 or more en- 

 tirely depending on the man and his purse. 



01UTIC . 



CARBON BISU LPHIDE ON ESTATES. 



We received by a recent mail from homo an en- 

 quiry on behalf of a manufacturer, in connection 

 with the rubber-growing industry, as to whether 

 and in what ways carbon bisulphide will, in future, 

 be largely used on plantations. On our enquiring 

 of Mr. M Kelway Bamber, thatgentleinan is good 

 enough to tell us that carbon bisulphide is 

 used for destroying white ants, and attempts 

 were mado to have apparatus for its manufac- 

 ture erected in Ceylon and the Malay States. 

 It is vory efficacious, but it is difficult to And 

 the nests of the ants in rubber clearings as they 

 are below the ground level or under tree stumps, 

 &c. Mr. Bamber, however, believes they can be 

 found if carefully looked for. About 1 or 2 oz. 

 of CS' is poured into the nests and all exits 

 closed ; the vapour, being heavier than air, sinks 

 down through the nest, destroying the ants en- 

 tirely. This was referred to by Mr. E V Carey 

 in our interview. If cheaply produced, its 

 use might be largely extended in tropical coun- 

 tries ; but at present Shipping Companies do 

 not readily carry it even as deck cargo, owing 

 to its poisonous and explosive nature when the 

 vapour is mixed with air. 



JAPANESE SYSTEM OF CHARCOAL 

 MANURE 



is one which ought to interest all agricul- 

 turists, in the tropics as well as elsewhere. We 

 direct attention, therefore, to the letter of the 

 Yokohama Nursery Co., which describes it and 

 the points in which it differs from a simpler sys- 

 tem it resembles. We shall be glad to hear the 

 experiences of any practical planter who takes 

 the method up, or meanwhile any criticisms of it 

 based on practical knowledge of manuring (tea 

 and rubber, especially) already acquired, 



21-35 Nakamura, Yokohama, April 26th, 1909. 



Dear Sir, — While questions of scientific 

 fertilisers are under discussion, it may not be 

 amiss to report what is doing here in Japan, in 

 that matter. We have a method known as the 

 "Oyaidzu system of charcoal manure ' which is 

 highly recommended by Mr Ikeda Kenzo, the 

 president of Japan Agricultural Society, and is 

 now widely practised. 



This is nothing but charcoal made of straw, or 

 any other combustible rubbish materials, mixed 

 with ordure or other manure which is claimed 

 to be very efficacious and produce good crops. 

 One-third is said to be sufficient for the purpose 

 as the charcoal resists against actions of weather 

 and retains power longer than any other way, such 

 washing away, blowing off or evaporating, etc. 

 This may soom like the old way of ash utilisa- 

 tion, but what differs is how the charcoal is pre- 

 pared. Great care being taken not to allow the 

 material to burn but make it smoulder in a pit 

 by adding little by little slowly so as to keep 

 flames down yet the whole turn into charcoal with- 

 out any portion remaining unburnt. 80 per cent, 

 charcoal it is said can be made out of the material 

 burnt. If too much be reduced into ash, the per- 

 centage will naturally be less. While the char- 

 coal is still warm, liquid manure is poured over 

 to a certain degree of moisture when it is ready 

 to be stored for future use. It has no offensive 

 smell and is very convenient to handle, especially 

 where supplies of manure are scarce or transport 

 difficult. This may be worth while for your 

 planters to try and see what benefit there is in it. 



To sum up, the points are that 80 lb. charcoal 

 should bo produced out of every 100 lb. material 

 burnt and while the charcoal is still warm manure 

 must be sprinkled over. — Yours faithfully, 

 The Yokohama Nursery Co., Lid. 



S. IIDA, Manager. 



THE BARRYDO TAPPING KNIFE. 



We have received from Messrs Brown & David- 

 son a booklet regarding this new tapping knife 

 (G S Browns patent). This is the latest inven- 

 tion in tapping knives, it is claimed, and its chief 

 feature is that recurrent expenditure is reduced 

 to a minimum. The neat blade with four cutting- 

 edges can be reversed in a minute and the re- 

 maining sharp edges employed in whatever dir- 

 ection the operator is paring. It cuts right and 

 left hand, " Pull or Push " without any altera- 

 tion or adjustment It cannot possibly choke 

 and requires no sharpening : it is the simplest 

 knife on the market. Requires no adjustment. 

 Perfectly safe. 



