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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Whon the tree is taken from the nursery its roots 

 are mutilated and probably at least four-fifths of 

 them and possiblv much more have been cut away 

 by the spade. It is, therefore, wise to remove a 

 corresponding portion of the top, and personally 

 when planting a young tree I would invariably 

 cut it back to short spurs of from 3 to 8 inches 

 long and remove the majority of the small twigs. 



When a tree so treated, or indeed if it has 

 not been so treated, starts to grow, it will 

 be found to almost invariably put out a great 

 number of buds. If all these are left, they 

 result in small spindly growths, and the proper 

 plan is to rub off all but those that are 

 required when they are from half an-inch to 

 two inches long. If my advice is followed and 

 the young tree is cut hardback, you will only 

 require to allow from 3 to 6 shoots to grow. If 

 one ' c two of these begin to make excessive 

 growth ahead of the others, it is advisable to 

 L uU t the tender tops to allow the develop- 

 ment of those that are less strong. Any shoots 

 which put out from the trunk of the tree below 

 where it branches should be rubbed off as soon 

 as they appear. 



In the second year's growth you will generally 

 find that from the ends of the previous year s 

 shoots from throe to six buds start, and the 

 nroper treatment is to remove all but one or two. 

 If this plan be followed no pruning as generally 

 understood will be required for many years. 



In the case of older trees all the pruning re- 

 quired is to remove any weak and spindly wood, 

 any shoots that seem to be diseased or dying, 

 and to generally thin out the tree just sufficiently 

 to allow light and air to pass right through it. 

 If you will take notice of old trees which have 

 not been thinned in this way you will find that, 

 although they may be perfectly healthy, they are 

 so dense that all the inner twigs are spindly 

 and of poor colour and practically all the fruit is 

 borne on the outside of the tree exposed to the 

 light If a tree is kept open in the way I have 

 indicated this will not be the case, and the fruit 

 will be distributed throughout the tree. This 

 results in a bigger maximum crop and better 

 development of the fruit. -Western Mail, May 22. 



TEA IN THE ANDAMANS. 



It may not be generally known that tea is 

 S rown on a small scale at the Andamans, where 

 160 acres were placed under this crop in 1907-08 

 and the outturn of the finished product amounted 

 to 41,605 lb. against 60,290 lb. in the preced- 

 ing year, which was a record, or nearly 3761b. 

 per acre The decrease is attributed to the un- 

 favourable weather. It is, however, not quite 

 clear why this tea garden is maintained, because 

 ft was worked at a loss of R17,808. If the tea 

 garden were self-supporting, even though there 

 were no profits, there might be some extenuation 

 for its upkeep. The greater portion of the out- 

 turn was supplied to the Supply and Transport 

 Department, and 3,423 lb. was sold locally, to 

 the former at 0-5-3 and to the latter at 0-4-0 per 

 lb There is also a coffee garden in the Settle- 

 ment which has been leased to a contractor for 

 H750 per annum.— Madras Times. T * 31. 



\ 



A SUGAR-CANE FACTORY, 



In Sooth Akcot. 



It is stated that a Company will shortly be 

 floated with a capital of Rl,35,000, for for- 

 ming a sugar-cane plantation of about 450 

 acres in extent at Valavanur, in Villipuram 

 Taluq, South Arcot, the intention being to 

 work it on up-to-date scientific methods, under 

 the management of a specialist, as is done 

 in Java, and to erect a small factory with the 

 necessary plant for dealing with the produce 

 of 100 acres and converting it into refined 

 sugar. For the plantation purposes an outlay of 

 about 1160,000, inclusive of the cost of the land, 

 irrigation appliances, etc., is contemplated, 

 with an annual expenditure for upkeep of 

 about R15,000 for 100 acres cultivated. The 

 cost of building a Sugar Factory, and provi- 

 ding it with the necessary machinery is esti- 

 mated at R60.000. The average cost of gro- 

 wing cane locally works out at 1190 per acre, 

 and the receipts average, on the basis of the 

 price of E2) per candy of jaggery, R250 an 

 acre. On the Government Farm, at Palur, 

 however, and on Messrs. Parry & Co.'s Farm 

 near their Nellikuppam Factory, the annual 

 expense is said to be about R120, and the 

 yield about R450, an acre. The ryots, who 

 have been able to put up the bullock-driven 

 crushers supplied by some Madras firms, are 

 said to be able to realise, after meeting the 

 expenses of jaggery-making, a net profit of 

 R25 per candy of jaggery. 



Taking, however, the lower yield of R250 an 

 acre, the receipts from 100 acres would amount 

 to R25,000, while in the remaining area belong- 

 ing to the Company local crops can be raised 

 to the ordinary yields obtained. The cane from 

 100 acres (6,000 cart-loads of 3,000 tons, worth 

 R25,000, as abve shown) is calculated as a re- 

 sult of actual experience to yield 200 tons of 

 sugar wortha 217 a ton, i.e., R43,400, and 100 

 tons of molasses worth R54 a ton, i.e., R5.400. 

 The expenses of manufacture amount to 

 R8,200 at R41 a ton of sugar, and allowances for 

 depreciation of machinery, building, etc., at 10 

 per cent, of their value, would come to R6,000. 

 There would be then from sugar manufacture 

 alone a profit of R9,600. This, with the R25.000, 

 the value of the cane raised on the lands, 

 brings up the total income from the plantation 

 and the factory to R34,60G, which, on the 

 capital of R 1,35,000, means a return of 25 per cent. 



That there is a very wide field for sugar in- 

 dustry in this country is admitted, as the imports 

 of sugar from Java, Germany, Austria, etc., are 

 steadily increasing ; and with a view to deve- 

 loping the industry, the Government, at the 

 Industrial Conference held at Ootacamund last 

 year, expressed their willingness to give all 

 possible encouragement to promoters of the 

 sugar industry. The enterprise being shown 

 in this connection by certain Hindu gentle- 

 men of Valavanur, which has hitherto been 

 famous rather as a ground-nut growing and 

 trading centre, is very much to be commended; 

 and everyone will ',wish the promoters such a 

 measure of success that it will lead to many 

 other similar undertakings being established. 



S. K. 



— M Mail, June 4. 



