284 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



NOTES FROM THE COCONUT 

 DISTRICT. -N.W, P. 



Marawila, September 6th. 

 We are still without any rain, and the outlook 

 is serious. September is generally a wet month, 

 but so far, we have been tantalised with heavy 

 rain clouds that are being attracted by the 

 mountain ranges inland and with distant 

 thunder. The canal is very low, and boats find 

 it very difficult to negotiate it. Boat-hire to 

 Colombo has risen from R45 to R75. Though 

 situated on the banks of the canal, the local 

 desiccating mill has not sufficient water to 

 work full time. Fibre mills experience an in- 

 sufficiency of water for steeoing husks. Wells 

 and tanks are remaining dry. 1 have not met 

 with one cultivated paddy field. The range of 

 fields in Madampe of about 2,000 acres in extent 

 is uncultivated. The rainfall for August was '35 

 of an inch and for July -96 of an inch. To the 

 end of June was 16*14 inches. Farther north 

 at Puttalam, the rainfall to the end of August 

 was less than 6 inches. 



The only hope for coconut planters under 

 such adverse meteorological conditions is, to 

 thoroughly cultivate their soils. The benefits 

 of this are apparent even where the soil is 

 sandy. Where the soil is cultivated, the trees 

 are weathering the drought bravely, while trees 

 on neglected lands adjoining are suffering 

 badly. Catch-water drains and the cultivation 

 of the soil should become general in hard soib 

 to overcome the effects of drought. 



In this connection, I may mentiou that Mr. 

 Wallace Westland, scion of a good stock, whose 

 name has been a household word upcouutry for 

 over a quarter of a century, has returned from 

 Papua, where he is the Manager of Rubber and 

 Coconut Estates. He very courteously sent mo 

 a photograph of a single furrow disc plough 

 (24" disc) driven by a West New Guinea native 

 and drawn by a team of 3 small mule's. The 

 land being ploughed is under coconuts two years 

 old and much over-grown with grass. The plough 

 is a " Massy Harris," and is said to be doing 

 good work. These should be very useful on 

 coconut estates. Will not some enterprising 

 firms import a few as samples and give demon- 

 strations of their work, through the Agricul- 

 tuial Society ?— Cor. 



CAHNAUBA WAX 



which can be used in the place of beeswax, is 

 exported from Ceara and the northern ports, 

 where it is also utilised in the manufacture of 

 candles. The loaves of the Carnaubeira tree are 

 dried in the sun and the powder beaten out. 

 Several processes are used in the manufacture 

 of the wax. Hie crop lasts from September to 

 March, the leaves being cut at intervals during 

 that period.— British and Colonial Druggist, 

 Aug. 11. [The Carnauba Wax palm has been 

 tried in Ceylon on a commercial scale but with- 

 out succees,— Ei>. CO.] „ ^ 



CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS ON 

 FRENCH RIVIERA. 



The exports of flowers from the French Riviera 

 has of late years assumed proportions not con- 

 templated even ten years ago. The value of the 

 cut flowers sent away annually from the " Cdte 

 d'Azur" may bo roughly estimated at fifty mil- 

 Irons of fiances (two millions sterling). Amongst 

 the principal flowers grown for export in this 

 region, which comprises Grasse, Nice, and Can- 

 nes, the carnation takes a prominent place. Of 

 late years a demand has arisen for a strong, 

 rigid, stalked variety, a tiges de fer, in place of 

 the old-fashioned kinds with more pliant stems 

 formerly grown This condition has been met 

 by the introduction of American varieties of the 

 plant. It has been found by careful analysis 

 that the flower stems of these new varieties con- 

 tain not only a larger percentage of dry sub- 

 stances — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash 

 —than those with less rigid stems, but that 

 they absorb a greater amount of nourishment 

 from the soil. These facts should not be lost 

 sight of in the cultivation of the flower, and in 

 the use of suitable manures. — Journal of the 

 Royal Society of Arts, Aug. 11. 



DRY FARMING. 



In the inhospitable, semi-arid regions of the 

 globe, where the rainfall is usually below the 

 normal, the sum of the operations forming the 

 practice of growing field crops without irriga- 

 tion has come to be known as Dry Farming. 

 This expression had its origin in America over 

 the Great Plain or Dry Belt on which dry 

 farming is now extensively practised. Some 

 of the chief centres of the industry in Ame- 

 rica are Kansas, Montana, Oregon, Washing- 

 ton, Wyoming, and Oklahoma ; while, else- 

 where in the world, it is coming into vogue 

 in Canada, Australia, South Africa and India, 

 Thousands of acres of arid waste-land in the 

 south-eastern part of the State of Wyoming 

 have already been reclaimed from desert con- 

 ditions by the application to them of methods 

 of dry farming ; while, in Oklahoma, it has 

 been successfully demonstrated that varieties 

 of J uar (Sorghum vulgare) can be grown with- 

 out rain and made to yield crops of even 35 

 bushels of grain on the acre. Some of the 

 other commoner cereal crops there are Oats, 

 with a yield of 36 ; Spring Wheat, with 

 27, Rye, with 18 ; and Barley, with 46 

 bushels per acre : a bushel of the oats weighed 

 46 pounds and one of the wheat 60 pounds. 

 These and other interesting facts are, doubt- 

 less, of great importance to India where 

 the major portion of the cultivable land is 

 exposed to conditions of chronic drought. To 

 those engaged in the agriculture of the country, 

 or compacted, to pulverise and firm its surface. 

 This firming is immediately followed by harrow- 

 ing, — the ploughing, firming, and harrowing 

 being conducted, if possible and preferably, on 

 the same day. Iu some districts, adiec-harrow 



