and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. — December, 1911. 565 



The above is very funny and excites the risi- 

 bility of "experts," who will not call them- 

 selves "experts," unless they can both report 

 on and value estates ; they find no necessity to 

 dissect or perform any other surgical operation 

 on the figures of each picking, when they have 

 the total of the six pickings. Besides, it is very 

 wide of the mark to say that the fifth picking 

 gives the largest proportion of the total yield. 

 Every coconut planter, of even very limited ex- 

 perience, knows that this is not the case. 



It puzzles one to be told that " the safest 

 plan is to take an average of 20-45 per tree and 

 divide the total into thousands." What in the 

 name of commonsense does this mean? Multi- 

 ply that amount by three, and in this manner 

 we get approximately the net annual income 

 from the estate. What is three ? Is it three 

 pounds ? If so, we get the gross and not net 

 annual income. 



No careful valuator who has a care for his re- 

 putation, will value indiscriminately all coconut 

 estates, especially those yielding " '20-45 nuts " 

 per tree per annum, at 12 years' purchase. 



Mr. Wicherley's process of valuation is thus: — 

 500 acres at 60 trees equal 30,000 trees, at 40 

 nuts per tree equal 1,200,000 nuts by 3 equal 

 £3,600 at 12 years' purchase equal £45,200. 



I will value the same estate, taking Rs. 20 as 

 the equivalent of £1. Thus : — 



500 acres at 60 trees equal 30,000 trees, 

 at 40 nuts per tree equal 1,200,000 

 nuts at £3 or Rs. 60 per thousand 



equal ... £3,600 



Expenditure at £2 or Rs. 40 per acre... £1,000 



Net annual income ... £2,600 



£2,600 by 10 years' purchase ... £26,000 

 To the investor, mine is a safer valuation. 

 —Truly yours, 



RUBBER IN THE CONGO. 



The Government of the Congo are paying 

 special attention to the growth of the planta- 

 tion rubber industry, having planted 30,000 of 

 the Hevea Braziliensis, and ordered seven areas 

 in the Bangala and Equator districts to be 

 brought under cultivation. Experiments with 

 the Manihot Glaziovii have been conducted at 

 twenty different Government posts, the plants 

 numbering 185,000, while other species will also 

 be dealt with as well as the 11,000,000 old rubber 

 vines known to exist in the country, — H. & C. 

 Ml ,Nov. 17. 



BANANA STUFFING. 



A new banana recipe is savoury banana stuf- 

 fing (for roast pork, goose, or duck, etc.). 



Peel six to eight ripe bananas and chop 

 rather coarsely. Season well with salt and pep- 

 per, and add half a breakfast oup of white 

 breadcrumbs, a beaten egg, chopped parsley, 

 and savoury herbs to taste. Mix the whole 

 well, and stuff the meat or birds in the usual 

 manner with this preparation. The delicate 

 flavour of the bananas gives a delicious aroma 

 to the birds when cooking.— E, News, Nov. 1. 



CACAO MANURING EXPERIMENTS 

 AT PERADENIYA. 



AN ABLE AND EXBAUSTIV'E REPORT. 



The cacao manurial experiments have been 

 one of the main features of the Experimental 

 Station at Peradeniya since its inception in 

 1902. But although these experiments have now 

 been in progress for nine years, no attempt has 

 hitherto been made to give anything like a 

 complete account of the information which may 

 be drawn from them. We are, therefore, all 

 the more beholden to Dr. R. H. Lock for his 

 very able and interesting report— constituting 

 the "Circulars and Agricultural Journal of 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon," for 

 October, 1911, — on experiments in manuring 

 old cacao at the Peradeniya, between 1903 

 and 1911. Not only are these the most elabo- 

 rate manurial experiments ever carried out in 

 a tropical country, but they are probably quite 

 as thorough as any experiments carried out in 

 any part of the world with a permanent crop. 

 The deductions to be drawn from them should, 

 therefore, arrest the attention of all who have 

 to deal with permanent crops, as well as of 

 all who are interested in tropical agriculture. 

 Dr. Lock points out in the first instance that 

 the conditions of experiment have been far 

 from ideal. The plots— 25 in number, each 

 measuring one acre, except three, each of which 

 is divided into two sections of half an acre each, 

 — include a mixture of varieties irregularly 

 planted ; and a varying number of coconuts — 

 in some cases over thirty in a single plot — have 

 been allowed to stand among the cacao. The crop 

 of cacao does not, however, seem to bear any 

 direct relation to the number of coconut trees, 

 for one of the best yielding plots of the former 

 contains no less than thirty-three of the latter. 

 It was Mr. Herbert Wright, who, in 1902, 

 planned the experiments in consultation with 

 Mr. Kelway Bamber. The irregularity of the 

 plots was then fully realized by Mr, Wright 

 who pointed out the desirability ef establish- 

 ing even plots of young cacao upon which more 

 reliable tests could be carried out ; but wheu 

 the duty of scientific superintendence was as- 

 signed to Dr. Lock in 1908, it was considered 

 advisable to allow the treatment of the plots 

 to continue without alteration for two or three 

 years or more, in order that such conclusions 

 as could be drawn from them should rest upon 

 more or less solid ground. So a new plot, 5 

 acres in extent, was established in 1908 from 

 seed exclusively derived from a single tree of a 

 good Forastero strain, and it is hoped that this 

 plot will allow of the carrying out of experi- 

 ments which will afford a more satisfactory test 

 of the influence of different artificial manures 

 upon the growth and yield of cacao. Before the 

 begiuning of the experiments described in Dr. 

 Lock's report, the whole estate, including the 

 experimental plots, had been allowed to fall 

 into a condition of neglect. In particular, Al- 

 bizzia tees planted for shade had grown into a 

 veritable forest, and their removal could only be 

 accomplished at the cost of considerable damage 

 to the cacao. In association with the excess of 

 shade, disease was rampant. Cacao canker was 



