356 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST [November I, 1889. 
lands subsequently, :ind where can paddv yielding 
better results and with a handsomer appearance be 
met with in the Western Province than in f.bt Pasdutn 
and Raig'm Korle fields and those at Mutturajawella, 
specially liable to such submersions ? The name Muttu- 
raja.wella is self explanatory. Salt is discarded, how- 
ever, in padly cultivation. I am responsible for the 
statement that excess salt is destroyed. Unfortunately, 
writing from here I have no excess to Administration 
Reports to support that statement ; but I have a 
clear recollection of your denouncing such destruction 
in your annual criticisms of Administration Reports. 
By the merest accideut I happen to be iu possession 
of the Administration Report of the Northern Province 
for 1884. In it I find the very large sum of Rl.333-08 
expended for the destruction of salt unfit for collec- 
tion. What is the meaning of this term ? I take it 
that it refers to the residual salt in which the im- 
purities have settled down. That this salt is fit for 
human consumption and will be no used U abundantly 
proved I think by the fact that so large a sum is 
expended in its destruction, and that it is salt in ex- 
cess of requirements by its not being collected. In 
this connection it may be noted that the production 
of salt, including watching, weighing, removing to store 
aud storing ranged between I2'50 and 19'73 cents per 
cwt., so that its sale at 40 cts. per cwt. to agriculturists, 
if manufactured beyond present requirements, ought 
to aid the revenue sensibly. This communication has 
unconsciously attained an inordinate length. I must 
therefore discuss the coconut leaf disease in another 
letter. 
I cannot conclude this without offering a welcome 
to Mr. Christopher Driebe-g, the newly-appointed Su- 
perintendent of the Agricultural School. He was the 
first Burgher youth — -more shame to them ! — to leave 
the beaten tracks of the learned professions and take 
to Agriculture as a study. He deserved encourage 
meat for this at the hands of the Government, and 
he has fairly earned it by his distinguished career at 
Edinburgh. May his attempts at instilling the infor- 
mation he gained at such expe ise be as successful as 
bis own performances. I hope he will take part in 
the discussions on agricultural subjects occasionally 
raised in the local press by pe sons whose knowledge 
is hut empirical — like myself. We are groping in the 
dark, vainly struggling for that light, much of which 
he happily ought to possess— B.— Local "Examiner." 
_JEIILL COUNTRY PLANTING REPORTS. 
P NE WEATHER AND ITS EFFECT ON TEA — A SCENE OF 
QUIET BEAUTY IN NUWARA ELIYA — FURZE VS. BROOM - 
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SANATORIUM — THE 
LORANTHUS PARASITE ON AUSTRALIAN TREES. 
Nanuoya, Oct. 22nd. 
Yesterday continued bright throughout, the heat 
being tempered by a gentle movement of the air 
in this valley and by pretty strong breeze in Nu 
wara Eliya. This morning the sun shines into the 
valleys of Dimbula, while the ranges around are 
orowned with haze, — haze of the description which 
indicates heat rather than rain. If the fine 
weather continues, tea planters will be able to 
take changes from their constantly pressing duties 
during the Tivali holidays, which commence to- 
morrow and which will close only with the end 
of the week. If some portion of flush goes " bangy" 
(hard) so much the better, probably, in many cases, 
for the strength and future yield of the bushes. 
Yesterday, as for several days previously, the 
weather in the Sanatorium was about as perfect 
as it could bi, hut for the heat of the sun, which, 
however, ha3 be n largely tempered by cool winds, 
which yesterday were strong enough to oover the 
Lake with broken wavelets A boat rowed over 
the surface of the water, with groups of cattle 
browsing on the shores, gave animation to a scene, 
the general characteristic of which is quiet beauty. 
While admiring the glowing gold of the masses of 
furze blossoms, I could not help regretting that 
in the fight f«r "the survival of the fittest" its 
general companion in the old country had here 
had the worst of it, so that in writing of the 
tortuous stream which me an ders across the Plain, 
we cannot write of 
" The burn stealing under the lang yellow broom." 
In the early days of Baker's Farm, I can remember 
a fence in which broom was as prominent as 
fuchsias. 'J 'he latter have lingered on, but the 
broom has disappeared to such an extent that, it 
was with a start of pleased surprise I saw a solitary 
specimen with a few of the beautiful blossoms cha- 
racteristic of this elegant plant in the privet-like 
fence of one of Cotton's Cottag es. Talking of cottages, 
Mr. Cross has made a very pretty addition to their 
number, while the fine fron t of Mr. McLaren's new 
Store has relieved the ordinary architecture of the 
bazaars. 
In going about I kept my eyes open with re- 
ference to the prevalence of the loranthus parasite 
on the now largely prevalent Acacia melanoxylon, 
so pine-like in its general appearance and mode 
of growth, often beautifully and sharply pyramidal. 
The parasite seem? very capricious in its attacks, 
often infesting half the trees in a grove, or one 
out of a pair of trees, while the rest are perfectly 
free. The older trees, of course, suffer the most, 
and in the case of some of these the foliage of 
the parasite is more prominent than that of the 
original tree If pi;ture^que effect is desired, then 
the loranthus may be allowed to work its will in 
sucking the juices from the b irk of the trees. 
But if the longevity of ihe trees is ao. object, or 
if they should be grown for firewood and timber, 
then war should be waged against the parasite. 
A cooly Bent round occasionally with a large kQife 
or sickle attached to a long pole could easily 
keep the trees clear of their insidious enemy. So 
serious did the Madras Government deem the 
attacks of loranthus on Australian trees which are 
grown largely on the Nilgiris, at Ootacamund, 
Coonoor and Wellington, that Dr. Bidie was deputed 
specially to report on the evil and its remedy. I 
have some recollection that the eucalypts were 
also attacked on the Nilgiris, but in Nuwara Eliya 
this is not the case ; and if I am not wrong in my 
reflection, it is possible that the terebinthine 
pr nc pie in thes=i tr-es is adverse to the pa asite. 
It at acks old rh dodendron trees badly som times, 
and yesterday I saw a specimen on a p aeh tree. 
The fine specimens of A. melanoxylon near the 
Kaehcheri are perfectly clean, and the other Aus- 
tralian acacias seem never to be attacked. I reserve 
further notice of Australian and other plants at 
Nuwara Eliya, as it is post time. 
KINO-RED — BLUE-GUMS FOR TIMBER — OTHER EUCALYPTS, 
WATTLES, &0. IN THE NUWARA ELIYA LOCAL BOARD 
NURSERIES. 
Nanuoya, Oct. 23rd. 
Before noticing a visit I paid to the Local Board 
Nurseries at Nuwara Eliya (which are to be taken over 
by the Forest Department) under the guidance of 
young Mr. Tringham, I feel bound to compliment 
one of your composite demons and the proof-reader 
on their ingeouity in so perverting my statement 
that the presence of " kino red " (I am pretty sure 
I used the hyphen) contributed to the strength of 
the timber of a eucalypt, that I was made to say 
that such strength was due to the presence of 
"kindred." A proof reader of ordinary intelligence 
might have seen that this was abolute nonsenee, 
and referred to the MS. Seeing, however, that 
misdate yesterday's letter 23rd, I content myself 
with a mild expletive, emphatic but not profane, 
thus failing to imitate a late jocative civilian, who, 
receiving a proof with many printers' errors, wrote 
