392 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, 1889 
the area in America where such tohacco can be suc- 
cessfully raised, it is doubtful whether the local de- 
maud iu America itself for "wrapper" tobacco, stimul- 
ated by prohibitive duties on imports, will not take 
oft' all that can be grown in that part of the world. 
If we are right in this supposition, then it would 
leave Sumatra, Borneo, and, let us hope, Ceylon, to 
supply the European markets with "wrapper" leaf. 
— Local " Times." 
PINEAPPLE FIBKET~BAMBOO SEED; TEA. 
Froir. the Procedings of tlie Agricultural and Horti- 
cultural Society of India for Januarg 1889- 
From these we take the following extracts : — 
Pineapple Fibre. — At the request of Mr. T. N. 
Mukerjee, iu ebarge of the Economic Museum, arrange- 
ments were made for preparing some pineapple fibre 
required by the Government of Bengal. With the 
kind permission of Colonel Neil, Secretary to the 
Government of Bengal in t he Public Works Department, 
the Death & Ellwood Machine in the possession of the 
Society was, for convenience of obtaining steam power, 
taken to the Sibpore College Workshops. In accordance 
with instructions received from Simla some leaf was 
retted at different intervals of from three to fourteen 
days ; those steeped for a longer time were quite sodden 
and unfit to pass through any machine dependent on a 
scraping action for clearing the fibre, and even the 
leaves steeped but three days gave inferior fibre and 
much wastage. Some 20 lb. of fibre from fresh leaves 
were prepared, of good quality and appearance. A 
report will be sent with the fibre for the information 
of Government. 
Bamboo Seed. — From time to time applications are 
received for Bamboo Seed, but these can seldom be met 
for, as is well known, Bamboos flower at long and 
uncertain intervals. Mr. Gamble, in reply to an enquiry, 
favored tbe Society with the following interesting note 
on the 3ubject — 
" The only fairly large bamboos, which flower pretty 
nearly every year and do not die down after flowering 
are JDeudrocalmus strictus and D. Hamiltonii. The 
first is the commonest bamboo in India, and especially 
in Central and Southern hill regions. It prefers dry 
hill slopes, and is an excellent bamboo for purposes 
where a very big long stem is not wanted, but only 
strength. 
" Seed can probably be got occasionally from Con- 
servators of Forest. Mr. Home could probably procure 
it from Ohota Nagpore ; but the safest one to write to 
is the Conservator of the School Circle at Dehra 
Dun, N.-W. P., who has a regular seed'agency. D. Hamil- 
tonii is the common large bamboo of the Sikkim Hill 
slopes. Extending east into Assam, it flowers sporadi- 
cally most years, and seed might be got by official 
application to the Conservator of Forests, Bengal and 
Assam, (Darjeeling and Shillong). It has big stems 
but thin walls, and is not very strong. 
"B. Arundinacea, the thorny bamboo, may occasion- 
ally be got in flower. *o may B. Tulda, the white 
bamboo of the country >ut Calcutta. 
" What I should, in your place, recommend your 
correspondents to do, is to grow the bamboos they want 
to propagate by means of offsets. In any part of India 
where village bamboos are common, the villagers under- 
stand how to do it. It is much the best, quickest and 
safest system. It would probably take 10 years to raise 
a clump from seed, while it can usually be done in 5, 
from offsets. In Lower Bengal, the best kinds to grow 
for useful purposes are B. Balcooa (Balku bans), B. 
vulgaris (Basini bans), and the big thorny one, B. 
Arundinacea (Beiir bans.)" 
Mr. Sanford of Pot-bander State, Katheawar, in a 
recent letter referred to a Japanese bamboo introduced 
by Dr. Brandis, who had distributed the seed. As Mr. 
gandford mentioned that some of these bamboos were 
crowing at Somastipore, a station on theTirhoot State 
Kailway, Mr. Gleadowe-Newcomen, tbe Traffic Super- 
intendent, was applied to, and gave the following 
particulars : — " The bamboos were grown from seed 
received by Mr. Horace Bell, late manager of the 
Tirhoot State Railway. With a little care and cultiva- 
tion they grow magnificently, beating any kind I have 
een in this country. I have some in my compound 
three years 'old, or rather in their third year, they are 
quite 30 feet hiuh and very prolific ; I believe they grow 
SO fet t long. If planted too close they kill each other, 
but if given room, throw out side shoots from tbe roots 
very rapidly. They have not done well in wet places, 
but require a fairly moist spot." 
Mr. Gleadowe-Newcomen also very kindly sent some 
specimens of the leaves and stems which have been sent 
on to Mr. Gamble, who is engaged in preparing a work 
on Bamboos. 
Tea Analysis. — A large number of samples of soil 
and plants have been received through Messrs. Daven- 
port & Co. from the Singbulli and Murmah, Central 
Terai, Gielle, Kingtoog and Chenga Gardens, with full 
particulars as to class and age of plant and other infor- 
mation. These are too lengthy to be inserted in the 
Proceedings, though valuable for the purpose of the 
inquiry. 
PADDY HULLING. 
Agricultural Improvement in the Baxticaola 
District. — We understand that Mr. Fisher, the Govern- 
ment Agent of Badula, and Mr. LeMesurier of Nuwara 
Eliya, are about to introduce a paddy- hulling machine 
into the Batticaloa district, and we suppose they 
will follow on the usual lines of showing the head- 
men of villages how the machine should be worked, 
and getting the headmen to induce the natives to 
use it. The machine which is going to Batticaloa, is 
of English make, and was for some time used at 
Hambantota, where we believe tbe people, as in other 
parts where it has been introduced, could not be pre- 
vailed on to continue using it. It is now being re- 
paired at the Government Factory, and will be sent 
off to Batticaloa shortly. The idea is to get the natives 
there to use it ; but we have our doubts as to their 
success, for natives do not take to English machinery, 
and cannot be got to appreciate it, while the cheap- 
ness of their labor renders it very unlikely that paddy 
cultivators would care to invest in expensive machinery, 
which would increase the cost of production. — Local 
" Times." 
Pruning Coffee.-— A Nilgiri planter, a Mr. L. W. 
Gray, writes a letter to the Madras Mail, with 
reference to the results of pruning on the bearing 
capabilities of coffee. The letter referred to is as 
follows : — 
Sir, — I am in charge of an estate which has given 
the following crops per acre — 
1880- 1881 ... 11 cwts. 1884-1885 ... 5 cwts. 
1881- 1882 ... 5 „ 1885-1886 ... 15 „ 
1882- 1883 ... 10 „ — 
1883- 1884 ... 15 „ Total 61 cwts. 
— 10 cwts. per acre for 6 years. 
This I must mention, was brought about by non- 
pruning, liberal manuring, and irrigation. From 1883 
to 1885 the estate was visited by several planters who 
had heard of the above result, and they all said the 
place must be pruned, or it would go out. So I tried 
a small field, and, as the trees did not seem to suffer, 
I proposed to the proprietor that we should prune the 
whole estate, and to this he gave his sanction. So 
in 1886 the pruning took place, and the result of 
crops has been as follows : 1886-87=3 cwts. per acre, 
1887-88=10 cwts. per acre, 1868-89=6 cwts. per acre. 
Total 19 — or 6 cwt. per acre for 3 years. The trees 
in the above years, viz., 1886-88, at blossom time, 
put in quite 10 cwts. per acre, but during March 
or April a large percentage of the bearing wood 
died back, and consequently I lost my crop. Now, 
what I want to know is — is this dying back due to 
pruning, or "leaf disease." Last year, after pruning, 
the estate looked fit for 15 cwts. per acre, and there 
is no doubt that that amount of blossom came out, 
but, as I said before, most of my wood died back. 
This year we did not prune, and a magnificent blossom 
has been out, quite, if not more than, 15 cwts. per 
acre; buttbe wood is beginning to die back again, 
and the trees are almost leafless, Until pruning 
commenced in 1886 this dying back was unknown 
on the estate. 
