400 
PADDY CULTIVATION : IRON VS. WOODEN 
PLOUGHS. 
I have not the slightest hope that Mr. Green, 
even it lie live to a green old age, will .see the use 
of the iron plough popularized. Living as I do iu 
intimate contact with the Uoii/a, I can feel his pulse 
pretty accurately. The plough is too heavy and ex- 
pensive to become popular. 1 have the prize plough 
of the Matale Exhibition of 1887. It is an inch wiuer 
than the ordinary native plough, and yet my men 
require compulsion to yoke on my own cattle to it. 
They alwa^ s lincl an excuse to substitute the ordinary 
plough for it. 1 may be wrong, but I am strongly 
of opinion that more is attributed to the beneficial 
results of using the iron plough than is justly its 
due. The benefits arising from deep ploughing and 
from bringing the subsoil to the suiface are by no 
means invariable. They are dependent on the com- 
position of the soil. It is for this reason that the 
use of the iron plough should not be generally re- 
commended. In very many instances the use of a 
cultivator or subsoiler will be more advantageous, as 
for instance on a sandy soil. A Dative plough works 
the same as a cultivator, and is the best for use on 
sandy fields. To say that it merely scratches the 
surface of the ground is to say what has not re- 
ceived the sanction of truth iu spite of its frequent 
repetition. Anyone acquainted with its working knows 
that it works deeper than an iron plough can be 
made to work with one pair of bullocks. Its faults 
are its lightness and consequent inability to make 
an impression on a soil that is not thoroughly satur- 
ated with moisture, and the waste of labour involved 
in using an implement with so narow a furrow. 
It may be as well that I should explain why 1 
said that the beneficial effects following the use of 
the iron plough are exaggerated, or I would 
raise a nest of hornets about my ears in 
the persons of Mr. Green's proteyes, who are 
extremely loyal both to him and to the plough 
he has introuuced. I think that the iucreased yield 
which undoubtedly follows the use of the iron plough 
is due more to the after treatment of the sod than 
to its use merely. Anyone acquainted with paddy 
cultivation, knows that except where no water is 
available the fields are constantly under water. The 
soil is never subjected to the beneficial influence of 
aeration. Being constantly under water it becomes 
sour, the protonide of iron which mostly all swampy 
lands contain, ana which is soluuie and harmful to 
vegetation, has very few opportunities of coming in 
contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere, and be- 
coming insoluble ana even beneficial. The decay 
of the vegetable matter is retarded, and it has very few 
opportunities of absorbing the ammonia of the at- 
mosphere. According to the system practised by the 
Agricultural Instructors, the fields are ploughed and 
aerated for six weeKs or two months, and the increased 
yield of paddy is invariably spoken of as due to the 
use of the iron plough. I think that if fields are 
ploughed with tiie native plough and subjected to 
the same after-treatment, the results will not fall 
short of those which follow the use of the iron plough. 
I hope that in future experiments Agricultural In- 
structors will plough equal areas with both kinds 
of plough, subject them to the same treatment and 
record results. It will be far easier to wean the 
conservative Goiya from the uuscientitic tieatment 
of his soil thau to make him take to heavy and ex- 
pensive ploughs. Let the beneficial results of aerat- 
ing his field after ploughing oe demonstrated to him, 
and he will follow it even if the practice results, as 
it undoubtedly does, in a plentiful crop of weeds 
and necessitates more frequent cross ploughings to 
get them under. — Local " Examiner.' 
* 
Dituo Exror.'ra : Peru. — The value of ooca leaves 
exported from Peru in 1888 is returned at 309,361 
soles, which represents about 730,000 lb., the 
puce ranging locally from 25 to 30 soles per 50 
kilos. The exports of the so-oalled "crude cocaine' 
are placed at about 100,000 soles.— Chemist and 
pruggUU 
Ceylon Tobacco. — We call attention to the 
letter rent to us by Mr. Wm J. Roberts of M»-st\s 
A. J. Morgan & Co. of Alexandria on the subject of 
Cejlon tobacco as an article of export to Egypt. The 
prices mentioned of 25s to 30s a cwt. (2£d to S\i a lb.) 
do not look very attractive : but as only the com- 
monest kind of leaf seems to be required, there 
may be room for some trade. 
Vanilla Exports: Mauritius. — The following 
were the exports of vanilla from Mauritius 
in the years 1880 and 18S7, according to value 
and weights : — 
1886 1887 
Value Value Value Value 
Kilos Rupees Kilos Rupees 
To France 12,054 208,312 12,496 182,421 
To United Kingdom 10,604 100,537 5,964 67,988 
To Other Countries 234 3,200 51 530 
Total.... 22,792 312.049 1,501 250,939 
— Chemist avd Druggist. 
Nilgiri Tea. — A correspondent of the Madras 
Mail, writing from Coonoor, asks : — 
Will some of onr Planters kindly tell nn what tea 
costs per pound to put down in the London Market 
from the Nilgiris ? Mr. Owen of Ceylon, in his work 
on tea, puts it down at 7d. The Assam Estates pat 
down their cost at from 7d to Is Id. I would put the 
cust for the Nilgiris down at 7d if not much cultivation 
is done, and ; t 9d with good cultivation. This ought 
to be a very interesting question for Planters, and 
I trust a number will come forward with replies. If 
tea can be put down in London at 8d per pound, and au 
average of Is obtained fur the whole produce of a 
garden, how happy all interested in the Nilgiris would 
be. Nilgiri lea is beginning to attract some atten- 
tion in London now. Let us all strive to keep up 
quality. 
Carbolineum Avenabius. — Messrs. Stohmann 
& Treusein of Hamburg have sent us a circular 
respecting the above patent preparation, composed, 
it is said, of various septic substances, which, it 
is affirmed, when applied to wood as paint (the 
colour being a fine walnut) does not stop up but 
impregnates the pores and thus preserves even 
unseasoned wood. Certificates from railway officers 
in Germany are quoted as to its value when ap- 
plied to sleepers and other underground woodwork 
as well as to wooden buildings, rolling stock, &o. 
There is also a testimonial from South America as 
to the value of Carbolineum Aveoariu^ in protecting 
timber from white auts. The claim made for this 
substance that by merely applying it as a paint 
it penetrates the pores of wood and acts as an 
effectual preservative is, if true, very important, 
because steeping and injecting processes are very 
expensive. We quote a passage : — 
" Two boards cut from one and the same piece of 
piue, one of which for the sake of experiment was 
painted with Carbolineum Avenarius,and the other left 
unpainted, were buried, and after a lapse of three 
years dug up and examined. The result was that the 
wood to which the Carbolineum Avenarius has been 
applied, shewed no signs of decay, whilst the other was 
found to be in a rotting coudition." 
This reminds us of an experiment by the late Dr. 
Elliott, the results of which we saw half a century 
ago. •:' Kyanizing " had just been introduced and 
described in England, and Dr. Elliott tested two 
pieces of wood as above described and with similar 
results. Creosoting as now applied to the pine 
sleepers used on our railways is effectual in ar- 
resting decay only for a limited time, and it might 
be worth tho while of our railway authorities 
making a trial of the carbolineum paint, which 
seems to be used for sleepers up to timber required 
n ship-building. Besides its preservative qualities 
it is said to be a good disinfeotant, 
