5)8 
THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1890 
Mombasa. Mangoes. 
Colonel Pollock wrote as follows from Mombasa, 
East Africa: — 
" I send you some Mango seeds of a fruit, which 
considering it is not grafted, is one of the most 
delicious of mangoes : and the trees bear twice if 
not three times a year, much the same as on the 
Niger about which we have before had some corres- 
pondence. If in return you could send us seed of 
various bamboos, Lichies and any other fruit trees, 
I am sure the Administrator-General of the Imperial 
British East African Company would be grateful. If 
you could send us a lb of fresh Assam Tea Seed by 
parcel post we should be obliged. The mails leave 
Bombay for this once a month." The Bamboo, 
Colonel Pollock adds, is unknown at Mombasa and 
the is anxious to introduce it. 
Bamboo seed of two kinds, recently received from 
Mr. Gamble, were sent to Colonel Pollock, and other 
seeds will be sent hereafter. The 18 Mango seeds 
received appeared in good condition and were sown 
at once. 
Packing Plant Cuttings. 
Mr. J. Oleghorn gives the following notes on Mul- 
berry cuttings sent to him by the Society. The cuttinas 
were placed in a wooden box in alternate layers with 
sand, and the whole thoroughly wetted. Mr. Oleghorn 
sa y S : — " The Mulberry cuttingswere despatched from 
Calcutta on the 18th April, arrived at Balasoreon say the 
20th April, remained in the Steamer Co.'s godown 
until the 20th May, arrived at my house on the 
morning of 23rd May, and were planted out the same 
evening. On opening the box, I found the cuttings 
had thrown out roots and buds ; so instead of plant- 
ing in the usual manner, I laid them on the surface 
of the bed and covered lightly with soil. The 35 
days included in the above dates were the hottest 
and most trying of the year." Writing on the 1st 
July, Mr. Cleghorn says " out of about 200 Mulberry 
cuttings I have 139 struck with shoots 6 inches high. 
Some of the cuttings have sent out 4 and 5 shoots. 
I expect about 20 more to strike. The result is 
extremely good considering the history of the package." 
On the 24th of July the cuttings were again counted, 
and 159 plants from 6 to 24 inches were found. As 
the cuttings had been down two months they may 
be taken as thoroughly established, and should this 
method of packing answer equally well with other 
plants, cuttings may be sent to the most remote 
districts in India, to places where the cost of trans- 
porting them has rendered it difficult to send rooted 
plants packed in the ordinary manner. 
Scale on Tea. 
In reference to the Scale on his Tea plants, replying 
to an enquiry, Mr. R. Ballard, Palampur Kangra Vallev, 
writes : — " I have carefully carried out your instructions 
in using the emulsion, and wherever applied it has 
killed the Scale insect. Since the heavy rains set in, 
we have had no fresh bushes attacked, and the 
Scale insect is in abeyance. I have got a powerful 
microscope but cannot obtain a live insect to ex- 
amine. I believe after the rains, and with sunshine, 
the insect will again give trouble, but I have got, 
thanks to you, every appliance ready and will attack 
vigorously." 
Messrs. Mitchell, Reid & Co. also kindly gave the 
following information : — " We have no definite informa- 
tion regarding the blight (Scale), or we should have 
communicated same to you, The manager advised us 
that it had been washed off by the unusually heavy 
rains of the season, but it has hy no means been 
killed, and it seems to be making its appearance 
again. The following is extract of Mr. Bowman's 
Letfcer of 12th instant : — -'Kindly send me up another 
pump for the blight, I found the work slow, and two 
pumps are necessary. I found it checks the blight 
very well, but doubt if it kills all the young in the 
shells. As soon as I am certain, a report shall be 
sent to you.'" 
Stkawsonizer. 
In connection with the subject of insect pests, the 
fact referred to in Messrs. Barry & Co's. letter, that 
Mr. Strawson is attempting to adapt his invention 
for the distribution of insecticides, manure, seeds, &c. 
to the requirements of Tea Planters, is of great in- 
terest to all connected with the industry : indeed, 
a machine which could distribute an insecticide 
cheaply and effectively and be capable of dealing with 
8 or 10 acres an hour, would be of use to Indigo 
planters against the caterpillars which do so much 
damage to Indigo crops; and also in wheat growing 
districts. An abbreviated description of the machine, 
taken from The Sugar Cane is given below. 
Messrs. Barrv & Co. wrote: — "We enclose extract 
from a letter from the Managing Proprietor of an 
Assam Garden, who is now in Europe, which explains 
itself. Our correspondent is in communication with 
other authorities on Tea pests and the means whereby 
thev might be destroyed, and we shall feel extremely 
obliged if you would favor us with the information 
asked for." The following is the enclosure referred 
to : — " Might I ask you to do me the favor of com- 
municating with Mr. Wood-Mason, the curator of 
the Natural History Museum, Calcutta, who, I believe, 
is the first entomologist in India, and ask him to 
give the scientific names of the mo-t destructive 
Tea pests, especially those which cause what we 
call Mosquito blight, and also Green fly and Red 
spider? But the mosquito blight is most destructive, 
and it is about that insect, its scientific name, habits, 
&c, that I wish for information to give to Mr. Strawson 
the inventor of the " Strawsonizer," who is in 
consultation with Dr. Riley and other authorities as 
to the best chemical solutions. &c to be used in his 
machine for the destruction of the various kinds of 
insect pests-" 
The following reply was sent to Messrs. Barry & 
Co.: — I had the pleasure of forwarding copy of the 
extract enclosed in your favor of the 20th instant 
relating to tea pests to Mr. Wood -Mason and of 
asking him to favor us with a Memorandum givi' g 
the names of the more destructive tea pests, Mr 
Wood-Mason refers us to his " Report on the tea 
mite and Tea bug of Assam, which he mentions can 
be had from Messrs. Thacker, Spink & Co. for 
eight annas. Mr. Strawson would probibly be able 
to glean information regarding other pest«, as well 
as those named, from the chapter on " Blights " in 
the Tea Cyclopaedia,' published at the office of the 
Tea Gazette, 1881. As Mr. Wood-Mason's report has 
no plate of the more active and destructive pests 
of the two it deals with — the tea bug, or " Mo°quito' 
(Helopeltis theivora) I have the pleasure of sending 
you a copv of Mr. Peal's paper to which you refer, 
Dublished in this Society's Journal, Vol. IV. N. S. 
I have also the pleasure of sending copies of this 
Society's Proceedings for Januarv 1888, and for May 
and July 1889. In the first the result of a trial of 
an insecticide distributed in a liquid state through a 
suitable oump, is given. Mr, Jamieson. of the Second 
Fallodhi Tea Co. reported that though the insecticide 
appeared, to some extent, to check the "Mosquitos" 
attacking the plants, the cost of the application, and 
its frequent renewal, was prohibitory. This may, to 
some extent, have been due to the construction of 
the distributing engine, which resembled the ordinary 
garden hand pump in appearance, being fixed to a 
receptacle to hold the wash, and mounted on small 
wheels ; the machine would therefore be an awkward 
one on hilly gardens, or even to wheel over broken 
land and between tea bushes. In the two proceedings 
of the current year sent., reference is made to a new 
pest which has appeared in the Kangra Valley. This 
pest doe * not appear very formidable now, the means 
of destruction adopted having proved efficacious, as 
the enclosed extract from a letter received yesterday 
will show i as. however, allied species have been found 
to cause most se-ious damage to coffee, and in 
America to orange plantations, it may be that we 
have to congratulate ourselves for having found re- 
medy at an early stage " Mr. Peal's paper referred 
to above was written in 1873 when the tea bug was 
just coming into prominence as a destructive pest, 
and the seven plates which illustrated it, show the 
insect in various stages, and the effect of its attack 
on the leaf. 
