March i, i890.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
635 
mediate habitat ; (3) that its sensitiveness to atmos- 
pheric and electric influences can then, and under such 
conditions alone, be thoroughly controlled, and may then 
be turned to practical account for forecasting the local 
weather, with truly marvellous precision, 48 hours be- 
forehand, and likewise earthquakes, or subterraneous 
disturbances, both at a distance and locally, with re- 
spectively three to eight days' previous notice. 
Any number of weather plants placed under such 
conditions will behave alike. Such is Professor No- 
wack's experience, which extends now over more ttau 
34,000 different observations with hundreds of plants, 
and is, all in all, a matter of the deepest scientific 
study. In Austria the merits of the plant have been 
fully recognised by a great many who had originally ap- 
proached the matter with the utmost disbelief and ridi- 
cule. The Archduke Reiner is a firm believer in the 
plant's merits, and has shown Mr. Nowack much en- 
couragement in his work, and whole town-hips, agri- 
cultural unions, farmers, &c. have furnished testimoni- 
als to like effect. The observatory of the Austrian 
Tourists' Olub, on the Sonnwendstein, at an altitude of 
1,511 metres, in the Styrian Alps, well known to many 
English tourists, which supplies tbe various branches of 
the club with weather forecasts during th^ season, has 
now for already over a year, discarded both aneroid and 
ordinary barometers for that purpose, and depends for 
its foreoast upon the weather plant alone. The earth- 
quake at Stolao, in Bosnia, on the 10th inst., which wbs 
so clearly and accurately forecast by the weatlier plant 
as early as the 2nd inst. at noon, and was thus men- 
tioned in the" Times" of the 5th inst., must, moreover, 
be a conclusive proof to even the most soeptical that 
forecasts of great imporlance can be reliably ascertained 
by the aid of the weather plant. 
So much for ordinary human and even quasi-scientific 
credulity. We may add that Professor Oliver's 
observations were made on plants provided by Pro- 
fessor Nowack. In the new edition of Clough's 
Sinhalese Dictionary the plant we have been noticing 
is mentioned under the word Masha, thus : "jeweller's 
weight, colloquially olinda-wel, weight about 17 
grains troy." 
PLANTING IN HAPUTALE. 
RAIN — COFFEE— TEA — THE CHIMNEYS BLOWING "INCENSE 
TO THE SKIES " — THE LATE MB. GLENNY's BUILD- 
INGS — THE MARRIAGE OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST — 
THE MEDICAL ASSISTANT— OLD DAWBAWINNA R. M. — 
POLICE — THE GOVEKNOR's VISIT — CATTLE MURRAIN. 
Februaiy 12th. 
Sinoe my last notes, I have extended my ramble 
from Golconda Hospital as far as the farthest estate 
at the west end of this district. The rains of the 
31st ultimo and at beginning of this month must have 
been much heavier towards that side, as I found the 
cart road seriously damaged in two places before reach- 
ing Haldummulla town, and pioneers were repairing 
the damages, but although the water seems to have 
gone over the two well built bridges at Batgoda they 
were not damaged, i he rainfall on an estate at that 
end was 4 40 inches Oil the 31st ultimo and 4-95 in. 
on the lBt instaut, continued more or less up 
to the 5th instant, but has beeu fine since. Today 
the cloulds are gathering all rouud and a small shower 
is passing as I write. There was pretty strong blow- 
ing of wind esp' cially during the nights on the other 
side aud about the Piuuaketiya Pass, and my hat was 
m ar being blown away on a voyage of discovery in 
to the lowcouutry. All over the other side, wher- 
ever there was any good coffee remaining, the trees 
on the estates were crowded with bljssom spikes 
which should huve opoued by this time and 
the result shoul 1 Lie a good coffee crop " next year." 
Tea was looking well, but not flushing particularly 
wherever the quality or " j it" of the bushes was of an 
inferior description. Same tea of high class jat in thi 
Kalupabana Valley was looking superb, and no doubt the 
good almost virgin Holland olimate ol this valley are 
just the thing lor the growth of ton. The chimneys of 
tho two factories at Berragalla and Needwood were 
blowiug " incense to tho skies" aud working, but I had 
no time to look in and see the friends of the " new 
generation " and new produot at work. May their 
chimneys smoke for ever ! J. A. 
♦- 
Coolies on Tea Gardens. — A contemporary 
writes :— " Mr. Fletcher has been elected Honorary 
Secretary of the Terai Tea Planters' Association, 
in succession to Mr. Gordon, who is going home. 
At the same meeting, a unanimous vote of thanks 
was accorded to Mr. Gordon, for his valuable 
services while Honorary Secretary of the Asso- 
ciation. At the same meeting, it was agreed that 
the offer of a special police icrce for the protec- 
tion of ooolies marching by the route recommended 
by Mr. Fletcher 1'iom (Jhota Narpore to the 
Western Dogars and Terai wa.; neoessary to the in- 
terests of the district. This n solution is a sensible 
one; as there is no doubt whatever as to coolies 
from Chota Nagpore being very frequently — indei d, 
wilfully — misled as to their destinat.on by the 
agents of coolie contractors from Assam, Cachar 
and Sylhet. The Dhangurs do not know very much 
about geography, and they aie undoubtedly often 
'personally conducted' to other tea districts, while 
they were fancying themselves en route for the 
happy hunting grounds of the Darjeeling Terai and 
Western Dooars. — M. Mail. 
Our Export of Cardamoms during the 
current season has been exercising the wits of 
leading local authorities as to where all the supply 
comes from that continues to find its way througn 
the Colombo Customs. The great cardamom dis- 
tricts of Ceylon are generally believed to be 
" fiangala, Nitre Cave and Medamahanuwara," 
the north-eabtern group of p'anting districts ; and 
a careful detailed estimate for each estate in this 
division and making allowance for some from the 
Knuckles, only shows a total outturn of 120,000 lb. 
for the current year — that is from 1st Jan. to 
31st Deo. 1890. How much more Bhould be added 
for the rest of the oountry is the question ? Well, 
from what we know of the country and planting, 
elsewhere, we should feel inclined to limit the 
total shipments to about 200,000 lb. with the 
foregoing information before us. But when we turn 
to the recorded exports for the current commer- 
cial season and note that 201,409 lb. have been 
shipped between let October last and 13th Feb., 
against 131,000 lb. in same period last season, wo 
fear that our previous estimate for the whole year 
1st Oct. to 30th Sept. of 300,000 lb. will be under 
rather than over the mark, and that the ship- 
ments for the calendar year will not be much Iobs ? 
The Finances of the Dutch East Indies. — A 
report on the budget for Netherlands India, which 
has lately been published by the Foreign Office 
shows an estimated revenue of £10,677,072 and an 
expenditure of £11,708,355 or a deficit of £1,031,283. 
The expenditure however, includes £774,417 for 
the construction of Government railways and the 
establishment of telegraphic communication between 
Macassar and Bandjermassin, while there is also 
an inorease in the estimate for the navy. The 
increase in revenue is due to a higher esti- 
mate of the returnB for the sale of coffee, but 
there is a decline in the estimated returns from 
cinchona and tin. The deficiency will be met, 
if necessary from the surplus for 1887 which 
amounted to £2,091,652 and was the largest sur- 
plus since 1867. Ou the whole the financial result 
of the past six years is a great improvement on 
the previous six. Between 187S and 1883 there 
were deficits every year except one amounting in 
the aggregate to £4,388.359, to meet which a loan 
was raised in 1883. On the other hand in 1885, 1886 
and 1887 there were surpluses amounting altogether 
to £2,428,200. — London Times. 
