THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1887. 
L ANT AN A FIBRE. 
A correspondent of the Madras Times says: — "I have 
often wondered why an enterprising company has never 
been raised to do something lucrative with Lantana, 
It stretches away by the mile over some districts. The 
stems are of a tough fibrous consistency, and would, 
I should imagine, be well adapted for many purposes. 
At present it is merely regarded as the grave of by-gone 
glories and the renovator of worn-out lands." 
Whatever value the Lantana fibre may have, could 
easily be ascertained as we have now a fibre-cleaning 
machine here in working order. But the last sentence 
of the above suggests a few remarks bearing upon this 
country, where the Lantana has for some years past 
been regarded as a curse. Granting that the country 
would probably be better off without this plant, it 
receives more blame than it deserves. It is certainly 
a handsome shrub, makes fiue hedges and gives food 
for chickens, pigeons, doves, and many other birds 
necessary for our comfort and wellbeing. 
Now as regards the overrunning valuable lands, the 
Lantana is certainly not as obnoxious as many other 
weeds (if it must be called such). Let anyone gather 
some seeds and sow them, and it will be seen that it is 
not so very easy to make them germinate and become 
plants. Young Lantana are easily pulled out of the 
ground the same as weeds, but old ones are hard to kill. 
The question hinges simply upon this, if the lands 
overrun with Lantana had been receiving the care 
their value demands, there would be none now and the 
lands not deserving such care cannot be harmed by the 
Lantana, because it must add to certain climatical 
influences like any other plant, and thereby benefit the 
adjoining lands. After all, the Lautana may not be as 
black as it is painted, and if its fibre could be made 
use of, the much abused Lantana might prove to be a 
blessing in disguise. — Honolulu Planters' Monthly. 
♦ • 
BLIGHT, SMUT, BUNT, APHIS, SCALE BUG, 
AND OTHER PARASITIC OR FUNGOID 
DISEASES OF PLANTS. 
The information which has hitherto been gained in 
connection with this subject is yet far from perfect, 
but private individuals c®uld do much towards this 
cause by recording and making known the results of 
their experiments. 
In many cases the spore or germ of these pests is 
already attached to the seed before being sown, and 
the young plant is simply the means of propagating 
it, unless precautions are taken to cleanse the seed 
beforehand. 
By dipping suspected seeds in a solution of 2 oz. 
of blue vitriol sulphate of copper, powdered, and 
dissolved in a pint of water, this difficulty may be 
overoome. 
There are many kinds of parasites, the attacks of 
which become more or less active according to the 
resisting power of the object attacked, and that power 
is increased or diminished in proportion to its healthy 
or unhealthy condition. 
" Healthy trees, as a rule, will take care of them- 
selves," but it is well known that immature fruit trees 
especially, roses and other plants, growing in soil 
properly prepared, manured, irrigated and everything 
done to insure thrift, will still get the blight. 
Large mature trees are not easily infested, but should 
they be, a good manuring about the roots is perhaps 
the only remedy. Younger trees and smaller plants 
are greatly benefitted by having their branches and 
leaves cleaned from these pests. Various insecticides 
and washes known, and in general use, are answering 
the purpose to a certain degree, but are all somewhat 
laboiious to apply. 
The quoetiou to solve is, what remedy is the most 
effective, cheapest, and requiring the least amount of 
labor. 
The following mixture is the best remedy against 
plant parasites among the many which have been tried, 
and until something better is found, we strongly re- 
commend its use. Sprinkle or wash the leaves and 
branches of the infected trees, as it will kill the pests 
without in juring the plants. 
Dissolve 2 oz. soft soap in half-pint rain water, 
make an infusion of oz. tobacco in half-pint water, 
mix together; add 2£ oz. fusel-oil and half-pint of 
methylated spirit, and make up the mixture to a quart. 
The druggists of Honolulu keep the article on hand 
ready prepared for use. It is suggested uot to apply 
the mixture from the bottle direct, but rather pour 
into a small container, the quantity needed for imme- 
diate purposes. A common nail-brush is the simplest 
tool to use. 
An athemizer may be useful where large numbers of 
plants require cleaning. 
Our readers should remember that the simple 
application of the wash to branch, twig or leaf is 
sufficient — no' rubbing is necessary, if the troublesome 
insects don't disappear at once you will find them 
drop off in a day or two.— Honolulu Planters' Montldy. 
♦ 
SILK COTTON. 
Kapok or silk cotton, a tree which grows readily 
here and yields a product of high economic value, 
has of late come into greater prominence than ever. 
In Java, where it is met with abundantly, kapok has 
attracted considerable attention from the promising 
prospects of carrying on a lucrative trade in it. "With- 
in the last two years, this article has vigorously pushed 
its way to the fore. Until recently. Java exporters 
had to rely almost exclusively on Holland as market 
for the product. But now circumstances have wholly 
changed. The demand for the article is growing in 
other countries also, as its good qualities become 
better known. So far as appearances go, there is 
every prospect, before long, that the supply, however 
much it may increase in Java, will hardly meet present 
requirements, and will certainly fall short of the future 
demand. At present, in that island, the cleaning 
and preparation of kapok have been carried on in 
an extremely primitive manner. These operations were 
performed exclusively by manual labour. The results 
were often disappointing as regards the clean- 
ness of the kapok turned out, and the mode of pack- 
ing it. Experiments have been made lately in ex- 
ecuting, cleaning, and packing operations by machinery. 
The product secured proved to be of first rate quality, 
with a considerable reduction of working expenses. 
The reports from foreign consumers of kapok so 
prepared for the market, are all of them favourable 
to the substitution of machinery for hand labour, as 
carried on by natives and Chinese. The seeds which 
are separated from the kapok during cleaning opera- 
tions yield on pressure a very pure and clear oil. 
Trials made with it in sugar mills in Java have proved 
that it answers admirably for lubricating purposes. 
A» machine oil, it promises to find ready sale at 
remunerative rates. In the neighbouring Dutch Colony 
as we have seen, kapok has come into notice as 
an article that will certainly yield high profits in 
the near future. In Europe it is coming into greater 
demand for manufacturing purposes, machinery to 
suit it having been brought into play. People who 
take to kapok cultivation will find that in quickness 
and rapidity of growth, it has a decided advantage. 
Ordinary soil suits it. On hills it grows luxuriantly 
at any altitude up to 5000 feet above sea level in 
this part of the world. It begins to yield fibre in 
the third year of its growth. With ordinary care 
the outturn is abundant. Notwithstanding its suit- 
ability to the soil and climate of the Straits Settle- 
ments, it does not take a prominent place among 
the export articles of the Colony. It was first im- 
ported into Europe in 1851, but, as above mentioned, 
its value was appreciated in Holland alone. A 
few years ago an increasing demand sprung up for it 
in the Australian Colonies, from its proven suitability 
for bedding and upholstery purposes. Hitherto Java 
stands at the head of kapok-exporting countries, 
British India standing next. The Indian kapok lies 
under the disadvantage of bad quality from inter- 
mixture with inferior fibre, and adulteration with 
sand and other heavy articles to increase the weight. 
