THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, 1887. 
of plantation enterprise show signs of falling off 
more or less, pepper growing on the contrary has 
before it an encouraging and bright future. The 
outlook is the more promising from there being no 
prospect of aDy fall for the present in the value of 
the article. 
The only example within our knowledge of a 
European having set about starting a pepper plant- 
ation in this quarter, is that of Mr. Stevenson who 
some time ago took up land for that purpose in Klang. 
Planning operations there, though on a small scale, 
have turned out well, the outcome being encourag- 
ing enough to justify hopes of his enterprise prosper- 
ing still more in years to come. Considering this 
satisfactory result it is surprising that other Europeans 
do not follow the path he hag trod successfully so far. 
With pepper quotations steadily rising and no chance 
of a heavy fall for many a year, it would be indeed 
a pity were John Ohinaman allowed to pocket most 
of the profit the article is sure to bring to both pro- 
ducers and sellers. — Straits Times. 
« 
_ LALLANG. 
The tale of Straits produce bids fair to be increased 
by an article which, though of indigenous growth 
and, hence, highly suitable to both the soil and 
climate of the Settlement, has hitherto been persistently 
looked down upon and deemed an unwelcome visitor 
wherever it put in an appearance. This addition to 
the muster roll of the few local productions calling 
for notice is nothing more or less than lallang grass, 
hitherto despised and neglected, notwithstanding its 
advantages in being cultivable indeed without requir- 
ing any forethought and care in the least. How 
prominently it is coming to the fore may be judged 
of from the circumstance that, according to the 
Samarang Locomotief of the 23rd July, a planter at 
Buitenzorg in Java has received permission from Govern- 
ment to set up on his estate, works driven by 
steam or water — whichever may be found suitable — 
for making paper from lallang, grass, paddy-straw, 
&c. Should the scheme be effectively carried through, 
there is every prospect of its yielding high profits. 
At present, thousands upon thousands of guilders 
worth of paper are imported yearly into Java, though, 
on the spot, cheap and abundant paper-makingjmaterials 
are bandy, of which lallang is the most readily 
obtainable and cheapest. A few years ago, a French 
trade journal drew attention to the advantages of 
grass in making paper, when cut and reduced to 
pulp, from its yielding very flexible, silky, long and 
strong fibres, admitting of manufacture into paper 
considerably finer and more transparent than the linen 
article used for drawing purposes. All kinds of grass 
may be turned to account in this way, provided they 
be secured before flowering and ere the blades become 
withered, besides from rags, of which those from 
linen are better than cotton ones, paper is made 
from straw, bamboo, mulberry and rameh leaves, 
bark, and even wood. No wonder hence that enter- 
prising people availing themselves of the aids science 
places at their disposal, bethought themselves of 
making paper out of grass, an idea already crowned 
wi'h success as regards esparto and New Zealand flax. 
Th^e encouraging resulis justify the hope that not 
only in Java, but also in suitable localities elsewhere 
serviceable paper can be made out of lallang, the 
fibres of which are certainly as flexible and silky as 
those of the grasses found in France and England, and 
are undoubtedly longer and stronger than they. In 
this part of the world, where, owing to the natives 
wearing their clothes until they can hold together 
BO longer, and to the latter being mostly made of 
cotton, rags are not readily available, lallang and 
oiher grsses present the advantages of being clseaner, 
easy and cheap to get, and yielding fibres more 
resembling linen than cotton ones. The only easily 
grown Straits product likely to stand comparison 
with lallang seems to be the pine apple which, since r 
Kveral foreign European rosidents began to tin it j 
for i-ale in Europe, has become an important export I 
article. This branch of fruit preserving, judging from I 
appearances, has developed itself so quickly and re- 
muneratively that sometimes five hundred cases each 
containing two dozen tins each, are forwarded by a 
single steamer. The preserving process is said to be 
very simple. The result has been to push on the 
planting of pine apples here from their thriving 
on poor soil. Wide stretches of land are reported 
to be under cultivation with this article, chiefly on 
steep hills where hitherto nothing more profitable 
could be raised. However great may be the head- 
way made by the pine apple, now that a steady 
demand has set in for it, lallang may be fairly ex- 
pected to distance it from greaer adaptation to poor 
soils and more abundant yield. Anyhow success 
attending the paper-making venture in Java betokens 
a bright future for a product hitherto looked upon 
as an eyesore and a nuisance. — Straits Times. 
[We need scarcely repeat that alang alang or lal- 
lang as it is here termed is identical with the Oeylon 
iluk. — Ed.] 
THE GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF COAL. 
Prof. Henry Hirsching, Pres. Polytechnic Institute, 
Salt Lake Oity, Utah, is not satisfied that coal beds 
are the result merely of changed vegetation. He 
regards the plants in coal merely as fossils, preserved 
by gases and oils, resulting from carboniferous rocks 
subjected to volcanic action. Here is the substance 
of this new and startling theory : — 
The chemical changes of oarbondioxide under differ- 
ent degrees of pressure vary according to the pre- 
sence or absence of an opening towards the surface ; thus 
we have to subdivide the process into two parts in order 
to cover all the possibilities. 
1. When an opening toward the surface is formed. 
2. When no opening is formed, what becomes of 
the carbondioxide (OOj)? 
When an escape of the gas is possible, a volcano be- 
comes active, the escaping gases change the chemical 
character of all the rocks they come in contact with, 
and build up resources for another era, in fact, the 
district begins to develop as a new field for further 
useful rocks. In the next following revolution, some 
part of the escaping carbon gases came in contact 
with sulphur, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and deposit 
in the branch channels, light and heavy carburetted 
hydrogen compounds, which flow over, and on account 
of the chemical affinity of kindred elements immense 
quantities of oils are produced, which saturate the 
silicious rocks and by continuous changes and pres- 
sure, slate, graphite and similar deposits in all parts 
of other rocks were formed. Their stratification is 
due to the successive saturation of siliceous rocks 
with oils which soften the rock. The subsequent 
pressure creates a stratum, and the body of such 
deposits depends upon the quantity of the produced 
oil, in this new formed oil reservoir. This saturated 
stratum is hermetically sealed, therefore just suitable 
for holding liquids or gases of all kinds. During 
this process, hot springs swell up, superheated steam 
in enormous qu!autities is produced, which at last 
becomes condensed. This water is in a very pure 
state, and has consequently a high solvent power : 
therefore as soon as it is collected on this hermetic- 
ally sealed bottom, disintegration of the rocks above 
begins. In various places cracks are formed and the 
spring discharges in these chaunels towards the sur- 
face. During the passage through the chanuels cool- 
ing takes place, and crystallization of the dissolving 
ingredients follows, thus forming rocks like granite, 
etc ; but more on this subject another time. By this 
process large reservoirs are formed which are subse- 
quently filled by oil or carbo-hydrogen compounds ; 
they are the true vaults for all gas and oil wells. 
Gradually the light carburetted oils escape through 
cracks, and the oil condenses rapidly and at last 
becomes solidified, forming the first deposits of 
carboniferous or bituminous coal banks without animal 
or plant life. When destroyed animal or plant bodies 
come in contact with this oil or liquid they become 
saturated, and of course their decay is impossible, as 
the carbon and other compounds prevent decompos« 
