450 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1888. 
of the cubeb or Java pepper could be developed 
into a most remunerative industry here both for 
Europeans and natives. Some authentic information 
as to the cultivation and harvesting would much 
oblige OLD MATALEAN. 
[We have applied to correspondents in Java for 
some information.— Ed.] 
MODE OF INCREASING THE GROWTH 
OF ARROWROOT. 
Farmer's Cottage, Bandaragama, Nov. 22nd, 1887. 
Sir, — I hope the following observation of my ar- 
rowroot plantation may interest, if not be useful, to 
your numerous readers, as I have seen the tubers 
grown here in this district are very small. The flowers 
being cut off as they appeared on the plants, the 
number of tubers produced was much greater than 
where the blossoms remained untouched. When they 
are about six months old the stem and the leaves of 
the plants which had not borne flowers were strong 
and green, the other yellow and in a state of decay, 
The plants which had been stripped of flowers pro- 
duced (on the same space of ground) about three 
times the weight of large tubers, very few small 
ones being found. Those on which flowers had been 
left produced but a small number of middling sized 
tubers with a great number of small ones. — Your 
obedient servant, J. A. JNO. RODRIGO, 
Agricultural Instructor. 
METHODS OF DESTROYING ANTS. 
Bandaragama, 24th Nov. 1887. 
Sib, — I recommend to your numerous readers the 
following methods which I quote from an agricul- 
tural magazine) of destroying ants : — " Oatmeal 1 lb., 
coarse sugar $ lb., to be well mixed together ; to this 
add 2 oz. of finely ground pepper. Lay the mixture 
upon white earthenware where the ants resort, and 
cover it over to be kept dry." 
Another Method. — Toast the inner side of the skin 
of a piece of bacon till it becomes crisp. Lay it on 
the ground in such a manner taking care to prevent 
its getting wet), that the ants may " step in/' which 
they will do, and fasten themselves to it ; lift it up 
quickly and immerse it in water. — Yours faithfully 
J. A. JNO. RODRIGO, A. I. 
Cinchona in Java. — In Java the area planted with 
Cinchona on private account is estimated at 21,000 
acres, and the number of trees at 3,000,000, of 
which about 1,400,000 are of G. succirubra. The 
estimated crop of the year is about 1,433,250 lb. 
The average proportion of sulphate extracted from 
the bark is estimated at about 3 per cent. — Indian 
Agriculturist. 
Cleansing of Chamois Leather. — Chamois leather, 
so much used in the laboratory and experimental 
rooms, may be cleaned by rubbing into it plenty of 
soft soap, and then laying it for two hours in a 
weak solution of soda and warm water. At the end 
of this time rub it until it is quite clean, rinsing it 
in clean warm water, in which soda and yellow soap 
have been dissolved. It should then be wrung dry 
in a rough towel, pulled, and brushed. This process 
makes the leather soft and pliable. — Indiaruhler and 
Guttapercha Journal. 
Tea Culture and Manufacture constitute, 
as Mr. Armstrong ha3 shown in his latest and 
not least valuable contribution to the literature 
of the subject, an art that demands large scientific 
knowledge. Even the pruning of the tea bush, 
bo as to secure the largest possible quantity of 
leaf in the best possible condition, requires an 
amount of experience and observation, reflection 
and watchful personal attention, such as go far 
beyond the requirements of the fruit-yielding coffee 
bush. The amount and the variety of machinery 
required for the manufacture of tea and the deli- 
cacy of the process of withering, fermenting and 
roasting, the latter by fire heat properly regulated, 
demand that the superintendent of a tea estate 
should combine the training of the engineer with 
the knowledge of the chemist. And, as in our 
island, so close to the equator and so distinguished 
for warm moisture, the tea bush flushes practically all 
the year round, unremitting labour and attention 
are necessary, instead of the alternations of hard 
work and comparative leisure which coffee planters 
were accustomed to and the long winter holi- 
day which tea planters in India enjoy. On all 
estates of any size, of course, more than one 
European is employed in addition to trained natives, 
so that division of labour, field and factory, is 
possible, and one of the superintendents at a time 
may occasionally be able to be absent so as to 
visit other estates or even Colombo. But clearly 
the position of a tea estate superintendent is one 
which requires good natural abilities, acquired 
knowledge and experience, and a physical consti- 
tution able to endure hard and constant work, 
exposed to the elements in the field or to the 
heated atmosphere of the factory. A good con- 
stitution, physically and mentally, come, as Dog- 
berry said reading and writing came, by nature. 
But to gentlemen of intellect, reflection and large 
experience like Mr. Armstrong, young tea planters 
and indeed all connected with the enterprize are 
deeply indebted for the statement of results and 
principles such as are contained in the able paper 
we print on page 436. 
Tea in Japan. — From the British Consular Trade Re- 
port for Hyogo and Osaka for 1886 we extract the fol- 
lowing : — 
In the export of tea the returns again show that a 
considerable increase has taken place over that of 
the previous year. In 1886 the export reached 18,020,060 
lb., as against 16,538,858 lb., in 1885. The declared 
value of the year's export is $2,649,072 (£441,512), as 
against §2,510,869 (£432,402) iu 1885. Prices at the 
opening of the season, in May, were about $2 per picul 
higher than the rates paid at the commencement of the 
previous season. A gradual decline took place until 
early in August, when prices receded some $3 per picul 
from their highest point. During the last five months 
of the year, prices for common grades gradually ad- 
vanced, there having been a steady demand for this class 
of teas, to the comparative exclusion of the finer kinds. 
The average price paid for tea here last year, according 
to an estimate with which I have been favoured, was 
§19J per picul. The estimate of settlements of differ- 
ent priced teas, from which the above average price ia 
deduced, is as follows : — 
Picul. 
(of 133* lb.) 
$5 to $11-50 10,915 
$12 to $16-50 37,933 
$17 to $21-50 46,251 
$22 to $25-60 24,529 
$26 to $29 50 15,631 
$30 to $39-50 4,137 
$40 upwards 46 
It will be seen from this that the tendency to lower- 
priced teas, remarked in previous years, still continues. 
About two-thirds of the quantity exported was in- 
voiced to the United States and the other third to 
Canada. Some portion of the latter, however, was dis- 
posed of in the United States. The export to the United 
Kingdom and the British Colonies, apart from Canada, 
is estimated at nomoretban 50,000 lb. A new and in- 
teresting feature in the carriage of tea last year from 
this port to the North American Continent was the 
shipment of this article by sailing vessels to Port 
Moody, for transport thence to the Eastern cities of 
Canada and the United States, by Canadian Pacific 
Railway. Three such vessels took in part cargoes here 
and proceeded to Yokohama to fill up ; for four other 
uch vessels shipments were made by coasting steamers 
here, to be transhipped in Yokohama. The total quant- 
ity of tea thus sent from this port which went to Port 
Moody by sailing vessel, is, aocording to a revised estim- 
tae which I have obtained, put down at 3,352,122 lb. 
