482 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1888, 
4. Plants received from the Agri-Horticultural 
Society's gardens this year, planted out in the month 
of February, in all 152 plants, out of these 9 died. 
They were planted out 4 ft. x 4 ft. 
5. Leaf was collected this month (October) also 
seed ; did not like to collect leaf before until the 
plants were well set in the new soil ; piece of land 
planted 33 ft. x 68 ft. No very particular care 
taken with them ; average height of plants 3 ft. 
They look very healthy and are again snooting out 
leaf and flowering. 
6. The leaf, after being collected, was dried in 
an airy room. 
7. Weight of dry leaf 3 lb. Owing to my ab- 
sence, the green leaf unfortunately was not weighed. 
I can see it is a mistake to plant so far apart, 
18 inches distant would be ample. 
As regards the yield, I will take care next time 
that the green leaf be weighed, and next year will 
let you know how many pluckings we can get off 
the present number of plants. The seed has been 
picked off the bushes and will be put into a nur- 
sery to supply vacancies, and to fill up the existing 
plot of ground planted ; on Monday or Tuesday, 
the leaf will be packed in a tea-lead case and 
forwarded to Calcutta. 
From G. T Peppe, Esq., Ranchi. 
Answers to Questions. 
la District, Lohardugga, Chota Nagpore. 
2. Elevation, 2,200 feet. 
3. Very ordinary loam with much iron in it, of 
a light chocolate colour. 
4. The plants are now two years old from time 
of sowing feed, which was got from Paris: sown in 
boxes in December and planted out in June two 
feet apart, half was watered in dry season which 
was a particularly dry one, but the half that was 
not watered seemed to do just as well ; they were 
shaded with basket shading. Out of 200 plants I 
lost 30 in two years. 
5. Leaves collected in November. 
6. Dried as described in letter sending them. 
7. Yield, only a few were taken t off ; more can 
be sent if desired. 
8. The plants now are very vigorous and seed 
constantly for the last four months. I find they 
take readily as cuttings even in the open ; white 
ants do not seem inclined to injure it ; the roots 
do not seem to go deeper than one foot. It does 
not do well under dense shade of trees. They have 
been once manured with cow dung. 
I shall be glad to hear what percentage of al- 
kaloid the leaves give that I sent, and if you would 
care for more leaves as the plant gets stronger. 
I showed the plants to Mr. Finucane when here, 
and he seemed to think them very promising. 
4 
PADDY CULTIVATION AND MANURING: 
CATTLE DUNG AND BONES. 
So much has been discussed of late about paddy 
cultivation, yet there were no conclusions made on 
manuring, which is considered to be indispensable 
ia the cultivation of soils, and especially when a 
land is taxed of the same materials over and over 
again. Thus in our paddy fields season after season 
jind year after year we see the same thing grown. In 
most cases the goyas never use manure ; therefore 
a system of manuring will be a useful addition to 
the improvements in the cultivation of paddy. 
Manuring is not very easy ; the manures should be 
adopted according to the character of soils. There 
is another thing to look for in manuring paddy lands. 
Paddy lands are made lower than the surroundings 
to catch water, and, if the depth is lessened by 
degrees, the land will suffer. Thus manures which 
are bulkly, will in time, shallow the depths of the 
beds, thereby will not enable it to hold a sufficient 
yuHiitity of water for the use of paddy plants. This 
ih the ca>-e with cattle manure. In the category 
of manures, cattle manure comes to be the foremost, 
an it as suitable for all soils, but there is no proper 
treatment of tbat manure in Ceylon. In almost all 
countries and ages cattle stand first in the cultiv- 
ation of soils, not only on account of their manure* 
but also in being useful in tillage operations. Cattle 
in Ceylon are miserable, and they can be improved 
if they are treated as they ought to be. This im- 
provement can be done without the expense of 
importing foreign cattle. Some of our native cattle 
are very good and well formed; but the want of 
care and proper management has degenerated them. 
The Ceylon goya does not understand what a fodder 
crop is ; he has never gown a fodder crop for his 
cattle. If the cattle be kept properly and the 
manure collected carefully, what a host of benefits 
would be done. Though cattle manure is beneficial 
for all descriptions of soils, it is invaluable for sandy 
soils, as your Siyane Korale correspondent justly 
remarks, a patch of paddy plants in a sandy soil 
is an eyesore indeed ; no bone manure nor any other 
fertilizer can improve it, because it is a hungry 
soil. But well rotten cattle dung if applied in 
quantities can change its aspect to a great extent. 
Cattle dung, though a good manure for any soils, is 
known to give out its fertility sooner than any 
other manure, more so to because it contains a lot 
of -nitrogenous or leaf-forming materials; where 
this manure is applied to a paddy field, the plants 
begin to grow luxuriantly at first, but in a few 
months' time the growth is stopped. It stops for 
two reasons : first, as the leaf formation goes on only 
during the first few months, and second, as the 
manure does not last long. Cattle dung, however, is 
known to be good for those varieties, which take 
only three or four months to produce. As a manure 
for paddy, bone dust comes next to cattle manure. 
Some goyas consider that the rice obtained by 
usiDg bone dust is inferior in quality. This may be 
quite true, as in most cases when the quantity gets 
higher, the quality goes down. Bones have none 
or little power to luxuriate leaves ; its action is direct 
on the ears. The pollen of a flower consists mostly 
of phosphoric acid, and to fertilze and get a good crop 
we require that material. In Ceylon it is only supplied 
in sufficient quantities, in the form of bone or animal 
refuse. As the abovemei.tioned two kinds of manure 
viz., catttle dung and bones perform more or 
less two different functions ; one the formation of 
leaves, the other that of ears ; it is always advisable 
to have a mixture of these two for our paddy lands. 
But some may object to this mixture as bones 
contain lime, and that lime, when mixed with cattle 
manure, volatilize a great portion of the nitrogenous 
matter. In this case also, the action will be formed, 
but not to a great extent to be of any consequence, 
as the lime in the bones are not very free. 
W. A. D. S. 
Minuwangoda, 6th Dec. 1887. 
[We referred the above to an experienced European 
agriculturist, of long residence in the low-country of 
Ceylon, who writes : — "I have read the letter you 6ent me 
with much interest, as it is quite a new thing for a 
native to have attained even so much theory as to 
write about nitrates and phosphates. He may keep 
his mind quite easy about raising the level of his 
fields with cattle manure. I will warrant him against 
ever accumulating enough to raise the level the tenth 
of an inch. He is wrong, too, about cattle manure 
lasting only two or three months, it continues to 
develope plant food till completely decomposed. 
This will take place quicker in this climate than in 
Europe, but it has been known to last twenty years 
before being utterly exhausted. I know no reason 
why bone dust should deteriorate the quality of a 
paddy crop, nor do I admit that a large crop is 
necessarily of inferior quality to a small one. 
Lime has no injurious effect on nitrogenous manures 
when in combination with phosphoric acid."] 
CONSULS' REPORTS. 
Africa (East-Central). 
The first report of our consul at Zomba, East- 
Central Africa, contains particulars of the trade of 
the Ayassa territories, which form a very imperfectly 
defined district. As yet both the export and the im- 
