February i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
British and Dutch Government in the 
Far Ea-t. — On page 545 will be found an 
extract affording an instruo tive contrast on this 
subject. One of the most striking illustrations of 
the effects of the different polioies, is, that under 
the legis of British protection a large body of 
Dutch planters arc developing the resources of North 
Borneo I 
"Kkw BULLETIN." — The November number is 
occupied with articles concerning Lagos rubber (Ficus 
Vogelii), Liberian Coffee (Coffea liberica), various food 
grains of India, including the huskies Barley of 
Norih-west India. It appears that three varieties of 
huskless Barley are cultivated in Thibet— the white, 
tho dull green, and the dark brown. Respecting 
Ramie fibre, the Assistant Director reports the re- 
sult of recent trials made in Paris of machinery 
adapted to clean the fibre and free it from gummy 
matter. Unfortunately the results were not satisfac- 
tory, and "the exploitation of Ramie (Boehmeria 
nivea), iu spite of years of labour and the expenditure 
of large sums <>f money upon it, cannot be said to 
have yet emerged from the experimental stage." — 
Gardeners? Chronicle, 
Papaya as a Remedy job Guinkaworst. — From the 
Proceeding of the Indian A. -If. Society we quote as 
follows: — Bead tho followinu extract from a letter from 
Lt.-Ool. EL W. If- Cox, dated Ooimbatore, 10th May 
1888: — "When I was at Perambalur I Trichinopoly 
District), last Angus', the Hospital Assistant (P. 
Mutukumara Pillai, I think) in charge of the Dispen- 
sary there told me that he had tre ited guineaworra 
(very common in that part of the country) very 
successfully with the leaves of tho Popay, Carica papaya. 
An ounce of the leaf is pounded iu a mortar with 
GO grains of opium and 60 grains of common salt, 
and the paste then formed is applied to the part. 
Of courie the worm has to be wound out iu the 
HBUaJ manner, but the Hospital Assistant assured mo 
that it always camo out more quickly and easily when 
treated in this way. From what is known of the 
qualities of the plaut it seems to me probable that 
he is right." 
I-'ink India* Mangoes are thus noticed in the 
lV.'ci .-dings of the Madras A.-H. Society: — Read 
the following letter from G. M. "Woodrow, Esq., 
dated College of Science, 20th May, 1888.— "Can 
you pay railway carriage for a few littl • known but 
Valuable lt ifted mango plants. One variety called 
Pakria, which is of the highest class for flavor, 
without fibre, and of a bright golden colour, I 
think I have propagated for the first time. The 
original tree is near Pooua. Your correspondents 
having beeu writing much about ' mangoes all the 
yeir round,' I doubt much if that would be desirable. 
' "Variety gives zest!' is not more trite than true. 
If desirable I think there woul I be little difficulty 
in attaining ripe mangoes throughout the year, but 
I fancy, few people wish for mangoes during damp 
or cold weather. At present, those who are willing 
to p'iy for them have a wide season. We have at 
P.iona a linn variety call, i ' A shady ia' whioh ripen- 
in August, ami when I visile I the Crawford market 
at Kjinbay, in November an I in January last, there 
wore One looking mangoes displayed on the stalls in 
Company with oranges from Malta, imples from 
Australia, and dates fiom the Persian Golf, I hope 
to bo ablo to got out my bonk within a few weeks, 
a- the pi it. - prepare ! Inen photographs I sent hone-, 
have arrived. It is over 600 pages, If you cau send 
me a few mangoes, or other fruits to describe in the 
next edition, I will be grateful." Recorded with many 
think-, and resolved that Mr. Woodrow's kind offer 
of a tew grafts of the " Pukria" mango be accepted. 
Tin: Wkaiiiih Plasi. — Wa have had so many in- 
quiries about this, and our friend- have s nt us so 
many ne-.v -p qi. r cuttings referring to it, that wo think 
it right to stito that the plant iu question belongs 
to tin- sj'ime. family as the extraordinary Gooseberry 
an I ill. i I'due K All plant*., to be precise all 
prot qilasm, is oeusitiw to physic it impressions, iu 
iraio iustauce- more so thau others. That the plaut 
in question should be able to forecast the state of 
the weather and give presage of earthquakes is no hing 
compared to what is narrated in old books as to the 
sensitiveness, if we remember right, of some species 
of Oxalis the , leaves of which closed at tho approach 
of the wicked and vicious, but remained unaffected 
in tho presence of the pure and virtuous. The Weather 
Plant is no other than the well-known Abrus prc- 
catorius, sometimes called the Paternoster Pen, the 
seeds of which are like small beans but of a brilliant 
scarlet, with a patch of black at one end. They are 
used for beads and rosaries (whence the name), and 
also for diamond weights, the weight of the Koh-i-noor 
having been ascertained by their means. The pinnate 
leaves of the plant are, no doubt, sensitive to light, 
heat, electricity, or any other force that would alter 
the tension of their protoplasm. The statement 
that an observatory has discarded both aneroid and 
mercurial barometers in favour of the Weather Plant 
as an indicator of forthcoming weather is one of 
those statements that we should receive with an 
open mind, so that what passed into one ear might 
speedily escape by the other ! When we receive 
information from some other source than newspaper 
gossip we shall be bound to accord the matter more 
consideration. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Kurakkan Beer. — Amongst the uses mado 
of kurakkan in Ceylon, the idea never seems to 
have occurred to an » one of fermenting the grain 
into a substitute for ' toddy" or beer. We obtained 
our first knowledce of this use of the grain wheu 
we visited Darjiling. We there learned that the 
millet we call kurakkan is known in Northern and 
Eastern India as Murwa. We noticed that the 
Bhooteas carried a joint of bamboo slung across 
their shoulders and that they frequently applied 
this bamboo to their mouths, getting "jolly" as 
the process was repeated. On inquiry we learned 
that the bamboo contained home made beer of the 
simplest manufacture, — merely water poured on 
crushed Murwa grains and allowed to ferment. In 
a very interesting notice, in the Pioneer, of " Sikkirn 
as a Pleasure Ground," this beer i3 described as 
" Murwa," in a passage which we quote: — 
At about -10 miles from Darjeeling a kotal is crossed, 
and after a gentle descent of 1,500 feet there bursts 
upon the view a tenuis-court, a parade-ground, neatly- 
made huts, watered streets, a baud playing and 
other marks of a British settlement. This is Pedong, 
the present head-quarters of the Sikkim Field Force : 
and a very pretty place it is, with a perfect climate 
during the winter. During the summer and rains it 
may not be quite so pleasant, for terrible accounts 
are given of the insinuating leech and voracious 
" pipsa " that make life a burden ; bat certainly iu 
December and January Pedong is charming, and a 
far better place to be quartered in than many au 
Indian station. Ladies grace it with their preseuco, 
aud it is easy to have a worse time than sitting iu 
the porch of a house that is a combination of Swiss 
chalot aud au Indian wigwam, drinking " murwa " 
aud listening to the strains of the " Pioneers " 
band. ''Murwa," it may be as well to explain, is 
the natioual drink of Sikkim, and in the words of 
the cookery book, " Now we will tell yon how it is 
mado." The seed of a kind of red millet is first 
carofally cleaned, wetted with some sort of yeast, 
spread oat and allowed to ferment slightly. Wheu 
it is ready, a section of green bamboo, cut off at a 
joint, about a foot long aud fonr inches in diameter, 
is tilled with it, and a thin bamboo " straw " is passed 
down through tho centre. Boiling water is thou 
pourod iu, uud it ia drunk like a shurry-cobbb r 
through tho straw. It is certainly not unpleasant 
to the taste, and the more you drink the more you 
like it. Like Kpps' cocoa it is wholesome, nutriti- 
ous and good for babies, and no Lama ever travels 
about without au attend, ut carrjiug his bowl of 
" murwa." It is not intoxicatiug— at loust uot iu 
qa&utities that tho ordiuary human frame is capable 
of holding. 
