January 2, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
607 
the fact that from four to eight or ten days after 
the covering has been put down, every grub below 
it will come to the surface and can be picked out ; 
or destroyed there and then with a tliiu sprinkling 
of purpuline, which I have found efficacious in no 
other manner ; this process doing away with the necessi- 
ty of constantly disturbing the soil and damaging 
and looseniug the roots of the coffee tree. It must 
also be borne in mind that the fame covering can 
be used repeatedly, for when the grub have been 
eradicated from one part of an estate the bags can 
be moved on elsewhere. A few grub will appear the 
fourth day, if the weather is favourable, but not till 
the eighth or tenth day after the bags have been 
put down can we be positive of their having all 
come to the surface. The simpU spreading out of 
bags is not sufficient, but I shall be pleased to give 
full instructions to those purposing carrying out the 
remedy, and answering any questions that may 
be raised. The remedy is simple, when we consider 
the habits of grub and the manner in which they 
congregate under logs, planks, etc., and will be found 
to be cheaper and more thorough than any method 
yet known. The process will have been carried out 
on a large scale shorily, and, if successful, I can then 
speak with even greater conlidence. In conclusion, 
1 trust you will excuse the length of this letter, and 
will feel with me that it may bs the means of 
assisting many in their destruction of one of the worst 
enemies we have to contend against, and, if, as I 
hope, further information as to a cure for grub will be 
the outcome of this letter, I shall consider it has 
done viiiiic good.— I am, dear sir, yours faithfully, 
H. G. P. 
I Che plan is at once philosophical and very easily 
tried. The only fear we have is that a cousiderabla 
number of grub would be too far down in the earth to 
be affected ?— Ed, J 
THE " FALLOW FIELD" SYSTEM. 
Deak Sir, — I was rather struck by an article I 
read some weeks ago— I think it was in the Field- 
by a General Straehey,* on the vine pests in France, 
giving it, as his opinion, that the incompetency of the 
vines to withstand the attacks, both of fungi and 
in-ccts, was brought' about by overforciug the plants 
with a cultivation too artilieial, such as excessive pruning 
and manuring every year, leaving the operations of 
nature entirely out of the question. The main remedi- 
al suggestion of his letter was that it would be 
Advantageous in everyway each season to allow a por- 
tion of the vineyard to be fallow : the acreage to be 
so t re ded be put at ono quartor of the property in reg- 
ular rotation evory year. 
Now how could General Strachey's idea be carried 
out in Ceylon, even 'in a small way, on our estates? 
Lei us take a plantation of 240 acics for example. 
Let GO acres of this which has given the heaviest 
crop be selected as the first " fallow field." Let it 
bo weeded (and suckcred at the samo time) six times 
a year. Let nature have its own way with it other- 
nae, This field wdl, 1 anticipate, recover itself in 
duo course, without the artilieial process wo so con- 
stantly follow, with a heavy bearing piece, after crop, 
by manuring and pruning it. No field in old coffee 
uowadays gives a bumper crop more thim once i'> three 
Jems, except on the Haputalo side of the country. 
The advantage, 1 think, to the rest of the cstato 
MOld be palpable. The manure that would other- 
idee be u»cd to pull round this Held can bo used 
■Uewhore. The saving of expenditure on (JO acres, 
faking I! I'J .">() ;in acre, on p ruling and handling, would 
* General Uaitland Shower*, whoso letter we quoted 
the other day. — Ed. 
amount to R750, and on six weedings, taking Rl 25 
per acre per month, would be K450, making a total of 
R 1,200. 
The chief attention of the superintendent could 
then be concentrated on the remainder of the estate, 
which would be, after deducting 20% of the land 
as inferior to the rest, including grass ravines, roads, 
ridges planted with cinchona, and grass fields, one 
hundred and forty -two acres. 
It stands to reason, if 142 acres are worked up 
with pruning (this work could then, perhaps, be 
finished by the end of March, instead of the end of 
May) and manuring (say two-thirds, if funds will not 
permit manuring the whole of it) and shall we say 
sweeping, the chances are that the crop would be more 
in this part of the estate, and so cheaper and easier 
to pick ; and in the event of a bumper crop again, 
there woukb not bo the necessity for euoh a large re- 
sident gang \f coolies, and the strain on the super- 
intendent wokld be considerably lightened. 
It is very eivident that we should now lind it al- 
most impossible to keep a large force going, whilst 
crop was hanging back, which is too frequently the 
case. Formerly it was different. We generally had 
clearing work to complete, roads and drains to cut, 
ravine composts to fill up, cinchonas and grass to 
plant, and especially money to spend. Luckily these 
works are mostly done, for many of us could not 
afford to do them now, and we all know what an ex- 
pensive business it is making work for coolies. 
Mr. Marshall Ward tells us we must first of all 
sweep up the leaves, if we ever mean to make head- 
way against leaf-disease. To do this once we must 
spend H4'50 an acre. So that, to sweep 142 acres, we 
should have to spend R630. Now 1 would humbly 
suggest that the savings off the " fallow field" could 
be devoted to that purpose. The 142 acres must be 
cultivated extra highly, and, with the sum of R1.200 
we certainly could sweep twice, and nearly three 
times in a year; for after the first outlay it would 
not be nearly so expensive, and R4 50 an acre is an 
outside figure even for the first sweeping. Of course 
it will be urged that the fallow field would suffer 
from the weeds (but we must let, nature have plenty 
to do) from want of handling, and from severe at- 
tacks of leaf-disease : surely these are all matters for 
further discussion. We must continue to lace and 
overcome our difficulties, if, in the future, we expect to 
do as well with our properties as in the times past. 
I cannot help being struck with the paucity of letters 
nowadays on the cultivation of our staple, in com- 
parison with the multiplicity of correspondence that 
used to be written formerly on every conceivable sub- 
ject in connection with it. Perhaps the attention of 
your correspondents is turned more to cinchona, tea 
and loweouutry products ; so that even if this letter 
promotes in any way plaus for future campaigns 
against evils we are suffering from and yet may suffer 
from, it will bring, I trust, more hope than the mourn- 
ful prognostications of " Wm. McK." 
The former idea (which arose I think from always 
wishing to have our estates in tip-top order for sale- 
able purposes, in the event of any one offering a fancy 
price for them) wo used to have) of keeping up an 
even appearanco all over the estate ha- somewhat 
changed, and men arc more ready to look to the re- 
sults of crops, than the appearanco of the estate. 
Putting manure only into the best and sheltered land 
(for good land is always grateful), planting up [tho 
ridges and poor soil with cinchona is now tho order 
of tho day, aud rightly so. 
A great deal has been done in lowering tho cost 
of upkeep, but I do not think men have gouc far 
enough yet, DOT have they sufficiently altered their 
plan of work. 
If wo examine how it is men arc now working for 
