668 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
MR. KARSLAKE IN EXPLANATION OF HIS 
METHOD OF REMOVING AND RENEWING 
CINCHONA BARK. 
Mahadova, Lunugala, 8th Dec 1881. 
Dear Sir, — The ambiguities in my letter, I think, 
disappear, if it i« borne inmiud that, in the first 
pars of my letter, I recommended " loosening " the 
baik, and in the latter, where I quoted the words 
used in applying for the patent, I recommended 
" removing and replacing." 
As regards suitable instruments, much depends upon 
the variety and age of the tree, but if the tree i> 
healthy and the sap full up, you can loosen the ba>k 
•with almost anything; but if, the contrary, nothing will 
enuble you to m«ke a good job of it. 
I would, however, suggest tortoiseshell, ivory, 
horn, or metal shaped like the handle of a teaspoon for 
the purpose, an« I daresay a piece of gut or wire 
fastened to a two- pronged fork, the prongs the same 
distance apart as the strip to be operated upon, and 
worked up and down would answer. There is no 
hcrni in making the bottom cut, if necessary, to 
facilitate operations. 
The second point is important if the bark has to 
be le.t on for a long time; but this, as far as my 
experience goes, is not necessary. I have just looked 
at a tree operated on in October, and the bark removed 
at the end of the month, ten days after the operation. 
The renewed bark has had to with-tand the alterna- 
tions of sun and rain, and a few days' high wind and 
has not suffered at all.— I remain, yours faithfully, 
A. T. KARSLAKE. 
COST OF CLEARING L ANT ANA LAND. " 
Kadugannawa, December 8tb, 1881. 
Dear Sir,— I think that Mr. Holloway pays RIO 
too much, at least, for clearing lantana land. The 
contractor who wanted at first to fell my land wanted 
R25 per acre, but othprs hearing that I wanted land 
to be felled began bidding lower and lower, till I 
managed to get it done for R12. I have at the begin- 
ing of next year to fell about 40 or 50 acres of land, 
which I gave out for RIO ; but another man will 
at this moment take the same for R9. My experience 
in planting lantana land is rather limited, but I 
have not yet found out that, if lantana roots are 
heaped and burnt, no plant grows on the spot. 
1 am sure that the lantana here grows as thick as 
it does anywhere else. I enclose my address, and, if 
Mr. Holloway wishes to see what sort of land I have, 
I will gladly show it to him. KADUGANNAWA. 
A CKOP OP MUSTARD AS A CURE FOR 
"GRUB": WORTH TKYING. 
Sir, — In a letter recently received from an old 
Ceylou planter, who has still large interests in Cey- 
lon, the following reference to grub occurs, which 
may prove of interest and value to those afflicted 
with this pest. — Yours faithfully, V. A. 
" Grub. — Since last hearing from you, with re- 
gard to this pest, a curious fact has been b ought 
to my notice, which may have a value as an antidote 
against 'grub' in coffee. It is quite a common pract- 
ic , in many parts of England, to clear the ground 
of wire-worm and other pests by growing a crop of 
mustard ; which is allowed to attain a height of 8 
or 8 inches, and is then dug into the soil. My 
ran 1 qi r brought this to my notice by asking me to 
have ii done in my garden, assuring me that it is 
thoroughly effectual for several years. The experi- 
ment is certainly well worth a '.rial, especially on 
ere 'grub' works on patches. It will cost 
can certainly do no harm. It is, I sup- 
pone, the inteuse bitterness of the plant which kills 
or drives away the ^rub." ( > 
THE "SACK" CURE FOR "GRUB." 
Dimbula, 10th Dec. 
Dear Sir, — I believe " H. G. P." to be on the wrong 
ta'-k when he calls his cure for grub " suffocation." 
Wiih a close covering over the ground, such as he 
recommends, the tender rootlets rise to the surface, 
and so the grub follow up for their food, and sud- 
denly removing the cover and exposing the fresh root- 
lets to a dry, hot sun must in a way injure the tree. 
What I have tried and believe to be much better 
than the sack covering is to thatch the ground closely 
over with mana or other grass, first dibbling the 
ground thickly over with small holes about five or 
six inches deep, turning the dibble (which must have 
a sharp point) round and round to harden the sides 
of the bole. The grub come to the surface under the 
grass covering ; soon fall into the trap; are umibl to 
extricate themselves ; and soon decay into an oily sort 
of substance in the bottom of the hole. I have 
seen as many as twenty grub caught in a hole in 
this manner. The practice is common enough amongst 
gardeners at home to perforate seed beds wit'i small 
holes to catch any grub that may be about. W here 
mana or other grass is handy, the expense of covering is 
little, and being allowed to remain and rot on the 
ground makes a valuable addition to the soil, as well 
as keeping down weeds for a time. It would take 
about 4,000 sacks, I think, to cover an acre, which 
would have to be renewed twice a year. So say a 
stock of 8,000 bags to cover two acres and to remain 
20 days on the same spot, the surface treated would 
only be some 36 acres at the year's end. Let my 
dodge be tried alongside the sack cure, and see which 
shows best. I have the greatest confidence in the 
former, and give it over free to the public. — Yours 
truly, X. 
LEDGERIANA SEED NOT GERMINATING. 
Colombo, 11th December 1881. 
Dear Sir, — I am glad to see the letter in Friday's 
paper signed "X. Y. Z." I bought two pill-boxes 
of the seed sold by Mr. Symons on or about 
12th October last and paid over R100 for them. 
I put in the seed immediately and tended it per- 
sonally — with the greatest care — for three weeks. 
Subsequently my manager took charge of it, and 
not a seed has germinated. The seed looked bad 
and I have no doubt it was bad. I should be very 
Sorry to buy any more from the same quarter. You 
may give my name if it is asked for. — Yours truly, 
ONE WHO BOUGHT AND WAS SOLD. 
QUININE IN CHINA. 
Dear Sir,— On page 542 of the T. A., in an extract 
from the Jamaica Gleaner, occurs the foli owing passage : 
— "At the same time, a vast market is being found in 
China, where, until now opium has been the cheapest 
drug as a cure and a preventive of fever and where 
from 30 to 40 per a nt of the population use it to their 
own ruin and England's disgrace." 
Can you, or any of your numerous readers give me 
any statistics about the consumption of quinine in 
China ,and whether (which I fear is not the case) 
quinine is supplanting opium? I remember about a 
year or 18 months ago reading an article in the Pail 
Mall on the subject, but as far as my recollection goes 
the article dealt more with suppositions than facts. — 
Yours truly, W. O. 
[We suspect that both the article in the Pall Mall 
and the remarks in the Jamaica Gleaner arose out 
of our own remarks in the Introduction to the 
Ceylon Handbook written in 1878, that a great field 
for tie us; of quinine, in place of opium, ought to be 
found in China. We shall watch the Consular Reports 
fiom time to time, to see if the bark or the extracts 
are being used in the "Flowery Land." Eventually 
we have no doubt China will be a good customer .—Ed. J 
