April i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
855 
An "excellent substitute" tor coffee is claimed 
to have been discovered by Colonel Sliiden, Commis- 
sioner of Arakan, who has written officially to tho Chief 
Commissioner of British Bnrmah, recommending him to 
try it. It is described as a decoction of the seed of the 
Casua tor a or " fast id Cassia," known to the Burmese 
under the name of " Dangyweh.' Colonel Sladen, at 
the suggestion of Mr. R.Mcleod, Extra Assistant Com- 
missioner, roasted the Beed and tried itBellects, and he 
believes that " the substitute is likely to prove a most 
valuable product which in time will revolutionize tin' 
coffee trade." Samples have been forwarded to Messrs. 
Short, Short &Co., London, aud to the Bengal Chamber 
of Commerce. The " Dangyweh" is a weed found iu 
every part of Bnrmah, and no deficiency of supply is 
likely, should a demand arise.— Madras Times. 
Agricultural Scholarships for Indian Students 
at the koyal agricultural collece, cirencester. — 
A resolution was passed iu 1870 by the Government of 
Bengal for the establishment of agricultural scholar- 
ships for thebenelit of natives, graduates of the Univers- 
ity of Calcutta, at the Royal Agricultural College, 
Cirencester. The first t ini scholars centered this College 
in January, 1880, and are now making there a very 
mccessful career. These were Babu Ambika Charen 
Sen, M.A., and Syed Sakhawat Hosein, B. A. The 
Indian Daily Niws states that the two new students 
appointed by the Bengal Government to enter at Ciren- 
cester in. January next are BaboosBrojobullub Dutt, M. A., 
and Greesh ('bunder LSose, M. A. The former isthe head- 
master of the Sreedhur Bungshecdhnr School at Nawab- 
gun^e, and isthegold medallist of 1SS0 in physical science ; 
and the latter is a lecturer on chemistry at the Cuttack 
College. An allowance of 20<X a year, tenable for two 
and u half years, will be granted to each of these candid- 
ates, and an outfit allowance of 1,000 rupees has also 
been sanctioned to each of them. — Colonies and India, 
Tin: Papaw Tree. — The fruit of the papaw tree, 
says the Eiujlhh man, ia well known to our Indian cooks 
as possessing the active property of rendering the 
beef tender. A slight incision in the rinds of 
the unripe fruit causes a milky juice to issue, 
whicn, rubbed over a beef steak or tho toughless 
meat, will make it quite tender. This powerful 
action of the papaw plant being observed by a French 
gentleman, led him to the conclusion that it might 
be utilized for medicinal purposes and we read in 
the " Practitioner" for October, that the idea has 
been put to the test of aclual experiment. The French 
gentleman referred to planted out a large extent of 
land with papaw trees, the juice of which he is 
collecting in the same way as opium. Incisions arc 
made on the outside of the half-ripe fruit, and the 
juice that exudes is allowed to dry and is then 
Eraped off. The granulated product thus obtained re 
sembles coarsely pounded gum arabic It is sticky 
when wet, and readily dissolves in water. The digestive 
powi r of this solutiou, to which the name of papay- 
ine is given, has bfen tested, and found to be very 
active. It has boon compared with the ordinary 
pepsim- and the liquor paucreaticus of the shops and 
found to surpass both in the power of digesting 
either cooked or hard boiled white of egg. The 
digestive action from it is described as b itn rapid 
and easy. It is confidently believed that " we have 
in this substance a digestive agent of very great 
• po'ency, and ouo which is likely to come into very general 
use in medicine." — The papaw in the common mamiapple 
of Fiji -Fiji Argus. [Tho ripe fruit is prized for dessert 
I in Australia, although neglect d in Ceylon, « lnle iu Java, 
'it is mashed up with lime juice aud sugar. In this 
form on Mr. Moons' hospitable board we found it 
ox ' llent. Dr. Kiug also admired it in Java, aud 
in his house Mr. Motns pail >ok of tin- fruit, still 
ffitthei ia p. i od hj blii.ge uot only mixed with lime- 
juice and* ugar but also stowed. — El) ] 
Manitoba for Emigrants. — A correspondent sends 
us som«' questions and asks us to append the answers. 
We give them below :— I. The best and cheapest route 
to take from England, and cost of passage to America. 
[London to New York, by Anchor line, £11 to £16 
for first class berth.]— II. Cost of train fare or steamer 
fnre to Manitoba. [Bail from New York to Toronto 
about £3. We do not know the fare thence to Mani- 
toba, but probaby about as much again.]— III. What 
capital is necessary to start with ou a very small way'' 
[From £80 to £200.]-IV. What prospect has a man 
who has no capital at all to start with ? [Very good 
prospects, if he docs not mind hard work.] — V. Can a 
man do any good with £100 to start with? [Yes.] — 
VI. Can a man with no capital earn enough to keep 
a wife who has never been accustomed to work? [Wo 
should imagine so.] -On pages 558 and 585 of the 
Tropical Agriculturist will be fouud some information 
which may be of use to our correspondent. 
Coffee Leaf-Disease Manure. — We have received 
from Messrs. W. H. Davies & Co. a pamphlet relating to 
the chemieal manures of Messrs. Arnott Bros. & Co. 
This pamphlet describes the various manures which 
are applicable to different products— sugarjane, coffee, 
tea, &c. On the subject of coffee we quote the follow- 
ing : — "Some years ago, owing to the fearful ravages 
of leaf-disease iu the coffee plantations of Ceylon and 
elsewhere, our attention was drawn to the production 
of a manure which should assist the trees to resist 
its attacks, by a well known practical Ceylon planter, 
who for many years had been trying in every way to 
overeome this scourage. In conjunction with him we 
bave succeeded in bringing out a fertilizer, which, 
after a lengthened trial, has proved itself of un- 
doubted efficacy in modifying and overcoming the 
ravages of this disease, and we most confidently solicit 
a trial of the Anti- Vastatrix Fertilizer, new leaf disease 
manure, of which we are the sole manufacturers. It 
is the only Fertilizer, so far, that has really proved 
or any effect iu subduing this disease, aud it 
is fully protected UDdcr our registered tride mark. 
This Manure should be applied at the rate 
of about four cwt. per acre, and as a large propor- 
tion of its components are readily soluble in water, 
it should be well mulched, which will keep it at the 
rootlets of the trees, encourage its absorption, and 
not allow it to be so easily washed away in heavy 
rain." A number of testimonials from planters in 
Ceylon, J.iva, &c, are given from which we quote 
the following, by a planter in Matale East, writing in 
18S0 : — "The manures I received fiom you I consider 
good producers : Auti-Yastatrix, the Ammonio Phospho 
Coffee Mauure, the best. I do uot believe any manure 
cau affect 'Hemileia Vastatrix,' being eutirely of opini- 
on that it has been caused by the enormous acre- 
age of coffee planted in Ceylon without forest left 
standing in any large quantity near at hand, and 
without any other products being planted. Coffee, 
codec, all was coffee, and the results might have been 
foretold by anyone with a really wide experience and 
comprehensive mind. 1 believe leaf disease has, and 
will always exist, but its virulence is entirely owing 
to wiiat you may call the system upon which it has 
been cultivated. We shall hear less and less of it as 
the new products, now beiug planted, grow up ; thote 
lands that should have beeu plauted as coffee will re- 
main as coffee; those that should never have bo.-u 
planted as coffee will bo abandoned, or plant 1 u th 
other trees than coffee ; of l.md that was not suitable 
there has been pi mted a largo quantity there is no 
doubt. Tho crops from the estuto* on which tho 
manures obtained from you were used more tlmo 
favorably compare with istates equally good, or even 
better estates, upon which oil,, i manuree were applied. 
To vigorous \ouiil; coffe.i tho manure' w ere |> irticuhrly 
adapted." 
