866 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April i, 1882 
The following are -the percentages of the Cigar 
exports : — 
To the Straits ... 50 per cent. 
United Kingdom ... 25 ,, 
Ceylon 13 
Other places ... 12 ,, 
In the abovenamed export total of unmanufactured 
Tobacco, the following is an approximate distribu- 
tion : — 
lb. 
Bengal, exports ... 7,866,363 
Bombay 4,628,078 
Other places ... 772.8S4 
Total ... 13,267,325 
The exports were to the following places : — 
Unmanufactured 
Tobacco. 
lb. 
United Kingdom 
4,176,080 
France 
1,314,642 
Italy 
907,528 
Egypt 
924,134 
Mauritius ... 
692,938 
Aden 
4,233,401 
Arabia 
398,225 
Straits 
347,338 
Other Countries 
273,139 
Total 
.. 13,267,325 
The absence of the colonies from this list, mny 
possibly strike some enterprising shippers of a really 
superior leaf and make. — Indian Daily Neiis. 
LIME. 
In «oir.e parts of the low-lying districts of the country 
(Egnl inil) there are spots which grow but little besides 
sorrel and semi-aquatic weeds. This occurs on peaty 
or what are more commonly termed fen soils. In 
this lies an instructive lesson for application in the 
case in question. If a portion of this peaty soil, 
which produces the plants indicated be put into a 
flower-pot and "digested," as some chemists say, 
with, a little lime, and then a mixture of sorrel, 
kingcup, and grass seeds be sown, the two former, 
which can and do feed on a free acid, will not grow. 
This is because the lime neutralised the free acid 
by again being partially restored to a state of carbon- 
ate of lime. But while this chemical transformation 
has been fatal to the sorrel and kingcup, it has 
made the peaty soil into a condition for seeds of 
gi ■-, is or cereals to germinate in and grow. 
On the contrary, if a pot of the same soil be 
placed side by side with the one treated as above 
described, and the soil be left in its natural state, 
and a mixture of the above seeds be sown in it, 
then the sorrel and kingcup will germinate and 
nourish, but the free acid will prove so noxious to 
the grass seeds that they will not germinate at all. 
The lerson the result of the experiments teaches 
is clear. Where sorrel and kingcups grow in super- 
abundance — that is, to an extent in which they injure 
the growth of the grass — it is clear that a dressing 
of lime or chalk is advisable. Twc of three tons 
of lime per acre, if it be slacked and well broad- 
casted, will have a due effect for three or four years, 
while 6 or 8 tons of chalk would be required to 
have a similar effect, and this would scarcely begin 
before the second year after it had been applied. 
A better plan of applying the lime, if it cm be 
managed, is to raise a quaintity of soil on a head- 
land, or by cleaving out a ditch, or by paring down 
an unnecessarily wide hedgerow in the autumn, and 
mixing the lime with it. Then, in the spring, or 
during the frosts of winter, this mixture may be 
applied at the rate of eight, ten, or twelve cart- 
loads per acre, according to the quantity of the soil 
available for covering the acreage that needs to be 
dressed. To mix lime, and soil, and earth in this 
way has a twofold advantage when applied to pastures. 
The lime makes soluble or dissolves some of the 
mineral constituents of the soil with which it is 
mixed, which act in combination with the lime as 
food for the most nutritious grasses, while the lime 
is there at the same time with all it* power to 
neutralise the free acid which fed the sorrel and 
kingscup, and allowed them to flourish. — English 
Agricultural Gazette. 
HINTS ON OSTRICH FARMING IN NATAL. 
The information published from time to time in 
these columns shows that ostrich farming in Natal 
will probably before long become an important indus- 
try. The experience gained by ostrich breeders in the 
Cape Colony will be of great assistance in guiding in- 
tending "feather growers" in the adjoining Colony, 
and prevent many of the losses which the pioneers 
of the industry had to undergo. The Natal Witness 
publishes a sketch of the experiences of a successful 
ostrich' breeder — Mr. Noyce, of Uitenhage — the prin- 
cipal features of which will be interesting to many 
Colonists, or intending Colonists, who are proposing 
to take up the pursuit of ostrich farming. Some eight 
or nine years ago, it is stated, Mr. Noyce started 
sheep-farming on the north-western verge of the Uiten- 
hage province, where all his operations since have been 
carried on. For about three years he carried on his 
sheep-farming as successfully as he could expect, but 
there came a drought, and he lost the greater part 
of his flock. Persevering, however, he gave sheep- 
farming another trial, and again was very successful 
in it, until in 1*77 another drought resulted in nearly 
the entire destruction of his flock. He then came 
to the conclusion to give up sheep in favour of ostrich 
farming. Previously to this he had bought a few 
ostriches, but lacking experience in their management, 
and having no sources of information in regard thereto, 
they did not prove a very profitable investment. All 
of them, with the exception of one pair, were ultim- 
ately exchanged for sheep. The one pair retained 
proved afterwards to be most valuable birds. Nearly, 
if not quite, ruined by his second failure with his 
sheep, Mr. Noyce fortunately managed to get some 
young ostriches on credit The birds turned out well, 
and their owner was able by selling some of them, 
when they were older, to realise more than sufficient 
to pay for the whole lot of the birds he had purchased. 
On ten pairs of birds he has been able to make a 
profit of about £4,000 per annum during the past two 
years. He has not kept more than ten pairs of breed- 
ing birds, and he thinks this number is quite suffi- 
cient for one man to manage. Natal, he thinks, is 
well adapted for ostrich-farming. Very little' special 
knowledge and experience is, he thinks, required for 
the pursuit — so that it may be readily taken up by 
settlers. During the Bhort time he has been in Natal 
he has inspected several ostrich-farms, and on all of 
them the birds appeared to be doing remarkably well, 
proving that the Colony is suitable to the pursuit. 
The best birds for a young beginner to buy are, in 
his opinion, those of mature age— say from three to 
four years old. The birds should be placed in good 
safe paddocks, the fencing of which should be about 
4 feet 6 inches high, and the space enclosed about 
an acre, but of course the area of the paddock should 
depend on the nature of the soil. Where lucerne is 
sown in the camp, half an acre for the paddock would 
be sufficient. Kach bird should have three meals a 
day, and the greatest care- should be taken to feed 
