April i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
893 
trulia and the greater energy which is beikg shown 
in its cultivation and especially in its curing, which is 
the all-important Hem in the matter. 
A traveller lately returned from Madagascar gives 
an interesting account of the small islands situated 
between Madagascar and Zanzibar, referring to it 
especially as a planting region. 
Gems and gold mining rights are given on p. 6G2. 
Avery sensible letter appears entitled "Shall We 
Abandon Pruning, Manuring and Weeding iu Coffee.'' 
We should say certainly not the first two, but 
weeding in many cases is carried to excess. If the 
tall weeds were kept down it becomes a question, 
as to whether a short grass would not greatly benefit 
the coffee when it is so often in a leafless condition, 
for a soil takes much more harm by having nothing 
growing upon it than where weeds of auy description 
are. Several items appear on new products. With 
regard to Rubber, if the yield is as favorable as the 
growth is, will pay well. We want now to know the 
average yield per tree of a given age. As to nutmegs, 
a useful account of its culture in Bencoolen is given. 
In Ceylou, the nutmeg grows well and yields well, 
and is wellllavoured ; the great drawback is the time 
before the trees begin to bear. Has no one ventured 
to try the grafting or budding of well-known trees 
upon the stocks of wild nutmegs, so plentiful in Pome 
of the jungles, say of the Myrislica lancifolia (S. 
malboda) or of M. Horsfitldii (S. rukgaha)? If apples 
of line quality grow well on crab stocks, &c, there 
is not much reason to fear in this case, and then there 
would be no doubt regarding the s^xes of trees, for, 
if you plant seed you know not what sex will spring 
from it. In fact, you might have an acre of trees 
of one sex only. A long account re cinchona plant- 
ing on the Kilgiris is given by Col. Beddome and Mr. 
Cross— these reports iu full, land the energetic Mr. 
Schrottky supplies further information as to the effects 
of his treatment of leaf-disease. 
NEW FIELDS FOE ENTERPRIZE. 
A correspondent sends us a copy of Camp's Emi- 
grants' Guide for 25th April 1SS1, published at Kansas 
city, Mo., and containing a good deal of information 
regarding laud for" sale in that part, as well as stat- 
istics of agriculture. On the last page is given a map 
of Kausas and S. W. Missouri, showing different lines 
of railways, and localises where lauds are for sale. 
It would seem that not only wheat and other cereals 
but a variety of products grow well in Kansas, and 
labor-saving appliances can be used to advantage. The 
soil is said to be rich, water, coal, and limestone 
abundant, and timber fairly so, and sheep and cattle 
seem to thrive. Besides numbers of farms for sale, 
land can bo had at $3 '20 per acre cash. The Neosho 
Valley Laud Agency seems to be one of the chief 
agencies for the sale of land. 
A Ceylon planter sends us a long description of a 
journey taken by him from Georgian Bay to Manitoba 
in tlio latter part of ISSO. We can find room for oidy 
nomo extracts With regard to land in the neigh- 
bourhood of Winnipeg, our correspondent says : — 
"Manitoba, which is the original Bed River settle- 
ment and 1.300 square miles in extent, and the Great 
Nort West Territory are surveyed out into town- 
ships each fix miles square. Each township hns 3(5 
sections one ti'J miles in area or 640 acres, eacli of 
which section square mUessub-divided into quarters of 
lb'O acres. Tin whole country ia divided imo broad 
bells A B C I) lying parallel to, and on each aide of 
the proposed route of theCauada Pacific I! ulway. I he 
sections 01 the townships aro numbered from I t . .'iti. 
Every odd teotion ia held by tho Government as 
security (or the railway bondholders, while evorj oven 
lection in given to settlers under tho following condi- 
tions. The first quarter, of 1G0 acres, is granted to 
him free. When he has built a homestead and placed 
the greater part of the land under cultivation, he can 
purchase the second quarter with the power of pre- 
emption, and the remaining 320 acres at the market 
value of ffl per aero or thereabouts, depending on its 
distance from the commercial centre. In each town- 
ship a section is set apart for the church, another 
for the sohool, and another for the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany — the vendors of the land to the Government, — 
while throughout the country there are reserves for 
Halfbreeds, Indians, French Canadians and Memnonites. 
In the days of the Red River settlements, the land 
adjacent to the Red River and Assimboreie was all ap- 
portioned out in long narrow farms having a front- 
age on the river of 12 chains and stretching back to 
a distance of 4 miles, with the right to cut hay for 
a further distance of 2 miles." 
The farms between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg 
are thus described : — 
The farms are mostly worked by the owners them- 
selves and their sons. Hired labour is scarce in 
summer, and in winter there is no demand for it. 
The owners are mostly Outario men who have only 
been in the country a few years. They all seem to 
like the country and are well satisfied with their 
change. This year, however, they, like the home farmer, 
have their grumble, and it is that the season has been 
very wet and consequently crop is very late, und all 
that is not ripe now will never ripen, but will have 
to be cut green for fodder. Among the fanners there 
are few capitalists. The class who would seem to be 
mrst fitted for the country are men with say from 
£400 to £1.000, well used to practical work and hav- 
ing a thorough practical knowledge of farming in all 
its details, and who are content to do without any 
home comforts and even many of the necessaries of 
life, and to live all the year round on bread, butter 
and pork. Building material of all kinds is costly ; 
wood is scarce, and stone and lime still more so. Only 
an Englishman w uld think of putting up a frame 
house or a fr.me barn with a s'one foundation. A 
Canadian of equal means would be content to live in 
a p-'or log hut, and for his barn and cowsheds he 
would rig up a couple of fences 6 or 7 ft. high and 
as broad, and would roof them with branches mid ttiatch, 
thus leaving the greater part of his capital available 
for cultivating purposes. As I said above, labour is 
scarce. One often sei-s the owner, a gentlemau, draw- 
ing his own reapers while bis 3 or 4 sons laid up the 
grain into stooks behind him. Consequently machines 
for saving labour are very desirable. These, of course, 
are enormously expensive ; so the farmers of a district 
go shares in a thrashing machine and the more costly 
implements neccessary to the working of a farm ; while 
perhap», an enterprizing outsider will make himself 
the "boss" of a steam plough and go from farm to 
farm hiring out its services. The Winnipeg market 
far farming implements has, up till now, been sup- 
plied by American firms, who excel iu this line and 
whose machines havo always given great satisfaction 
and are thoroughly sound. Lately, however, the 
v anadian Government has so raised the tariff on 
American articles imported as almost to exclude them 
altogether. Consequently the farmer lias now to con- 
tent himself with Canadian waggons, ploughs, &e , w hich 
are chotper but badly made and constantly getting 
out of repair. I remember a day or t«o ago, coming 
upon a party of immigrants who had come to grict 
far out in the prairie. They had infested in a gaudy 
much painted waggon of Canadian make before setting 
out from Winnipeg, and here they wen stuck in the 
first mud hole and up to the hubs of tho wheels in 
mire, with the line looking ole snapped 'ii two 
like a match. In time no rtuabt, good enough nrtieles 
will be turned out iu Winnipeg it« It. but at present 
