May i) 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
927 
originally 3 stems, which were cut flown 6 years 
ago, and it has now one stem about 30 feet high. — 
Yours faithfully, T. H. S. 
No. II. 
Kelburne, Haputale, 10th March 1882. 
Dear Sik,— I have seen the letter from your corre- 
spondent "E. S. G." which appears in your paper of 7th 
instant. It is alleged that this Dikoya tree was about 14 
years old, a single stem 42 feet in height with a girth 
of 3 feet 3 inches it a point six feet above the ground. 
One of the large trees I measured was about 20 years 
old, a single stem, 444 feet in height, with a girth of 
4 feet at a point, free from knots, one and a half feet 
above the ground. There is accordingly little difference 
in the size of the trees and I have no doubt mine 
was the larger tree. I did not root up my tree. The 
figures for bark, which " E S. G." quotes, are as follow, 
and I set mine beside them : — 
Wet bark. Dry bark. Wet bark. Dry bark. 
lb. - lb. lb. lb. 
Stem quill 142 <f 70 Stem quill 75 . 26 
Branch 40 . A 12 B. & twigs 42 a 11 
02 _ 
182 W 82 
117 
How is it to be accounted for that this tree in Dik- 
oya gave more thau twice as much stem bark as mine ? 
I observe that my wet stem bark lost 6'5£ per cent 
weight in drying against 50$ in the case of the Dikoya 
stem bark, and my branch and twig bark lost 74 
per cent as against 70 per cent in the other case. It 
is curious lo nole that the brancb bark was almost 
of same weight in both cases. 
I have still standing some old trees which I feel 
very confident cuunot be matched out of Haputale. 
Mr. G. Maitland freqently stood under them, and pro- 
nounced them the Huest in Ceylon, and I have yet to 
be persuaded that the " champion " tree of Ceylon is, 
or was to be found in Dikoya. — Yours faithfully, 
JOHN H. CAMPBELL. 
NEW PRODUCTS vs. CEYLON CLOVES 
SELLING WELL. 
Colombo, 14th March 1882. 
Dear Sirs,— At the suggestion of Mr. Peter Moir, 
we beg to haud you c >py 01 a letter addressed to him by 
Messrs. Brookes and Faith, London, with respect to the 
salo of a parcel of Ceylon-grown cloves. Mr. Moir 
thinks the communication may perhaps be found suit- 
able for insertion in the "Tropical Agriculturist."— We 
are, dear sirs, yours faithfully, CEO. STUART & L'o 
Copy. 
25, MinciugLanc, E. C. London, 15th February, 1882. 
Pbtkr Mo lb, Esq. 
Dear Sir,— Wo beg to advise that at to-day's salo 
the first parcel of cloves grown in Ceylon was ollered. 
and consisted of 8 oases tine bright heads and short stems, 
bearing a great resemblance to Penang .and sold with 
strong competition at 2s. 0$d to 2s Id per lb. This we 
boliovo, is the first shipment that has taken place to any 
port and we are given to understand that the treos have 
beou imported from l'euaug, from which pluce wo receive 
the best quality. 
Wo think the prices realised must bo very encourag- 
ing aud remunerative to planters, and as the supply from 
Pcuang is at all times, small We think then) it plenty of 
room tor moderate shipments. — Your obedient seivant.-, 
(Signed) BROOKES & FAll'H. 
COFFEE LEAF DISEASE AND THE CARBOLIC 
ACID VAPOUR PROCESS. 
Colombo, 15th March 1882. 
Dear Sir, — I have read with considerable interest 
Mr. Storck's paper published in your issue of yes- 
terday. His mode of using the carbolic acid is, of 
course, extremely simple aud is indeed identical 
with my own, in principle, differing only in the 
form of application. When aft'-r some months of 
constant experiments I stated, early in 1881, that " un- 
mistakable evidence had been collected that so long an 
the atmosphere loas tainted with the vapour of thin 
most powerfully antiseptic chemical, leaf disease could 
make no progress," Mr. Wm. Smith, one of your oldest 
and most experienced planters, asked me whether or not 
some such method as exposing carbolic acid in vessels 
could be made to answer the purpose. After the pre- 
liminary experiments 1 had one goal before me viz : 
to devise a practical method by which with the 
minimum expenditure in Carbolic Acid, wc could ob- 
tain maximum and sufficient results, and the programme 
I outlined for this year's operations has been drawn 
up with that chief object in view. I would have 
been glad to borrow anything from Mr. Storck 
which might have tended to more absolutely ensure 
the success of my work, but apart from a certain want 
of practicability and the danger of giving the pure 
strong acid into the hands of the cooly, Mr. Storck 
uses carbolic acid in the least economical form in 
which it can be used for a permanent treatment. The 
large expanse and contiguity of coffee estates in 
Ceylon would necessitate here the use of a much larger 
quantity of carbolic acid than Mr. Storck found suffi- 
cient in Fiji. — yours faithfully, 
EUGENE C. SCHROTTK Y, 
Pearl Oysters and Shells — There are on oysters 
and scarcely any pearl shells on the Barbadoes 
reefs, but a good pearl is now and then, at long 
intervals, got from the conch, some of which have 
brought £5. Mr. Archer has heard of one. that was 
valued in London at £50. — Trinidad Chronicle. 
Insects. — The Doctor's Correspondence, in the Ameri- 
can Agriculturist, contains some amusing as well as usefid 
information respecting insects and then' habits. Persons 
were rather astonished to learn that one of the cock- 
chafers spent three years of subterranean life before 
seeking daylight, but some of the cicadas, it appears, 
spend from thirteen to seventeen years underground I Wo 
quote as follows : — " As usual in summer, the letters from 
my young friends are, almost entirely, about insects. It 
is very natural that this should be so, as there is noth- 
ing concerning which less is known, than about our 
most common insects. These appear in such a manner 
as to attract our attention merely as objects of curiosity, 
or they may conic upon the plants in our fields and 
gardens in such numbers, as to make it necessary tor 
something to be dono to cheek then- ravages. I am 
always glad when a boy or girl asks ino about an in- 
sect, for two reasons : I am glad that it shows a desire 
on their pan to know something of the common things 
about them, and secondly, it often leads me to study 
up and learn about tho iuseet myself. You musl nol 
think that "Tho Doctor" knows about everytlung; in 
a tolerably long experience, the most that 1 can claim 
is a fair knowledge of the means of finding out about 
the things 1 do not know. The men who knew the most 
about the greatest variety of tilings, of any persons 1 
ever met. were Prof. Charles l'iekciiiiir, ami I'rof. Louis 
Agassiz, yet, I have hud both of these Bay to me, " 1 
don't know." So when tho most learned of the world 
can say " I don't know," you and I need uever feel 
ashamed to say tin- same. Hut that should not bo tho 
end oi it ; the in. t that . "do not know," should Set 
us at once to liudui^ out." 
