IOOO 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[May i, 1882. 
CINCHONA DYING OUT :— A HINT. 
5th April 1882. 
Dear Sir,— Having lately heard, in many places, 
that cinchonas a year old and upwards arc dying out 
to a great extent, I would offer a suggestion to cin- 
chona" planters, who consider that their trees are 
dying out from excessive moisture at the roots, caused 
by a clayey or retentive subsoil, viz., to dig a hoi* 
two feet deep, immediately below and as near as pos- 
sible to the stem of the tree. I have found this 
succeed admirably, as trees about 18 months old, 
•which were almost dead from stagnant water, re- 
covered in a very short time afier the deep hols 8 
were cut below them. 
Of course, millions of cinchona have died out through 
the plants having been raised from seed off immature 
trees, and, in my opinion, nothing can save such from 
djiug young. Referring to hybrids, I have planted 
pubescens and succirui ra side by side on patua lands 
at an elevation of about 2,500 feet, and the hybrids have 
beaten the succirubra in growth. — Your faithfully, 
ROBUSi'A. 
COCOA CULTIVATION AND CURING. 
Gang Warily, Dolosbage, 6th April 1882, 
Dear Sir, — Referring to Mr. Gilliat's letter of 31st 
March in which this estate is specially mentioned I 
would like to state that I think he is wrong in 
the average of seeds contained in my cocoa pods. 
Thirty, I consider the average number; and this 
is borne out by what a friend writes: "In the 
Observer to band this evening I notice a letter signed 
H. A. Gilliat, referring to the growth of cocoa on 
Goonambil esiate 'and the number of seeds contained 
in each pod. I am glad to hear of the successful cul- 
tivation of cocoa anywhere in the island, but Mr. Gil- 
liat's experience of Gang Warily pods must be very 
limited if he has only got an average of 23 seeds. 
I have had about 4,000 pods from Gang Warily and 
in all the lots 1 have counted the average has 
been over SO, generally about 32." 
But too much stress need not be laid on the num- 
ber of seeds per pod. (I am glad Mr. G. has itt lined 
a maximum of 44 this time, and I hope he will get 
54 next time.) I have frequently noticed that my 
seond class pods contain more seeds than the first class. 
I consider jak belts useful as break winds where 
cocoa is concerned, or jak trees planted at regular 
distances, say a chain (66ft. ) apart for shade purposes, &c. 
They may be planted closer at first, and then thinned 
out. A correspondent objects to the litter of leaves. 
All the better, they form a covering of organic 
matter to the soil ; and with the addition of lime, 
a good manure. Another correspondent thought the 
shade would be too dense for C'icoa, but remember 
you can lop judiciously to suit all practical purposes. 
In showery weather I daresay curing will be 
troubUsome, and some modification of a " Sirocco," 
or drying apparatus necessary. I have not been 
able to give curing a fair trial yet, most 
of my pods being despatched hither and th ther for 
seed purposes. The more experience I gain in cocoa 
cultivation I like it the better. As it blossoms a 
number of months in the year it will not he such a 
precarious crop as Arabian coffee. Judgment is required 
as to the places you plant, with this product. Eleva- 
tion, soil, "and shelter have to be more taken into 
account than in the case with coff e or tea. While 
ants arc my great enemy, but with frequent supply- 
ing I attain a good measure of success. Though it 
requires a good (leal of coaxing whilst young, the 
onlv way i« to persevere- and, you will conquer, uev>r 
feat !-Yours truly, JOHN DRUM MOND. 
LLAMA SHEEP INSTEAD OF CATTLE ON 
COFFEE E&ATES-HOW WOULD THEY DO. 
Dear Sir, — In lo king through your columns of the 
3rd instant, I was struck by an advertisement that 
at once fired- my imagination as tbe expression of a 
long missing need which has for some time lain dor- 
mant in my mind for want of a practical solution. 
The advertisement in question was " Auction sale 
of Llamas" but on running my eye through its par- 
ticulars 1 was disappointed to find that it was not 
to the animal so-called thit allusion was made, but 
to some sort of clo' hing material of a green and vio- 
let description, of which Messrs. Auwardt are the pro- 
viders. It was, however, on the animal and not on 
Messrs. Auwaidt's material that my thoughts turned, 
for 1 have often been told by those whose profess a 
knowlege of natural history that the hairy fluff of 
the Llama is the finest material from which cloth 
of the Cashmere descrip ion can be made. 
Now, 1 am not aware of the climate or country to 
which this animal is a denizen, tliough it has a sort 
of vague association in my mind with Thibet, but 
then again I have an equally vague idea that the 
Llama of Thibet is a mythical personage connected with 
Tales of Travel. Indeed I do not know where Thibet is. 
Assuming, however, that the habitat of the Llama 
sheep is a tropical or semitropical country and assum- 
ing also that the wool-bearing qualities of the 
Llama are a3 correct as those whereby I am alone 
familiar with it, namely, its habit of expector- 
ating freely when stirred up with an umbrella 
at the zoo, it appears to me that it would 
be a most useful creature to introduce into this coun- 
try as a supplement to our coffee industry and a sub- 
stitute for our cattle es ablishments. Of course it 
would be ridiculous to imagine that any individual would 
go to the expense of importing a herd of Llamas, but 
we are so con-tantly reminded of the blessings con- 
ferred on us by our paternal government (which ad- 
mits of no private enterprise in railways and has 
given such abundant evidence of its paternity in pro- 
viding us with a Museum and an Alfred Model Farm), 
that the suggestion that it should employ its sleep- 
ing faculties in the direction of a Llama establish- 
ment towards encouraging the production of this much 
desiderated wool on our estates may not be out of place. 
Indeed, that useless incubus of stinks, the Model 
Farm, might be as well adapted to Llama culture as it 
is to the breeding of mosquitos and malaria, and, 
since a general recreation ground is so much needed 
in Colombo, it would, I am sure, form a pleasing re- 
sort for all classes on a Sunday afternoon. 
My suggestion is a crude, and may perhaps be a 
ridiculous one, but having vented it on the public I 
leave them to appreciate or not the idea of 
WALKING IN THE ZOO. 
Libeeiak Coffee. — We are pleased to learn that 
another small consignment of Putupaulakande Libe- 
fian coffee, sent by Messrs. Aitkeu, Spence & Co. to 
the New York market, has just been sold for 18£ 
cents, the equivalent at the ruling rate of exchange 
of 80s 3d in -the London market. This is an exceed- 
ingly encouraging quotation : the American market is 
evidently the right one for Ceylon Liberian coffee. 
Imports of China Tea to India. — The Indian Tea 
Gazette, says the Calcutta Englishman, produces 
some startling figures to show the tendency to in- 
crease the imports of China tea into this country. 
Instead of Laving been almost driven out of the 
market by the local product, as we suppose to be 
the case, its consumption has nearly doubled during 
the last three years, the imports for 1880-81 being 
3.322,407 lb. as compared with 1,822,3451b. in 1878-79. 
