35° 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
fNov. I, 1893. 
Dot use the voting power tbeir Uonstitution fiivea 
theijo ; »nd tbey are fed by tbe cose by prorestional 
politicjaog who take to politics for tbo mont'y tb<-y 
can make by it. 
la Rio, ytsterilay np till night, even with all the 
firiug ill the bay, loading and UDloading of ships con- 
tinued, but launches and lighters had to be under a 
loreign fl''g. 
The quays are lined with Govardus yatioiuxl • bnt 
even then, the tteain launches of the Rebel ships 
succeed in oocasiouslly taking some valuable prizer, 
right nnder their noaee. Three fine Brazilian steamers 
were takon only jesterday from a wharf \\'berc tbey 
were unloading, during broad daylight. 
Parliamet t has only two more days fo sit, tlio 
Prf.sident having given his veto Bgainst the bill pre- 
venting him from being re-elecled. The lioiise which 
prevented it bae tbe right to over-ride bin veto by a 
vote of three-fourths. It has been proposed again 
Bid requires 10 be voted only — the disoustiou on it 
being cloiet! — but there cannot be members enough 
found to attrnd to vote (it requires a bouse of 110 
before a vote can be tekeo.) There fel'ons do not 
want to vote this measure, as this would probably 
oo»t them tbeir seats at next election, and, of coiirsr-, 
all tbe emoluDiea<s and patronage whtob it gives ib^m 
would go toothers. 
Tbe mo(t of tbem have already goue home, tbe 
steamer which takes this will bear away from R'o 
all those for north of Babia, so this Presiilent will 
have it all his own way for a year louger tbat is to 
say tbe elections can only take place in March 1895, 
and as from tbe time of tbeir independence son e 
seventy years ago tbe party who happens to be 
in power always wins tbe electioust, the i-lote of 
Brazil may continue the same for some years. For 
Floriauo Peisoto is determined at nil hazards to 
keep in powtr with tbe support the niiliiary give 
him. Ooffee planters have all along held aloof from 
politics beirg ci ntent to gather in the extra oa-h 
which their coffee gives them by the low exctangp, 
for tbe gold valuo of coffee has alwavs kept up, 
while the cost of production baa not increased. 27d 
is the gold value of the milreis and the forced 
circulation of paper money has made them currency 
only on an average of 12d, and when the banks be- 
gin to do business it will be about lOd or e*en lets 
after this row. So the wealthy people in the interior 
will not offer oppobition to the present Government 
in Rio. As might have been expected, when firing 
began yesterday afternoon the people made a 
stampede for the outside of tbe town; again every 
plaoe where they could find shelter would be oocn- 
pied—even the virgin forests in the bills round the 
town would be ccoupied. 
It seems to me a storm in a tenpot. I was on 
tbe top of a bill right behinl where the foreign 
fleet are anchored yesterday, while the firing was 
going on ; and it was ridiculous to see such child's 
play, the fort firing at the ships at least tl ree 
miles off and vice versa. I oould notice no hits on 
either Bide. The ships did not fire in the direction 
of the town. The stray ball which killed two people 
although said to be from the ships, could much more 
readily be from the Santo Croz Fort, passing wide 
of the mark. Commercial interests suffer a great deal 
and people of nervous temperaments seem to get 
almost distracted during these stupid displays. 
We receive Eun pean telegrams now, if written in 
plain language without reference to Br.izilian mattert; 
but local telegrams are entirely blocked and all 
channels of information, either ingoing or outgoing 
are entirely under police censorship. A. S. B. 
HOW TO TEST SEEDS. 
The following interesting details on the subject of 
testing seeds, copied from an exchange, are worthy of 
?erusal by farmers, gardeners and setlers generally : — 
t is of the utmost importance to everyone to know 
how to buy seeds. When you want new seed peas 
put one trom the stock into your mouth and bite it. 
If it is very bard it is more than one year old. If 
the teeth enter it with moderate ease, it is new seed. 
New eanrot seed always has a green afaade od tl. Old 
seed loses this, and ig of a dead pale brono, aud loe* 
fragrant. New parsnip seed has a bhtde of ^reeo, 
which it loses if more than one yetr old. Onion 
seed is more di£Bcult to p'oretban most other seeds, 
but if you take a sii g'eeeed at a time and carefully 
bite it yon will find that tit old seed Las a tough, dry 
skin, with a very white and harsh kernel, while new 
seed has a more tender moist skin, and the kernel 
poHfesses a greater de>;ree of moisture, atd is eome- 
wbat oily. The seed may be cut with a peukife instead 
of bitten. Onion eeed that has do vitality al all has 
no kernel, or one perfectly dry. T*8t this hy pre»8ir g 
the seed ou a piece of white writing paper. If it 
leaves no moisture on the p«iper it is vl vo use, and 
lias been tampered with, and has lot^t its vitality by 
age. New cabbage and broocoli sesd poisess a pale 
green »htde in tie kernel when presced out or cut, 
and a tinge of green lu the brown Bkin also. But old 
seed loses this in propcriicn to its sgp, becoming of a 
dull dark brown. Cabbage, brocooli. ka'es, etc., will 
retain tbeir vitality longer than any other eeeil, and 
will grow when tbree years old, or tven six jetrs 
when well kept. Beet seed bas a faint tinge of pale 
green if new, but is a dull brown if old, and its vitality 
is very doubtful if old. New celery t»8t) has a fa-ut 
tinge of green, and is very arema'ic, but it loses tbe 
green and becomes less fragrant if more than one j ear 
old, and is doubtful. Lettuce seed is of a bright 
i-ilvery grey if now, and tbe kernel has a green tiuge 
with it, both of which it partially Icsea vrith age. 
Letiuoe seed will grow very well two years old, but 
above tbat age it is doubtful. Tbe black-seeded 
varieties can only be tested bv the colunr ot tbe kefoel, 
which is the same as in tbe white-seeded. 
CACAO-GROWING IN THE WEST 
INDIES AND CEYLON. 
{Communicated.) 
The Report on the failure of the cacao crop in 
Dominica * (1892-3) made by Mr. Barber to Govern- 
ment cannot fail to be of special interest to Cevlon 
cacao growers as the causes that led to the failure 
of crops in the West Indies may at any time over- 
take the growth of the same product in onr island. 
And to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Yet 
there is one dreaded physical agency in operation 
in the West Indies, of which, we in Ceylon should 
be thankful to say, we are entirely free ; and thai 
is the prevalence of hurricanes, which do disastrously 
affect the plantations in those islands. Passing 
over the consideration, therefore, of this one external 
destructive agency, against which the planter is 
practically powerless, it will be of profit to the 
Ceylon grower to look upon the others as common 
causes that may lead at any time to failure either 
here or there, just in tbe same maimer, under 
similar conditions. 
Foremost among the enemies and pests affecting 
the cacao tree in Dominica, Mr. Barber places tbe 
root disease. In describing this it may be of im- 
portance to use his very words : — ''A tree in apparently 
good soil and of considerable health and vigour 
suddenly dies off from the root. The neighbouring 
trees are seen shortly to be similarly affected and 
frequently the patch of infected trees attains 
considerable dimensions." He describes it further 
on as affecting also Liberian coffee. Y^et it is 
possible that his examination was superficial, j^li 
the same he sold out. It is, however, quite 
clear now, from the light thrown on the in- 
vestigation by so eminent ^n authority as Hr. 
Barber, that there is a pest or root difease which 
has diecloseJ it»elf among tbe West Incian planta- 
tions. It is noticed by the destruction of patches of 
trees in a plantation, and is readily traced to th e 
mycelium of a fungus. "In all esses" be fays, "I 
have succeeded in discover ng a white fan-like net- 
* Report of the failure of the Dominica Cacao 
Crop (1892-93,) by C. A. Barber, m.a., f.i, s.— Supple- 
ment to the Leeward Island Gazette. 
