t)£c. I, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Dr. Elliott left altogether a family of live sons 
and three dan<;hters : two of the sons have been 
closely connected \vith Ceylon ; but the second 
Mr. John Clark Elliott, after good work done as 
planter and in the Public Works Department, 
settled down to farming in Ireland, and 
has since gone out to Texas to reside with his 
family. The eldest of the family entered the 
Ceylon Civil Service, and after a long and varied 
aduiiuistrative and judicial career in nearly every 
province of the island, is now as the Hon. Edward 
Klliott, Acting Government Agent, Western 
Province, and Member of tlie Legislative Council. 
CLEARING JUNGLE. 
The letter relating to the extermination of jungle 
quoted by our London corrsBpondent 0x1 page 368, 
deals with a subject that has oonaiderable intereat for 
allenRBged iu planting operations in tropical or sub- 
tropical oouniries. We are not aware if the 
special compound to which that letter makes re- 
ference is known to any member of our own 
planting community. If it be so, and if any triil 
has been made with it in Ceylon, the results, if 
communicated to us, would certainly be possessed 
of coDsiderab'.e interest. Both on patana and 
ohena lands, the growth of noxious grasses or 
of those of a charac'er unfitted for use creates a 
difficulty that, could it be removed, would probably 
enable many acres that now are perforce left sterile 
to be brousht under profitable cultivation. It is 
commonly to be observed on the ocoasions when 
publication is made as to the number of acres 
composed within certain estates, that no incon- 
siderable proportion of their areas is described as 
uncultivated. It would be a distinct gain if this 
proportion cou'd by any method be reduced. Of 
course we know that much of this uncultivated acre- 
age is not without its useful purpose, Belts of 
timber are left as wind-screens, while other areas of 
the same description of growth remain unfelled 
as a reserve for firewood or for the promotion 
of rainfall. Similarly, there is a distinct object 
in leaving portions of an estate untitled for the 
sake of the growth of such grasses as are useful 
for cattle fodder, litter, &c., for the numerous 
cattle that are kept either for manuring or trans- 
port purposes. But even when allowance has 
been made for these voluntary reserves, there yet 
remain on many of our estates a considerable 
amount of land ot which it seems to be impos- 
sible to use. We believe that much of this is 
abandoned because of the noxious growths which 
it alone seems fitted to produce, The letter to 
which we have above referred seems to indicate 
the possibility of dealing with suoh land. It 
would be well worth the while, we should think, 
of some of our planters to experimentalize with 
this compound. We are not informed as to the 
name by which it is known iu India, the corre- 
spondent writing the letter to the West Indian 
and Commercial Advertiser not having given it. 
But tbi re is little doubt that this could readily be 
obtained from some of the agencies in India. 
]( this mixture can accomplish what ia pro- 
fessed for it, a great step in the direction 
of our requirementb would be gained. Anyone 
who has endcavourod to reclaim lands producing 
only useless growths has experienced the first 
difficalty of completely eradioatiug the latter. 
So long SB there remains the tendency to reproduoe 
noxious growths, efforts to cultivate must prove fruit- 
less. If they could be thoroughly cleared off, steps 
might then be taken to introduce some more profitable 
cultivation. We hold that the constant reproduc- 
tion of particular forms of useless scrub or grassfs 
does not necessarily mean that the land is not 
possessed of qualities fi-ting it for higher forms 
of plant lite. It is simply that the lower 
form has acquired such a hold upon it that its 
prevalence kills off any natural endeavour made 
by seeds of more valuable produots. Therefore 
the steps of primary importance must be to 
destroy this hold. If after doing this the land 
to be dealt with was thoroughly ploughed over 
and left for a season to aerate, it might, we 
think, probably be found possible by the aiJ of 
enrichment by manure to grow upon it either lea 
or coffee, or failing that, some useful fodder grasses. 
At bH events it strikes us that experiment- 
ing in this direction might be useful. It is 
asked if our Forest Department has ever 
made any endeavour to rescue from their condition 
of inutility any of the clearings so abundant 
throughout our forest areas that have been 
devoted to chena cultivation. If this has teen done, 
it would be useful to know what results have followed. 
It seems to be opposed to the beneficent laws of 
nature that land of the kind should be for ever 
rendered unproductive. In the earlif-r stagea fol- 
lowing after their abandonment we c«n understand 
this relative sterility rendering them incapable of 
the higher productions. They yield, therefore, 
during such stages only such weak growths as they 
may be fitted for. But if these could be thoroughly 
eradicated by the use of some such compound as 
the letter under reference indicates, there does 
not seem any reason why, by careful after-treatment, 
they might not be restored ti their pristine 
vigour and productiveness. We can only eusgest 
that some such process might be usbfuUy tried, 
and were it successful, a very considerable acreage 
now valueless might be added to the productive 
area ot our estates. 
pla:?^tain growing. 
[To THE Editor "South of India Obsbbveb."] 
Sir, — In compliince with the siipgestitn in ycur 
issue of the 25th ultimo that I fboDl(' h t you know 
the result of plsntaiu growing at Koti h Hall I send 
the following notes. 
My experiment was on a fmall 8c»le, and did no 
last long enough to give a reliable ettimate of yield 
per acre. Of course the experiment wrs iaterfRtin^ 
on account of the elevation, 6,200 feet. At Kotab 
Hkll fruit was obtained in from 18 mouths to two 
jears after a plaijting out of suckers; a few month* 
after the parent stem had borne and been out down, 
the largest sucker came into bearing, followed a few 
months later by the next in siz3 ; and so 00, until 
the soil was exhausted or kept on by manarinsr. 
Exhaustion was eliown by the frnit becoming puny 
and the bnnchei small. This kind of yield was also 
noticeable wherever too many stems were allowed to 
grow together. A fpaoe of ten feet square for mch 
placit in the first instance was fonnd aJvieible not to 
a'low more than five stems at a time from snokrra 
in each space. The extra suckers were either planted 
elsewhere or destroyed. The more Dumerous the 
suckers were allowed to grow the smaller the froit 
became and also the bunches. Very good fruit was 
obtained, and the flavour ws* considered more delicate 
than the same jat grown at a low elevation. In poor 
soil, where manure had not been used, and whore in- 
suffioiently used, the u.sail signs of weakne»3 (puny fruil 
and email bunches) were nokiceal le. On the other 
hand, where manura bad been liberally applied tli« 
yield was most aatiifkotory, and figns of exhaustion 
