April 2, 1894.1 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
665 
7 
Noxious efiauvia pending out 
Prom its perDioiOHS store, 
Not only from the foaming mouth, 
But every 1 feless pore. 
S 
To view the same enri-lled in Tea, 
Besmeared with tuch perfumes. 
And then the herb sent o'er the sea 
To U3 it tainted comes ; 
9 
Some of it tinctured with the tilth 
Of carcases embiimed ; 
Ta3te uf this herb th«n, if then wilt, 
Biire, me it cannot charm. 
10 
Adieu, away, O Tea begone ! 
Salute our taste no mare, 
Tbo' thou art coveted by some . t\/t m 
Who 're destiuel to be i-oor. A.M,F. 
PICKINGS WITH A LOCAL APPLICATION. 
The question of cittle-brandiDg may be looked on 
from two appectp, tl at of the liumaiitarian and that of 
the tamer. There is no doubt that the practice of 
branding artistic designs on the bod? of a bull in this 
coun ry is a cruel one, and ai svicb, should be prohibited. 
In Australia it is au.ofgcsted that a small distinctive 
brand sbould be set on the cheek instead of a large 
one on the ribs or rump where the hide is of the 
most value. Other plans 6ngt;est-"d, and forae of 
wbiob have beon carried out, are brnnding in the 
region of the foot, or making distinctive mark-i on 
the tail or ears. The subject cf branding, e»pe(iially 
in Ceylon, is cert^itily deservi a of consideiatioD, 
so th&t BL-me opinions mny be arr'vsd at, as to the 
best method of securing Ihe object it set lis without 
spoiling hides or cansiug crne'tj to Bnimals. 
" PHp<-r," says the Indian Afjiiculfurist, " can be 
manufactured out of almost anything that can be 
pounded into palp. Over fifty kiads of bark are said 
to be used, and banaua akins, bean stalks, pea vines, 
coconut fibre, clover and timothy hay, strsw, sea and 
fresh water weeds and many hinds cf grasi are all 
applicable. It bas also been made from huir, fur 
and wool, from asbestos which furnishes an article 
indebtructible by fire ; from hop plants, from husks 
of any anil every kind of grain. Leaves make a 
good strong paper, while the husks and stem? of 
Indian corn have also been t ied, and a'moet every 
kind of mos* can be made into paper. There are 
patents for making piper from sawdust and shavings, 
from thisths .ind thistledown, from tobacco eialks 
and tanbark. It is said tba' the'e are over 2,000 
patents in America covering the manufacture of paper." 
The man who seta hiuistlf up as un expert at 
forecftsting the weather by means of signs, is a pro- 
verbially false prophet. The following iodioations 
given by a " ceitain old farmer of Niigata (Japan) — 
R8 the re'u't of muny years of practical experience," 
will no doubt be welcome to onr local we-ither 
prophets : at any rate it will by interesting to know 
how these portends compare with locil experiences 
of weather signals : — 
1. Signs of clear weather: — When the charred soot 
which forms on the wick of the o'd-faabioued Japanese 
lamp is red ; when the ribing sun is redJer than 
usual ; when a dog comes out of shelter to sleep in 
a more exposed p'aae ; when the wesleru sky is 
red at the retiring of the 'un; when an echo is heard 
to the pigeou's coo ; when the kiic cries in the 
evening ; when a rainbow spans the East. 
2. Signs of rain: — When the eastern wird blows ; 
when a rainbow appears in tbo morning ; v hen the 
morning is dewy ; when the enrthworni crawls out 
of the earth; when the orow washes hiiueclfin the 
water (rsio next day) when the morning mist goes 
Westward; when the cock goes to roost later than 
uBual ; when the sun is enrrounded by a corona ; 
when the dog (toes to sleep under the floor of the 
ho'js: (roiii 1 cxt day) ; when the kite flies toirard, 
evpning ; when the moon looks low. 
3. 8ig Sot vipii: — When the stars 'eem to waver 
iu their pl.oos ; wheu (he clouda liy rapidly iu 
detatobed fragments : when the smoke does Dot escape 
from the hou'<e iu the morning; when the sun appenrs 
uousually red in risina: ; when the clear sky is felt 
oppr( 8.s!T6 ; wlien the ravens croak ia U' usual 
group"! ; when the murmur of the river ia h^ard louder 
than orlinnrj. Thi: Booth-wiud is a sign of a stronger 
wind to come. 
C3 
In the Mayjloiver, an American monthly, mainly 
devoted to Hortionllure, a correspondent (James Stin. 
son, M.D.) writing about the confusion of the words 
cocoa, cacao and coco, attempts to . clear it up 
thus : — 
Kindly permit me to call your attention to an inaoca- 
raov in Mr. Rand's article, " Coffeb and Cocoa." 
The spf-l ing and pronunciation of four very diffe- 
rent articb^s I now give you, viz.: 
C.4CA0 (Xah Iiov>). Theobroma C;icao ; the Choco- 
late berry tree. 
OocA (A'o-Zrt/i)- ErythrosyloB Coca ; the Coca leaf 
bush of Peru and Bolivia. 
Coco {Ko-Ko). Oaladinm esoHlentum ; the Coco 
roo'8. 
Cocoa {Ko-Kioah). Cooos nncifera ; the Coco.'jnut 
Palm. 
Cacai (Kah-Kow) is derived from the Portuguo-ie 
" cacau," which was derived from the Mexican 
cacautl." So it is an error (lab me sty a very 
general error) to write it " Cocoa "; 'also to pronoucca 
it " Ko-Ko." 
Cacao (Kah-Kow), Portuguese " oacau," Mexican 
" caoiuti," is the correct spelling and pronunciation 
of the article mentioned by Mr. Rand. 
[But Mr. Eand ia quite wrong in his pronunoia- 
fion of the name of palm and in his not seeing that 
the Engliah form of Cocos nucifera should be 
"Coco "-nut. We never heard of the " Caladium 
eaoulentum " being called " Coco." — Ed, T.A.'] 
♦-r 
PRICE'S PATENT CANDLE COMPANY. LTD. 
Commerce devotes 14 pages to an aooount of this 
Company (fully illustrated) with its capital of 
£600,000 and 2,000 employees. We quote a few 
passages as follows: — 
The history of Price's Ootnpauy is, to a large ex- 
tent, the history of c*ndle-m«king in Greit Britain. 
It was, as a private concern, amotg the firs; to Hpplj' 
in commercial enterprise the discoveries of Chevreul 
one of the greatest of all chemists; and as a joint- 
stock corpniation, has ooulioned to hold the first 
place among the omdle manufacturers of the world. 
In 1829, the plan of separating coconut oil into its 
solid and liquid components by pressure w&a paten- 
ted by Mr. Jsjaes Soames, of London. This patent 
was purchased by Mr. William Wilson and his part- 
ner, who, trading apo:i it under the title of "E. Pries 
& Co.," perfected it as to manufacturing details, 
aud brought it into good use for the production of 
coconut candles and lamp oil. Mr. Willi»m Wilsoo, 
the founder of this business, became a caudle manu- 
facturer more by accident than design. He was a 
member of an old Lanarkshire family, the Wilsor.a 
of Cleuch, nnd had followed what had been the custom 
of the family for many generations, the elde,t sou 
inheriting the property, the younger ones going out 
into ttiO world tos;ori; off their own bats. He made 
hia way to Gothenburg in Sweden, where he was taken 
iu hand by a wealthy Sweditb mine-owner. Here 
lie made a large fortune, and returning to England, 
he bonght Cleuoh from his brother. As a result of 
finding ironstone on his estate, he was tompte3 to 
build the "Wilsontown Iron Worts," where be lost 
all his money. This only served to put him on his 
mettle, for he came to London and made a fresh 
start as a broker in Russian merchandise, and became 
very successful. Not liking the buBiness, he arailed 
himself of the opportuuity for leaving it that the patent 
I have mentioned provieod. His first partner was Mr. 
Lancaster. Atterwarda, when more capital waa re- 
quired, some member* of the then great ludiu houio 
Messrs. Cockerell & Co., beoamo pinners. The name 
