July 2, 1894.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
55 
PICKINGS WITH A PRACTICAL 
APPLICATION. 
The Hon. H. M. S. Mathews, Acting Director of 
the lepartment of Laud Records and Agriculture 
Rangoon, writing under date of February 12th, 1894, 
makes the subjoined statements oi the rice crop 
prospects in Burma : — 
Iu the eleven chief rics-proJucing districts, which 
comprise the area under report 1 , it is estimated that 
there aro 4,727,438 aoros aotuilly under cultiva'iou. 
This shows an increase of 8,376 aores as oomp&red 
with last month's estimate, and an increase of 101,824 
acres as compared with the area actually cropped last 
year. Information ohtained in the threshing-floors 
shows that in Pegu and Tenaserim the grain is de- 
ficient in weight and that the ears are not bo full as 
expeoted. it has therefore been necessary to reiuce 
the anna estimates (outturn per cropped acre) in 
Pegu, Tharawaddy, Ba^sein, Wakerna, Henzida, ar.d 
Shwegvin. 
This reduction of district outturns was partly 
antioipa'ed in framing list month's estimate of the 
total amount available for export. 
A further reduction has been made on receiving the 
detailed reports for January, and the amount available 
for export is now estimated at 1,320,000 tons of cargo 
rice, equivalent to 22,372,881 cwt?. of cleaned rice. 
The Florida Farmer and Fruit Grower states that 
the annual value of the world's coconuts is estimated 
at 60,000,000 dollars. 
The Horticultural Review s'ates that Dr. Caldwell, 
in a paper on the preservation of fruits, calls at- 
tention to the injuriousness of salicylio acid so largely 
used in France in the preservation of fruits and vege- 
tables, also to the danger from lead poisoning, to 
whioh consumers of auid fruits put up iu tin cans 
are subjected. In Germany the use of solder, con- 
taining more than 10 pe>- cent, of lead, for soldering 
tin cans containing fruits, is prohibittd by a fp cia! 
law. The solder used iu this c untry olteu has as 
much as 50 per cent, of leal. Such solder is dan- 
gerous, and its us 3 should be abandoned. Sulphuring 
fruits is another bid practice. Barax, salicylic acid, 
sulphurous aoid — all are injurious to digestion. 
The same paper sa' s in regard to the question of 
people's parks that it is gratifying to find that the 
smaller breathing spaces, embraciug uo more thau a 
square, or two, are receivh g con^iderablo atteutiou : 
their being of the greatest benefit, the more thty 
are dotted right in the most densely populated parts 
of cities. An ideal city, it says, should contain four 
of these spots in every square mile, or a large central 
space in the same extent of la'd. The advantage of these 
containing only a square at Bhort intervals over larger 
spaoes that are less frequent, is that they do not 
interfere with street traffic and :'llow a complete 
sweep of wind aloDg their entire length. Noting the 
tendency of people for urban residenoe, every possi- 
ble means 6hould be used to reserve ground for the 
purposes indicated. The 'onger the question is put 
off the more costly will it be to secure the necessary, 
land. 
A German scientist treits of the peanut as an 
article of fool rich in albumen, of which it contains 
forty-seven per cent, together with niueteen per cent, 
of fat and non-nitrogenous extractive matters. 
He recommends the use of roas!e 1 peanuts iu the 
form of soup or mush. Ou account of their cheap- 
ness 1 , peanuts are recommended as a popular arliole of 
fooct, eepsiially iu poorhouses and the like ; moreover, 
they are recommended as an urtiole of food for the 
corpulent, for tlio diabetics, and for the subjeot of 
kidney disease, in the l ist n e itioned of which foods 
rich iu a/aim al albumen are to be avoided. 
Aeoordiug to Eastern tradition, the Banana formed 
the primitive diet of primitive man. From the lini<o 
when Alexander's soldiers, as Pliny eaye, imacied 
India, and found its sages enjojiug themselves cn 
this luscious fruit, till the present time, the banana 
in tropical c iraates has tikeri its place in the first 
rank of the food of man. This fruit is typical of 
Eden. In the " fruit of the tree," say6 Moses thi 
hygienic lawgiver, " is man's life," and did man live 
in accordance with reason under natural conditions, 
principally upon the fruit of the tree, elrugs, doctors, nor 
hospita's would much longer trouble or destroy the 
inhabitants of its mundane sphere. To those who 
hive not put the system to tlio test, we can truly say 
that such Edenic fruit as food will eDab!e nature to 
cool and purify their system in the most effectual 
manner. 
VARIOUS PLANTING NOTES. 
L iberian Coffee, Cocoa and Coconut Palms seem 
a curious mixture to have on one plantation but 
in Ceylon they find the combination pay. We 
wonder whether any rash planters in South Tra- 
vancore would oare to try the recipe and report on 
results ?— &'. /. Observer. 
New Java Coffees — say Messrs. James 
Cook & Co. in their Monthly Despatoh, 25th May- 
are only arriving in small quantitiep, the crop is 
likely to be much later than was expected ; rains 
have caused Eome damage, and the proportion of 
inferior is said to be large, as many districts are 
suffering from leaf disease. 
Coca-leaves and Kola. — The reports of the 
Chemist and Druggist for the week ending May 
26th are deserving of attention by C6ylon men : — 
Coca-leaves. --Fourteen cases good greenish, brown 
leives irom Ceylon (Huaiaoco character) sold today 
at lOd to lljd per lb. 
Kola. — No sales were made toc'ay, although some 
good bright kola was shown. It was bought in at 
Is per lb. 
A Nfw Model Farm. — Mr. A. W. B. Power, the 
popular Commissioner oi, Burdwan, before leaving, 
laid the foundation stone, according to a Calcutta 
papsr, of the Power Model Farm, the sole gift of 
Babu Bonomali Kundu, a local zemindar and 
merchant, The farm and garden are to be placed 
in a piece of land of about 75 bighaB, the property 
of Bonomali Babu, who is making arrangements to 
add to it another 25 bighas. Mr. Power, before 
laying the foundation-stone, made a short spe;ch 
in response to Bonomali Babu's address, after 
which the Babu presented to Mr. Power a beautiful 
silver trowel. Mr. Power was a very popular aud 
highly-esteemed Commissioner. He went home 
carrying with him the gooi wishes of the people. — 
Pioneer. 
The Coffee Chop. — Proprietors of coffee properties 
in your island, especially of those in Uva, are jubilant 
over the prosptc s of the eomiug crop of the berry, 
the only drawback being the limited number of 
berr e?. Of course, the accounts received hbre by 
Haputale and Badulla coffee owners vary much as to 
probable yield pir acre because the fields are in 
many caBts only partially covered, so much having 
been rooted out to make way for tea. All this 
is very remarkable, teeii g how virulent the diseate 
has beeo, but it b ars cut what one of the coffee 
pioneers (R. D. Geiar.l) sail— that cjfiee would stand 
a deil of killing. I remember meeting him on the 
old road to the Ke'l.bokka Valley with a party of 
Katulyans armed wi h catties, lie had met bought 
the Oonoonagalle estate, which had beengrown over 
vkith jungle for years, and he was then going to set 
abont clearirg it from the overgrowth which quite 
hid the coffee. Ho declared that in two years' time 
he would gather 8 cwt an acre from it or more, aud ho 
did to, one Held oi 80 acres yielding 12 cwt! That 
was a wonderful field, with deep, rich soil amongst 
large tnuldera. Just now Ceylon peaberry oommanJs 
125s, while I remember it realisiug only 45s.— "T"Vv9 
of CeylOD," 
