56 
LlBERIAN COFFl'-E AT THE St RAITS. — We Call 
attention to our old friend, Mr. T. H. Bill's letter 
(on page 57) and very elaborate tables— surely Mr. H. 
could devise a more concise lorm for these, " lum- 
ping," the fields a little more and giving total results 
which would be looked at by many more readers. 
The statistics now published are an extension of 
what we gave in the Tropical Agriculturist in 
August 1893 ; and certainly returns of from 4 to 
6 cwt. per acre are very encouraging. Mr, Hill 
would do well to give us a readable Report with- 
out so many figures. 
Kerosine Oil and Economy. — A Urge consumer 
uigning himself " Poor Joe" cays : — I can give an 
opiuion on the above subject eeeing I have made it 
a study for this last 4^ years and burn it every night 
at the rate tf 4£ gallons every night. A lamp running 
at its full power, will give off a stronger smell than 
a lamp running at half power; a lamp i uoning under 
§ power will consume less oil by a gr< at r eal than 
when it is running under full power. I am awaro 
that some lamps when turned down give off an 
offeosive amell, but that is not the fault exactly cf 
the oil, but of having u foul burner. If your cham- 
bers are crusted with black it is easily removed by 
heating a little turpentine, say about a gill and apply 
while warm and then a very slight rubing will remove 
all dirt. If your burner is choked inside the dust 
recess with flies or trimmings you must expect your 
amp to give off an offensive smell wben turned down, 
for the chamber gets a great deal more heated by a 
]ow light that it dees at full power. 
Fibre of Agave Americana. — Mr. Thurston exhi- 
bited samples of Fibre prepared at Coimbatore : — 
(a) by scraping dry leaves ; (4) by maceration ; 
and of the bamboo scrapes used in tbe former pro- 
cess, in illustration of a note by him, published as 
Bulletin, No. 30 of the department of Land Records and 
Agriculture, Madras. It is there stated that "the Fibre 
of Agave americaua (from Coimbatore) has been 
very well reported on (in England), and is con- 
sidered to le nearly bb good as Manilla hemp. 
"The extraction of the Fibre is performed by hand 
and no machinery is used. The Fibre is extractc d by 
two methods, viz. (a) scraping and (J) maceration. 
(a) Scraping. — Tbe leaves are cut, the sharp spines 
removed with a knife, and about six inches cut i ff 
from the top of the leaf. The leaf is then split 
longitudinally into four or five pieces, which are tea'ea 
with a wcoden mallet and place 1 on a board 
4'm4"h3" held firmly by tbe toes. Tbe pulp is then 
removed by means of a bambco s;roper, one 
edge of which is shaped in tbe lo:m ot a blade, 
and the Fibre dried by exp< sure to tbe sun. 
The fibre ob'ained by this simple process without 
washing or bleaching is very cleau and free from pulp. 
The siaple is no', however, very long. It is made 
into thread, which is u6ed in weaving grass mate 
(4) Maceration. — As in the previous method of 
Fibre-extraction, the leaves are cut, and the spines 
removed. The whole leaf is then beaten with a wooden 
mallet, and thrown in bundles into tiuks or wells 
in which it is left to maoerite for a fortnight to 
twenty days, or until the pulp is quite decomposed. 
The bundles are then taken out dried aud bleached ia 
the sun. " The Fibre obtained by this process is looger 
than that obtained by scraping but h not nearly so clean. 
A very large supply of the Fibre could be obtained, if a 
demand for it arose. At present it is sold in the bazaar 
at the rate of 2 annas per lb. but, if a re gular trade in 
it was started, the price would doubtless be reduced. 
With reference to his statement that " a very large 
supply of the Fibre could bo obtained, if a demand 
for it arose, Mr. Thurston stated tbat the Agave is 
planted by the Madras Railway Company primarily 
as a protective hedge, and not as a Fibre-producer; 
and that, in the event of a demand for the Fibre 
arising, the cultivation of the plant would probably 
have to be extended, Dr. Thurston is thanked for 
his interesting cornmuDicatioo.— Madras Agri-Horti- 
cultural Society, 
" An Expeiiimental Estate" to be worked 
under the control of eaeb Planters Ant- 
ciation is tbe novel suggestion propounded 
by a Calcutta contemporary. We should not go so 
far as an "eelate"; but an "experimental 
station" of some 10 or 20 acres, on which a good 
deal could be done in trying different manures 
cr different modes of cultivating staple or new 
products, ought not to be beyond tbe Ceylon 
Planters' Association. Wo will not urge the 
proposal for the present, however ; but reserve it 
until the capture of 'America" a year or two lunoe 
gives the assurance of a new lease of prosperity 
for the " lea industry" which, at present low 
price?, cannot be said to be in a oondition cal- 
culated to encourage expenditure in a new direc- 
tion by the parent planting body. 
Tropical Vegetation.— At the gardens of tbe 
Royal Botanical Society, Regents' Park. Mr. David 
Morris, c M o., delivered the first two lectured upon 
"■ Tropical Vegetation," to a crowded audience of 
Fellows and visitors, illustrating his remarks with 
many limelight views of tropical scenery and 
vegetation in tbe West Indies and coasts of central 
America. Uc showed how the maDgrove, one of 
the verbena family, had become almost amphibious. 
To enable the seeds to sow themselves in the 
mud in which they giow. they were kept upon the 
tree until a root of over 1 ft. long had grown, 
when the i' crease of weight sent them straight 
down into tbe mud to a depth of 3 in. and 4 in., 
with tho first leaves laready formed, and the young 
plants able to take care of themselves. Thus was 
found one of Nature's agents in forming dry land. 
Other instances were found in the orchids and 
illandsias.— Daily Chronicle, May 7. 
Indian Planting and Agriccltcre. — We 
have to acknowledge the receipt from the De- 
partment of Revenue and Agriculture (Government; 
of India) of Returns of Agriculural Statistics 
of British India and the Native State of Mysore 
for 1892-93 with Appendices giving the estimated 
area, among other things, of the cultivation under 
different products throughout British India. The 
information contained in this Blue Bsok of 84 
pages is indispensable to w- in revising our 
information for staple products. The main results 
are a total area under oeffes of 122,788 acres 
against 127,648 in the previous year; of tea 
360,403 acres against 381,219, which is inexplicable 
except we suppose the figures for 1891-2 were ex- 
aggerated ; and for cinchona 14,653 acres, against 
13,862 — an increase which we also consider to be 
very puzzling, if not indeed explained through an 
extension of the Government Gardens. 
The Cola Nut. — The wonderful endurance shown 
by the West African negroes, who habitually masti- 
cate the bean when they have any specially hard 
work to perform, has long been known, and the 
drug seems now to be coming into more general 
use for the preparation of a drink similar to 
cocoa or chocolate. A large cocsignment has 
recently been sent to France, where the military 
authorities are taking it up for use in the army. A 
demand is also said to be developing in connection 
with the preparation of artificial coffee, which ap- 
pears to be improved by the admixture of a certain 
amount of the coarser qualities of the bean. 
Recent reseaiches Bhow that while cola contains 
but little of ihe astringent tannin, which is so 
prominent a feature of both tea and ooffee, it 
possesses about the same proportion of tbe refresh- 
ing t.beiue aa occurs in th6Ee beverages.— Rural 
Californian, 
