THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 217 
Oct. i, 1 894.] 
which they bound themselves not to purchase bemp 
except of a specified quality ax to weight, colour, &c. 
nod arranged that in casa of disagreement as to the 
quality of the purchasable article, ihe hemp should 
be submitted to the judgment of expert-, and all the 
signatories bouud themselves to observe the condition 
of the oironlar. The effeat of this circular has elready 
bsen felt in the improvement of the quality of hemp 
produced for export ; an improvement which is likely 
to continue. There is a large decrease of the hemp 
exports to the United States and Canada, amounting 
to 171,613 bales, while there is an incivase of export 
to Great Britain, Australia, China, and California. 
The Manila hemp i=, as is well known, manufactured 
f\om the musa textilis, a species of banana, for which 
the soil and climate of the islands are favourable, 
as they are also to other textile plants peculiar to 
these islands ; one of these is a species of the pine- 
apple whioh produces a fine fibre from which are 
made extremely delicate gauze textures called pina, 
almost transparent, which is a great favourite with the 
natives. The export of island-made cordage has in- 
creased during the past year; the greater portion of 
it goes to Ohinn. There is a project afloat of estab- 
lishing au English rope faotory in the islands, which 
ought to be successful. — Consular Report for 1893. 
DEVICES FOR TRAPPING INSECTS, 
RATS, AND THIEVES. 
The BaBton Journal of Commerce has made the 
following extraats from patents whioh h-we been granted 
for trapping insects, rodents, and thieves: — 
" Contrivances for catohing insects are more nume- 
rous than any other- 1 . One of them is a furnace for 
slaughtering potato bugs. To begin witb, a deep and 
wide furrow is to be ploughed ail round an inlested 
field; through this treuoh a smooth log is dragged to 
make the surface hard and smooth. The bugs in 
migrating to other grounds are unable to scale the 
trench, and the furnace, whioh is a cylinder of iron 
filled with fuel, is drawn along ihe furrow and destroys 
them. Other odd dev ces ate oartridg<s intended to 
be inserted in the mouths of ant-lioles and to be fired 
thus communicating stifling vapours to the subter- 
rauean chambers, also miny kinds of lamps for 
attracting and burning up the moths of Various worms 
in cotton fields. There is a toy pi>tol for inteots, 
whioh sucke them in when the trigger is pulled. 
"An ingenious Westerner ha* invented a trap for 
catohing the horn fly, which is suoii an enemy to 
cattle in some parts of the country, It consists most 
imporiantly of a great frame to which brush i* attached 
in such a manner that wheu the beasts walk through, 
eager, as they alwajs Bre to scratch themselves, the 
flies will be soraped from their bodies by the brauche^. 
Finally tbe frame is closed up by nwnns of du»rs and 
Ihe osptuied insects aro destroyed. Nearly everybody 
has heurd of the gold tapeworm tiap, which the 
patient swallows. B-dbng traps are of several 
varieties, all of them being in' ended to afford at- 
tractive biding places for those bloodsuckers and to 
be burned or scalded out afterward. 
" Much ingenuity has been expended in rat traps. 
Some of them are so elaborate that no full-witted 
rodent would go near them. One requires Mr. Rat to 
come in through a door, which drops behind him and 
makes him a prisoner. Seoing a bright light above, he as- 
cends a t) ght of iitile steps and trots ac o»s a small plank 
tbat is so nicely adjusted as to balance that bis 
wiigot oauses it to tip aud throw him into a tank of 
water. Another coutrivance consists of a double 
chamber. Onechamber has a gl.iss end through which 
Mr. Kat sees two or three imitation rats having a nice 
ti ne with a bit of cheese. Wishing to join them, he 
runs around the box, gets into tbe other chamber 
and is canght. 
"There are a number of devices which employ 
mirrors for the purpose of luring Mr. Rut to his late. 
Ho mounts on top of a barrel and sees a toothsome bit 
of oheese. As he approaches it he beholds anotbe* 
rtdeat— in reality Ins own reflection in a piece ol 
looking-glass— coming for the cheese from the opposite 
direction. He makes a dash to get there first, and a 
[ivoted board drops bim into the cask, which is half 
lull of water. Rats wi 1 fwim for a long time, so ore 
humanitarian has patented a water trsp with little 
r-helves around th" edce and ju-t above the surface- 
On the shelves are placed small lead weights with 
fish-hooks banging from them. The captured rat in 
trying to es ape gra-ps one of tV.e hocks, gets it 
fastene I in his mouth, dislodges the piece ot lead, 
and is carried to tbe bottom by the latter. 
"Of greater interest tre contrivances for catching 
tbievec One of them is designed to discourage bank 
sneaks. The sneak puts bis baud in through the 
teller's wiudow, and unintentionally actuates a 
mechanism which cause! a slide with spikes to close 
suddenly upon bis p»w and impale it. A trap of a 
eomewbr.t similar character is a steel shutter for a 
house window, so disguised with covering Bnd fringes 
aa to look like an ordinary curtain. If a burglar 
tries to enter at nieht, it shuts down upon him, tbe 
epikfs hiddeu by the fringe help ng to bold him fast." 
St. James's Budget. 
A ROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP 
INVESTIGATING TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURE. 
At present there i ? in ourmidet a young gentle- 
man, who arrived in Colombo on Monday from Eng- 
land, who has been travelling for some time all 
over the planting world, and is now on bis way 
to India, Mr. F. Ca : ey Smiih, of Adelaide, re- 
presents tbe Adelaide Register, the Melbourne Argus, 
Sydney Morning Herald, Auckland Herald, and 
tbe Pecifio Rural Pres3 of San Frar.oisco The 
object Mr. Smith has had in view more espe- 
cially is lo report on tho wine producing districts 
of the world, and by the way to investigate 
tropical agriculture in view of introducing the same 
into Australia where already a number of his friendfl 
are in the work. He has already visited the United 
Statep, Canada, the Oapa, England, Germany, Italy! 
Syria, Egypt, etc. He eonsiders that for scientific, 
agticulture the Germacs are before all other peoples 
but that the Americans are not far behind. Great 
Bri'ain is entirely out of the runniDg, many 
of the Colonies far outstripping her in practical 
agrioulture. Mr. Smith intends before leaving 
for India to go upcountry, to Kandy and Nuwara 
Eliya. 
— 
CEYLON SEASON REPORTS FOR 
AUGUST. 
From the abstract of the SeaEon Reports for 
tbe momh ended August 31st, 1894, published 
in Friday's] Gatette, wa make ihe following 
extraots : — 
Colombo District. — Should tbe present unfavour- 
able wtather continue the "mnttes" crop in Alut- 
kuru korale south will be a poor one. J- kfruit, bread- 
iruit, end plaatainj aie Bcarce and dear. Cucumber 
and sugurcan.es are pleutiful. The coconut crop is 
below the average ; prices vary frcrn R30 to RIO a 
thousand nuts. 
Alutkuru Kora'e North. — Ve~et>blos ore scarce and 
dear. Coconut crops poor ; prices good. 
Hspitigam koi a'e.— During the mouth there was fome 
rain, but net sufficient for cultivation purposes. Plan- 
tains arc scarce and deal". For want of bnfficieut rain 
some fields have loan abandoned. 
Vegetubl s other than jak and breadfruit are plentiful 
aud cheap in Ka.u ara Tutumutia and Riyigam korale, 
but scarce in Pasuun k>r»le. Plantains are plenum! in 
Kalutara Totuniu, a, but dear. Betel ouitivution is 
cairied on exteLsive y iuRaiigam korale. Tbe coconut 
crop is fair ; prices R30 to R3i> a thousand. An outbro. k 
of cittle murrain is n ported from Welijeuua iu 
Pasdutu-Wuldlawiiti korale. 
