3°4 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov.  i 1892, 
been  planted,  can  in  some  respects  be  said  to 
have  passed  the  experimental  stage.  In  the  Gal- 
hoda  plantations,  however,  some  species  were  tried 
about  which  little  was  known  at  that  elevation.  Such 
were  Pithecolobium  dulce  at  Blackwater,  which  did  not 
succeed  at  all,  while  Pithecolobium  saman  and  Ptero- 
carjms  indicus  at  Dekinda  have  made  somewhat  slow 
progress. 
The  conifers,  the  seed  of  which  was  obtained  from 
India,  have  not  done  well  Pinus  excelsa  dying  out 
while  Pinuslongifvlia  is  making  only  slow  progress.  This 
tree  is  however  somewhat  slow  at  starting,  and  may 
make  better  progress  in  a year  or  two.  The  deodar 
plants  are  looking  very  sickly,  and  I fear  that  the 
Nuwara  Eliya  elimate  does  not  suit  them. 
POULTRY  KEEPING. 
Overcrowding  the  Hens. — The  greatest  of  all 
temptations  to  resist,  is  that  of  overcrowding.  The 
majority  of  poultrymen,  in  order  to  save  expense  of 
buildings  and  yards,  usually  put  too  many  hens  to- 
gether in  one  flock.  It  is  false  economy,  for  what 
is  gained  in  space  is  lost  in  product. ' The  smaller  the 
number  of  hens  together  the  larger  the  number  of 
eggs  obtained,  proportionately,  although  we  do  not 
advise  having  the  flocks  smaller  than  ten  hens  and 
a cock.  The  size  of  the  flock  should  depend  upon 
what  may  be  the  object  of  the  breeder.  If  eggs  only 
are  desired,  as  many  as  thirty  hens  may  be  kept  to- 
gether in  a building  10  x 20,  and  they  will  lay  well 
if  rightly  managed,  while  no  cocks  at  all  will  be  ne- 
cessary. The  eggs  from  hens  not  in  company  with 
cocks,  will  keep  twice  as  long  as  will  those  that  are 
fertile.  If  the  eggs  are  intended  for  hatching  pur- 
poses, ten  or  twelve  hens  and  a cock  may  be  kept  in 
a building  10  x 10  feet.  If  a larger  number  of  hens 
are  used,  they  will  require  more  than  one  cock,  and 
such  mode  will  occasion  strife  and  combats. 
There  is  another  difficulty  in  the  evil  of  overcrowd- 
ing, which  is  that,  in  all  flocks,  there  are  “boss” 
hens,  and  they  compel  the  more  timid  ones  to  keep  at 
a respectful  distance  to  the  rear,  the  consequence 
being  that  when  feed  is  given,  some  of  the  hens  will 
secure  more  than  their  share,  while  others  will  not 
have  enough.  Disease  often  results  from  overcrowd- 
ing also,  and  in  summer  the  animal  heat  renders 
the  poultry-house  uncomfortable,  while  lice  will  cer- 
tainly appear,  unless  the  sanitary  regulations,  in 
regard  to  cleanliness,  are  strictly  observed. 
Invigorators  and  Egg  Foods. — Tbe  majority  of 
egg  foods  are  composed  of  those  elements  that  enter 
into  the  composition  of  an  egg,  and  their  success 
depends  upon  the  fact  that  they  supply  material 
which  is  often  overlooked  by  those  who  keep  poultry. 
For  instance,  ground  bone,  ground  meat,  salt  and 
charcoal,  are  ingredients — the  first,  to  supply  the  phos- 
phates ; the  second,  the  albumen ; the  third,  that 
which  is  often  not  supplied,  and  the  fourth  as  a 
corrective.  Hence,  two  pounds  of  ground  bones,  two 
pounds  of  ground  meat,  half  a pound  of  salt,  a pound 
of  charcoal,  a pound  of  fenugreek  (used  as  a tonic, 
and  assistant  to  digestion)  with  an  ounce  each  of 
sulphur,  bread  soda  and  ginger,  makes  a very  good 
egg-food,  which  may  be  given  to  six  fowls  daily, 
using  a tablespoonful.  We  have  given  other . egg- 
foods,  but  mention  the  above  as  very  cheap. 
Whitewashing  Made  Easy. — In  whitewashing  the 
poultry-house  use  a forcepump.  There  are  forcing 
contrivances  by  which  the  contents  of  a bucket  can  be 
forced  from  a nozzle.  Make  thin  whitewash,  and 
then  force  it  against  the  walls,  roof,  on  the  floor, 
and  oyer  every  part  of  the  poultry-house.  By  so 
doing  the  work  can  be  performed  in  a few  minutes, 
while  by  the  old  method  of  using  a whitewash  brush 
it  sometimes  takes  a whole  day.  Anything  can  be 
pumped  over  the  house.  A solution  of  copperas,  car- 
bolic acid,  or  soapsuds,  can  be  used  as  well  as  white- 
wash. A great  saving  of  labor  will  be  effected  while 
the  work  can  be  done  much  better  than  in  any  other 
manner. 
When  ohicks  droop,  and  appear  sick  without  cause 
especially  in  summer,  look  for  lice — not  the  little  red 
mites,  but  the  large  grey  body  lice  on  the  heads  and 
pecks  .—Poultry  Keeper . 
USEFUL  NOTES. 
It  takes  many  years,  and  often  many  generations, 
to  develop  a fruit  or  vegetable  with  the  best  edible 
qualities  from  its  original  wild  state.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  Dr.  Gray  that  if  modern  civilization  had 
begun  in  America  our  Ground  Nut  (Apios  tuberosa) 
would  have  been  the  earliest  developed  esculent 
tuber,  and  would  probably  have  held  its  place  among 
the  first,  along  with  Potatoes  and  Sweet-Potatoes. 
— Garden  and  Forest. 
Cinnamon  in  Jamaica.— Mr.  Allan  Eric,  in  a 
recent  number  of  tbe  Drug  Reporter,  writes  : — 
Cinnamomum  zeylanicum,  or  cinnamon,  is  cultivated 
extensively  in  Jamaica,  where  it  waB  introduced  from 
Oejlon  about  1782.  There  is  al«o  a species  of  wild  oin- 
namon  which  grows  plentifully, in  Jamaica,  but  pos- 
sesses scarcely  any  commercial  value.  Tbe  first-named 
grows  to  a height  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  and  has 
a trunk  about  eighteen  inches  in  thickness  Its  bark  is 
of  a grayish  brown  colour,  and  the  inside  of  tbe  bark 
is  yellowish  red.  The  leaves  are  oval,  from  tour  to  fix 
inches  long,  and  have  blunt  points.  The  flowers  are 
silky-gray  on  the  outside,  aDd  of  a pale  yellow  colour 
internally.  The  fruit  is  somewhat  like  an  aoorn  in 
shape,  and  is  brown  when  ripe.  In  gathering  cinnamon 
bark  the  branches  of  from  three  to  five  years’  growth 
are  cut  down,  the  epidermis  is  scraped  away,  the  bark  is 
then  ripped  np  longitudinally  with  a knife,  and  gradu- 
ally loosened  until  it  can  be  removed.  Tbe  shoes  are 
then  exposed  to  the  hot  tropical  sun,  when  they  curl  up 
into  “ quills,”  in  whioh  form  they  are  familiar  to  com- 
merce. The  smaller  of  these  quills  are  inserted  into 
the  larger,  after  whioh  the  bark  is  tied  np  into  bundles 
of  about  eighty-five  pounds  each,  in  which  form  it  is 
ready  for  export. 
A Great  Indian  Tea  “ Concern’  is  thus 
described  by  a correspondent  of  the  Indian 
Planters'  Gazette  : — 
The  South  Sylhet  Tea  Company  is  a Big  Thing. 
Figures  hardly  give  one  an  idea  of  it : you  want  to 
ride  round  the  property  to  get  an  idea  of  the  size 
of  it.  They  have  some  24,000  acres  of  land  lying 
round  a big  bh.il,  the  “ Hael  Haur”  they  call  this 
bhil  locally,  and  it  isn’t  a bad  name  for  it.  I was 
‘‘  shipwrecked”  (in  a country  boat)  and  nearly  drowned 
in  it  some  seven  years  ago, — so  it  nearly  introduced 
me  to  its  namesake  where  I’ve  been  in  the  paving 
line  so  long.  There  are  four  divisions,  comprising 
some  8,000  acres  under  tea ; including  another  con- 
cern sandwiched  iD  between  two  of  the  divisions,  in  the 
same  agency,  10,000  acres  of  tea  would  be  nearer  the 
mark.  All  these  gardens,  sixteen  of  them,  lie  be- 
tween the  foot  of  a sort  of  horseshoe  range  of  hills 
and  the  big  bhil ; the  gardens  all  touch  ; and  you  can 
ride  for  over  20  miles  through  tea  and  a good  deal 
further  if  you  count  in  a few  adjacent  gardens  not 
belonging  to  the  same  company,  without  a break  in 
the  continuity  of  the  stretch  of  bushes  yielding  the 
“ cup  which  cheers  but  not  inebriates.”  From  the 
Superintendent’s  bungalow  on  the  hill  at  Kalighat 
you  can  see  12  or  13  bungalows,  and  five  or  six  huge 
central  factories ; there  are  forty  Europeans  employed 
in  the  concern ; eighteen  miles  of  horse-tramway  laid 
down  and  regularly  worked  ; a sort  of  co-operative 
store  which  supplies  whisky  and  other  necessaries  of 
life  to  the  employes ; and  the  annual  outturn  of  tea 
shipped  on  that  bhil  is  something  I am  afraid  to  put 
into  figures.  But  as  the  average  outturn  of  full- 
bearing tea  there  is  from  8 to  10  maunds  an  acre,  it 
might  safely  be  put  at  between  four  and  five  million 
pounds  without  any  unpleasant  references  to  Ananias. 
Of  course  they  have  their  own  Doctor  and  their  own 
“ boss”  engineer,  the  latter  of  whom  I had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  again  recently  up  at  Darjeeling, 
recruiting— his  health,  not  coolies.  But  they  further 
indulge  in  a luxury  not  common  to  most  concerns, 
however  big ; they  have  their  own  padre.  The 
Doctor  and  the  Engineer  may  be  classed,  from  a 
tea  planter’s  point  of  view,  as  necessaries  of  life, 
but  the  padre,  from  the  same  point  of  view,  is 
distinctly  a luxury ; and  a well  appreciated  one  too, 
may  be  added  in  this  case. 
