406 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec.  i,  i 892. 
in  quality:  about  half  a bushel  of  mixed  lime  and 
ashes  to  each,  and  dig  it  in  with  a hoe  some  six 
feet  around  the  trunk,  and  put  the  old  iron  imme- 
diately around  the  base  of  each.  The  trees  put  forth 
with  renewed  vigour,  bloom  abundantly,  and  yielded 
a good  crop  of  fruit.  An  excellent  wash  for  trees 
may  be  made  thus : Heat  an  ounce  of  salsoda  to 
redness  in  an  iron  pot,  and  dissolve  it  in  one  gallon 
of  water,  and  while  warm  apply  it  on  the  trunk. 
After  one  apiilication  the  moss  and  old  bark  will  drop 
off  and  the  trunk  will  be  quite  smooth.  This  wash 
has  quite  recuperative  properties,  making  old  trees 
bear  anew.  We  have  tried  soft  soap  as  a wash  with 
good  results,  and  also  a coating  of  lime  in  the  spring 
season,  which  is  a fine  specific  for  old  trees. 
Clear  Potash  as  a Fruit  Manure. 
We  have  used  within  the  last  few  years  a good  deal 
of  potash  in  connection  with  the  trees  in  our  orchard, 
usually  buying  it  by  the  cask  for  this  purpose.  We 
Bimply  break  the  potash  into  small  pieces,  not  larger 
than  egg  size,  using  about  eight  pounds  to  an  average 
sized  tree,  scattering  it  upon  the  ground  about  the 
tree  in  a circle  extending  half-way  from  the  trunk 
to  the  extremity  of  the  branches.  When  this  is  done 
in  the  autumn  or  early  spring,  the  rains  and  snow 
dissolve  the  potash,  which  will  be  absorbed  and  spread 
through  the  soil,  thus  bringing  the  fertilising  pro- 
perties directly  to  the  small  roots  of  the  trees,  with- 
out the  slightest  injury  to  the  vegetation.  The  fu- 
ture crops  will  show  remarkable  results,  both  in 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  fruit.  In  1889  our  trees 
bore,  as  did  everybody's  that  year,  a heavy  crop  of 
apples ; and,  again  last  year,  we  have  had,  what 
few  others  had,  a crop  nearly  as  large  as  the  previous 
year,  which  proved  of  a remarkable  fine  quality  both 
in  appearance  and  freedom  from  decay.  This  we 
attribute  to  the  free  use  of  potash  on  the  soil  about 
the  trees,  proving  clearly  that  potash  is  a fertilizer 
essential  to  the  growth  of  fruit.  One  pear  tree  which 
for  a long  time  had  small  and  imperfect  fruit,  the 
spring  following  the  application  of  potash  produced 
pears  of  extraordinary  size,  and  singularly  free  from 
blemish.  We  esteem  potash  as  admirably  adapted 
to  all  kinds  of  fruits,  large  and  small. 
[Of  course  what  answers  for  apples  and  pears  in 
Europe  will  equally  benefit  oranges,  peaches,  plums 
and  other  fruit  grown  in  Ceylon. — Ed.  T.A. j 
Orchard  Houses. 
Every  year  we  feel  more  convinced  that  the 
orchard  house,  as  a rule,  is  not  managed  in  such 
a manner  as  will  produce  the  most  amount  of  fruit. 
Our  ideal  house  is  a span-roofed  house  with  a path 
running  round  the  inside  about  four  feet  from  the 
sides  of  the  house.  This  will  allow  a row  of  plants, 
or  trees  rather,  round  the  sides  of  the  house  in  pots, 
and  a centre  bed  of  trees  in  pots ; by  good  culture 
as  fine  fruit  may  . be  grown  on  pot  trees  as  those 
planted  out.  When  the  crop  iB  cleared  from  the 
trees,  they  may  be  given  all  air  possible,  and  even- 
tually placed  outside.  Such  a house  is  very  suitable 
for  growing  a crop  of  tomatoes  after  the  trees  are 
turned  out.  Good  plants  should  have  been  grown  or 
made  ready  as  soon  as  the  house  is  ready  for  them, 
when  they  will  soon  begin  to  fruit.  By  this  means 
two  crops  may  be  obtained  in  the  year,  without  any 
waste  time.— Horticultural  Times. 
— 
FIBROUS  PLANTS  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT. 
A factory  has  been  established  in  High  Street, 
Lambeth,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Taylor  Burrows, 
late  of  Lisle,  for  the  treatment  of  various  fibrous 
plants.  Samples  of  these  plants  of  every  species  can 
be  submitted  for  carefully-supervised  trial,  and  if  the 
present  machines  or  processes  prove  unsuitable  in 
some  little  detail  or  other,  the  defect  will  be  disco- 
vered and  remedied.  In  like  manner  advice  will  be 
given  as  to  the  best  machines  and  methods  of  treat- 
ing fibrous  plants,  and  the  opportunity  will  be  afforded 
of  studying  the  various  processes  of  production,  and 
of  acquiring  a knowledge  of  the  most  scientific 
methods  of  preparing  fibres.  In  fact  the  present 
enterprise  promises  to  develop  into  an  important 
public  technical  school,  for  it  is  proposed  to  establish 
branches  in  textile  manufacturing  and  cognate  centres. 
From  a still  wider  point  of  view  the  fibre  factory 
may  be  regarded  as  an  exhibition  and  a permanent 
institution  for  perfecting  machinery  and  process  relat- 
ing to  the  treatment  of  fibre-bearing  plants  of  every 
description. 
The  various  processes  to  be  carried  at  the  model- 
fibre  factory  comprise  the  rapid  retting  and  ungum- 
ming of  fibrous  plants  : automatic  breaking,  scutch- 
ing, combing,  and  hackling:  spinning  into  simple  or 
mixed  yarns  ; cottonising  and  woollenising  fibres  to 
imitate  fine  cotton  or  wool,  suitable  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  various  mixed  and  cheap  fabrics  as  well  as  for 
fine  and  costly  goods ; bleaching  and  dyeing  the  same 
and  the  rapid  drying  of  fibres  by  means  of  cold  air. 
The  factory  consists  of  a spaoious  warehouse  and  store 
room  for  machines  and  samples,  with  offices  annexed ; 
and  a large  machinery  and  operating  room,  with  a 
laboratory  and  an  engine  and  boiler  house.  The 
chief  feature  in  the  operating  room  is  a new  machine 
for  dealing  more  particularly  with  leaf  plants,  such  as 
phormium  tenax,  aloes,  agavas,  palms,  and  the  like. 
"We  saw,'  says  a writer  in  The  Times,  who  des- 
cribes the  factory,  “ some  phormium  tenax  put 
through  this  machine  with  great  success,  and  with 
rapidity  and  simplicity.  Another  machine  is  a 
scutcher  for  hemp,  flax,  rhea,  and,  in  fact,  all  stem 
fibres.  In  this  we  saw  some  rhea  stems  from  France 
easily  decorticated  without  previous  soaking  or 
steaming.  The  wood  was  well  taken  out  and  the 
fibre  left  ready  for  ungumming  and  subsequent  treat* 
ment.  In  the  plants  thus  treated  the  fibre  is  got 
out  mechanically,  and  is  then  treated  according  to 
requirement,  by  ungumming,  bleaching,  and  prepar- 
ing for  spinning.  There  is  also  a spinning  machine 
in  order  to  test  the  various  fibres  in  this  respect, 
and  to  see  how  they  are  likely  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  a commercial  article.  Another  important 
improvement  is  al-o  being  introduced  at  this  factory, 
and  that  is  the  rapid  retting  of  flax.  The  usual 
method  of  retting  is  to  soak  the  flax  in  water  for 
about  three  weeks.  By  the  new  process  this  wdl  be 
effected  in  about  a couple  of  hours.  This  quick  action 
is  brought  about  by  submitting  the  flax  to  the  inter- 
mittent influence  of  heat  and  moisture,  which  is  stated 
to  be  very  effective,  and  in  no  wTay  to  act  prejudically 
.upon  the  fibre.”—  U.  and  C.  Mail. 
MR.  MAXWELL  ON  COCONUT  BEETLES. 
The  resident  of  Selangor  issues  the  following  noti- 
fication about  what  he  calls  cocoa-nut  trees ; but 
probably  he  means  coconut  trees: — 
No.  185 — The  Cocoanut-tree  Boher  (Beetle). — 
District  Officers  are  instructed  to  use  their  influence 
with  the  native  owners  of  cocoanut plantations  in  order 
to  induce  them  to  clean  their  trees  periodically  and 
rid  them  of  beetles.  The  palms  should  be  ascended 
once  every  month  or  six  weeks.  The  lowest  leaves, 
if  shewing  signs  of  drying  up,  should  be  chopped  off 
and  the  trunk  cleared  of  any  old  leaf-stumps  and  of 
ants’-nests,  etc.,  which  the  latter  may  have  harboured. 
At  the  same  time  the  top  shoot  should  be  carefully 
examined.  If  they  are  of  a yellowish,  sickly  colour 
the  beetle  is  probably  the  cause.  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  finding  the  whole,  as  an  accumulation  of  short 
loose  fibre  marks  the  spot.  This  fibre  should  be 
removed  and  a wooden  or  metal  probe  pushed  into  the 
hole  (one  of  the  side-ribs  separated  from  a frond  will 
answer  the  purpose.)  The  beetle  is  soon  transfixed 
and  pulled  out.  A little  sand  should  be  thrown  into 
the  whole. 
The  above  is  the  system  employed  on  the  Malabar 
Coast  where  the  removal  of  beetle  is  one  of  the 
ordinary  routine  operations  of  the  coconut-growers. 
A single  toddy-drawer  will  there  clean  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  full-grown  trees  in  a day. 
The  insertion  of  a little  kerosine  oil  into  the  hole 
may  be  usefully  tried,  Kerosine  oil  if  mixed  with  an 
equal  proportion  of  milk  form  an  emulsion  which  can 
then  be  diluted  with  water  to  any  desired  extent,—* 
Straits  Times . 
