526 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  i,  1893. 
tbe  Northern,  Deccan  and  West  Coast  districts,  good 
lor  the  bulk  of  the  crop  in  Tonjore  and  Tricbinopoly, 
t nt  elsewhere  standing  crops  are  suffering  owing  to 
the  failure  of  the  November  rains. 
In  IS urnxa  the  prosj  ects  of  the  crop  are  everywhere 
good,  and  it  is  estimated  that  there  will  be  available 
for  export  27,116.000  cwt.  of  cleaned  rice,  including  the 
quantity  required  for  consumption  in  Upper  Burma. 
ANOTHER  CEYLON  PLANTER  IN  EAST 
AFRICA. 
We  are  glad  to  learn  that  good  news  has  been 
received  of  Mr.  W H.  Cowley,  formerly  of  Opalgalla, 
who  some  time  ego  left  for  German  East  Africa. 
Mr.  Cowley  reports  himself  to  be  in  good  health; 
enjoying  the  country  and  his  work  which  has 
not  been  trifling,  seeing  he  baB  opened  no  less 
than  400  acres  with  cacao.  Well  done,  the  Cfylon 
planter.  Mr.  Cowley’s  labourers  has  been  Chinese 
who  were  introduced  last  year  and  he  declares 
that  they  are  capital  workers  and  he  gets  on  well 
with  them.  What  a revolution— to  havo  Chinese 
planting  up  East  Africa  I 
PAVING  BLOCKS  OF  COIR. 
Mr.  J.  Hsrt-Davies,  180,  Fleet  Street,  London. — 
(J.  McDonnell,  Chilaw,  Ceylon.) 
Coir  or  coconut  fibre  is  compressed  into  blocks  with 
tbe  fibres  arranged  vertically.  Tbe  fibres  or  blocks 
may  be  steeped  in  or  treated  with  tar,  pitch,  resiri, 
creosote,  or  with  a solution  of  indiarubbr  nr  gutta- 
percha. Brick  dust  or  fine  sand  may  be  mixed  with 
the  tar,  and  the  bloobsmay  be  bcund  round  by  bands. 
—Patent  Journal,  Deo,  14,  1892. 
TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
Indian  planters  are,  I think,  observes  a writer  in  a 
Calcutta  paper,  net  altogether  hopeful  of  tbeChioago 
Exhibition  doing  great  things  for  their  tea.  The 
Americans  tave  already  got  accustomed  to  cheap  in- 
ferior tec,  atd  it  is  a slow  and  difficult  process  to 
charge  the  public  taste.  This  was  tbe  difficulty  ex- 
perienced in  Australia.  All  large  efflp'cyers  of  farm 
labour  are  obliged  to  give  the'r  men  tea  along  with 
other  rations,  and  it  is  obviously  in  their  interest  that 
the  tea  should  bens  cheap  as  possible,  The  country 
is,  therefore,  fioeded  with  China  tea  and  cheap  Indian 
tea,  but  the  superior  infusions  have  no  chance.  It 
was  long  before  pure  Indian  tea  could  be  purchased 
in  London,  and  some  people  argue  that  the 
“ blende,”  with  which  the  public  were  imposed  on 
for  many  years,  were  areoessery  education  before  the 
public  could  be  got  to  drink  the  pure  Indian  beverage. 
The  seller  ol  the  blend  may  have  been  unconsciously 
educating  the  public  teste,  but  their  chief  aim,  I am 
afraid,  was  to  make  an  unfair  profit  for  themselves, 
and  they  deserve  no  praiseforany  goed  which  resulted 
from  their  evil.  Anyhow,  the  preference  for  Indian 
tea  has  got  a hold  on  the  English  public  now,  and 
China  is  bsiDg  stead  ly  driven  out  of  Ihe  market.  It  is 
to  he  hoped  that  in  America  the  process  of  education, 
if  slow,  will  be  equally  lure,  atd  that  the  Exhibition 
will  serve  as  a primary  rchool.  Ami  rica  is  really  a 
more  promising  market  than  Australia,  and  if  once  a 
start  is  marie  great  things  may  be  accomplished. — 
Times  of  India. 
ECHOES  OF  SCIENCE. 
(From  the  Globe,  Dec.  16,  1892.) 
Professor  Forbes,  who  occupies  the  enviable  position 
of  consulting  electrical  engineer  to  that  greatest  of 
modern  electrical  undertakings,  the  utilisation  of  the 
water  power  of  the  Niagara  Falls  , delivered  a most 
interesting  lecture  on  Wednesday  night,  at  the  Royal 
Society  of  Arts,  and  illustrated  it  with  numerous 
photographs  of  the  actual  state  of  the  works,  many 
of  which  were  taken  by  himself.  Most  people  acqu- 
ainted with  this  enterprise  had  supposed  that  the  power 
of  the  Falls  would  be  disseminated  far  and  wide  by 
means  of  electric  wires,  but  the  Cataract  Construction 
Company  has  no  immediate  intention  of  doing  this, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  all  the  100,000  horse  power 
of  which  it  will  presently  avail  itself,  and  probably 
also  the  350,000  it  holds  in  reserve  through  its  con- 
cessions for  a second  hydraulic  tunnel  on  the  American 
side  and  others  on  the  Canadian  side,  will  most  likely 
be  taken  up  in  the  industrial  city  which  it  is  building 
at  the  Falls  and  in  Buffalo,  twenty  miles  distaut. 
Niagara  is  apparently  destined  to  become  the  nucleus 
of  a great  city  which  may  rival  Chicago,  and  become 
the  most  important  commercial  centre  in  the  United 
States  if  not  on  the  entire  continent. 
It  is  a compliment  to  British  electrical  engineering 
that  Professor  Forbes  has  been  chosen  consulting 
electrician  by  the  Cataract  Construction  Company. 
He  is  Scotch  by  origin,  and  a son  of  the  celebrated 
Principal  Forbes  of  Edinburgh  University.  For  some 
time  he  was  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  in 
Anderson's  College,  Glasgow,  and  he  took  part  in  one 
of  the  great  eclipse  expeditions.  He  also  acted  as 
special  correspondent  for  the  Timet  with  the  Russian 
Army  in  Asia  Minor  during  the  Russo-Turkish  War, 
and  he  has  travelled  widely  in  Russia.  In  1881  he 
was  created  a Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honour  in 
connection  with  the  Paris  Electrical  Exhibition. 
Professor  Forbes  is  about  to  pay  another  visit  to 
Niagara,  and  the  Cataract  Construction  Company  has 
given  him  a free  hand  to  go  to  any  part  of  the  world 
he  likes  and  report  upon  the  electrical  systems  there. 
American  business  men  apparently  shun  doing  things 
by  halves,  and  the  directors  of  the  company  wish  to 
have  the  benefit  of  all  the  best  experience  the  world 
can  offer  them. 
Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  according  to  Mr.  C.  3. 
Murphy,  was  first  cultivated  by  white  men  on  James 
River.  Virginia,  in  1608.  Although  much  used  for  food 
in  America  it  is  still  neglected  in  Europe,  yet  its 
nutritive  value  is  estimated  at  five-sixths  that  of  wheat. 
When  maize  was  the  staple  grain  of  America  50  years 
ago  dyspepsia  was  almost  unknown.  Numerous  delicate 
dishes  are  now  prepared  from  it,  there  being  130 
receipts  for  cooking  it.  The  surplus  crop  is  usually 
given  to  cattle  and  hogs,  while  glucose,  starch,  beer, 
whisky,  and  oil  are  made  from  the  corn.  The  fodder 
of  the  plant  can  be  eaten  by  animals,  or  burned  as 
fuel  on  the  treeless  prairies,  and  the  husks  are  made 
into  paper,  or  used  as  stuffing  and  wrappers.  The 
“ corn-cob  " makes  a pipe  which  has  been  patronised 
by  Mark  Twain. 
The  Pinna  oyster,  found  in  warm  seas,  especially 
on  the  coast  of  Sicily,  is  a wing-shelled  bivalve,  one 
species  of  which  is  two  feet  long,  and  attaches  itself 
to  the  rocks  bv  a cable  of  strong  filaments  of  silken 
texture.  Hence  it  has  been  called  the  “ silk  oyster,” 
and  munmiy  cloths,  as  well  as  other  fabrics,  were 
formerly  woven  from  the  silk.  The  animal  is  scarce, 
but  it  seems  to  contain  the  germ  of  a textile  industry, 
and  might  repay  cultivation. 
BARK  AND  DRUG  REPORT. 
(From  the  Chemist  and  Druggist.) 
London,  Deo.  15. 
Cinchona,— At  Tuesday’s  fortnightly  auctions  (the  last 
of  the  current  year)  a moderate  quantity  was  offered. 
The  catalogues  comprised  of  : — 
Pkgs.  Pkgs. 
Ceylon  cinchona  ...  1,351  of  which  J, 155  were  sold 
East  Indian  .cinchona 
317 
do 
317 
do 
Java  cinchona 
South  American 
61 
do 
61 
do 
cinchona 
208 
1,9J0 
do 
208 
1,711 
do 
With  a very  poor  assortment  ef  bark,  the  highest  price 
paid  for  any  lot  was  only  6|d  per  lb.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  sale  the  tone  was  rather  quiet,  but  grad- 
ually it  improved  somewhat,  and,  upon  the  whole,  it 
may  he  said  that  the  prices  obtained  were  slightly 
above  those  of  Ihe  auctions  last  preceding,  the  unit 
being  1 3-16ths  d.  per  lb  upon  the  average, 
