662 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[April  i,  1893. 
TEA  IN  INDIA. 
Oar  Dehra  Dnon  correspondent  writes  on  23th 
February  1893. — The  last  two  days  have  been  nice  and 
sunny.  We  have  had  a total  of  12'39  inches  of  rain 
this  5 ear;  and  T80  ioch“S  on  30fch  December,  1892. 
Our  Dam  Dim  cot  respondent  writes  on  23th  Feb- 
ruary, 1893. — Rain  fell  last  week  again.  The  weather 
is  getting  warmer  now  and  an  early  season  is  antici- 
pated. Oar  meeting  came  off  last  week  and  was  a 
decided  success  throughout.  The  annual  inspection  of 
onr  looal  corps  takes  place  early  next  month  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  there  will  be  a good  mu3ter  of  our 
gallant  defenders. 
Our  Darjeeling  correspondent  writes  on  1st  March 
1893. — Over  another  inch  of  rain,  since  my  list  to  you, 
which  fell  on  the  22nd  ultimo  and.  temperature  went 
down  with  it  for  a few  nights  to  something  like  35°. 
An  upward  movement  though  has  taken  place  in  the 
last  two  days,  some  deoent  sun  having  shown  itself 
in  the  mornings  chiefly. — Indian  Planters'  Gazette. 
SUGAR  IN  JAVA. 
Netherlands  India.— The  Sourabaya  Courant  of 
the  2nd  February  reports  fa.vourably  on  the  stand- 
ing sugar  oane  crops  in  EsA  Java.  Very  few 
Iraoes  of  root  disease  have  been  naked,  and  there 
is  every  prospeot  of  a satisfactory  yield  tiiv.  year. — 
Straits  Times. 
PLANTING  IN  SOUTH  WYNAAD. 
Our  coffee  crop  is  pretty  well  over,  and  most  of  the 
bark  has  been  sent  off.  Those  who  have  pepper  are  now 
busy  harvesting  it.  This  crop  I am  glad  to  see  is  a very 
good  one.  There  can  be  no  doubt  about  pepper 
thriving  here,  at  any  rate.  No  rain,  up  to  date,  but 
the  clouds  are  creeping  up  every  day.  I think  lam 
safe  in  saying,  that  in  Wynaad  the  idea  has  pretty 
generally  been  that  nothing  can  supersede  cattle 
manure  if  you  can  only  get  enough  of  it.  All  of 
us  who  possess  anything  in  the  way  of  grazing 
grounds  keep  as  large  herds  of  cattle  as  we  can, 
and  those  who  are  wise  take  every  precaution  to 
preserve  the  sweepings  out  of  their  cattle  pens  in 
properly  constructed  pits.  Failing  cattle  manure, 
I think  that  bone  and  poonac  are  considered  the  most 
efficacious — in  proportions  of  one  of  bone  to  two  of  poo- 
nac— about  one  pound  of  the  mixture  being  put  annually 
to  each  tree.  It  passes  one  to  understand  how 
anyone  can  expect  a coffee  tree  to  give  a decent  yield 
every  year  when  he  only  manures  it  once  in  two  years, 
or  even  in  three  years  whioh  was  cousidered  often 
enough  15  or  20  years  ago.  The  bone  of  course  re- 
mains available  in  the  ground  as  required,  but  the 
poonac  rapidly  loses  its  value  and  after  one  season 
in  the  ground  must  all  be  taken  up  and  expended 
by  the  tree  if  it  gets  hold  of  it  at  all.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  I think  to  dig  the  stuff,  whether 
cattle  or  poonac  manure,  thoroughly  into  the  ground 
and  mixed  up  so  far  as  possible  with  a large  extent 
of  soil  round  the  tree,  so  as  to  encourage  the  tree’s 
roots  to  travel  about  and  extend  themselves  ever  as 
large  a space  as  possible.  I have  seen  cofb  e ruined 
by  having  the  manure'all  put  into  miserable  little  tea- 
cup pits  close  up  to  the  stem  of  the  tree.  The 
roots  all  converged  into  this  small  space,  sucked  up 
all  there  was  iu  a couple  of  months  and  then 
decay  and  ruin  set  in,  and  the  trees,  having  nothing 
else  to  go  on  with,  died  baok.  A planter  some- 
times says  that  poonac  and  bone  has  done  his 
coffee  harm,  but  I think  it  will  generally  turn  out 
that  he  has  expected  his  trees  to  ^o  3 years  on  one 
year’s  supply,  or  has  applied  it  badly.  Potash  in 
some  form  bhould  be  put  in  with  poonac  and  bone 
and  I believe  that  in  Ooorg  the  nitrate  has  been 
used  satisfactorily.  I have  used  the  muriate  for  some 
years  at  the  rate  of  2 ounces  to  each  tree  with  1 
lb.  poonac  and  bone,  but  I cannot  say  that  I found 
it  make  much  difference,  and  it  is  certainly  expen- 
sive. Trenching  up  the  soil  d la  South  Coorg  is  the 
sort  of  thiog  we  ought  to  go  in.  for  much  more 
extensively,  but  as  Rudyard  Kipling  says  “that  is 
another  story.” 
SEEDS  FOR  CENTRAL  AFRICA;  MESSRS. 
JAMES  CARTER  & CO.  OFFER  A CORRECTION. 
(The  Editor,  “ Tropical  Agriculturist,”  Colombo,  Ceylon.") 
London,  10th  March,  1893. 
NVe  feel  sure  you  will  not  mind  our  calling 
attention  to  an  injustice  that  has  been  done  us 
unintentionally,  iu  your  Journal  for  January  last. 
If  you  will  kindly  refer  to  page  460,  you  will 
observe  a reprint  of  a letter  from  the  Botanist  to 
the  British  Central  African  Administration  and  in 
the  paragraph  referring  to  English  Vegetables,  your 
compositor  has  translated  what  should  have  been 
the  words  Carter  sends  ” to  “ Castor  seeds.” 
We  had  the  pleasure  to  supply  a large  assortment 
of  seeds  to  this  important  Administration  through 
the  kind  offices  of  Mr.  NVhyte,  and  feel  sure  you 
will  see  the  legitimacy  of  our  claim,  and  if  you  are 
pleased  to  reprint  the  paragraph  in  association  with 
this  letter,  we  shall  further  esteem  the  favor,  as 
it  is  important  for  Colonists  to  know  where  to  obtain 
products  that  are  likely  to  prove  reliable  in  any 
climate  for  which  they  may  be  required. 
We  are,  Sir,  Your  obdient  servants, 
JAMES  CARTER  & Co. 
vvuicu  we 
L jl  ue  paragrapn  reterred 
print,  is  as  follows  : — 
As  to  English  vegetables  they  do  splendidly  here 
and  “ castor  seeds  ( Carter  sends)  out  the  best  of 
sods.  I have  raised  magnificent  potatoes  from  liis 
seed  pot  sets)  and  have  noted  something  like  500 
varieties  woeiect  from.  They  are  producing  at  the 
rate  of  5 tons  ~ acre  wjthout  manure,  and  there  is 
no  trace  of  di6eas. 
—Ed.  T.A.] 
VARIOUS  AGRICULTURAL  NOTES. 
Complete  Manures  are  thqe  whioh  00Qtain 
nitrogen, phosphoric)  acid  and  pot,h>  For  different 
crops  these  ingredients  should  „iflt.  in  differen[ 
proportions  — Horticultural  Tunes. 
Coffee  Planting,  Crops  and  T T 
— A Java  coffee  planter  under  d-‘8  Fe^  gLj" 
writing  to  the  Tropical  Agriculture  am0ER  otJier 
information  affords  the  following:—  ° 
I thank  you  for  your  remarks  in  t 
enquiries  I made  last  year  about  Fit , / , , 
and  Grevillea  as  shade  for  coffee.  Thes  treea 
now  two  years  in  the  ground,  and,  so  fa,  ,,  ^ 
does  not  look  a likely  tree  for  its  purpose  j 
however,  it  will  grow  quicker,  branch  out  L -j 
that  the  coffee  will  really  do  well  under  , a 
bearing  nearly  as  much  as  if  under  thedaV,.  e’ 
the  best  shade  I know  for  coffee.  A pity.^L 
known  disease  kills  off  the  dadap  here.  La?  n' 
we  reached  onr  estimated  crop  of  5,000  od  UiUj1 
of  clean  coffee,  and  so,  perhaps,  the  taxation 
of  3,000  piculs  may  also  be  within  the  mark.  898 
Kapok  to  be  spun  into  yarn  by  I^ch 
machinery,  is  a statement  of  some  interest  t u 
in  Ceylon.  The  Indian  Agriculturist  of  Jan. 
has  the  following  : — 
The  Cotton  tree,  the  native  Kapok,  which  is  \ 
common  in  Burmnh,  is  now  said  to  be  receiving  ml 
attention  as  an  article  of  cultivation,  and  to  be  ousr“ 
coffee  from  that  province.  The  lack  of  suitable  rn 
chinery  to  clean  the  fibre  has  hitherto  stood  in  th» 
way  of  its  development  as  an  industry,  but  tha 
obstacle  is  said  to  have  been  recently  removed.  Th 
cotton  treea  of  Burmah  are  of  three  speoies,  two  o’ 
which  are  known  among  the  natives  as  the  male  and 
fenoala  tress,  and  &re  very  common,  and  grow  to  a 
height  of  from  80  to  100  feet.  Though  graud-looking 
trees  the  wood  is  soft  and  worthless,  and  the  cotton 
fibre  attached  to  the  seeds  has  hitherto  been  used 
only  for  stuffing  pillows  and  cushions,  If,  however, 
the  machinery,  which  is  a Dutoh  invention,  about  to 
be  introduced,  will  enable  it  to  be  spun  into  yarn, 
Burmah,  will  develop  a very  important  industry. 
