676 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[May  1,  1893. 
accurate,  for  whereas  the  waters  of  the  Cauvery 
would  be  diminished  only  by  the  number  of  cups 
ladled  out  of  it,  the  killing  of  every  female  fly  at 
least  would,  having  regard  to  tbe  prolifioness  of 
creatures  low  down  in  the  soale  of  creation,  result 
id  the  destruction  of  many  prospeotive  borers, 
provided  the  inseots  were  destroyed  before  any  eggs 
.were  laid.  , The  ohanoes  are  in  favour  of  this  being 
done  if , operations  are  oommenoed  early  in  the 
season,  and  the  insects  captured  in  the  active  en- 
joyment of  existence— as  it  may,  I think,  be  reason- 
ably presumed  that  laying  its  eggs  is  the  last  aot 
of  the  female’s  life  preliminary  to  its  hopping  the 
twig.  As  an  auxiliary  operation  in  conjunction  with 
the  other  measures  taken  to  combat  borer,  the 
,plen  is,  I venture  to  think,  not  to  be  despised. 
1 Ilere  we  are  trying  rubbing  down  the  stems  of  the 
trees  with  pieces  of  gunni  sacks  and  lime,  washing 
them  with  brushes  in  parts  that  have  invariably 
suffered  badly  with  borer.  The  effects  of  this  experi- 
ment  will  be  watched  with  the  keenest  interest. 
T}ie  pest  causes  suoh  terrible  destruction  that  no 
, jpeaDS  should  be  left  untried  to  mitigate  it  is 
possible.  Pruning  and  manuring  are  still  iu 
hand  in  several  places  in  the  Suntikoppa  district. 
Every  week  sees  work  completed  on  one  or  two 
places,  but  it  will  probably  not  be  till  the  middle  of 
the  month  before  all  tbe  places  are  done.  Fish 
manure,  bones,  burnt  soil,  nitrate  of  soda  and  cattle 
duDg  have  been  used  .largely  this  seaeoD.  Each 
of  the  different  manures  has  been  applied  separately 
to  separate  pieoes.  An  idea  can  thus  be  formed  of 
the  effects  of  the  different  fertilisers.  The  pruning 
whioh  is  being  done  consists  simply  in  removing  old 
wood  ana  wood  that  will  not  bear  No  great  efforts 
are,  made  to  preserve  tbe  shape  and  symmetry  of  tbe 
bushes.— M,  Mail. 
“MEING.” 
Inventions  of  the  21st  January  contained  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  : — “Among  the  Laos,  a people  inha- 
biting a distriot  of  Siam,  the  chewing  of  a prepara- 
tion oalled  ‘Meing’  is  almost  universal,  the  praotioe 
being  especially  esteemed  by  those  whose  labour 
brings  great  bodily  fatigue.  Recent  inquiry  shows 
that  this  delioaoy  is  prepared  from  the  Assam 
tea  - plant  of  commeroe.  The  leaves,  instead  of 
being  used  for  an  infused  beverage  as  in  other 
countries,  are  steamed,  tied  into  bundles,  and 
buried  in  the  ground  for  about  15  days,  after 
whiph  the  product  will  keep  for  two  years  or  more. 
A similar  use  of  tea  is  not  wholly  unknown  else- 
Where-.  Good  authority  states  that,  even  in  European 
countries,  the  ordinary  dried  leaves  are  sometimes 
paten,  a > craving  being  gradually  established,  as 
in  tobaoco-ohewing,’’— London  Cor.,  3rd  Maroh. 
THE  BURMA  RUBY  MINES. 
Allahabad,  March  17. — A stone . was  discovered  at 
the  Burma  Ruby  . Mines  last  week  which  has  been 
valued  at  R17,000.  This  is  the  most  valuable  ruby 
f that,  has,  come  to  light  for  some  considerable  time 
past.  The  story  that  two  rubies  had  been  found 
in  the  mines  worth  14  lakhs  of  rupees  was  evidently 
a mere  fairy  tale.— If.  Mail. 

BRAZIL  COFFEE  NOTES. 
Owing  to  the  high  prices  ruling  for  coffee  many 
large  planters  in  Cuba  are  arranging  to  replant  the 
lapds  formerly  devoted  to  coffee.  In  another  five 
years  the  .West  Indian  puduct  .will  be  very  largely 
iporeased. 
The  §an.lwioh  Islands  .coffee  crop  for  1894-95  is 
esiim»jted  at  pne  pillion,  pounds,  owing  *0  the  rapid 
development  of  the  pew  industry  there.  Odc  Company 
now  has  120  acres  under  cultivation  and  will  plant  50 
sores  mqre  next  year,— Rio  Mews. 
UNDERWRITERS  AND  TEA. 
Tea  has  not  proved  a very  good  risk  for  under- 
writers during  the  past  year,  and,  in  consequence  of 
the  casualties  that  have  happened  through  bad  naviga- 
tion in  some  of  the  Indian  rivers,  the  claims  have 
been  abnormal,  and  will  probably  result  in  tl  e pre- 
miums beiDg  raised  during  this  season.  The  onimary 
net  rate  on  tea  with  average  from  Calcutta  to  London 
by  first-olass  steamers  is  about  16s  per  cent.  This 
includes  transit  from  the  tea  gardens  to  the  port  of 
shipment,  thenoe  to  the  warehouse  in  London  ; and  the 
f.p.a.  rates  from  Darjeeling  and  Colombo  to  Lor  don 
are  respectively  10s  per  cent  and  6s  8d  per  cent/  Of 
course,  the  risk  on  Ceylon  tea  is  not  affected  in  the 
same  way  as  Indian,  beoauee  the  railway  from  Kandy 
to  Colombo  brings  moat  of  the  tea  from  the  plantations 
lo  the  ship,  and  the  risk  is  reduced  to  a minimum. — 
Financial  Times. 
♦ 
JAVA  NEWS. 
From  Blitar  it  is  reported  tbe  prospects  for  this 
year’s  coffee  crip  are  very  bad  owing  to  heavy 
rains.  Estates  that  produced  2,000  and  3,000  pikula 
of  coflee  last  year  estimate  their  crops  for  this 
year  at  200  and  300  pikuls.  The  trees  appear  to 
be  unusually  healthy  and  full  of  promise  for  1894. 
Tbe  sereh  disease  which  has  been  prevalent  rn  the 
sugar  plantations  of  East  Java  for  some  time  seems 
to  be  disappearing.  Tbe  planters  are  now  using 
tbeir  own  cane  for  replanting  instead  of  importing  it. 
Ponies  in  Java  are  known  to  have  degenerated 
very  muoh  in  times  gone  by.  Therefore  a society, 
composed  chiefly  of  Preanger  tea  planters,  is  now 
making  an  attempt  to  prevent  the  decline  of  the 
Sandalwood  vs riety  by  importing  ohoice  enimals  to  breed 
from  and  by  keeping  a pedigree  book.— S,  F.  Press. 

Kava. — While  in  Samoa,  Lady  Jersey  tasted 
kava.  She  writes  : — “ After  the  King,  the  prin- 
cipal Tulafale  (talking  man),  and  myself  had 
paid  and  received  all  proper  compliment?,  the 
kava  bowl  was  introduced.  Kava  is  a drink  ex- 
tracted from  the  root  of  the  Maoropiper  methysti- 
oum,  a kind  of  pepper  shrub.  The  orthodox 
mpde  of  preparation  is  for  a young  girl,  or  some- 
times a youth,  to  chew  the  root  into  a pulp  (in 
these  degenerate  days  a grater  is  sometimes 
substituted  for  teeth) ; it  is  then  mixed  with 
water,  and  squeezed  through  a bunch  of  long 
bark-strings  till  the  juice  is  dear  and  free  from 
any  pieces  of  root.  The  preparation  is  thrown 
backwards  and  forwards  from  one  vessel  to 
another,  and  when  the  maker  announces  that  all 
is  ready  the  assistants  clap  their  hands,  then 
some  of  the  beverage  is  lifted  out  of  the  tanoa, 
or  large  wooden  bowl  with  legs,  and  carried  in 
a coconut  shell  to  the  principal  person  present. 
He  is  supposed  to  drain  it  at  a draught  if 
not,  the  remainder  is  thrown  away  and  the  shell 
refilled  and  carried  to  each  of  the  guests  in  turn, 
with  the  strictest  regard  to  the  rules  of  prece- 
dence, a kind  of  senesohal  or  herald  Galling  out 
the  name  of  the  next  recipient.  The  Samoans 
are  exceedingly  fond  of  kava  ; it  does  not  affect 
the  head,  but  a very  great  quantity  is  said  to 
produce  temporary  paralysis  of  tbe  limbs.  Home 
new-comers  compare  the  taste  to  soapy  water 
I did  not  think  it  particu'arly  d'sagreeable,  and 
can  imagine  that  one  might  end  by  liking  it, 
though  n would  always  be  difficult  to  drink  the 
whole  cupful  without  drawing  breeth  A kava 
bowl  >n  constant  use  ultimately  acquires  a 
beautiful  blue  gb  zb  insiue,  and  is  then  highly 
valued  .—Australasian. 
