740 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[June  i,  1893. 
maunds  on  a garden  crop  can  only  be  stopped  by 
making  examples  in  “ petty  individual  instances,”  and 
that  “ in  those  absolutely  maddening  cases,  which  so 
often  happen  about  the  present  time  of  year,  when 
plucking  women  stoop  and  pick  buds  off  the  bark  of 
heavy  pruned  lower  growth,  knowing  every  bit  ss 
well  as  the  manager  knows  how  intensely  bad  it  is  for 
the  bush,  ‘ why  then  we  would  prosecute  them.’  ” So 
would  any  planter  ; and  the  provoking  custom  of 
breaking  off  stems  of  the  new  wood  to  make  tooth- 
deaners  merits  the  indignation  of  the  1.  P.  O.  and 
puiiishment  at  the  hands  of  the  law.  The  complete  list 
of  pilferings  and  of  petty  damages  would  he  very  long, 
but  the  Nilgiri  planters  have,  we  trust,  made  out  a 
sufficiently  clear  case  to  convince  Government  that 
their  complaints  are  in  no  way  exaggerated,  and  that 
there  is  urgent  need  of  a revision  cf  the  law  in 
regard  to  coffee-stealing,  and  the  extension  of  a 
similar  law  to  tea. 
ORANGES  AND  LEMONS. 
17th  April. 
To  the  Editor,— • 
Sir,— Those  with  any  experience  in  the  growth  of 
Oranges  and  Lemons  know  how  disheartening  it  is  to 
find  trees  gradually  die  off  after  bearing  for  a few 
seasons.  In  the  absence  of  proof  positive  of  how  death 
is  caused,  each  one  assigns  a theory  for  it.  My  theory 
always  has  been  that  decay  and  death  ure  due  to  the 
roots  reaching  the  subsoil ; and  I have  always  suggested 
manure  to  be  heaped  in  a oircle  round  the  trees  within 
a space  enclosed  by  coconut  huekB,  stones  or  logs  of 
wood,  so  as  to  bring  all  the  roots  to  the  surface. 
The  Sinhalese  have  a practice  of  paving  the  holes  in 
whioh  they  plant  oranges.  Whether  the  idea  was  sug- 
gested to  them  by  anyons  experienced  in  horticulture 
or  was  “evolved  out  cf  their  inner  consciousness ’’  I 
know  not;  bat  I am  inclined  to  think  the  praotice  is 
the  result  of  experience,  for  unlike  those  who  think 
the  ordinary  villager  knows  nothing  of  agricultural 
principles,  I have  always  found  him  in  many  respeots 
well  acquainted  with  them  as  the  result  of  observation 
and  experience.  Well,  however  he  may  have  learnt 
the  practice  of  paving  the  holes  for  orange  plants,  it 
is  very  interesting  to  find  he  has  “Antiquarian” 
sanction  for  it.  In  Sir  Walter  Soott’s  “Antiquary” 
occurs  this  passage.  “ The  planters  of  those  days 
possessed  of  the  modern  secret  of  preventing  the 
roots  of  the  frnit  trees  from  penetrating  the  till,  and 
compelling  them  to  spread  in  a lateral  direction,  by 
placing  paving  stones  beneath  the  trees  when  first 
planted,  so  as  to  interpose  between  theirfibres  and  the 
sub-soil.— Truly  jours,  B. 
♦ 
TROUT  OVA  ON  THE  NILGIRIS. 
The  trout  ova  recently  imported  have  not  hatched 
out  so  successfully  as  had  been  hoped.  This  appears 
to  have  been  due  to  their  not  being  sent  out  quite 
soon  enough,  as,  not  arriving  in  Ooty  until  March 
4th  the  water  in  the  hatching  boxes  was  already 
of  too  high  a temperature,  67°,  and  although  ice 
was  used  it  was  not  found  practicable  to  keep  the 
temperature  below  60°.  It  should  be  about  45°, 
From  this  cause  the  daily  loss  of  ova  was  about  200. 
until  March  24th  when  they  began  to  hatch  out.  For 
a few  days  previous  to  that  date  a succession 
of  storms  caused  a fall  in  the  temperature  of 
the  water  to  about  55°,  but  occasioned  some  trouble 
by  the  amount  of  silt  brought  down.  On  the  24th 
and  25th  March,  just  as  the  ova  was  beginning  to 
hatch  out,  there  was  a sudden  rise  in  the  tem- 
perature which  proved  most  disastrous.  A large 
number  of  the  fry  died  immediately,  some  when  only 
half  out  of  the  egg.  On  the  2nd  April  only  293  fry  were 
left  and  some  70  ova,  and  these  decreased  until,  on  the 
8th  instant,  only  201  healthy  fry  remained.  These 
so  far  appear  to  be  getting  on  well,  but  the  ova 
sacs  have  not  yet  been  completely  absorbed.  This 
is  not  a very  encouraging  result  from  a batch  of 
80,000  ova. 
It  is  intended  to  import  Rainbow  trout  ova  and 
Loch  Laven  trout  ova  in  November  next,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  valuable  experience  which 
post  experiments  have  afforded  will  obviate 
all  chance  of  failure.  It  will  be  willingly  conceded 
that  the  perseverance  of  the  Nilgiri  Game  Aesocia- 
tion  and  its  moBt  energetic  and  painstaking  llony. 
Secretary,  Mr.  Rhodes  Morgan,  thoroughly  deserves 
to  be  rewarded  by  suocess,  and  all  sportsmen  owe 
them  a debt  of  gratitude. 
A brief  description  of  the  mode  of  packing 
and  transporting  will  be  of  interest.  The  first 
batch  sent  out  by  Mr.  Silk  was  packed  in  a case 
too  large  to  be  taken  out  of  the  ice  house,  and 
it  had  to  be  unscrewed  and  lifted  in  and  subse- 
quently out  sideways.  This  caused  the  ova,  although 
packed  with  cotton  wool  to  run  together  and  they 
became  a frozen  mass.  On  being  thawed  when  put 
into  the  hatching  boxes  all  the  ova  immediately 
turned  opeque.  With  the  batch  sent  by  the  “Manors, ” 
care  was  taken  to  pack  in  n suitable  sized  box,  which 
was  slung  in  the  oool  room — not  the  ice 
house— and  the  ova  were  packed  in  Irish  water 
moss.  For  transport  from  Madras,  Mr.  Rhodes  Morgan 
bad  a box  made  just  three  inches  wider  every  way 
than  the  case  in  which  the  ova  were  packed,  and  this 
space  was  filled  with  ice  kept  constantly  renewed, 
and  the  outer  oase  well  wrapped  in  blankets.  In  this 
way,  as  we  stated  at  the  time,  the  ova  were  received 
in  Ootacamund  in  excellent  condition. — South  of  India 
Observer,  Maroh  12. 
THE  “LITTLE  MONSOON.” 
All  doubts  about  the  “ little  monsoon  ” having 
burst  have  now  been  set  at  rest.  The  rainfall  in 
Colombo  for  the  24  hours  ended  at  9 30  a.m. 
today  was  24  inches,  and  more  is  likely  to  fall  ere 
nightfall.  On  Monday  Galle  had  2 30  inches  of 
rain ; and  yesterday  Chilaw  bad  ‘66  inch,  Ratna- 
pura  getting  *30  inch.  Most  of  the  other  outstations, 
however,  report  fine  weather.  We  append  reports 
that  have  reaohed  us  regarding  the  monsoon 
burst : — 
Galle,  April  18. — Between  6 and  9 last  night  there 
was  heavy  rain  with  vivid  lightning  and  loud  peals  of 
thunder.  The  showers  this  morniDg  and  in  the  after- 
noon have  been  from  the  south-west  with  a pleasant 
sea-breeze.  The  wet  weather  has  tended  to  cool  the 
atmosphere  considerably. 
Lower  Maskeliya,  April  18. — This  morning  every 
appearance  of  burst  of  little  monsoon.  Temperature 
has  risen  from  42|  yesterday  morning  to  45J  this 
morning.  We  have  not  had  it  so  high  since  3rd 
Dec.  1882.  The  clouds  are  passing  slowly  over  from 
S -W.,also  wind  from  there.  The  sky  has  a regular 
S.-W.  appearance,  and  the  feel  of  the  air  is  very  dif- 
ferent to  what  we  have  had  for  a long  time,  viz.  close 
and  muggy.  Tightning  laBt  night  to  S.-W. 
THE  PANAWAL  TEA  COMPANY,  LD. 
The  Company  has  been  formed  principally  for  the 
purpose  of  acquiring  the  two  adjoining  Tea  estates, 
known  as  “ Glarsel  ” and  “ Ernan,”  situated  in  the 
Kelani  Yalley,  Oeylon,  as  from  31st  March,  1893,  for 
which  estates  the  Vendors  bsve  sgretd  toacceptthe 
sum  of  £20,000  payable  £10,000  in  shares  and  £10,000 
in  cash. 
The  properties  are  held  under  Crown  titles. 
Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  Manager  of  the  Castlereagh 
Tea  Company,  Dikoya,  in  his  valuation  of  the  pro- 
pi  rties,  writes:— “In  valuing  these  properties  I take 
tbe  yield  as  600  lb.  per  acre,  cost  of  production  as 
22  cents,  upkeep  of  machinery  and  buildings  2 cents; 
pn  fit  16  cents.  Value  of  tea  40  cents  in  Colombo  or 
R96  profit  per  acre,  which  at  six  (6)  years’  purchase 
amounts  to  R576  for  tea  in  bearing.”  Tbe  following 
