June  i,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
767 
Scarcity  of  Cattle. — There  is  evidently  a 
scaroity  of  cattle  and  especially  of  milch  cows  at 
present  in  Ceylon  from  the  demand  and  inquiry 
we  hear  on  every  side.  And  yet  this  being  a time 
of  scarce  and  dear  food  in  Southern  India,  cattle 
ought  to  be  readily  purchased  at  moderate  rates 
there  and  the  present  should  be  a good  time  to 
make  a suitable  selection  and  importation.  A sale 
of  draught  cattle  took  plaoa  today  (April  29th). 
Inland  Transport  of  Tea. — Carts,  it  seems 
continue  to  beat  the  railway  in  some  d.rectiona  : 
tea  from  Bogawantalawu  for  instance,  we  are  told, 
cost  If  cents  (by  cart  and  rail)  to  Co  ombo. 
From  the  Balangoda  estates  over  the  range,  it  can 
be  delivered  in  Colombo  at  1J  cent.  But  then  the 
difference  in  time, — especially  in  wet  weather,  is 
surely  worth  something  even  in  su.h  a comparison 
as  this. — We  learn  that  while  planters  in  the 
Kalutara  district  near  the  river  send  their  produce 
by  boat  to  the  capital  utilising  the  canal,  those 
farther  back,  prefer  to  cart  to  Kalutara  and  thence 
despatch  by  rail. 
The  Balangoda  Tea  District  has  evidently 
by  no  means  attained  its  full  limits  : we  have 
information  of  quite  a number  of  extensions,  new 
clearings  &o,  in  the  district  and  fear  there  is 
going  to  be  a considerable  addition  to  the  tea 
area  there,  so  favorable  are  the  prospects.  If  only 
there  was  encouragement  in  the  tea  market,  and 
consequent  justification  for  the  Government  to 
sell  land, — a splendid  new  district  oould  be  carved 
out  of  the  30,000  to  40,000  acres  of  Crown  forest 
available  between  Maskeliya  and  Balangoda,  and 
the  Maskeliya  road  could  be  prolonged  on  an  easy 
gradient,  to  open  up  such  a district.  But  we  must 
all  wait  until  the  Australian  and  American 
markets  are  fully  won  lor  Ceylon  teas,  before 
encouraging  so  big  a planting  order. 
Sale  of  ApFLes  and  Pears.— Messrs.  Venn  & Oo. 
of  York  Street  htld  a brisk  sale  of  the  apples  and  pears 
the  firm  received  on  from  Australia  by  the  P.  &0  .s.s. 
“ Oceana.”  There  was  a large  attendance  of  bidders,  the 
Moormen  predominat  ng  aud  as  usual  endeavonred  to 
keep  down  prices.  Mr.  Foster  was  too  cunning  for  them 
and  dispoted  of  the  fruits  in  a very  quick  manner, 
so  that  the  majority  of  the  cases  of  apples  especially 
went  to  the  gentlemen  present.  During  the  progress 
of  the  sale  telephone  messages  poured  into  the  office 
from  several  gentlemen  in  the  Fort  who  asked  that 
oases  of  the  fruit  might  be  reserved,  but  nis  was  useless 
as  the  consignment  received  for  sale  went  under  the 
hammer.  Good  prices  were  realised  and  the  mauner 
in  wnich  the  sale  passed  off  has  acted  as  au  induce- 
ment to  Auctioneers  to  get  up  a large  consignment. 
Shortly  after  the  sale  it  was  a pleasing  sight  to  see 
the  apples,  hawked  about  for  sale  by  Moormen — aud 
at  fabulous  prioes  I 
Potatoes  and  Electricity. — The  Scientific  writer 
to  the  London  Globe  has  the  following  which  ought 
to  interest  Mr.  Nock: — 
In  order  to  test  the  conclusions  of  M.  Spechnew, 
director  of  the  Botanical  Gardens  at  Kew,  a French 
horticulturist,  M.  E.  Lagrange,  has  cultivated  potatoes 
in  a field  divided  into  three  parts,  all  of  the  same 
soil  and  exposure.  One  section  was  culti<ated  after 
the  manner  of  Spechnew,  tlie  potatoes  being  planted 
between  plates  of  ziuc  and  copper  connected  above 
the  soil  by  wires  so  as  to  form  earlh  batteries  with 
a current  through  the  ground  where  the  potatoes 
Were  growing.  The  second  section  was  cultivated  in 
the  oidinary  way  without  eleotricity.  The  third 
section  was  provided  with  small  lightning  rods 
thrust  iDto  the  soil  between  the  potatoes  until  their 
ends  were  on  a level  with  the  tubers.  The  yield 
of  the  third  section  was  much  better  than  that  of  the 
other  two  sections,  and  was  obtained  15  days  sooner. 
The  ratio  of  the  crops  in  the  different  sections  were 
as  78,  80,  and  103.  The  first  section,  although  poor 
i»  roots  gave  an  exceptionally  rigorous  foliage. 
The  Income  from  Land. — Lord  Carrington 
stated  in  a reoent  speech  that  his  spending  inoome 
from  his  land  rents  now  was  only  half  of  what  it 
was  when  he  inherited  his  21,000  or  22,000  acres 
property  twenty-five  years  ago. 
Red  Spider  and  Blight. — It  will  be  seen 
that  among  the  list  of  reoent  Indian  Patent 
detailed  elsewhere,  there  is  one  for  a remedy  for 
the  above  well-known  enemy  of  tea.  We  must 
hear,  however,  how  far  it  may  be  successful  from 
practical  men  in  the  Indian  tea  districts. 
Prof.  Stewart’s  receipt  for  killing  lice  on  cattle  is 
as  follows  : Mix  one  part  of  liquid  carbolic  acid  with 
ten  parts  of  rain  water.  The  carbolic  acid  being  heavier, 
thorough  mixing  should  be  had.  Then  slice  up  thin 
some  oastile  soap,  aud  mix  this  diluted  carbolic  acid 
well  with  the  soap.  This  will  make  a plastic  substance 
which  can  be  rubbed  in  the  hair,  and  Professor 
Stewart  says  it  is  quite  effective. — Southern  Planter. 
Ceylon  Tea. — With  reference  to  growls 
about  our  teas  falling  away  in  quality  on  pro- 
perties as  years  go  by,  a planter  who  sees  much 
of  the  country  writes: — “ I know  places  that  have 
gone  off,  and  others  that  have  improved  in  quality 
during  the  last  year!  I fancy  plucking  and  the 
weather  have  a lot  to  do  with  the  quality,  but  no 
doubt  tea  is  a subject  we  have  all  a great  deal  to 
learn  about  yet,  if  we  ever  do  master  it,  which  I 
much  doubt.” 
Coffee  in  the  Philippines. — The  Comercio  be* 
wails  the  heavy  decline  in  coffee-growing  in  the 
Philippine  islands,  where  formerly  it  was  a leading 
export  artiole.  In  the  provinces  of  Batangas  and 
Cavite,  the  crops  of  the  berry,  so  abundant  in 
years  gone  by,  have  shrunk  to  miserably  low 
figures,  owing  to  canker  having  Beized  upon  the 
roots  of  the  plants.  Buin  has  fallen  upon  many 
families  who  earned  their  living  by  this  line  of 
cultivation,  The  canker  arises  from  a worm  and 
has  defied  every  effort  to  trace  out  its  cause. 
The  natural  history  and  habits  of  the  worm  are 
now  well  known,  but  not  one  investigator  has  found 
out  any  remedy  for  the  canker.— Straits  Times. 
Cinchona  Bark. — Messrs.  C-  M.  and  C. 
Woodhouse  published  statistics  in  a recent  circular 
of  the  Bark  exports  from  Caylon,  India  and  Java, 
and  in  making  a comparison  they  double  the 
weight  of  Java,  because  Java  bark  is,  on  an  average, 
twioe  as  rioh  that  of  Ceylon  or  India.  With  this 
allowance,  the  total  for  the  past  four  years  oompares 
as  follows 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
22,379,248  lb, 
25,656,217  do. 
26,112,544  do. 
23,685,447  do. 
The  falling-off  of  the  last  year  was  in  India  and 
Java  bark,  the  latter  showing  a decrease  from  1891 
of  1,500,000  1b.  and  India  of  about  670,0001b., 
while  Ceylon  shows  an  increase  of  1,300,000 
The  totals  for  1892  were  a3  follows  :— 
Ceylon  ...  6,846,741  lb. 
Iudia  ...  ...  2,456,024  do. 
Java  7,191,341  do. 
As  regards  1893,  Messrs.  Woodhouse  inoline  to  our 
estimate  of  about  5,000,000  lb  for  the  export  of 
this  year.  India  is  not  expected  to  ship  more  than 
2i  million  lb.  while  it  is  unlikely  also  that  Java 
will  exceed  the  export  of  last  year,  unless  there 
should  come  especial  enoouragemeut  through  a 
rise  in  prioes.  Meantime  the  demand  for  quinine 
goes  on  increasing,  the  export  from  Germany  alone, 
whioh  was  about  250,000  lb.  in  1887  having  risen 
to  very  nearly  600,000  lb.  in  1892,  190,000  lb.  of 
this  going  direct  to  the  Uoited  States,  against  only 
56,009  lb.  in  1887,  There  is  a good  prospeot  there* 
foie  before  the  cinchona  bark  market. 
