Oct 1, 1900.1 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
mittee with his observritious thereon : — " The course 
pursued has been to inarch a branch of a desired 
variety upon a well fjrown and healthy seedling, and 
the result has been that the union has talien place 
very freely, and there can be little doubt that in 
future any desired kind or variety can be perpetuated 
by this mt-aus." ' 
Mh. HaUT's llEMARKS, UNDER DATE, TkINIDAD, 13TH 
September 1898, keferred to : — 
Trinidad, 13th Sept. 1898. — It has on no more than 
•■ one occasion been asiied whether it is possible to graft 
Theobroma cacao and hitherto I have not been in a 
position to reply in the affirmative. I have now to 
I'eport for the information of the Society that ex- 
periments have been carried oat at the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, by inarching sevsral varieties of cacao upon 
young seedlings with all the success that conld be 
desired ; and I hope that the grafted plants will be 
sufficiently hardened to be shown at the next meeting 
^ of the Society. The course pursued has been to inarch 
a bcanoh of a desired variety, upon a well grown and 
healthy seedling, and the result has been that the 
union has taken place very freely, and there can be 
little doubt that in future any desired kind or variety 
can be perpetuated by this means. 
I desire to point out the opening this process will 
afford for the extensive planting of any desired variety 
or kind, and that it will enable the planter to put 
samples of cacao upon the market with less variation 
in size and quality of the bean than has hitherto been 
possible. 
I also desire to point out, that it may be possible, as 
it is with apples and pears in a temperate climate — by 
grafting weaker growing varieties upon kinds having a 
larger amount of vegetative vigour — to increase the 
yield of such kinds as that known as '' Oriollo," to as 
much as that of the more commonly productive varie- 
ties. 
It will also be possible to maintain perfectly true, 
any kind which ma3' have arisen from seed, on anv 
plantation, and to preserve indefinitely any particular 
kind that may be desired. V/e have yet to prove, how- 
ever, how the grafted plants will thrive, but judging 
from grafted plants of other kinds I see no reason to 
anticipate that there will beany difficulty under this 
head. 1 recommend the practice as well worth the 
attention of planters who have on their estates single 
trees, which are noted for the quality of the bean and 
the quality they produce. 
CACAO DISEASE. 
I have been requested by a successful and prominent 
planter, to bring up before the Society the question of 
disease among cacao trees in Trinidad for discussion. 
This gentleman has forwarded to me several specimens 
of (so called) diseased cacf.o, but after a careful and 
lengthy microscopical examination, I have not been 
able to say that the pod have been destroyed by disease. 
I am free to confess, however, that there is possibility 
of disease arising in any culture, and therefore in 
cacao; but I must reprehend as strongly as possible 
the spreading of views that we have disease of certain 
kinds until it has been fully proved that such do exist, 
as it is calculated to do an immense amount of harm 
to the cacao industry . A strict watch, however, shoii'd 
be kept for anything which appears to be of a pun i- 
cious character, and planters would, I think, do well 
to forward affected specimens to me, to be transiniferfd 
to mycological authorities, if necessary. So far, I r^j.iy 
say, I have not found anything of a pernicious charac- 
ter; and I should be glad to hear my idea confirmed, 
that at present there is little cause for alarm. 
(Signed) J. H. HART p.l.s., 
A l''AKMEK8' EVERY-DAY LIFE. 
NO. XII. 
(Bijaii ex-Ceylon Planter.) 
AGKICULTURE 
is still the chief industry of the country, 
although less attention is paid to its necess- 
ities that to any other ; and now that we 
have o-ot a member who does all in his iiower 
to help us, I think it would be very poor 
form indeed to try to oust him from his 
seat. He has fought well in the interest of 
the fishing population, and in return for tliat 
they have set riji a herring-carer in opposi- 
tion to him, Let it be so ; but although I 
voted against him when he gained his seat, 
I hope to record my vote in his favour on 
the next occasion. He has championed the 
cause of farmers, and we are much in need 
of a few like him, seated in the House, for 
at itresent, I doubt if there are more than half 
a dozen legislators to defend the backbone of 
the country. Our member can honestly say 
that he has always worked for the good of 
the greatest number, a thing that but few 
can pride themseves on, for it often hap- 
pens that, when one makes enquiries as to 
what number the average parhamentarian 
has worked for, it generally turns out to be 
uiunhcr one. Successful farmers who have 
the ability have seldom the leisure to stand 
for their country, whilst there are any 
i.umber of carpet-baggers stalking round, 
whose only qualifications for a seat in the 
House are the gift of the gab and no stake 
m the country whatever. I do not care 
what party is in power, so long as the best 
interests of our tight little island are pro- 
perly attended to; and in the case of rural 
matters, i think that party feeling thould be 
sunk altogether, n,nd both sides of the House 
should strive to keep in a prosperous and 
flourishing condition that industry which 
on its becoming unhealthy, has signalled the 
downfall of all the great nation of the 
past. , 
TILLAGE AND PASTURAGE 
may be said to have begun with the creation 
of the world. Egypt, shortly after the days 
ot Noah, became celebrated for agriculture. 
The first art learned by anv rising nation 
was that of cultivating the soil. The ancient 
Romans were born agriculturists, and their 
most celebrated commanders were taken 
from the plough. To be a good farmer was 
accounted the greatest praise, and the very 
Senators cultivated their own ground them- 
selves. With the decay of agriculture came 
the downfall of Rome, as will come the 
downfall of Britain, for when recruits can 
no longer be raised in our agricultural dis- 
tricts, and the nation has to depend for its 
fighters on the . scum of the cities, in whom 
strength of body is about on a par with 
strength of mind, then vx'ill come the begin- 
ning of the end of our Empire, and legisla- 
tors will remember, when too late, "thiit 
t;iey stamped out the greatest industry of 
the country, by encouraging the importation 
ot cheap and nasty food from abroad des- 
troying the physical powers of the nation, 
and that (;ourage which a conciousness of 
strength produces. 
I have written, on a previous occasion, of 
the great rise in 
THE PRICE OF COALS 
during the past few months^, the fears of a 
coal famine during the coming winter, and the 
national dread lest our mines prove to be 
almost exhausted. No sooner had I arranged 
for an extra supply of peats and firewood, 
as a set-off .against the impending coal famine, 
than a writer to the Press,— one of those 
