458 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. 1, 1901. 
ing by mechanical means, of the purchased rubber 
to ascertain its fitness for particular purposes. At 
the present time, there does not seem much prospect 
of any improvement being efiected in the first case ; 
in the second case, ho *ever, it seems of moment that 
rubber manufacturers should seriously ask themselves 
the question as to whether the time and trouble 
which are devoted to the matter in Continental works 
are jnstified or not by results. It is a question which 
cannot be answered offhand, but only in the light of 
results, and I am not in a position to give what may 
purport to be a decided opinion one way or the other. 
I may, however, by way of commentary, remark that 
the trouble involved, to say nothing of the capital 
outlay on testing machines, should be in proportion to 
to the output of the factory in the class of goods 
which the tests are ment to baneflt ; in other words 
as the same emount of time and trouble in testing 
would be necessiated for the filling of a small order 
by a small factory, as in the case of a Government or 
railway contract by one of our largest manufacturers 
what would be justifiable in the latter case might not 
be so in the former, as the expense incurred would 
not bear proportionately on the cost of production. 
There are other points, of course, that call for consi- 
deration, but the limits of space preclude my saying 
more on the present occasion, sol lay aside my pen 
with the hope that these remarks may severe as an in 
oentive for some more competent writer to give the 
journal the benefit of his views on the subject. 
THE GARTON LECTURES ON COLO- 
NIAL AND INDIAN A(^RICULTURE. 
PROFESSOK WALLACE. 
The Inaugural Address on Famine in India- 
INDIA AND CEVLON. 
Introduction. — General view of Agriculture of Indiai 
including the main features of the Presidencies and 
other great political divisions — Bombay, Madras 
Central and Noith-West Provinces, Punjab, Bengal, 
Assam, Barmah, and Ceylon — with special reference 
to Geology, Soil, Irrigation, Clicsate, Peoples, Famines 
and Chief products. 
Tillage Implements. — Indian Ploughs, Native Har- 
rows, Hoes, Seed-drills, and Hand Implements. Euro- 
pean Implements and their suitability or unsuitability 
to Indian conditions. 
Cultivation and Crops. — Rotations and Mixtures. 
Tillage before and after sowing. Seed and sowing. 
Harvesting and preparation for market. Commercial 
uses. Diseases and Injuries. Classification of Crops 
into Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds, Fibre, Fodder and 
Miscellaneous Crops, with special reference to the 
production of Wheat, Barley, Rice (Paddy), Maize, 
Millets {Juar Bajra and Raqi), and Sorghum — Gram 
Horse-Gram, Lentil, Pea, Ground Nut, Rape, Linseed 
Caster-oil Plant, Sesamum— Cotton, Jute, Ramei, 
and Hemp — Lucerne and Guinea Grass, Sugar-cane, 
Tobacco, Cinchona, Tea, Coffee, Indigo, Poppy — the 
commoner valuable Grasses of India, and their culti- 
vation as practised at the Allahabad Grass Farm and 
other milstary stations in Northern India — Grass 
Cutting — Haymaking — Silage. 
Irrigation, — Land and other conditions suitable and 
unsuitable for irrigation. Location and relative ad- 
vantages of Canal, Well, and Tank (Lake, &c,,) Irriga- 
tion. Quantity of Water necessary for various crops 
and time of application. Water lifting appliances — 
The common leather bucket, the Persian Wheel, the 
Picotta (lever lift), and the hand scoop lift. 
Manures. — Village refuse, Nightaoil, Cattle Manure 
(partly used for fuel), Ashes, Bones, Fidh Manures, 
Saltpetre, Green Manure, Castor seed refuse. 
Live Slock. — Characteristics of Indian Cattle — 
Mysore, Kistna River, Gujarat, Knnkreji, Nagar, Sind, 
jtturriRuab, Malwi, Decern, SgiUhera Mftrfttiha, Kpultan, 
Kanevarya, Goranea, Bagocdha, Madras Red, Trichin- 
opoli, Gil, Nellore, Khingam, and Cinhalese — value as 
working and milch cattli^ Btiffdloes— Jaff i abad 
Gujarat, N^gpur, and common breeds — '.htir g.-neral 
characteristics and special milking qualities. Horses 
and Mules. Goats and Sheep. Common Diseases, of 
the Domesticated Animals. 
EGYPT. 
Introduction. Physical features — Soil, Climate, 
Population. The Fellahin or cultivating class. 
Irrigation — The Rise and Overflow of the Nile — The 
Ancient Basin system of Upper Egypt — Ilie Indian 
Canal System introduced into Lower Egypt — Drain- 
age—The system of washing Salt Land. 
J/cinurc— Pigeons' Dung — Ashes Sabakh (Crude 
Saltpetre). 
T/ie C/nef Crops. — Divided into Winter, Summer, 
and Autumn Crops, with special reference to Cotton, 
Sugar-cane, Barsim (Clover), Wheat and Barley, Maize 
— Rotations and Methods of Cultivation. 
THE SSIALLEH CROWN C jLONIES. 
Main Points of Interest in — West India Islands, British 
Guiana, the Straits Settlements, Uganda and other 
African Continental Possessions and Islands — Islands 
in the South Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. 
Miscellaneous. — Relations of the Agriculture of the 
Colonies and India to that of the Mother Country — 
Exports of Agricultural Produce, &c., from the Colo- 
nies and India, with special reference to liarlh 
Phosphates, Bones, and other manures, rozcn Meat, 
Cotton, Grain (including Wheat), Tea and Caffee, Sagar, 
Fr«sh Fruits, Spices, &c. 
MANILA HEMP AGAIN. 
Manila Hemp is not hemp at all, but it is the fibre 
of the bark of a species of plantain tree ; its botanical 
name being Musa textilis, JVies and belongs to the 
familia Musacea, This fibre is produced only in these 
Islands, although no effoi t his been spared to pro- 
duce it in Borneo, Jsl\ a, Sumatra, India, New Guinea, 
Australia and Africa, but without success. Foimerly 
when it was shipped direct to she States it was invoiced 
as Plan'ain Bark Fibre, but during the past 40 years 
it has been called Manila Hemp. Its value was early 
recognised by the American whalers who used to fre- 
quent this archipelago over 100 years ago. Before 
the days of steam, when the crack American clipper 
ships ran between Liverpool and New York the 
smart appearance of those ships with their sails of 
snowy cotton duck and riggings of Manila Hemp con- 
trasted very strongly with the British ships with 
their canvas sails and Russian Hemp rigging. No- 
thing in the world equals Manila Hemp for running 
rigging as it does not rot nor harden when wet like 
Russian hemp and its lightness and strength as com- 
pared to Russian hemp made it a valuable article 
for standing rigging before the days of wire rigging. 
Formerly an American Steam Cordage plant was 
located at Santa Mesa and the huge 12 and 16 inch 
hawsers for towing up the Hoogli to Calcutta were 
made here, as well as the famous whale line uued by 
the Pacific whalers, which was shipped to San Francisco 
and Honolulu. The United States navy has a rope 
walk at the Boston Yard and the cordage for the 
navy is made there out of Manila hemp. The manu- 
facturing of cordage is a very simple matter, but it 
requires the services of men who know their businea 
and they receive high salaries. The Manila hemp tree 
requires a pecular soil and a certain amount of m istare 
and sunshine, without these three conditions the fibre 
is valuless, besides the tree has to be cut down at a 
certain period of its life otherwise it is useless for hemp 
purposes. The natives go into the Lates or hemp 
plan tations is gangs generally oi two men, a woman 
and a boy. One man fells the trees or " ponos,' the 
woman trims the trunks and the leaves, and splita 
them into the requisite length, the boy carries heseslab^ 
to the Othsr man, who with his etude cpintrftj1ii9a| 
