58G 
Supplement to the " Tropiml Agriculturist." [Feb. ], 1901. 
merclmnt of CaroUnn. Tlii-; is how ICin'opeaiis 
came to be chiefly supplied Irom Africa witli 
Carolina rice, and which is everywhere accepted 
as being much the finest of its kind, tlie grains 
being double the size of that which comes from 
the East Indies, and known as Patna rice. Rice is 
said to be best cooked by thorough steaming; while 
in case of sickness, rice water can be prepared, 
sweetened and flavoured in the same way as is 
barley water. 
The rice when being turned out for market is 
sifted and classified into five categories ; one, 
known as broken rice, which is not to be disdained; 
if well cleaned, it will form an excellent mucilage, 
or when ground into flour, it can be mixed nloiig 
with some wheaten meal, and thus cheapen, as 
well as whiten loaves of bread. Japanese rice is 
said to be rich in nitrogenous substance, no 
matter whether it be the upland, mountains, or 
lowland varieties. In some districts of India rice 
is not allowed to be consumed until after a bipse 
of six months from the time it is gathered, many 
even prescribe a longer period. A good liour is 
allowed for the digestion of rice. If the rice be 
anyway old, it is of course more difficult to digest. 
A very strong spirit is" obtained from rice called 
arrack, whicli is partly made from it, being 
also mixed with toddy, wliicli is the juice of the 
coconut tree. Sake is another national beverage 
prepared in Japan from fermented rice. In 
many countries rice is mixed with bean or pea 
meal ; that combination is recommended to the 
parched rice travellers that have to secure that 
kind when on long voyages in unknown land-j. 
South Carolina claims to have obtained the first seed 
rice from the Island of Madagascar, between 
1700 and 1720, Ti)e importation of rice into the 
United Kingdom is neaily 80,000,000 of 
cwtp. annually, and estimated at 3,500,000 of 
pounds sterling. Strange, though nevertheless a 
fact, that rice was not known to the ancients, 
and there is no mention of it in the Bible. — 
London Correspondent in Grocers Criterion. 
}W- \ ine IS goiierally propagat-'d by cuttings. It 
1' usually planted at the base of trees the most 
c JmmonJy used being Murikku (Erythriua Indica) ; 
other trees, such as the j;ick, cashewnut, and 
mango-tree, may also be used, but they are not in 
tavour with the Malabar cultivators. " 
The first thing required for forming a pepper 
garden is to clear all jungle and root out all 
stumps of trees on the ground. This must be 
done by the middle of May. The Murikku 
standards, on which the vine is trained, should 
tlien be planted, and about half a dozen cuttings 
ot the vi,ie-each about 2|- feet in length— should 
be p anted at the foot of each stem. The soil 
should then be turned, up by digging, and the 
cuttings tied with a filjre on to the Murikku crop. 
Ibe tying IS nece-sary to faeiliate the growth of 
the vine, which sends out sm^ill roots at every 
joint which strike into the Murikku stem and 
enable the vine to climb up the prop. In three 
or tour years the vine attains a heiglit of six feet. 
The vines begin to bear in the third or fourth 
year, and m four years more are in full perfection, 
and continues so for 20 years, when they die. 
Ihey blossom about the month of June, and be<'in 
to Dear fruit in the following tivo months. The 
gathering season is January to March. The plant 
requires constant rains during the blossoming 
season. The expenses of cultivation incidental to 
farming and maintaining pepper plantations are 
variously stated. But it may be stated approxi- 
mately that a plantation of one acre will not cost 
more tha.i Es. .300, together with an annual 
expenditure of Rs. 10 for Us upkeep. The out- 
turns of the pepper harvest are also variously 
stated. The yield ranges from one to three 
bharams per acre (one bharam being equivalent 
to bbO lbs). It is stated that a single vine pro- 
duces from one edangali to four edangalis of dried 
Jiepper. There is no doubt that pepper culti- 
vation is liigliiy remunerative, and it is npity that 
It IS not carried on more extensively than it "is at 
present. 
PEPPER CULTIVATION IN MALABAR. 
Pepper {Piper nigrum) is grown in Java, 
Sumatra, Ceylon, and other Asiatic countries, but 
that which comes from the Malabar Coast is 
acknowledged to be the best. The only taluqs 
in Malabar in which pepper cultivation is largely 
carried on are Kottayam and Kurumbranad. The 
conditions most favourable to pepper cultivation 
are said to be copious rains, abundant dew in the 
night, and a gravelly red soil. These are found 
in other parts of Malabar, so it is not understood 
why the cultivation is chiefly confined to these 
two taluqs. Two varieties of pepper are produced 
in Malabar — the black and the white. The fruit 
is gathered green when intended for black pepper, 
but must become quite ripe for white pepper. 
White pepper differs from the black only in being 
stripped of its covering. After stripping them, 
the black berries are steeped in salt water, and 
when they have been exposed to the sun for 
several days the chaff is rubbed off with the 
hands. The process of cultivation is very simple. 
USES OF SALT. 
Most farmers are aware that salt possesses 
valuable manurial qualities in connection with 
some soils, but its application has not been nearly 
so extensive as is desirable. Salt consists of two- 
thirds chloride and one-third suda, and as the 
solvent powers of chloride are enormously greater 
than those of rain water, its ability to break up 
soil and leave its constituents free and available 
for nourishing the roots of plants is a highly 
valuable qualification. Salt absorbs moisture 
from the atmosphere and helps to retain it in the 
soil, thus compensating, to some extent, for a 
deficiency of rain, and it also purifies and decom- 
poses inert matter. When used in connection 
with stubborn soils they are made easier to work 
while, at the same time, it is of material assistance 
in helping to destroy wireworms, slugs and other 
insect pests. Salt is especially valuable for sour 
pasture lands, its action being to make the wrasses 
sweet and palatable for stock. It also neuta-aJises 
the injurious effects of rank grasses on new 
