G60 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April 1, 1901. 
to recommend the application of Bordeaux mixture 
where practicable. 
Entomological.— Thi-ee^nrcela of larvte of injurious 
insects were received during the year. For leaf- 
eating insects not protected by a covering, an appli- 
cation of Paris green cannot be too strongly recom- 
mended, provided care is taken not to poison domes- 
tic animals or men. Paris green is an arsenite of 
copper which has been largely used as a pigment ; 
and is now one of the most popular insec'.icides. It 
may be applied either as a spray when suspended in 
water (about one ounce to ten giiUons of water) or 
dusted on the plants in the dry condition when mixed 
with 100 times its weight of perfectly dry fine flour or 
better still "laud plaster " (Gypsum) if it can be got. 
Since the close of the year, several samples of injurious 
insects and plant diseases have been received. These 
made it necessary to visit several fields, and 
have led to a practical demonstration in applying 
Bordeaux mixture. Paiis green could not, unfortun- 
ately, be obtained at the time. In the near future it 
may be necessary to write a bulletin on the subject. 
When sending insects it is absolutely necessary to 
provide them with some of the leaves of the plants 
on whiL'h they are feeding. 
Much more important than the correspondence, iu 
the way of giving information, were the interviews 
in the office ; and more important still, the talks and 
lectures on the estates, the villages, or the fields and 
gardens visited when on tour. But of these no record 
is kept. In response to an invitation from the Onited 
Planters' Association a general outline of plot ex- 
periments and some of the fundamental principles of 
manuring were discussed at their meeting held in 
Bangalore. 
TOURS, 
The three principal tours undertaken during the 
year were : — 
1. To Bidadi and Closepet, 
2. To Koppa. 
3. To Shimoga District and Mangalore, 
A tour to Koppa was undertaken in July to become 
personally acquainted with the effect of the very 
heavy rains which usually occur during that season 
of the year in the Malnad Districts. But owing to 
the practical failure of the monsoon, not even a 
moderately heavy shower of rain occurred during 
the stay of nearly two weeks. The time was occu 
pied in noting what could be seen of the diseases 
of coffee and arecanut. These diseases are of a 
fungoid nature. The condition of the moisture 
which largely influences the growth of the specific 
fungus, especially Koleroga, is doubtlessly one of 
the most important factors in the spread of the diseases 
mentioned. But as the vitality of the trees has 
doubtles.?ly something to do with resisting the attack 
of the disease, the task of finding a remedy is not 
absolutely hopeless. 
The coffee works at Mangalore were visited to see 
the last step of the prepanition of coffee for the 
European market.— PZaiiiiV/ Opiiiioti. 
RICE CULTIVATION. 
{From a Correspondent. J 
Some weeks ago you published a letter from your 
South Mysore correspondent which contained, amongst 
other interesting details of planting news from that 
locality, an allusion to the fact that some Mysore 
planters are embarking in rice cultivation, in coii- 
junction with that of their coffee estates. An agri- 
cultural undertaking of this description requires 
practical experience in order to insure its being pro- 
fitably conducted, and the following particulars may 
therefore prove useful to those who have not essayed 
the cultivation of paddy, or to such as have still 
oomethitig to learn on that Bubject, the more so, aa 
with the acute crisis through which the coffee in- 
dustry is now passing, every estate proprietor will 
hail with satisfaction any facilities for augmenting 
the revenue accruing from his holdings. There are 
probably many blocks held by planters which either 
include lauds within th^ir boundaries suited to the 
profitable growth of paddy, or which, from their 
close proximity to the latter, can be conveniently 
taken up from Government, or from private land- 
lords, while the advantages of utilising such areas 
for raising an article of consumption available for 
the labour emplnyed, both in ihe growth of the cereal 
itself and on that engaged on their estates, are so 
obvious, that it seems strange rice has not hitherto 
been more largely tried by European planters. 
There are two methods by which paddy can be 
successfully grown in the planting distric s, namely, 
by indigenous, i.e., local labour and by imported 
coolies, the former being preferable, as it is conti- 
nuously available, and better trained to this special 
work. The scale of remuneration ruling for lo;;al 
labour employed on wet lands usually consists of a 
daily payment in the form of doles of grain, a man 
receiving for a full day's work approximately 4 lbs. 
of paddy, and a woman 3 lbs., while one anna in 
cash is disbursed weekly to such of the former aa 
may have laboured for not less than five days in each 
week, and twice a year all hands are presented with 
a couple of coarse white cloths, on the anniversary 
of their two principal festivals, in April and August. 
Imported labour is, however, paid in specie at the 
rate of 4 annas per man and 2J annas per woman 
daily. It may be assumed that, on the average, 
the value of paddy in the planting districts does not 
exceed B2 per maund, of 82 lbs , and upon such 
hypothesis the rate of remuneration earned by im- 
ported labour is rather more than twice as high as 
that paid to local coolies. When, therefore, framing 
an estimate of the necessary outlay incidental to a 
paddy cultivation, it will be fairest to strike an 
average, and charge the account with the labour at 
an all-round rate of 3 annas per diem. A forty- 
acre stretch of wet land suffices to grow seedlings 
raised from 40 maunds of carefully winnowed seed 
grain, and a herd of 40 ploughing buffaloes are 
essential to work the block successfully. In addi- 
tion to the initial outlay connected with the first 
season's cultivation, the cost of bunding the -land 
may have to be met. Good ploughing buiialoes are 
procurable at about R15 apiece, so that the outlay 
on the latter, and on the seed grain, would amount 
to 11680. If, however, the land taken up possesses 
the requisite bunds, from ihe last ryot's occupancy, 
no block disbursements on earth work is required, 
and as this is the rule on tracts thoroughly suited 
for growing rice, it seems scarcely necessary to 
allow for special expenditure under this head. The 
accruing maniire from a herd of 40 buffaloe.'5 should 
suffice to liberally fertilise every portion of the land 
at least once in two years, or to manure half the 
extent in each .season, while the animals are utilised 
(1) for ploughing and harrowing, and (2) for threshing, 
i.e., treading out the grain. 
Irrespective of the block expenditure on seed grain 
and on buffaloes, as well as on a few ploughs and 
tools, a sum of about 11750 would be required to 
cover the whole of the first season's expenses, up to 
hulling the grain, while in the following year it would 
be unnecessary to incur any outlay under the three 
former headings. Paddy, on an average, takes about 
four months to mature, and on some lands, where 
special facilities for perennial irrigation are available, 
two harvests can be raised annually ; but as a rule 
on hill tracts a single crop of grain is grown in 
each season. There are a couple of methods of 
cultivating paddy profitably (a) from seedlings, and 
(h) by sowing the seed broadcast ; but the yield, 
where the work is well done, is far moie satisfactory 
from the former than the latter plan, and no weed- 
ing is required for seedling planted paddy lands, 
whereas on areas treated the other way weeds and 
grass cause some loss and trouble, As regards th? 
