/ 
July 1, 1902.] THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. jjc) 
1903(5,40!lOOO kilos) and even the stock in September- 
October I'.tOS (2,120,000 kilos) ! And as the stocks on 
lat Janu.iry 1902, at all the principal markets, 
amoanted in the aggregate to 137,000 bales or 
8,220,000 kilos, the anticipated reduction of the stocks 
by September-October 1903, by 5,800,000 kilos, is 
used as an argument for an increase in the prices of 
cloves ! 
MUTILATED SEEDLINGS. 
" Knowledge " has an interesting account of the 
behaviour of seedlings when mutilated by the removal 
of the plumules. " Seedlings of various plants were 
experimented on, including some of the garden radish. 
On removing the plumule soon after the plants were 
above the ground, it w-a observed first that the cotyle- 
dons assumed a mw i deeper green than usual ; then 
the petioles deve'-. ad extraordinarily, becoming three 
inches long, wh c the cotyledons attained a breadth 
of an i«ch and a ha.If and nearly double the thick- 
ness of those of a normal plant. It was also observed 
that they were raised at an angle of about 45° instead 
of being approximately horizontal. A microscopic ex- 
amination showed that the greater thickness of the 
cotyledons was due to the increased size of the cells 
and not to a multiplication of the layers. The roots 
developed to nearly the ordinary market size. In 
aeedlings of the common sunflower, treated in the 
same manner, a remarkable elongation of the hypocotyl 
was noticed, this becoming twice as long as in the nn- 
mutilated plants." — Knoioledge for May. 
' ■ * — ' 
WJEST INDIAN SWEET POTATOES. 
Owing to the possibility of profitable cultivation 
of sweet, potatoes, considerable attention lias been 
given to the potato crop by the Imperial Depart- 
ment of Agriculture tor the We.«t Indies, and a 
great deal of experimental work has been carried 
on, Expeiiinents were made in Antigua with a 
view to determining the best varieties for cnltiva- 
tion. Fifteen varieties were planted and the crop 
from each weighed ; the yield varied from 6 to 4 4 
tons, the varieties ' Eliza,' ' T.l,' and ' T.2,' giving 
the largest crops. A full report of these experiments 
will be found in the Report on certain Economic 
Experiments in connection tvith the Botanic sta- 
tion, Antigua, 1900-19 1, In Barbados alone star- 
ches, grains, and meals, which are food stuffs 
similar in compositon to sweet potatoes, are im- 
ported to the value of £95,000 per annum, so that, 
ff the potato crop could be preserved for consump. 
tion during the year, it could be used instead of 
this imported food. Sweet potatoes will not keep 
without souie desiccating treatment in the West 
Indies, the conditions for their preservation being 
storage in dry air at about 50 deg. to 60deg. Fahren- 
heit. In Japan they are preserved by cutting them 
into slices and drying the latter in the sun. Many 
tons of potato meal were made by Mr Spooner, of 
Antigua, who prepared it by slicing the potatoes in 
a chaff-cutter, and drying the slices in the sun 
while spread out on wire netting, the drying being 
complete in about eight hours. 
One ton of potatoes by this method yields 910 lb 
of meal , at a cost of at)Out £4 10s Od per ton of meal. 
Dr. Voelcker, who analysed the product, found 
it had the following composition 
Moisture ... ... 11 99 percent. 
Ifitrogenous matter ... 6'12 do 
Oil ... 119 do 
Sugar ... 9-90 do 
Starch and carbohydrates, . . 67 '01 do 
Woody fibre .,. ,«, 1-89 do 
Mineral matter... 2*90 do 
As regard the keeping qualities of the meal, some 
of it was stored in tins for twelve month.s, and was 
then found to be perfectly good. 
A large portion of the sweet potato crop is at pre- 
sent used for making spirit, whicii is .shippeil to 
Portugal and used for fortifying wines.— //owe 
pctpet. 
♦ 
PLANTING NOTES. 
White Ants and Coconuts.— Writing to 
us from Pemba, Zanzibar, Mr. Theodore 
Burtt of tbe " Friends' Mission " says :— " In 
regard to the destruction of young coconuts, 
by white ants, some time ago I tried 
watering them with sea water. This had 
a most beneficial effect, but, of course, it can 
only be done when the plants are near the 
shore. The ants do not trouble to eat the 
husks, they eat out the central shoot of the 
growing palm and then it dies." 
RuBBiiR Planting —The various plantation 
companies organised in the United States for 
operations in Mexico, with rubber as the principal 
or an important feature, appear, says the India 
Rubber World, May 1st, on the whole 
to have made steady progress during the pas* 
year. No company which has once made a de« 
liiiite beginning has withdrawn from the field, 
while new companies are being organised all the 
while. Much preliminary development work has 
been done, a considerable amount of rubber has 
been planted, and a great number of rubber 
nurseries are in existence or are being planned for 
the coming season. The managers of the sever&l 
companies appear to feel encouraged as to the result 
of their work thas far, and there has been de- 
veloped nowhere any reason for fear that, in the 
end, rubber cannot be cultivated profitably 
under right CDuditions and right management, even 
if some of the niiiny eneterprises_< under weigh 
should result in failure. 
The Cry OF "Coarse Plucking."— We hopa 
this cry is not going to be overdone at home, be- 
cause we see in it one of the levers used by the 
dealers there to work a reduction in the price of 
tea. Favourable weather for flushing has just 
now made planters in many districts very busy, 
and from many quarters we hear of a rush of 
leaf. Scores, as a Pussellawa resident wrote a 
day or two bacK, are " ehock-a-block," and it is 
incorrect and unfair to attribute rushes of crop, 
which run up the poundage figures, to a return 
by planters to coarse plucking. Local " Times." 
For a New Product. — Application to (iov. 
ernment for a grant of land. — We learn that a 
visitor, Mr. Ervert, who has been in the island 
some months, has applied to Government for a 
lar^e block of land in the North Central Pro- 
vince, on favourable terms, for the cultivation of 
new products, viz. aloes and hemp. The Gov- 
ernment has asked for particulars and in the 
meanwhile the applicant is prospecting for a 
suitable block of land for the cultivation of tbe 
fibre plants. Mr, H P C Armitage, Assistant 
Conservator of Forests, it is said, has been asked 
to lend the prospector any assistance that might 
be required. The land applied for is in the 
North. West portion of the Province, which lias a 
fine soil suitable for aloe cultivation. Nothing 
has yet been settled, the matter being only in au 
initiatory stage, and the Government has not yet 
received particulars from the prospector, 
