Aug. 1, 1902.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUPJST. 
123 
To the Editor. 
CEYLON MEN IN SOUTH AFRLGA :- 
LANTANA AND ITS PEST. 
Heidelberg, Transvaal, May 31. 
Dear Sir, — I have had the enclof^ed ciittin<T 
in niy pncke'". for many week's, intpndinf^ to sen(l 
ic to Ceylon (niy old home). You will see 
that at the Gape they are very much afraid 
that the lantana " hedges" may be destroyed 
by the soale insect. Perhaps this same insect 
nii<;ht be of some use to you 'n Ceylon. — The 
only thing is, will it enjoy the tea more than 
the' lantana ? Experiments might be made by 
some specialist: — 
Growers of cdIbus plants and gardeners generally 
may recollect articles which appeared in the Arjri- 
cidtnral Journal anA ih& public press during the year 
1893, calling attention to the discovery of the scale 
insect pest, known as the Orthezia iusi£;nis, in the 
suburbs of Cape Town. It was hoped that through 
the active measures then taken, the outbreak had 
been nipped in the bnd, more especially as an inspec- 
tion of the various floral establishments in town had 
failed to reveal the presenco of the pest. Qnfortu- 
nately this hope has not been realised, and the insect 
has now again made its appearance in a Lantana 
hedxe near the Camp Ground, Rondeboseh, and in 
several similar hedges on an old estate in Mowbray, 
and it is probable that it has alreafly become wide- 
spread. Much of the young growth of the Lantana is 
killed by the Orthezia, and the wood and remaining 
foliage becomes discoloared by a soot-like fungus that 
grows on an exudation from the insect, entirely 
spoiling the appearance of the hedge. Orthezia 
insignia is particularly partial to the lantana, but is 
also frequently found on other garden plants, such 
as verbena, lavender, fuschias, etc., and is death to 
the coleus. With a view to prevent, aa far as 
possible, the spread of the pest, the public are re- 
commended not to plant hedges of lantana, and are 
urged to take active measures for checking the spread 
of the scale by rooting up and destroying a hedge aa 
soon as the appearance of the scale insect therein is 
noticed. 
We are expecting peace daily, but in the 
meantime our search-light phiys around here 
every night as usual. — Yours truly, 
H. BAYLEY. 
[Tea has enough to light with ; and lantana near 
Peradeniya and Canipola lias been freely de- 
stroyed to prevent the scale insect pest spreading. 
-Ed. T.A.-\ 
THE NEW MANURE. 
London, E.G., June l.Soh, 1902. 
Sir, — I enclose a copy of a reprint of my papei- 
in the " Bath and West of England Journal," and 
on page 14 you will see an accouiit ol the experi- 
ments with radishes dressed respectively with 
ordinary sii;)erphosphate and with the new manure, 
basic super. — Yours tinly, 
JOHN HUGHES. 
[We quote as follows : — 
The manure has been sold during the last season 
n 187 places in England, 72 in Scotland, and 13 in 
Ireland. Mmy of the deliveries were in quantities of 
ten to thirty tons, so that the actual trials must have 
been more uumetoua even than these figures suggest. 
Notwithstanding the late application of the manure, 
due to the short time daring which it has been on the 
16 
market and also to the very dry season, the reports 
received have been generally satisfactory and most 
encouraging. The first experiment made public was 
conducted by Mi' William E Bear, of Hailshara, Sussex, 
and though only on a small scale deserves to be 
noticed on account of she care with which the com- 
parative trials were carried out, and because the soil 
had previously been fully analysed by Dr. Dyer, whose 
results add very much to the value of the experiment. 
It is unfortunate that such soil analyses are too 
often omitted in mannrial experiments. 
DR. DYERS ANALYSES OF THE fiOlU IN WHICH 
THE RADISHES WERE GROWING. 
Top-soil. Sub soil. 
Silicious matter insoluble in strong 
hydrochloric acid 
87260 
84 560 
Alumina 
3260 
.5 -580 
Oxide of iron . . 
O* ( / 
D 14 L 
Lime 
683 
•240 
iVIagnesia 
260 
•20i) 
Potash .. 
179 
•285 
Soda 
082 
•l.'l 
Phosphoric acid 
083 
•059 
Sulphuric acid 
024 
•024 
oOrganic matter, carbonic acid 
water of combination, etc. 
4-692 
3-78t 
100-000 
loo-ooo 
aContaining nitrogen 
•141 
•048 
The potash includes — 
Potash dissolved by a dilute (I 
percent) solution of critic acid. 
(probably " available " potash) 
•003 
•001 
The phosphoric acid includes — 
Pho--phoric acid dissolved by a 
dilute (1 per cent) solution of 
citric acid (probably " avail- 
able" phosphoric acid) 
•003 
•001 
' Mr. Bear, who has kindly allowed the analyses to 
be used for the purpose of this paper, in a communica- 
tion in the Ar/ricultwal Gazette of July l5th, i.901, 
headed An Experiment with Basic Superphosphates," 
over the letters WEB, wrote as follows : — 
" Soil from a field somewhat deficient in lime waa 
placed in two 4i-inch flower pots, and in one f oz of 
basic superphosphate was placed, while an equal 
quantity of ordinary superphosphate (30 per cent solu- 
ble phosphate guaranttted) was put in the other. On 
June 8th, thirteen seeds of French breakfast radish 
were sown in each pot. Nine grew in the basic pot, 
and seven in the other. From the first the radishes 
in the basic pot grew away from the others ; and, on 
being pulled and washed, seven (taken as they came 
out of th ! basic pot) weighed 2j- oz, tops included, 
while the seven out of the other pot weighed only 1^ oz. 
In each case the scale (a letter-weigher) plumped down 
well, so that there may have been an eighth of an 
ounce more of each. However, seven of the radishes 
grown with basic superphosphate weighed 66p?rcent 
mora than an equal number grown with ordinary 
iup jrphosphate in the same kind of soil, although the 
soil and manure of the basic pot had to support two 
more plants than those of the other pot." The pro- 
portions of manure employed in the above experi- 
ments calculated per acre are certainly much more 
than would be applied in ordinary farming, but as the 
same quantities of the two manures were used in each 
case it is evident that basic super was the more 
suitable manure for the soil. The important point to 
notice in conuection with these results is that the 
soil represents exactly the description of land upon 
which the new manure is most likely to produce au 
improved yield, for it contains considerably less than 
1 per cent of lime, the figures being "033 in the sarfaca 
and -246 in the sub-soil, 
—Ed. T.A.] 
