TROPICAL A§iiICtTLTURisT. 
[is'oV. 1, i^oi 
The aboVe figarea takeia aS a basis and oale lating 
the lieepiug ib order and the amortization of the 
machinep, the expenses of cultivation, the wages and 
the incidental expenses at Ihe same rate as with 
ind'go, we t an produce rhea at abocut 350 francs per 
ton in Tndia or about 450 frans c i. f. French 
ports. This price is I'vidently only approximate, 
the evenlnality of losing one or more crops not being 
impossible, but is low enough to have caused a 
great stir in Governmentsl circles nnd among the 
plflnterF. The Lieutensnt Govi raor of Bengnl, Sir 
John Woodburn, asked me propria motu to visit him 
and give him explanations about rhea, also the 
Minister of Finnaiice and commerce, Sir Edward 
Law, who has been encouraging me for the last two 
years. Both these gentlemen took the trouble 
to go to Dalsing Serai, 12 hours journey from Calcutta, 
to see for themselves the results obtained, and 
to them may be added H. H. the Maharpjah of Dur- 
bungah, a member of the Viceroy's Council and the 
biggest landholder of Bengal. This chieftain has 
ordered to be made, through the administration of 
his possessions, ! n agreement with me for the im- 
mediate putting under rhea o£ 500 acrts. Many 
planters are going in for rhea atid in 3 years there 
will be sbout 6,C00 hectares under rhea, which will 
have ebs rbed several hundred machines'. This will 
be a great EUCcef s fortbe P>6nch mechnicsl industry. 
The use of ihea by the FrcH'h jpititiers cun le 
consideied so far theoretical. The few Spinning 
Mills employing China grass at Entraigues, Malannay 
Billegsrde, Amilly, and Lille are not important 
enough to constitute an industry , btit it is evident 
that the day it Avill be possible to pnt on the 
maket importaBt quflntities of tbea fibre at moderate 
figures, these mills will become larger and the 15C0 
tons maximun they consume tiow will speedily 
become 1500 tons. 1 h«ve sent to Lille soiue samples 
of the produce of our plantations and I was told that 
the fibre as it is, withotit any degumming, can be 
used by hemp and flax spinners for their big and 
middling connts. There is an assured and big outlet 
for the middling and big counts; therefore direct 
competition with hemp. The spinners of China grass 
(rhea) use the fibre ncdegummed and don't want 
the produce to be delivered degnramed, preferring to 
regulate the degumming themselves. The flax spin- 
ners will only be able to use rhea from India for 
their fine counts after degumming. As the spinners 
are not at present organised for such a process 
and to justify expenses for instalations of this kind 
the net cost of the undegummed fibre should te 
vpry low or we should deliver a degnmmed article. 
The latter presents, however, such difficulties, as 
regards the risk of turning out an article insuffi- 
ciently or too degummed, that the danger of com- 
petition with flax, to produce fine counts, rivalry 
that is bound to come some day, cannot be said to 
be so imminent as with hemp. 
CULTIVATION OP PINEAPPLES. 
fit W. CbadWick, ThavelLing iNBiatJCToii. 
Soil.— The best soil for pineapples is a rich well- 
drained loam, they cannot be grown profitably on any 
other. The colour of the soil does not matter, but 
there must be at least fifteen inches of good sweet top 
soil on the land in which the pines are to be 
grown. 
Drainage.— The top soil must be thoroughly plowed 
and broken up. If below this, the soil is the least 
bit heavy, trenches to the depth of two feet must 
be dug to thoroughly drain it. If the lower 
layers of soil are clay, trenches three feet deep must 
he dug. If the level is so low that Water lies at 
or near the surface, raised beds three feet high 
should be made on which to plant the suckers, 
This plan has been Very successful near Hope Bay* 
Pineapples must have the best drainage possible or 
or they will get all sorts of " disease." 
Preparation of Soil.— Next to drainage in import- 
ance is the thorough forking and breaking up of the 
soil. There is an oW Creole proverb that a pineapple 
sucker " planted with one chop bears in one year, with 
two chops in two years, and so on." The origin of it 
in my opinion is that when planting in new rich soft 
land, when a hole big enough to receive the sucker 
was easily made with one chop of hoe or digger, the 
pine sucker invariably produced a fruit within the 
year. When planting in old hard land where it was 
necessary to make two or three chops in order to make 
a hole big enough to receive the sucker, the sucker for 
want of cultivation or soil naturally soft, took two 
years to fruit. This explains how necessary it is to 
cultivate the land thoroughly. 
Selection op Suckebs. — Plant nothing but good 
strong, fresh, stout young suckers ; the proper size is 
frorn twelve to fifteen inches. Anything bigger or 
smaller is a mistake. Thin weedy shade-grown 
suckers are dear at a gift. Overgrown plants are not 
suckers, and should only be used to grow suckers 
from. In purchasing suckers, see that they are pointed 
just as they are torn away from the parent plant ; for 
old long suckers can readily be trimmed down to look 
as short as young suckers. 
Planting Puckees. — As soon as ihe sucker is taken 
cff the o'd plant, it shculd be planted. If it is a fresh 
healthy one, it wants nothing at all done to it. If it 
is not a good healthy one, burn it. If you plant a 
poor sucker it will be a trouble all the days of its life. 
Never let suckers lie about in heaps ; never let them 
get wet. 
Have your land properly prepared and when the 
suckers are taken off, plant them as quickly as pos- 
sible. The land should be so soft that the suckers 
can be pushed down to the proper depth without hav- 
ing to use anything to make a hole with. Plant the 
suckers in beds not wider than can be weeded from 
the sides without having to step on them. Pineapples 
must have soft soil, and if the beds are walked, on 
every time they are weeded, they soon get hard and 
stop the roots growing. 
Cultivation.— Never allow the weeds to gro^ 
Stir the soil often, using a dutch or push hoe, this is 
much better than the draw hoe which is very liable 
to bruise and shake the suckers when trying to dig 
out weeds which grow close to them. 
Distance.— Different varieties can be planted at 
different distances ; the Eipleys and Bullheads eigh- 
teen inches ; Smooth Cayennes two feet to two feet 
six inches. 
REtLANTiNG, — Replant every year, never trust to 
ratoons. It is only by replanting every year that the 
quality of the fruit can be kept up, and the fruit 
made to come in at the right time. Ratoons will 
nearly all come in at the time of year when pines 
are not wanted. Pineapples are worth very little 
after the May rains begin, and everbody should make 
experiments in planting so as to find out the right 
time to plant to make their fruit come in at the right 
time, that is from Christmas up to May. The time 
will be different in different places,— Jamaica Bull, 
Plante's Monthly. 
The Sandalwood Tree.— Mr, BARfiER, Govern* 
ment Botanist, Madras, has made the interesting dis- 
covery that the roots of this tree are parasitic in 
character, and puts forward a plea for a closer study 
of the natural history of the tree. " It appears to 
me,'' he writes, "sufficient attention has not been 
given in past attempts at artificial reproduction, and 
a careful study of the liking of the Sandalwood for 
its di£(erent hosts is sure to be prodnotive of uaefnl 
reeulta."— G'ari^eners' Chrotneky 
