bfiO. 1, 19020 
THE TKOPiCAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
385 
As Dr Jameson was unable to go again to the 
Southern Hemisphere (from which he had recjently 
retarned) to study the tiue pearl-oysters, he begnn 
his observations at Billt-rs, iu Moibihan, where there 
is a small, but somewhat noted, bed of pearl-bearinR 
mussels. He was soon able to trace the formation of 
pearls in these molluscs to the larval form of a worm 
closely allied to the fiver-fluke which infests sheep. 
The parasite which has been found on the inner 
surface of the shell make i's way into the flesh 
substance of the mussel , and then curls up and 
passes into » resting stage. Pound it there is 
developed by the mussel a number of cells dining its 
resting-place, and these cells coalesce to form the 
pearl-sac in which the intruder is enveloped. In the 
ordinary course of events the larval worm becomes 
calcified in its prison, from the outer wall of which the 
pearl-sub itance is deposited layer on laytr, and the 
growth of the pearl probably goes on at the same rate 
as the thickening of the shell. Dr Jameson has found 
that the larva may leave the sac, migrate in some other 
part of the body of its host, and there again settle down. 
This is evidenced by the fact that empty sacs have been 
met with in the body of the mussel. He was also suc- 
cessful iu working out the life-history of the parasite, 
which, at Billiers, migrates into the mussel from the 
tapestry shell, and at Piel, on the Lancashire coast, 
from the common cockle, these being in each case its 
first dwelling. The perfect stage, in which reproduction 
takes place, seems to be passed, at least at Moibihan, 
in the black scoter, one of the diving ducks widely dis- 
tributed in the Northern Hemisphere, in which adult 
forms were discovered. The eggs expelled by the duck 
are probably carried into the tapestry shell, and there 
hatched out, the larvae being carried out by the water 
to find their way into the mussels. At the Fish Hat- 
chery at Piel, and at the Btighton Aquarium, Dr. 
Jameson succeeded in artificially infesting mussels with 
the-e parasites and in producing small pearls. He is of 
opinion that the study of the parasites infesting the 
pearl-bearing oyster will throw light on the question of 
the artificial production of pearls. The life-history will 
probably correspond to thfit of the parasite infesting 
the pearl-bearing mussel. The first host will, no doubt, 
be some other mollusic found on the pearling-grounds, 
and the perfect stage will be i e ached in some of the file- 
fishes which feed on the pearl-oyster. Dr Jameson sug- 
gest that when these questions have been solved young 
peml-oysters should be laid down in beds easily acces- 
sible, and with them the molluscs in which the parasite 
passes the first stages of its existence. In this way he 
thinks his investigations may be turned to economic 
account by inducing in the pearl-oyster the patho- 
logical condition which, as he has demonstrated, gives 
rise to pearls in the common mussel. — Standard, Aug. 28 
-« 
THE PLANTAIN FIBRE INDUSTRY. 
A good deal has been said and written of late 
years on the possibility of creating a plantain fibre 
industry in India, and it is interesting therefore 
to have the testimony of an intelligent Hindu 
landholder who has tried it. Mr V T Vencatara- 
man Aiyar, of Valavanur, South Arcot, has placed 
at our disposal some practical notes on the sub- 
ject which we cannot help thinking very valuable 
and instructive. In his experiments he has used 
the discarded stalks and sheaths of the common 
planiain, which are usually thrown away or 
burned after the fruit has been plucked. Samples 
of fibre extracted by him from these were sent 
three months ago to Messrs. Ide and Christie, the 
chief fibre-brokers of London, who valued them 
at prices ranging from £35 to £25 per ton. The 
following extract from Mr Venkataraman Aiyat's 
notes is particularly interesting; — 
My experiments, the results whereof are more or 
leas in accord with those reported to have been ob- 
tained in Kew Grard^ns, Jamaioa, etc., sl^qw that an 
average plantain stem cut for fruit would give about 
li lb of the clean, liistrou?, long stapled and com. 
mercially valuable fibre ; and an adult with a week's 
experience can work about 8 stems a day, a boy 
being given to assist him in tearing the sheaths into 
longitudinal pieces of i inch width "and in collecting 
the broken fibre and in drying, then and theie iu 
the sun, the fibres extracted. The adult's wages be- 
ing put down it 4 as. and the boy's at li as. a day, 
we get U lb of fibre for 5i as. (la other countries 
where plantain fibre industry is usually carried on, 
they get, it is said, over 2 lb a stem, but this I think 
is due to the dexterous experience in extracting the 
fibre with the help of " the cheap simple but effective 
contrivance " ; and here too, after some experience 
I think the same results, if not more, can be had.) 
Even taking the outturn as per my experiment, and 
granting that special men are to be engaged for fibre- 
extracting work, the charges for extracting 1 ton of 
fibre from plantain stems is they are cut f jr fruits, 
amounts to R55 a ton ; to this add R35 (this has 
been ascertained) for freight, traders' cooamission, 
inauranoe, etc., charges, and charges for bundling 
and pressing the fibre in bales, the total comes to R90. 
E ven adding RIO to cover any extras, the charges 
to an agriculturist up to the stage of placing tha 
fibres in the London market is RIOO. From Messrs 
Ide and Christie's quotations above given, even taking 
the value at only the lowest price, viz., £25 a 
ton, there is a net profit of 25 x 15 or R375— RIDO, or 
R27o for a ton of fibre. On an acre of plantain in 
these parts are grown about 1.200 stems ; so the out- 
turn per acre will be about a ton. Even taking this 
at only ^ a ton per acre, there is a clear additional 
income of RI40 an acre ; and as this means conver- 
sion into money of fruit-cut stems thrown away to 
rot on the ground, I venture to say it is opening a 
new source of agricultural wealth. 
As regards the proee.ss of manufacture Mr 
Vencataraman Aiyar says : — 
The cheap contrivance in use in the Philppine 
Island^ is said to be the cheapest and most eifeotive 
method yet invented. It consists of a small wooden 
plank and fixed to it is a blunt iron knife weighted 
with a lever under which the longitudinal strips of 
the plantain sheaths are drawn ; this drawing process 
repeated twice or thrice separates the stalk and the 
juice from the sheaths and there remains in the hands 
of the operator a beautifully clean, long and lustrous 
fibre. This cheap contrivance can be made by a com- 
mon blacksmith locally for about a couple of rupees. 
I had one made to enable me to extract fibre for pur- 
poses of experiment. 
At the same time, Mr Vencataraman Aiyar 
points out that ib is no use trying to start 
the industry on an acre or two of plant^i. The 
cost of extracting, cleaning, baling and transport- 
ing small quantities would be prohibitive, and he 
concludes that tiie only business-like plan is to 
plant considerable areas and to set up factories 
capable of dealing with the fibre in msrchantable 
quantities. He himself wanted to buy from Gov- 
ernment some 400 acres of waste land near his 
own village for the purpose; but the land has 
since been auctioned to a number of persons, and 
he has been unable to carry out his purpose. — M. 
Mail, Oct. 21. 
The Silky Oak — attains a height of 70 to ^0 
feet. The colour is a light grey, beautifully 
crossed with silvery waves, and when polished 
the surface has a delicate lustre. Bedroom suites 
made from this wood possess a dainty appear- 
ance. — Commercial Intelligence, Oct. 23. [This is 
the Grcvillca so common in our planting di-stricts : 
has any one in Ceylon utilised the tinilier for 
cabiaet) WQ»k an^i with what result?— Ed, T.A.] 
