m 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGKICULTITRIST. [Dec. 1, 1902. 
unstable conetifcuen^ and as soon as this is known 
we shall be better placed for making a forecast. — 
Itidia Rubber Trades' Journal, Oct. 27. 
HORNSBY-AKROYD OIL ENGINE. 
We think the facts set forth la the ad- 
vertisement of this oil engine are of 
sufficient importance to merit calling 
special attention to the same ; for, we 
are told that "it has now been demon- 
strated without doubt, that the 'power-bill' 
for the whole of the island could, on a 
very conservative estimate, be reduced by 
one half, by using liquid fuel in a Hornsby- 
Akroyd Oil Engine." No doubt there are 
other " Oil Engines " which also show capital 
results according to the testimonials adver- 
tised to the value of ''Campbell's," " Gun- 
dall's," "Clayton and Shuttleworth's." &c. 
The great matter is the economic gain by 
using liquid fuel. 
• • 
, PLANTING NOTES. 
The Vinega.r Curk.—" DC S" writes to the 
Madras Mail -.— One of niy chaprasis, whilst 
leanina; up against a door post, suddenly jumped 
with a shout and then almost doubled himself up 
nursing his leg and groaning that the pain was 
shooting up to the top of his thigh. The cause 
of all this bother was discovered in the shape of 
a vigorous young scorpion which had landed its 
symmetrical sting in the calf of the chaprasis's 
leg, I almost at once had tlie calf well rubbed 
with vinegar, and in a very little while afterwards 
the chaprasi looked up with a beaming smile on his 
face and, much to the gratification of the other 
servants who were looking on, remarked to me : — 
Sirkah babut atcha dawai Sahib." He was 
up and attending to his work in 20 or ,30 minutes 
time as if nothing whatever had happened. 
Gold, Gold Everywhere !— Here is a bit 
of a warning for Sir West Kidgeway and any 
others who may expect to find paying gold 
deposits in Ceylon. In the Empire Eevieio tor 
November, " T. B.," writing from the Gold 
Coast, West Africa, says : — 
" The colony, of course, can claim to be a gold- 
bearing country, and in my opinion and many 
others, that is all that can be said for it. Every 
yard of it I believe to be gold-bearing, but it is so 
fine and well distributed that it is well-nigh im- 
possible to collect it ; you can take a bit of float 
quartz from almost any part and get a colour from 
it, but still no reef has been found above water- 
level, and water-level is no great depth in this 
country (averages 100 feet) and no indications in 
leaders to denote better gold below. I am speaking 
from experience (from sinking shafts, striking 
leaders and following and from adit levels with 100 
feet of backs), also I am situated so as to come in 
contact with some of the most prominent engineers 
that have been engaged in reporting on properties 
in West Africa. Nothing sensational has been met 
and certainly nothing is expected in that line. As 
things stand at present so much capital has been 
thrown into the country that companies are in 
duty bound to spend more till they get decided 
reports on their ventures ; read what papers you 
will) in none can you find a report giving satisfac- 
tion or proving by the value of the mine. Promises, 
yes, by the score, but nothing tangible, and I do 
not think there ever will be." 
A Gold Currency.— There are bankers 
in our midst who decidedly prefer gold as 
a currency if only there was silver to back 
it ; and no wonder — for one small package of 
gold will bring as much value, as 25 packages 
with 3 lakhs of rupees. Think of., the extra 
trouble and cost in counting and packing, 
in freight, in delivery, in checking, etc., etc. ! 
"-The Coarser Product of Iwdta and 
Ceylon " !— The North China Herald{Octohev 
1st) commenting on the report on the trade 
of Hankow "the future Chicago of China" 
says :— The gross value of the trade, in spite of 
a short tea crop and a serious falHng-off in 
shipments of the leaf, " falls little short of the 
value for 1899 when the highest figures re- 
corded for any year were reached. The busi- 
ness in black tea showed a considerable de- 
cline, but there was a marked recovery in the 
export of brick and tablet tea. When tea 
was the great staple of Hankow, and the 
British public had not been led away by its 
cheapness and strength to prefer the coarser 
product of India and Ceylon, the trade of 
Hankow was mainly in British hands ; what 
was then known as "muck and truck" now 
bulks very largely in Hankow's exports, and 
it seems that Continental buyers can pay 
better prices than their British competitors 
for the hides, nutgalls, wood oil, vegetable 
and animal tallow, bristles, skins, sesamum 
seed, etc., which make up the deficiency 
caused by the decline in the demand for 
China tea. 
Cultivation OF Sunflowers.— The first year 
of the twentieth century closed wjlth a curious 
sale, at the Baltic sales-roOm, of a cargo of Sun- 
flower seeds, which changed hands at £11 5s per 
ton. Though a small trade has been done in Sun- 
flower seeds for nearly 200 years, this transaction 
was the first in which a whole cargo — 300 tons 
sent from Odessa — was dealt with. In Russia, 
where the cultivation of the Sunflower and the 
manufacture of oil from its seed is conducted on 
a large scale, the variety grandiflora is the one 
grown. The species rises in a slender stalk of 5 
feet high, producing one monster head, the average 
yield iDeing as mnch as 50 bushels of seed to the 
acre. So rich is it in oil, that that quantity of 
seed will yield 50 gallons of oil ; while the refuse 
of the seed, after this quantiiy of oil has been ex- 
pressed, weighs 1,500 lb. when made into cattle 
cakes. Few people in England who grow the Sun- 
flower for ornament have any idea of its usefulness? 
It is among neglected crops in which there is 
money. Besides the seed, every other portion of 
the plant can be utilised. The leaves furnish an 
excellent fodder ; while in Russia the stalks are 
prized as fuel, and their ashes, which contain 10 
per cent, of potash, are readily sold to the soap- 
makers. Naturally in Russia the chief virtue of 
the Sunflower lies in the oil contained in its seed. 
The oil is of a clear, pale yellow colour, almost 
inodorous, and of an agreeable mild taste, so that 
it is in grea*i request as a table article. Why 
Sunflowers are not cultivated on an extensive 
scale in England, it is difficult to say. Poultry 
and cattle like the seed, either in its natural state 
or crushed and jnade into cakes. No plant pro- 
duces such fine honey and wax ; when the flower 
is in bloom, the bees abound in it. — Journal of 
the Bepartment of Agriculture of Western Aus- 
tralia. 
