746 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [Mat 1, 1900. 
KiCE-GROVriNG IN LOUISIANA, U. S. A — Japa- 
nese Kiuslui rice is now grown in the warm 
prairies of soutli- western LonisiKna. Steam har- 
vesters and thrashers are employed in tlie culture, 
and the kiushu is expected to bear the milling 
better tlian ordinary lice.— Globr, March 2. 
Tea Bui, KING. — We understand- that a consign- 
ment of some 5,000 chests of tea was recently 
bulked and tared at the Fort Commissioners' 
"odown by the aid of the Apjohn tea bulker. 
This is a "step in the right direction, apid we 
hope to see the movement grow rapidly.— 7ndw<re 
Gardening, March 8. 
Trout Culturb up thr Th am ks— The trout 
eggs in the private hatchery erected by Mr. A. 
Bin-row. at Staines, have now hatched out, and the 
young trout fLoch Levens) look very healthy. Out 
of 2a7oO') egsjs pat down under one hundred have 
been lost. The trout when old enough are to be 
placed in the Thames.— Dai/y Chronicle, Feb. 24. 
A New Fungicidk.— In some French tests a 
fungicide composed of 3 lb. cop^jer sulphate, 
5 lb? eojipe.r carbonate ^ oz. of permantranate of 
potash dissolred in a pint of waier and 100 qts, 
water, is said to have given as good results as 
the same quantity of Bordeaux mixture, and 
has the advantage of adhering to the foliage 
hstter.— Planting Opinion, March 17. 
Planting in the Straits Settlements.— 
la Malacca a good tea plaiiition has been 
tUoroughly established, which finds a local 
market for its produce. An enterprising syn- 
dicate of Chinese has bes'un to plant rubber 
largely in that Settlement. In all the Settle- 
ments the cultivation of coconuts is progressing. 
In Malacca a very successful agricultural show was 
held. It is intended in future that there should be 
a show every year in some Settlement of the 
Colony. The Botanical Garden at Sinst^pore con- 
tinued to aid planters by seeds and advice. This 
station is a centre for British North Borneo, Sara- 
wak, Labuan, Johore, the Federated Malay States, 
and even Siam, and there was very keen competi- 
tion for all the rubber seeds which could be spared. 
Orders were booked for quite twenty times as much 
seed as was available. — Colonial Office liepovtfrom 
Singapore. 
DoKS Tea Improve or Deteriorate by 
Keeping ? — Some say that it improves, whilst 
others assert that it begins at once to deteriorate 
unless hermetically sealed. As a matter or fact, 
provided the tea has been thoroughly dried before 
packing and then carefully soldered in lead or 
tin, it"will most certainly improve by age. This 
has been proved by planters time and again: We 
would remark, however, tliat evea in the mos* 
(as we think) thoroughly dried tea there is 
always a certain amount of moisture retained, 
which, although imperceptible to us, is percepti- 
ble to the chemi-st or analyst. If the keeping 
qualities of the tea are to be preserved for any 
very extended periorl, the tea should not be packed 
whilst greatly heated, but allowed to gently cool 
in some drii place (so that it may not absorb 
moisture), and then he enclosed in its lead or tin- 
casing, which must be most carefully soldered, 
so thab there may be no possibility of air entering 
it in ^iiiy manner whatsoever. Such hermetically- 
sealed tea will not only keep as long as its casing 
survives uniujurrtd, but will greatly improve with 
a"e. Once, however, i;s c tso is o|)en(;d. its keep- 
ii7g qualities are unpaired, and although it may 
be repacked at once, its con tact with the air has 
deprived it of its properties of resisting deteriora- 
tion for an indefinite period of time. — Indian 
Planters' Quaette, March 3. 
Fruit Crops in Queensland, 19G0.— Acting 
upon instruction from the Queensland Under- 
Secretaiy for Agriculture, the Instructor in Fraib 
Culture attached to that department, has for- 
warded to us (under dn-te January 1.')), thefoUow- 
iiig interesting i).irticulars connected with the 
fruit crops for the current season : — The last figures 
available show the following acreage and returni 
for the following fruits: — 
Bixnana* .. 5264 acres ... Produce 46.54?,090 doe. 
Pineapples I. ISO „ 462,752 „ 
Oi-angea 2.272 ... „ 1,527,409 „ 
The pi o.specrs of the present crop are as follows : — 
Bananas . The dry spring has somewhat retarded 
this crop, but recent rains hare greatly improved 
it. Pineapples will be ready for marketing within 
a month: there is a good sho»T of fruit on both 
rough-leaved and smooth Pines, and the recent 
rains will tend to improve the size, which pro- 
mised to be small. Oranges are very patchy ; 
some district.? promising record crops, whilst 
others will be less than average. The same 
remarks apply Mandarins. Passion-fruit has 
been a good crop, as have also been strawberries 
and Cape Gooseberries. Mn,ngoes are only a 
small crop in the .southern part of the colony. — 
Oardeners' Chronicle, Mar. 3. 
New Darvel Bay (Borneo) Tobacco Plan- 
tations (Limited).— The seventh ordinary gene- 
r.il meeting was held yesterday at Winchester- 
house. Mr. Siumund Sinauer presided, and, in 
moving the adoption of the report, expressed a 
hope that the shareholders would consider it satis- 
factory. The company's tobacco, though of good 
quality, had the fault of being "spotted," and, 
moreover, the market had not been so favoura- 
ble as in the previous year. They had received 
only Is lOd per lb., against 2s 2|d in 1898, ' 
and this difference had afiected the profits 
to the extent of upwards of £12,000. The large 
quantity reaped sliowed, however, tiie cai)abilitie3 
of the plantations for tobacco cultivation. From 
the balance standing to the credit of profit and lost 
account, £13,938, including the amount brought for- 
w.irdjit was proposed to pay a dividend of Is 6d per 
share, free of income-tax, and to transfer £4,000 
to the reserve fund, leaving more than £1,000 to 
be carried forward. In addition about £6,000 had 
been written off for depreciation . The 1899 crop 
had been housed in the fermenting sheds and 
would soon be ready for shipment. Although in 
quantity it might not be quite so satisfactory as 
the 1898 crop, the quality was better. With re- 
gard to the prospects of finding gold on the com- 
pany's property, he said that owing to the ill- 
ness of the mining engineer development work had 
had to be suspended. Arrangements had been 
made with the British North Borneo Company for 
an extension of the concession for two years more, 
so that they had plenty of time in which to con- 
duct operations. Since the engineer had resumed 
work he had reported that there were indications 
of something better than he had originally expected 
to find. A large quantity of conglomerate had 
been discovered in the sides of the bed of the 
river, and about 13cwt. of it had been sent home. 
Experiments on it had been made by three firms. 
Two of these reported that they could not find 
gold in payable quantities, but the other had 
given a more favourable report. The intention of 
the directors was to have a large quantity of the 
" stuff" sent home in order that a more thorough 
test of its value might be made. The shareholders 
might re^t assured that the sum spent on making 
experiments would not be in excess of that alrendy 
aulihorised. Mr. H. Hayman seconded the motion, 
which was adopted.— London Tim^s, Feb. 22, 
