58 
THE TKOPICAL 
AGIUCULTUKIST. 
[July 1, 1898. 
Agriculture \vai3 a liappy one ; and we trust it 
may be possible to eoiitiiuie tlieiii anuuiilly in 
tlie same place— rt«/(eu,x'.$ l)eit)g provided, if 
necessaiy. 
The Kecoiid lesson is, wo tliink, that Juuc is 
not ;ilways the best month for a Show. Let 
experience decide between May, June and July 
for ihe bo.-'t H|)eeinieuH of fruits and flowers. 
The third lesson is tliiit the programme be 
drawn up and pui^iislied for I he ne.xt Show im- 
mediately ; and in lulure whenuver a Show is con- 
cluded ; or at the very least in the ))resenL case 
six months befoic the date li\ed. This will en- 
able real and healthy competition, by the selec- 
tion of seed, the apidicalion of manures, Ax-. 
The fourth lesson is that, as regards some 
articles at least, competition be reatricted to 
the buna fide producei', whether the ijo'ujci urow- 
ing his own vegetaldes and fruits, or the estate 
cultivating its special proilucts. It would not be 
dilficult to get together a most interesting col- 
lection of fruits from the Municipal market ; 
but to award a silver medal to the most skil- 
ful in picking up the fruits of other men's labouis 
ifj not the proper way to eucourage the agri- 
culturist and the horticulturist. 
Then, it may be a question whether competi- 
tion, in some articles, such as coconuts, should 
not be conlined to the Troviuce, and to the bona 
fiiLa products otone estate. In our last Thursday's 
issue, we noted Mr. Wiight's failure to secure a 
medal for his splendid cocoiiuts. Had the prize 
l)een oflered for the best commercial s])ecimens, 
lie would probably have been the winner; but 
the Judges \iad before them two beautful col- 
lections which, for vaiiety, could liardly be e.v- 
eelled, while they inelutled nuts of undoubted 
liigh commercial value. We are assured the Judges 
did Uotoverlook Mr. Wright's exhibit ; but awarded 
it a special certificate of merit, pointedly com- 
mending the exceptional thinness of husk, and 
the relation which the nut bore to the unhusked 
fruit. Still, the competition between the produce 
of one estate, and that of perhaps a dozen from 
different parts of the islanil, was not iu our 
opinion, quite fair. 
LANTANA AND ITS INSECT 
(COCCUS) ENEMY. 
We direct attention to the letter of Mr. Shelton 
Agar. Travelling by rail the other day between 
Nawalajiitiya and (iampola, we failed to observe 
any diflbrence in thelantana; but we ?u]ipose it 
requires closer observation and is worse on the 
Kandy side? We certainly think not a day 
should be lost in asking the Director of the 
Botanic Gardens with the Hon, Entomologist 
to examine and report on the pest. A coccus 
or bug is quite within the purview of Mr. E. E. 
Green who will no doubt be able to tell us all 
about the Lantana enemy. We should think if 
the Ciiairman, P.A , communicated with His 
Excellency's Private Secretary, that the needful 
order would at once be given, in a matter so 
clearly pre bono publico. 
~ ❖ '■ 
COCONUT PLANTING AND CATTLE 
FEP.DING IN FIJL 
The following information arising out of the 
enquiry how to plant coconuts, is of interest : — 
"The enclosed from an old friend of mine in 
Fiji, who has one of the largest and best coco- 
nut estates in the jfioup, will I am sure interest 
you and you may be able to ani*wer his questions. 
1 am not well up enough in coconut planting to 
tell him whether Mr. GriHiths (by the bye do 
you know the gentleman and is lie »n authority 
on nuts?) is right in sajing that coconuts t^hould 
Ik; planted with the eyes in llie ground, but if 
by doing so they bear 12 mouths earlier than 
they would if planted any other way of course 
it's a great thing to know. I have generally 
seen tliein jilanted on their sides either Hat or 
slanting, but 1 cannot remember them bein^ 
planted a« Mi. G says thty should be. My 
friend's pUntation has a large Mia frontage and 
of a gradual slope back. Fme volcanic soil and 
parts of it full cf scoria. Most of the estate is 
laid out in p.-iddoeks with stone waVn and Mr. 
lias a large and tine herd of cat'Ie always 
oa the place. As soon a« his stock is three 
years or so old and fat, he sells Uiem to the 
butchers. The price a good many years afro 
was its to £10 a head, but now £4 lOs to £5 for 
beasts above 450 to 550 lb. i? the price. The 
biggest butchers tliere have a cold storage rooni 
and get meat from the other Colonies at cheap 
rates, whicli has had something to do in reducing 
price of cattle- Besides tliis, a great many 
coconut planters, who could afford to buy cattle 
have gone in for breeding and the butchers them- 
selves have leased several places to run and 
fatten stock on, so decent, fat cattle are generally 
rea<lily procuralde. The stock all originally came 
from Australia oi New Zealand and thrive well 
in Fiji, where the climate is good and there are 
no leeches or ticks. The cattle just roam about 
and no sheltei is provided. Hulls for keeping 
up ami improving the breed are being constantly 
imported. Sheep thrive fairly well in the drier 
parts of the group." 
The Fiji estate referred to with 2,C00 acren 
niore or less, planted with coconut palms is a 
big concern.— We cannot recall any Mr. Grittitlis 
as a coconut planter or authority in Ceylon. 
Pi,.\NTlXG IN VENi.^UhL.v. — In the reportofthe 
British Consul at Caracas it is stated that agrioul- 
tire, the principal source of the riches of this Ke- 
public, has hitherto received little or no attention 
except that which was required to gather the crops. 
The coffee estates number about ;U,O0<i, and those 
of cocoa 5,000. These two juoducts, coffee and 
c )Coa, were most cultivated because they com- 
manded good prices during the last titteen years, 
but as the prices received in 1897 hardly cover 
the cost of production, the serious attention of 
agriculturists has been aroused, and they are 
beginning to see that if they do not turn to some 
other products w hich have greater demand and 
better prices, or if they do not by improved 
methods increase the production and lower the ex- 
penses, their fate is sealed. Numerous agricultural 
clubs have been founded, and are endeavouring to 
arouse the |)lanters to a sense of the benefits that 
would accrue to them by the ajiplication of scienti- 
fic methods in manuring, irrigating, &c., and in 
the use of improved machinery in all the processes 
of prei a iug the produce for the market. Latelv, 
a Superior Board of Agriculture has been formed, 
with the President of the Kepublic at its head, and 
its object is to study and report on agricultural 
teaching, technical and practical, on agricultural 
institution immigration, &e., and, in fact, on 
everything relating to the cultivation of the soil. 
Beneficial results are expected through this insti- 
tution.— ff. <fc C. Mail, June 3. 
