70 
Snitplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist." [July 1, 1^98. 
12. Eggs vanii-hed with collodion, 40 \m 
cent bad. 
13. Eggs covered willi Inc, 40 por cent bad. 
14. Eggs varnished with swurd, 20 per cent 
bad. 
\o. Eggs preserved in wooda^ht's, 20 per cent 
bad. 
16: Eggs treated with b:isic acid and water 
glas.s, 20 I'er cent bnd. 
17; Eggs treated with mnngiuiute of potash, 
23 per cent b;!d. 
18. Eggs varnished with vaseline, (ill good. 
19. Eggs preserved in lime water, all good. 
20. Eggs preserved in a solution of wute.-gl iss, 
nil good. 
It thus appe»rs that the last tliree procesEes 
are to be considered the best: The prcservatieii 
iu a solu!ion of watergluss is however said to 
be preferable lo the other two, as varnishing 
with v.iseline takes so nuicli lime, and the 
treatment with lime water sometimes commnni- 
c ites a disagreeable odour and taste- There is one 
drawback with waterglass, that is that the 
eggs burst ea^ily in boiling water; but it is said 
that this may be avoided by c luliously jjiercing 
the egg with a strong needle. For ordinary 
household purposes vaseline would seem lo be 
the most handy and convenient medium of 
preservation. 
AGRICULTURE IN ZANZIIJAK. 
We have been favoured ^\iih a cojjy of the 
annual rejiort of the Agiiculturnl Department, 
Zanzibar, by the Diiector of Agriculture, Mr. 
K. N. Lyne. 
The report is nrr.ui{;ed into five pans: Part I. 
New Products ; Part II. Local Products ; Part III. 
Live Stock ; Part IV. Implements ; Part V. Ma- 
nures, Soils, Labour, Weather of 1897, and pub- 
lications received. 
Under the head of new products is mentioned 
Cicoa, of which itis said that great difficulty has 
been experienced in obtaining seeds atid plants. A 
consignme!it of 3,0L)0 seeds whicii went from 
Ceylon ari'ived in Zanzibar "in a completely 
perished condition," while of 72 ])lants i-eceived 
from London in Wardian cases only 34 survived 
It would a])pear that there are only two old trees 
in the Island, but we can hardly endorse tlie 
conclusion arrii'ed at in the report that " their 
presence is suiTicient evidence that cocoa will 
thrive on tlie-e islands." 
Under the same liead we read that Para Rubber 
shows every indication of doing well. "If para 
rubber, the most valuable of all varielies will pay 
to grow at all — a point that has nowhere yec been 
decided— it ought tc pay to grow here." The 
Director thinks that Ceara rubber might be found 
suitable for the coral wastes wiiich cover about 
? of the Island, though he is not satisfied that 
the yield of juice from trees he inis tapped is good 
enough. 
Kola is recommended as germinating freely, 
growing well, and easily prepared for the maiket. 
We read that "The trees may be put down 20 feet 
apart, and come into liearin<; in 4 or 5 years. Pi'ices 
in Loudon rule from 4d. to 6d. per lb. If each tree 
yields 50 lbs. per annum — a moderate estimate as 
trees have been known to yield up to lbs. of nuU 
eacli — the grdss returns, bulii perlree and per acre 
would be much Inrgertlian tiiofifj uowoblained from 
cl')ve plantations, which do not average morethttu 
l.") lbs. of produce per tree, worth 2^>\." 
Kola in 1890 was worth is. 9d., but the price 
has steadily gone down owing to llie incre»*e'l 
shipments from ihe West Indie*. Among other 
now products nie nienlioned vaiiillu, llie rubber, 
vine, coffee, candlenut, anatto, encjlyptus, cniu- 
jihor, salflower, olive< and sar^ripariiln. Tiio 
cn'.liviitiori of the last four mentioned lias been 
di.>coniinued as unsuccessful. Kelerrii»jj to cnstKr 
oil under the head of local products, liie l.>iri-c- 
tor says " The oil worth about per ton in 
London, which compared well with coconut oil 
at £-2:1" 
The following report by Messr s. Thomas Christy 
i\: Cj. of Lime Street is of some local iiilereit : — 
" In reply to your query regaidiug I'apaw we may 
tell you that we import the diy juice of this 
jdant in large (juanlilies. We believe tliis whv 
ol drying it is to ])lace the juice ujioii shibs of 
glass or earthenware, so that it has a 8mootli 
(surface to dry uiion. This is exixi.«ed till it is 
tlioroui;hly dry and the lilin then flukes off. . . . 
The price we could pay lor the dry juice 
would be about 5-. to 8-. Gd. jier lb We 
understand that the juice is taken from nil parts 
of the plant, principally from the sieui or trunk 
of the tree; if you lake it from the fruit you will 
have lo be careful to make your incisjiior.e in the 
latter just before the fruit is ripe. You need only 
make scratches as the juice is found between the 
skin and the pulp. None is obtainable from the 
fruit proper. We hardly think it worth your 
while to lake any trouble w it li this i)art otihe 
plant. Out of many fruits you will only be able 
to obtain but a few ounce-, whereas, from the 
trunk of the tree and other parts of the plant, 
you can obtain several pound-." 
Under the head of "Stock" we read: If there 
is any tropic il country where a cattle-breeding 
industry might be started with a good prospect 
of success it is Z iuzibar Tlie islands are not 
subject to serious droughts or ravaging etorins: 
there is good commanicatioii both with South- 
ern and Northern parts; communication which 
owinj; to competition is sure to iaiprove; lastly 
our insular position would, with projier precau- 
tions, always be an effective barrier against 
contagious epidemics. 
As regards agricultual labour we are told that 
women receive R6 per month, including food 
money, and men R8 and R9. Twelve months ago 
the wages were RIO and Ell, and they are still 
at this figure in the town. 
The rainfall for the year 1897 was t)7'03 in. 
as compared with the i^revious five years' average 
of 55-29 in. 
A REPORT ON " ORTHEZIA INSIGNIS." 
The severity of the ravages of Iceryci purcfiasi, 
the coccid insect commonly known in this country 
as "Australian Bug" and " Dorthesia," should 
tend to interest all fruit growers and gardeners in 
the discovery of an allied insect iu the suburbs of 
Cape Town. This new pest is a true Dorthesia, or 
