THK tropical agriculturist. |Oc'T, 1, 189ft. 
PLANTING IN JAMAICA. 
(From lie/iort Jamaica Af/riciiUnral Socktif.) 
ExPBiiiMR.NTAL Fakms. — These P«,rin-(, devoted to 
tlio ouiCiVcvtiori of Cjff ;e, Kola, Cjcoa, Nutmeg, and 
manv other niiuoi.' prodaoca, coulinuo ia operition, 
aad ' uatwithso'iiadi.ig the proU-.vctsd di-iught iiid 
other iidver.-.e circn nstanoea, the crops give cvidenca 
of good promise. V/iiiie this So.iety caun it, at this 
e(;\^v^, r. gard the -e Farra= r-:iiuuecativo or eveu 
KielF-Bupp'jrr.iiiiT ventures, thero is good reason for tlie 
belief, that their pruiray purpoio of itffordiug object 
leasons to the ueighbou'ifig peaei;ntry is being ful- 
filled, uoticeablo iiTipiovem.:nts haviug tak'^u place 
in the adjacent holaings, due, to a certain extent, to 
the more eiilightuued methods of tillage employed 
ou theae farms, 
Apicur-TUUE.— The iuteresting and remunerative 
nature of this occupation brings it daily into wider 
popnlarity. The flora of our isliud holds out ex- 
cellent inducementa to our people to engage iu beo 
culture, and this fact is being broug'it lo t'loir notice 
through the medium of the Journal. Already in the 
parishes, notably iu Manchester, Clareuaou, St. 
Catherine, and St. Anna, apiaries have been estab- 
lished with satisfactory results. Crude ideas have 
given place to the latest scientific knowledge on the 
subject. The Society has been approached on t'le 
question of employing a competent apiarist to deliver 
lectures on bee culture to the peasantry, and circum- 
Btances point to the development o£ a very important 
nduatry to the colony. 
Ramie Fibre. — The Society has interested itself in 
the question of Ramie cultivation in Jamaica. A 
machine for the (3eco..lic;aiuu of the Ramie Fibre, 
known as the " McDonald Boyle " Process, which 
appeared to fulfil the requisite conditions, was ex- 
hibited by Mr. L. Bernstein in Kingston, and was 
reported upon favourably by a committee appointed 
by the Society to inspect it. Effotts are being made 
to establish a company for the cultivation of this 
plant in the island, on au extensive scale, s!amples of 
the fibre haviug been pronounced by exports in England 
of exciHeut qua,lity. 
RuBBEii WiTUE. — In view of the reinuucrative prices 
of Rutb^.'i iu the American m tik>;ts and the fact of 
a quantity of rubber producing plants growing wild 
in the colony, a committee has been appointed for 
prosecuting enquiries into the possibility of develop, 
ing rubber industry, and a grant of M20 has been 
made for experimental purposes by the Society. Sm.iU 
samples of Jamaica Rubber have been submitted to 
the American market and are said to be of a desirable 
quality and investigations are being made in Jamaica 
concerning this product, by parties interested iu the 
rubber trade. 
GriNGER Experiments. — This product has received 
considerable attention at the hands of the Society 
during the past year. In the Christiana district, 
Mr. R. J. Miller, on behalf of the Society has very 
energetically carried out experiments ou exhausted 
ginger lands, with manures, with gratifying results, 
and ginger cultivation in this fertile district is being 
widely extended ou improved methods, due, in no little 
measure, lo the active operations of the Christiana 
Branch Society. Similar experiments have been con- 
ducted at Mannings Hill, in St. Andrew, and at Lamb's 
River in Westmoreland, by the respectiveBratlch Socie- 
ties, aiid in these excellent ginger-producing di tricls, 
there is a growing belief that the industry, conducted 
on proper lines, is likely to prove vei'y remunerative. 
The ijiitaitivc, tediOus and costly process of peeling 
ginger prompted the Society tj r.ddress communica- 
tioiTs to tho editor of '■Invention." England, and the 
editor of the "Scientific Ame. ican," pointing out the 
advantage- that might accrue to the inventor of a 
foachine for this purpose. In response to enquiries 
from Canada and the Straits, samples of uupeeled 
and peeled ginger have been forwarded, but so far no 
machine has yet s een devised. 
Tobacco. — Of all the industries which this Society 
is striving to encourage, perhaps, none deserves, at 
this juncture, to be brought into greater prominence 
than tobacco. With the Cuban product no longer in 
the market, the oppoitunities of Jamaica are moet 
hopeful, and the Society, recognizing this fact. h»e 
di-itributed large quantities of seed fur ixpeiimeute, 
iu .districts where favourable coudiiious tot its culti- 
vation ?re apparent. 
Analysis of Soils akd Manuuilb. — The Society hw 
lost nj opportunity ia urging upon ciiltiva.t.or«, the ns« 
of fertilizers for their crops. Satigfactory experi- 
ments have been carried out ou coffee landf, orange 
groves, gingjr plots and other cultivuiiouR, and there 
is reason to belii-ve that the valuable propcrtie* of 
the<<e chemical preparation*, are beiing exieu«ively 
recognized and in this couuectiou, the Bo&rd bM 
pleasure in reporting that aftt-r a "umewhal prolr*<;- 
it-d delay the hop« -il .teou iug ihc appoiiitiurut of and 
Agricultural ('hemiit it likely In bf realized. 
RAMIE IIHKE IN JAVA. 
An experiment is reporlod iu tlie Ja\a sind 
Straits papers villi a new r.mchiiie called the 
" Faiire " for the yueparation of rameli. It wae 
conducted on Tjitiap Estate near Huitenzoitf by 
Mr. du I'crron the Mian:i<rer, and it i^i contidently 
said to Imve been a complete KucceHs. .Mr. iJi-n- 
nett. Chief of tlie Ei>;;ineerui;; linn of Taylor 
and Law*on in Balavia, is ciedite<l willi the praise 
for this tiiuinph, for he introduced tlie machine 
into Java. 
The machine was driven by a Pelton wheel of 
35 h.p. The results euniniarised are ■.—'2 coidiea 
in 10 minutes can work 2o cuttiei* of stem. Thii 
yields U eattie vet librc from cultivated rameh. 
Parcels of ranieh were s-liow n : — 
(/^O — I^oi'K'i rameh fibre from the mucliine, after- 
Wards worked in water an<l dried in the f-un. 
{!,) — Kanieh soaked after wa^hinij foi nomehouis 
in a lye (meraiij;. water) bath of le »itrenf;th. 
(c) -Hameli after a lye bath of lio Uanieh 
after a lye bath of 'is. 
It appear.' j lainly from experiment tliat the 
(ibre lost .--trengtli from the lye bath but as the 
mannfactiirer does not require libre treated with 
lye. seeinj,' that this hinders the further handling 
(treasing) of it, the preparerneed not bother about 
this chemical process. 
The Faure machine answers entirely to what is 
required of it— the rameh fibre is prepared out of 
the .stalk. 
BAHMEEN FISHING IN CEYLON. 
K.G D.B. write.s to the (London) Field as follows 
fro 11 Slave Island In hopes that this may catch 
the eye of Col-inel O.-iborn, who writes on the 
above and on nair fisliin<r in "the Rod in India," 
I would venture to ask him if his remarks apply 
equally to Ceylon? At pa^e 211 he says that 
thick water and evening lishing are suitable for 
nair fishing. Here in Ceylon I have observed large 
fish in the estnary of the Kelani river, but directly 
the monsoon burst these fish cease to frequent the 
river. I had a try or two of them, bnt the fisher- 
men assured me it was useless after the burst 
of t!:e monsoon. Can Colonel Osborn, or any other 
gentleman who has hi'd experience of this fishing, 
kindiy inform me whether any Ls to be had during 
the monsoon, and in what loc.^iitifs ? Native 
fishermen heie do not help one much, and look 
with contempt on a rod and line. Should the fish 
oe spun for, or will it do to troll only ; and ia it 
of any use fishing until the nair are seen to be on 
the feed ? 
