370 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agricullurtst." 
[Nov. 1, 1898. 
should take the place of heavy shading, and (2) 
that " suckers " should not be removed iiidiscri- 
minntely if indeed removed at all. These recom- 
mendations are based on the grounds (1) tbattlie 
fungus which is the cause of the disease delights in 
damp surroundings, and (2) that suckers are little 
susceptible to fungus attack. Cacao planters 
have thus the ])reventive treatment for the canker 
prescribed for them, and they will we doubt 
not lose no time in thinning out their shade 
trees and observe a cautious reticence in inter- 
fering with the growth of sucker stems. Mr. 
Carruthers further draws attention to the fact that 
the common tree used as shade in cacao plan- 
tations — a species of Erythrina — is also liable to 
be attacked by the same fungus as causes the 
canker in the cultivated crop. Planters will, 
therefore, do well to pay due attention to this 
fact and take care to make their estates as un- 
inviting as possible to the pest. 
Another fact which must not be overlooked 
is the tendency on the part of one variety of 
cocao to resist the disease better than an- ther. 
Mr. Carruthers believes that the Forestero 
variety is less liable to contract, and better able 
to withstand the canker. This is a point of 
much practical importance to future growers- 
In -view of the fact that a damp condition 
is favourable to the parasite, we would add to 
the valuable suggestions offered by Mr. Carruthers, 
and advise that due attention should be given 
to the question of drainage which is so intimately 
connected with a damp or dry condition. 
We find in a quotation on the subject if plant 
diseases in the Agricultural Magazine last year 
that the writer lays special stress on the necessity 
for seeing to the proper drainage of lands as a 
preventative against fungus attack. In the cases 
of trees dead or dying from such cause, it is 
recommended that they should be destroyed by 
flre, even to the stump and main roots. 
Again, keep the place free from rotting and 
decaying timber. 
Disinfect with tar the wounds on trees, either 
those caused accidentally or by pruning. 
Cut away the wood from all "sore" places. 
Then : Look out that the drainage is good. This 
is a most i7)iportant precaution against tijnber- 
destroying fungi. Damp ill-drained plantations 
are their natural home. 
RHEA OR RAMIE FIBRE. 
The KeiD Bulletin for September contains a 
review of;the Ramie fibre question which con- 
tains much that is of interest to intending cul- 
tivators. 
As regards the different forms of the plant it is 
laid down pretty clearly that China grass is the 
Boehmeria nivea, easily recognised by the white 
underside of the leaves, and that Ratnie and Rhea 
apply to B. tenacissima which has the mature 
leaves green underneath : the former being the 
temperate and the latter the tropical form of the 
plant. 
In planting it Avould seem that 12 inches apart 
and 18 inches between the rows is the best distance 
on fair land, but on strong land 18 in. to 2 ft. are 
recommended. 
Mr. Dodge, the fibre expert of the United Slates 
Department of Agriculture, gives the following 
figures as regards yield: 2 cuttings of the second 
year's growth should give 20 tons of green stalks 
wi'h leave-, each ton of wliicli 46^ lb. of clean, 
dry ribbons or raw fibre, giving 26 lb. of degum- 
med fibre. We have, therefore, a return per acre 
from two cuttings equal to 930 lb. of clean ribbons 
and 500 lb. of deguuimed fibre or ftlasse. 
Other results are also given, but as tlie Kexo 
Bulletin remarks, the field of clean dry ribbons per 
acre on a large area with 2 or 3 cuttings will 
average 900 to 1,000 lb. per acre. 
After toucliing on the various contrivances for 
decorticating the fibre, the Kew Bulletin siiys : — 
The plants can be grown willi the greatest care, 
but when the problem of treatment is solved the 
supply of the raw material will be limited to 
warm countries. The cultivation of China grass 
in temperate climates will never be able to compete 
successfully with that of Ramie (or perhaps of 
Cliina grass) in the iropic?. . . The wliole 
question turns on the question of ribbons. We 
are still waiting for a decorticator tlial will not 
merely turn out ribbons fit for further manufactur- 
ingprocesses — thatlms beeiiaccomplished — but will 
turn out, say, half a ton a day at small cost. Till 
this has been found, the planter cannot profitably 
dejil with the crop, and the degumming processes 
now almost entirelj' dependent on hand cleaned 
fiber from China are paralysed for want of a 
supply which will allow the finished product 
to compete witii other fibres. 
The ribbons must be susceptible of bping de- 
livered to the degumming factories at a cost not 
exceeding £.1 to £9 per ton. This would pay the 
planter if he had a decorticator which would 
enable him to prepare the ribbons at a cost 
tiiat would leave a profit. At present he cannot 
produce ribbons under £12 to £14 per ton, 
[A practical point which is worth settling by 
actual experiment is whether with the clean labour 
iu Ceylon the ribbons cannot be got by hand- 
cleaning, as in Ciiina, at a price per ton that will 
leave a fair margin of profit to the grower. The 
price per ton now offered is rather more than £7 
to £9 given by the Kew Bulletin. — Ed. A.M.^j 
MORE ABOUT KEKUNA (ALEURITES 
TRILOBA). 
Mr. J. T- de Silva, Agricultural Instructor, Maha- 
walatenne, who is working on the property of 
the well-known Ratamahatmeya of that name, 
writes with regard to kekuna, that besides being 
used for producing oil for lighting, the kernel is 
sometimes substituted by the villagers for coconut 
in their curries. The pericarp is, as is well-known, 
much liked by pigs, so that there would seem to 
be a probability of the fruits of the tree being 
useful as food both for man and beast. 
Referring to Dr. Watt's Dictionarj'^ of • Economic 
Produce of India, we find that high authority 
stating that the cake, after expression of the oil is 
a good food for cattle and useful as a manure, so 
that this "poonac" as it would be locally called 
should enter the lists with other oil cakes such 
as coconut, gingellj' (sesamum) and groundnut 
(arachis) if the extraction of oil comes to be carried 
on on a large scale, 
