Dec. 1, 1898.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUmST. 
407 
Byringing is of service in checking the first attack 
of some pests, but that on a large scale it is im- 
practicable. 
On the subject of tea fertilisers, due p-rommence 
is given to the effect of Symbiosis ia making atmos- 
pheric nitrogen available to the roots. The Legumi- 
nosse are divided into three subdivisiens, Papiliou- 
aoeas, Mimosese and CaesalpinieoB, according _ as 
roughly, the flower resembles tlie Pea, or the Babul, 
or is irregular like the Qulmohr. The two former of 
these sulJdivisiona alone are known to possess the 
root-nodules which are the results and visible evi- 
dence Symbiosis. A few other trees, such as Alder 
and Ehrarinus Ilortensis possess the same power. As 
Symbiosis involves the work of a Microbe or Bacterium, 
a gelatine cultivation or vaccine has been made for 
the purpose of propagating it. This is called Nitragm, 
and has only to be diluted and mixed with the soil. 
Unfortunately for its utility in this country, it has 
to be kept in the dark and at temperature not above 
that of the human body. The natural method of 
inoculating a poor soil would bs to scatter over it a 
considerable quantity of soil known to be rich in the 
Bacteria, or to flood it with water drained from such 
soil. Dr. Watt's method is to divide a 500 acre estate 
into 5 or 10 plots, each in turn to be sown with 
Phaseolm aconit if alius, or other Leguminous crop; 
after the legume is ripe, tlie green stems are hoed in, 
and left till complete decomposition has taken place. 
The soil will then be highly charged with Bacteria, 
and by scattering it in handsful all over the estate 
the soil becomes inoculated. Tea produces no nodules 
but it certainly benefits by the presence of plants 
that do. The favorite trees generally grown as tea 
protectors are " sau " Alhizzia stipulata, and " Sissoo," 
Dalhcrqia Sissoo. Dr. Watt protests that a good deal 
of harm is done by excessive hoeing. He thinks 
that weeds are not always harmful, and suggests that 
a lot of good might be done by riding estates of 
useless CompositSB, &c., and replacing them by 
Leguminous weeds, which could be hoed in with 
great profit. The practice of burying prnnings meets 
with strong condemnation, as the surest way of pro- 
pagating blight and many other pests that ought to 
be burnt once. 
Some idea of the ravages of these pests may be 
formed from the fact that the "caterpillar," Andraca 
hipunctrita belonging to the BombycidiB, and some- 
times called ihe "brown ' or "bunch" caterpillar, 
costs an estate El,500 in six months for the labour 
of coolies who collected no less that 69.j maunds. In 
another case 8 to 10 maunds have been collected 
daily. Another hairy caterpillar, probably belonging 
to the Arctiidie, furnished a daily yield of 50 maunds, 
without making any visible impression on the stock. 
The Psychiilse, Bag-worms and Faggol-worms, are 
not very dangerous if a sharp eye is kept on them, 
and anv tendency to multiply nipped in the bud. 
But they are r.ather insidious, as a few apparently old 
abiudoned grub-cases may suddenly burst forth into 
crowds of hungry little caterpillars, and the bite of 
some of them is supposed to act like a poison on the 
tea plant. The most curious of this cnrious family is 
perhaps the limpet caterpillar. Acanthopsijche Heidi, 
which is about an inch long, in shape like a cow's horn 
with a flat sucker attached over the open end. It puts 
the sucker down on to a leaf, and sucks out a spot 
every 5 minutes. When the leaves are gone the 
bark is attacked. There may be a score or more 
on every leaf, so that the unfortunate tea bush ap- 
jiears to have developed a formidable crop of thorns. 
psyche assamica is a similar species, of tendencies 
as bad or worse. The Coa=iidaj are represented among 
the pests by Zeuzera Coffta; the red Borer. The 
female moth has a long hard ovipositor with which 
she deposits eggs in the crevices of the bark. The 
young "caterpillar gnaws into the small shoots and 
works down into the roots, eating out the pith and 
BurraundiiJg wood. The Limacodidao Have the genera 
Thosrii, I'urasa, and HiUjipa, with caterpillars pro- 
tected by a formidable ' chuveux do frise ' of stinging 
haii-3 or spikes. The Lymantridaj are also hairy 
stinging caterpillars, and utilise their cast-ofl" coat to 
protect the cocoon. Both these families are noxious, 
not only by eating tha plant, but by sometimes even 
laming the coolies. The tea Noctuidse, like the bunch 
caterpillar, feed at, night, but the former grub hides 
undergound in the day timo, preferably in nursery 
beds whence it can sally out, cut off the tops and 
branches of a dozen seedlings, which it only eats 
the succulent bases of, and retire to its burrow, 
leaving the clean-out twigs only, as evidence of its 
work. It must ba sought carefull}', an inch below 
the surface, and sometimes puts up a name-plate in 
the shape of a leaf hilf drawn down a hole. The 
Oocoon 13 a ball of earth. One way of catching the 
pest is to make conical holes with smooth sides, by 
rotating a pointed post in the soil. Into these they 
fall and fail to gai out. The leaf-rollers and leaf- 
tiers are loopers belonging to the genera Tortricidaa 
and Tineidas. Generally, an egg is laid on the un- 
derside of a leaf, the grub emerging, first burrows, in 
a sinuous course between the upper and lower skins. 
It then emerges and proceeds tn roll the leaf mora 
or less, in accordance with the habits of the species. 
The Sandwich caterpillar is a disagreeable creature. 
It simply makes a flat sandwich of several leaves, 
eats o'lt the middle, leaves its droppings inside, and 
goes off to make another sandwich while the old one 
rots. The Chrysalis is unusually agile, being able 
to jump. The life-history of //eZo;)e/<rs T/ietVorct called 
tea-bug, blight, greenfly or as Dr. Watt calls it, tea 
mosquito, a creature of the Bhyiichota class, and 
the most serious of all the tea pests* is of exceeding 
interest, but too long to extract. 
The Coleoptera are not very numerous, First 
come the Melolonthidae, with the white grub, or 
larva of the Cockchafer, Lachaosterna impressa which 
leaves on roots. Next the orange beetle, Diapromorpha 
melamopus, of which 20,000 have been caught in a 
day, and 300 by one man in an hour; also the 
green beetle, Asteyus dirysochlorus, and other defolia- 
tors. Finally the wood-borers, Xyleborus fornicatus, 
Curcitlio tanymecus, perhaps Orioceris impressa and 
Oi'des 6i'pt()!c/afre, and probably at least one longicorn. 
On the question whether white ants do, or do not, 
attack living plants, there are various opinions. 
The truth seems to be that the common kind does 
not attack perfectly healthy and sound ones, but if 
an otherwise vigorous tree has been pruned, or had 
its armour of bark injured s'j that dead wood is 
formed the termite will eat the dead, and cause tha 
death to spread, following it up till the tree is a ruin. 
But there are other species of white ant that will 
attack and kill the healthiest of seedlings. 
The questions of pruning, of watering, drainage, of 
of culture, of seed production, of growth and nutri- 
tion, of vegetable foes, &c., are well discussed, and 
altogether, the book is one that cannot fail to be of 
interest and service to every planter, and to many 
who are not planters., F. Gleadow. 
— Indian Forester. 

TEA IN SOUTH CAEOLINA AND 
IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
Simultaneously, accounts reach us of the re- 
sults of tea-growing in South Carolina ami in Natal, 
see our Tropical Agriculturist. The fornier.is written 
of as a great success, altliougli the inference is based 
on only 1,000 bushes or so, in a garden here and 
there, ami on crops of a few hundred h. It will be 
time enongli to treat the enteiprise seriously in 
America when we hear of 100,000 bushes or over 
growing iii a garden in South Carolina and of 
labour bdng available at a paying rate, to over- 
take the plucking of ilnsli from such a garden. 
We very much doubt whether this can be 
achieved in a land where the lowest labour |>riee 
for an adult is a dollar per day, more especi- 
ally if the war duty on tea is abolished iis it 
ought to be. 
