422 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1898 
and dear. Prices have been going down gradually 
for a year to about twenty-five per cent, having 
fallen from 7r>f to 55f net per ki!o ; for first quality, 
18c. From 8f to 12f per kilo has been paid at Uoui bon 
for green btans, which ia exactly the parity of the 
net quotfttioiis in Europe, which proves the confi- 
dence of importers in the future of this article. — 
Chemist and JJrvyrjisI, Oct. 8. 
STRAWBERRY GKOWING IN INDL\. 
A small fortune awaits the man who raises a firnt- 
class strawberry. Vigour, qiutlity, fertility and Buit- 
ablity of the plant to stand our climate must be quali- 
ties all combined if possible. To produce a etanberry 
suitable for any soil or part of India is not to be 
expected, but an ideal kind fit for general cultivation 
may be the reward of tlie patient painstaking propa- 
f^ator anxious to raise the standard of this all popular 
fruit. 
The raising of strawberiy plants from seed is a 
simple uiidertakine-. The fruit from which the seeds 
are to be obtained should betlie very finest, both in size, 
flavour and coiour,-.i,nd it should also be dead-ripe when 
gathered. It may either be ci-uahed in water and the 
seeds removed from the pulp, or tlie berries may 
be spread out upon stiff paper and allowed to dry 
gradually. 
The small seeds may germinate in the open ground, 
but it is better to sow under glass inpan» or boxns, and 
if a gentle bottom lieat can hi afforded so much the 
better. 
The soil should be litrht and rich, and the seeds only 
barely covered : partial shading is necessary and the 
soil must never be allowed to get dry. The seeds 
germinate irregularly, but many young plants will 
show themselves in two or thiee weeks. Plenty of air 
will be needed as the plants develop ; when the second 
or third leaf has appeared, the tiny plants may be 
transplanted into small pots or into a sheltered bed 
made of good rich soil. Tlie following season the 
plants should be set out in:o ordmary beds when the 
majority of them may be expected to bloom and 
fruit. 
Those plants which promise well as regards fteeness 
of fruit and flavour should be marked and reserved for 
further trial while a large number may be at once des- 
troyed, or if space is no object, they may be left for 
another year. 
But to obtain the best results careful selection aud 
hybridisation are necessary. The plants to be operated 
upon should be apart ftom all others, set out three or 
four of the best pistillate or female plants, together 
with the number of the slaminate or male plants. Just 
before the plants expand their blossoms place over 
them a piece of fine-network, so that all bees and flies 
be kept outside, this can easily be kept in place by 
means of a few light laths. When in flower, on a hot 
and dry day, lift the net, aud with a fan or othev irate- 
rial, fan the pollen from the male to the female plants. 
This should be done several riays in succession. Tlien 
select the finest fruits fjr their seeds. It should be 
mentioned that all runners should be removed from 
the seedling plants uutil they have fruiied. — ladiaii 
Gardening. 
. ^ 
COFFEE PLANTING ; COCONUTS ; 
(AND RUBBER) IN NEW GUINEA: 
Great Encouragement to Planters with 
Capital.' 
The re))resentative of a leailing Australian firm 
in or.leringour monthly periodical anil n supply of 
planting; manuals, affords as the following inter- 
esting infoi ination on the above snliject : — 
" Coffee p'.antiut' is at last being undertaken in earn- 
est here as we are forming a plantatipn on the Astiolobe 
Mountains about 20 miles from Poit Moresby, at au 
altiiade of 2,500 feet, where we hope to put about 30 
acres under trees iu February. The Hon D. Ballmi- 
tineis also starting a plawtatiou a little ftirtber inland 
at Sogeri, and oihers are talking of taking up laud for 
tlieBame purpose. The coffee and tea aireHdy planted 
out are looking splendid, as also the young plantei ui the 
nurseries. Libcrian and Ara' ian coffee has already 
been planted in siveral dittiicts. aud is everywhere 
doing well, but so far tho Arabian variety has been 
neglected. On the Astrolobe we intend to jjlaut the 
latter kind only. 
'■ It is Strang.; that none of your planter-capitaliEta 
have paid us a visit so far. 'They could have any kind 
of soil or climate, and the pick of'the country Kl'i G per 
acre, whilst our Government is couteraplating the 
giving of block* of land free of charge to boiui Jide 
Battlers. 
•' Rubber is fouud nearly everywhere; niaki and 
kindred trees on the low country, nod vine rubber on the 
ranges. Prices in London up to 2, U per lb. 
" Coconuts started bearing when three years old at 
Mekeo aud other plncea. Writer aud partner, Mr. 
Anderson, have 17,000 or more at Uedele, many of 
which started bearing when a little over three years 
old. We have good land on coast with »'.) jears' leas^ 
of loreshore, spl'.udid shipping point, — cost only 2 tj 
per acre." 
THE FLORIDA VELVET BEAN. 
Mr. Dricberg writes from the School of Agricul- 
ture :— " I send some Florid.i beans of) niy creeper, 
on which there are 6>ome l.umlreiU of fruits' . 
The.se arc tiie largest we have seen. 
A r(!:ident of Slave Island writes to u.s as 
follows: — " I lia<l half-a-dozen seeds given nie some 
time lowards the end of July, and was successful 
with foui- of them which have developed into 
fine healthy creepers, covered with a mass of 
beans." 
Mr. J. Medley Wood, curatorof tin; Natal Botanic 
Gardens rejiorts as lollows :— '• Tlie .seeds of the 
' Florida Velvet Bean,' which I obtained from 
England, have been all distributed, and those 
planted here are above the groumi. but many 
of the plants have been destroyod bj' insects, 'i'iie 
plant turns out to be ' Mncnna pruriens vaiiety 
utilis,' and is not by any means a new plant, 
but I fpar that it lias been somewhat overrated." - 
yitlrtl Mrrcwy. 
Frequ. : nt retereneeis made in our exchanges (says 
Planters Monthhf) to the ' Florida Velvet Beair' 
as a fertilizing crop, ora« food for animals. Analy- 
sis shows thit it contains o4 |)er cent of nitro- 
gen and '2 J per cent of crude protein. When 
planted in drill rows four feet ai art, it will pro- 
duce a solid m.ass ot vine an 1 foliage tln ee teet 
deep. It conniences to fruit at the lull in clus- 
ters like the raisin grape, thence along the en- 
tire length of the vines at intervals of lOin. to 
•20in. iiocis in clusters of from cwo to twenty 
appear. Therefore the fruitage must be inrnense. 
For twenty years this bean has had a home in 
Florida, and has been known among the people 
as '• the climber." In good rich soil it will climb 
51ft. to 60ft., blooming and fruiting all the way 
up, — a most beautiful and lovely sight to look 
upon. To plant an acre takes sixteen quarts of 
seed ; to plane an acre in rows 4ft. apart each 
way about twelve quarts. In good soil this acre 
\yili produce four to five tons of green forage, ami 
fifteen to seventeen hundred pounds of beans. As 
a fertilizer, it is one of the best known. 
