Jan. i?, 1899 1 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
509 
USBPUIi NOTES. 
San Josk Scale —This is, says Dr. Fletcher, the 
well-known entomologist, the most serious pest that 
has ever occurred in Can a'iian orchards. We Men- 
tion this, asi th -re is a tend^r-ncy to minimise ttia 
dangers that miy arise from the iubroductioQ of 
this scale. If it bieeds so freely in Canada, it may 
do so here. Foitunately, so far as we know, it has 
not appoared here iu a living Bta.te.—Garde7ie)-s' 
Chronicle. 
Do NOT ALLOW Fkrtilizbus to come in direct^ 
contact with the seed of any crop. This caution is 
constantly urged iu fertilizing pamphlets and other- 
wise, but most of us fail to properly heed it. Cire- 
ful and Bcieutilio tests have shewn that " atcraonia 
nitrate of soda, chlorate and sulphate of potash and 
ammoniated superphosphates exert an injurious effect 
upon the germination of seed in general." But this 
can be wholly avoided by mixii;g the fertilizer with 
the soil. — American Agriculturist. 
PineApplf, Fibhe.— We see from Agricultural Ledger 
1898, No. 11. that the cultivation of pineapple as a 
fibre-producing p'aat has been taken up by the Hori. 
Mr. J. Buckingham, c.i.e., at Ainguri, Assam. Speci- 
mens of fibre "prepared by him have been sent to 
the Imperial Institute, and reported well of. The 
fibre is said to nearly resemble flax and to be suit- 
able for spinning into line twine, and if properly 
softened, for te.xtile purposes. Its value is set 
down as from £20 to £-23 per ton. Wo are not 
told how the fibre has heou prepared from the 
leaf. — Indian Forester. 
The Gac-Vo Thee has a very good proportion of 
Phosphoriu Acid, distribufed through the tree with 
a concentration of it iu the seed. Any dtfinency 
in this constituent in the soil will, therefore affect 
more the fruit bearing power of the tree. All parts 
of the Cacao tree are rich in Potash with concen- 
tration in pods and seeds. Lime is the predominant 
constituent in roit, stem, branch and leaves and 
magnesia is distributed in consi 'erable propoctioQ 
through all parts with oonoentralion in the seed. 
A soil, therefore, deficient in Potash, Lime or Mag- 
nesia IS likely to produce sickly trees and such 
are usually less able to resist parasitic blights 
even if a sickly condition does not induce an attack. 
— Jamaica Agricultural Society. 
The Olive Crop in Spain.— The accounts received 
as to the baleful effects of the recent inundations 
in the provinces of Grenada and Sevilleare very serious. 
Not only does there appear to have been a great 
loss of farm stock and of human life, but we aro 
told that the Olive crop has been nearly or quite 
destroyed.— The waters seem to have risen to the 
height of the Olive-trees, and swept away the fruit. 
This must prove a great c'll'inity, especially as 
things now are in spain; and it is to be hoped that 
the services of the civil engineer and of the forester 
may be called in. so that a recurrence of such 
a catastrophe as that recorded may be rendered, as 
far as may be, impossible in the future.— (?arf?c/ier3' 
Chronicle. 
Lady Gardeneks are making headway in England. 
The first woman to take sole charge of a garden on 
exactly the same terms as a man is Miss Gulvin, 
who left Kew Gardens in January of last year to 
take charge of the garden of Mr. J. Brogden, Iscoed 
Ferryside, S. Wales. Her success has been great ; 
and clever as she is, many are surprised that one so 
young sheuld have conquered all the diiriculties of a 
first-rate situation which was not of thoapple-pie order. 
The charge includes four vineries, orchard-house, and 
cucumber frames, with flower and fruit girdcns, and 
five acres of kitchen garden. Miss Gulvin has a lady 
gardener as an assistaut and tour men besides. Her 
staff is now quite contented to be controlled by one of 
the weaker sex, and her situation is quite an agreeable 
pBO,— i'ii/iii'i A'jricuUuriit, 
The Cultivation or the Banana is assuming 
large dimensions (for South Africa) between the 
Gouubie and Hex Rivers, South African Republic. 
One family of Scotch fanners alone has 100 acr«a 
under cnitivation, and many Scotch and German 
farmers cultivate from one to ten acres. — Jamaica 
Agricultural iSucictij. 
Persimmons. — This tropical fruit is getting com- 
moner in our markets than was the case a few years 
ago. Numbers of weli-devolopsd fruits of the size 
of an ordinary St. Michael Orange, but rather flatter 
at the top and bottom, were this week remarked in 
several fruiterers' shops in Govent Garden Market 
in a statft fit for immediate consumption. Now that 
it is known that, like the fruits of the Medlar and 
Sorbus domestica, it ha? to be ripened (bletted), 
and the consumption of it not attempted in the very 
inviting brilliant red dress of maturity, people will 
acquire a liking for Persimmons. The fruit now 
imported come from the Canary Islands, the culti- 
vation of the tree having been taken up by the 
natives. We hope soon to hear of consignments 
from some of the West India Islands. — Gardener)' 
Chronicle. 
A Liquid Fertiliser for Chrysanthemums. — The 
following preparation after a formula given by Pro- 
fessor Paul Wagner, director of the German Ex- 
periment Station at Darmstadt is recommended in 
the special Chrysanthemum number of the American 
Flori.';/:, by a writer who has used it with satisfactory 
results during three seasons. It is called Wagner's 
Solution, and is prepared as follows ; — 
Phosphate of ammonia, 2 oz. 
Nitrate of soda, Ij oz. 
Nitr.'i.te of Potash, IJ oz. 
Sulphate of ammonia, IJ gz- 
Water, .50 gallons. 
The cost of the ingredients is very small, and the 
preparaci'in, says the writer, is an excellent liquid 
fertiliser for other plants are well as Chrysanthemums. 
—Ibid. 
Inquiries are sometimes made aa to the 
likelihood of Northern Queensland and of New 
Guinea being able to grow rubber trees at a profit. 
But, judging from latest reports received from 
South America, the probabilities are small indeed of 
Australasia or neighloouring country being able to 
compete with the native production in the Amazon 
districts of Bolivia and Peru. Mr. Churchill, the 
British Consul at Para, says that the total quantity 
of rubber shipped in 1896 from the valley of the 
Amazon amounted to 20,981 tons, valued at nearly 
3i millions sterling. The supply is regarded by com- 
petent authorities as inexhaustible, because the tree 
is being continually reproduced by nature. Some areas 
have become exhausted, but when abandoned for a 
time they recover, and many districts have not been 
tapped at all. The area, producing Para rubber 
amounts to a million square miles and further ex- 
ploration will probably show that this is under- 
estimated. — Indian Agriculturist. 
Clean Wood Ashes are better than all the con- 
dition powders for the farm horses. In fact, many 
of the so-called powders are composed chiefly of 
salt and wood ashes, mixed with probably something 
else of minor importance. This being the case I 
find it much cheaper and easier to administer the 
wood ashes direct. The ashes can be given to the 
horses twice a week in their oats at the rate of 
even teaspoonful each time. If given carefully and 
regularly I believe that no other miedicine will have 
to be given to horses that are farly treated and 
cared for. Every one familiar at all with farm 
matters must have observeda certain habit in many 
hDrses and cows to gnaw wooden posts, trees »cd 
similar objects. This craving tor something whicli 
they do not get from their daily food is satisfied 
when wood ashes are administered regularly to 
t leui. it is just as natural for the rnima'.s to desire 
tills ai it is for us to have a craving for acids, 
Silt i'ul oven pepper, — Indian Farmer, 
