THE TROPICAL AGRlCULTCRlST. 
[Mav ), 1899. 
been raised, the committee is of opinion that ii 
ehould not be allowed to drop until tborouglily iu- 
veBtigated. 
It is highly probable that conditions of season 
have a great influence on diseases of the nature above 
discussed, and that given more favourable conditions, 
no more will be heard next year of '' Cacao disease ' ; 
but bearing in mind that prevention is better than 
cure, the Cocao planter will do well to put himself in 
the positioD of the prudent houaehoMer, who when 
rumours of fever are in the air, looks to his sanitary 
arrangements and sees that nis surroundings are 
kept sweet and clean. 
A. P. Marryat, Chairman. 
F. Caemody, f.i.c , F.C.8., Govt. 
Analyst. 
J. H. HAiiT. 
P.S. — It will materially assist the committee if 
members whose crops during the past three months 
have suffered from " black pods," will put 
in writing their experiencp, coupled with sngcestions, 
and forward them to the Secretary Mr. E. Tripp. 
THE CULTIVATION OF COCONUT TREES 
AT ZANZIBAR. 
REMARKABLE YIELD OF NUTS AT 
MANGAPWANL 
Mr. .1. T. Last, f.r.c.s., of .Mangapwani, Commis- 
sioner of Slavery, reports, that from coconut trees 
he is getting 7,250 nuts at one githering ; an average 
of 29 nuts, which at 4 gatherings a year gives an an- 
nual jield of over 80 nuts per tree. Twelvemonths 
ago these trees gave about 2,300 at a gatliering, which 
is less than 30 nuts per tree per yf ar. What is more 
remarkable is that from one tree he got 10(1 nuts (at 
one picking) ; from another 100 nuts ; from two others 
91 each, and that from 7 trees he obtained Cl4 nuts 
at one gathering, an average of 92 nuts per tree in 
H months. This has occurred during an exception- 
ally dry season. Mr. Last ottributes these yields to 
the fact of his having dug the ground round each 
tree to a radius of 6 feet from the Ftem, increasing 
the distance a little each time over, leaving a shallow 
trench at the circumference to catch the water. We 
cannot offer the planters of Zanzibar better advice 
than to go and do likewise. Let us figure out the 
money value of this increase. The increase, re- 
presented by the difference between 2,300 and 7,250 
18 (roughly) 5,000 nuts which at R22 per 1,000 is worth 
RllO, equal to R410 per annum. Some allowance 
should perhaps be made for the fact that the 
September crop is usually a much traaller one, 
though on the other hand the coming March or 
April gathering is as a rule large, when the 
Mangapwani trees may be expected to yield 9,000 
nuts. The cost of cultivating the trees (dig- 
ging, not merely weeding) is insignificant. Two 
men working together will do 20 trees per 
diem, which at 20 pice each man comes to 2 pice per 
tree. Give them 2 pice per tree and they would pro- 
bably do more than 20 trees. At less than 1 pice 
each the trees can be mulched with grass to keep 
the sun off the newly upturned soil and check the 
evapora*.ion of moisture : — Say 3 pice a tree alto- 
gether. If the trees are gone over twice a year the 
annual cost comes to 6 pice ; that is about B33 for 
350 trees, leaving a net profit of about E407, or nearly 
Kli per tree. 
Digging round the trees aerates the soil, increases 
its capillary attraction, and promotes nitrification. 
It is the same thing as stoking the fire which burns 
brighter as fresh particles are exposed to the air. 
The manufactiivp nr 'burning' of plR-nt food in the 
B )il cannot proceed without air any more than the fire 
can burn wniioui a uraught. 
A correspondent of the Tropical AgriculUiHst wrote 
as follows in April of last year : — 
This short paragraph contains much that 
is worth reflecting npon. The pendant 
branches, as they clasp the trunk, are another 
of natures's provisions for protecting the tree 
from the baneful effects of the eun. In one respect 
we have the advantnpe of the writer in ihatwehave 
plenty of weeds available fer litter. The Zanzibar 
planters cannot be said to be victims of fe-thetic 
prejudices in the matter ol weeds. JJat of cattle 
manure there is little or none though msny csrt- 
loads of horse niatinre from the town stables »re 
daily emptied into the sc-a. Goat manure is more 
plentiful P.nd equally good, while at Latham island 
there are large depocits of guano thst o«nld be 
utilized. Lime, again, is a valuable mannrial in- 
gredient. Dr. J. Augustus Voiiker. oon6!iltii,g chemist 
to theKoyal Agricultural Society of Knglsiid to whom 
samples cf Zanzibar soils were fcnbmitted for i;n»lytis 
wioie of Lijie (see the annnsl Jt»-p..rt of the Airri- 
cultural Department, 1897):— ' I sm <juite certain that 
value of L:meon the laud has beei) nnderrau-d. and 
that in many cases it will te fouud to give »nluable 
results." Dime and guano must however he iioed 
cantioiisly, as they would injure the tr<'<B if tfto 
liberally applied.— .Tan. and Feb 
MIL E. ]•:. (;j{EEN, IIONOJIARV KNT^MO- 
LOCJIST. 
Tlii.s Kt^ntlenian \\\\\ he imidi uii^wd cxcn 
(liii iiig tlic five or six iuoiilli>i' nL.sf luc fif.m 
llic Lslaiid. uhirli is to limit hi), holiday. 
-Mr. (irf'P)i has .sfi coniiilpt^lv idt^nti- 
fifd himself with ihe inl^'ivftts «if )iroth(-r 
nlantcr.'i and he sf> wfll comhiups sfientifir 
kno\vU'dK<' with prat tiral (>xppripnce tlial he 
15 the hrnu ideal of a sricntiKt-idantcr ; 
while in his own speeial department of 
Entomology, Mr. (Jreen'H allaininents .n-e 
aeknowledged all over the world. Theif 
never, in our opini<m, was a more loHunat*' 
apnoinlnient for 1 he Colony— for the ajfi i- 
cultnral intere.'il.s of t he natives as well as of 
ihe European iil.intei-s-than that of Mr. E. E. 
Green as JHonoraiy Entomolof,'ist."" 
It i.s very interest'iiig to learn that after 
all, the consif,'nmeiit of hwly-hii-d beetles 
which the Eiitoniolof,nst at Cape ("olny 
.sent by letter-post (in a higfrish cahe!) was 
not altogether ii.sele.ss. ]\Ir. Green found in 
the mo.ss three or four lieetles and a 
couple of hirro- alive and two Ix-etles and 
one larva continued to floui ish under his care— 
the chief food being the "green btig,"' though 
aphes generally M ill do— until now t here :nv 
16 lady birds and several larva' which Mr. 
Green is leaving in the well-qualified and 
interested care of Mr. Jowitt of Haputale 
until his return. We trust that before the 
end of the year a regular campaing against 
the enemies (gieen bug chiefiv) of the little 
coflfee left to us, may lie opened. 
Mr. Green has tried in vain so far to find a 
remedy for.— or efficient enemy to.— 'Lan- 
tana bug" which has developed so much 
of late and which ought to be checked, 
lest imknowu evils arise. He thinks that 
probably the latest introduction by Mr. 
Kceble, which has proved so effective against 
"fluted scale" in oranges, might do. This 
has now been introduced into Portugal; 
and we would m'ge that, on his way back, 
Mr. Green should be commissioned liy Gov- 
ernment to visit Portugal and secure a 
consignment for Ceylon. Of even more 
practical importance 'with reference to the 
futm-e of Mr. Green's work in Ceylon 
would be a brief visit to the United States 
—the country, before all others, in which 
the application of science to agi-iculttu-e in 
all departments, is studied and utilised. We 
