Sept. 1, 19dS.J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
175 
seriously affecting the rubber (i commerce, lb may 
be noted in this connection that there is now in 
practical use a substitute for gutta-percha, the 
invention of Mr. Geutzsch, of Vienna, concerning 
which great things are predicted. An English 
company has secured the patents for Great 
Britain and the Colonies, and this undertaking, 
with a capital of £2«ff,000, is, we are informed, 
actively preparing to manufacture the artificial 
product at its own factory near London, The 
Imperial German ?ost Office has adopted the 
" new gutta," as it is called, for the insulation of 
telegraph cables, while experts in this country 
are stated to have pronounced favourably upon the 
invention. It is claimed that the new article can 
be produced at about one-third of the cost of 
natural ^utta-percha, and that it does nob suffer 
from oxidation, thus making it specially valuable 
for insulating purposes, ana notably so for post- 
office work. As an insulator it may possibly 
displace Indiarubber, whether vulcanised or pure ; 
and it can be used for a variety of purposes, 
including belting. The " new gutta " bids fair to 
develop into an industry of considerable extent. 
It is being largely manufactured in Germany and 
Austria. — Westminster Gazette. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
SoJA Beans. 
The race of coffee substitute contrivers seem 
to thrive. We are told by the " Tea and Coffee 
Trade Journal," of New York, that a new indus- 
try in Meherrin, Va., among the German settlers, 
is the cultivation of soja beans, to be used in 
the place of coffee. Up to a few years ago this 
bean was unknown in that section, and since it 
has been substilutet'. for coffee its cultivation has 
largely increased. It is contended by those who 
have tri«d raising tlje beans that they sre un- 
surpassed for feed. The German says he would 
much rather have them to make his coffee than the 
Rio grain. A result is that the coffee trade among 
Germans has somewhat decreased, 
KUBBER IN THE FRENCH CONGO. 
Reference has been made in the Press to the 
reportejd discovery in the French Congo of a 
rubber-producing herb. It was found by a French 
botanist growing extensively in sandy places. 
Unlike other "rubber obtained from plants, trees, or 
vines, tffe rijbber in this case grows under ground. 
It is extracted from the roots. The herb is 
Landolphia thallonii. Specimens of the plant 
have been found, toig, in Lower Guinea and pfie 
Lower Congo, It is also thought that it thrives 
in JSorthern Nigeria. The rubber from this herb 
is said to be of ejxcellejit quality. One needs to 
know something more of the life history of the 
herb and the quality of the yield before definitely 
'expressing an opinion as to whether it is likely 
to be of much service, but experts are inclined 
to think favourably of it.—/?, and C Mail, 
June 19. 
TEE NEW ARTIFICIAL MA^NUEE 
'HALKSTICKSTOFF' 
Our Berlin correspondent writes ;— A few 
more particular concerning the new fertiliser 
' Kalkstickstoff,' which I lightly touched upon in 
afowner note may be welcome. As stated, nitro- 
gen, its all-impcrtant constituent, is drawn from 
the air, and, indeed, by an old process— namely 
by pa.ssing air over red-hot copper, wliereby 
copper oxide and free nitrogen result. At (irst 
the nitrogen was combined with calcium carbide 
to form the ' Kalkstickstoff,' or calcium cyanimide 
(calcium, carbon, and nitrogen), but at the sugges- 
tion of Dr G Erlwein the U9e of calcium carbide 
was avoided, and the nitrogen brought into com- 
bination with a mixture of coal and lime in an 
electric furnace. The resultant product is a black 
mass consisting of coal, quick-lime and from 10 to 
14 percent, nitrogen, all ready for use as a fertili- 
ser. Dr. Gerlach, of Posen, and Professor Wagner 
of Darmstadt, condneted a series of experiments 
with calcium cyanimide and found that its nitro- 
gen operated with much the same effectiveness 
as that of potassium nitrate, or saltpetre. One 
gramme of nitrogen in the form of ' Kalkstickstoff' 
per box of earth (5 to 10 kilos.) could be given 
to oats, barley, mustard, and poppies , a quantity 
exceeding that given practically. At the same 
time, it must be admitted that experiments in the 
open field did not yield the good results obtained 
from saltpetre. Still, considering the little 
experience with the new fertiliser, results on the 
whole were very satisfactory, and the problem 
of utilising air-nitrogen for agricultural purposes 
may be regarded as solved by the Gennan chemists. 
Sell's Intelligmcer. 
THE POSITION OF INDIAN GREEN TEA. 
One circumstance that has temporarily saved 
Japanese tea in the States from its fate in Canada 
is frankly admitted to be the abolition of the USA 
tea duty. So far from this having been a good 
stroke for British grown tea, it has proved the 
revers^ though from the nature of #he case, and 
the wrong use the Japanese tea exporters are turn- 
ing it to, the effect must be only temporary. The 
States people have been accustomed for years to a 
certain range of retail prices. At fcliese rates 
British-grown compared favourably and gave as 
good value at a lower price. With the removal of 
the duty retail prices naturally came down, and the 
position being easier for the consumer for the 
moment, the advantage is effaced. The dealers in 
the Japan trade have taken advantage of the 
relief to appropriate about half the amount of the 
tax, and tea prices have advanced from 20 to '25 per 
cent, for Japanese sorts. This they could do and 
still cheapen the article to the consumer, but as the 
latter gets accustomed to the low range and the 
novelty works off, the old state of things will be 
forgotten and British and Japanese will again 
come into competition on the old terms to the 
advantage of the former. The respite afforded by 
the taking off of the tax can indeed only last so 
long as the old conditions are remembered, and 
people's memories are short. India and Ceylon will 
not have to wait long before the temporary advan- 
tage gained by Japan disappears, and to lliis result 
the dealers have materially contributed by cutting 
down the benefit of the removed duty to the public 
oy 50 per cent. On the whofe, therefore, we may 
expect before long that the relations between black 
and green teas here will adjust themselves to a 
point when the added bonus of half-auna will place 
green ahead as contemplated by the Committee. 
Meanwhile improvement in manufacture will no 
doubt assist the movement. — Indian Plantiiig 
and Gardening^ July 4. 
