Jan. 1, 1904.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTUPJST; 
477 
their support of this new enterprise which io being so 
extensively developed throughout the G-erman sphere 
of influence in Africa. Attention in Germany has 
been drawn to the fact that the Btitish Uotton-Growiug 
Association intends to raise its capital from i'5U,000 
to £100,000. Moreover, it is noted that the expenses 
of the cotton experts in the employ of the association 
are borne by the individual Colonies in which they are 
engaged. IJelgium also is said to be on the point of 
introducing the cultivation of cotton into the Congo 
State, while the exoelleuce of the cotton grown in 
Cuba and the still grea.ter possibilities of the Island in 
this respect have already attracted German attention 
to this new rival. The object of the Colonial saholar- 
shipg of the Bsrliu Society for the development of 
Colonial agriculture, which I mentioned in my despatch 
of November 17, is to qualify young German farmers 
to become cotton-inspectors in the German colonies 
by a 21 months' course of stndy in the cotton States 
of America. This step is said to be due to the 
initiative of the German consul at the great cotton 
port of Galveston, under whose supervision the new 
Btndents will be placed. — London Times, Nov 25. 
COCONUT LEAF DISEASE. 
IN CEYLON AND PORTUGUESE WEST AFEICA, 
Writing to us from Quilimane, Portugese West 
Africa, a correspondent asks for information 
regarding the Coconut Leaf Disease. In Quilimane, 
he says, the disease attacks the leaves, which 
become discoloured and dried, without there being 
any insect pest or any visible disease present. 
The disease quickly spreads from tree to tree 
until a whole plantation is destroyed. In Quili- 
mane the only remedy known is the total des- 
truction of the diseased tree in an early stage ot 
the disease by cutting down and burning. Our 
correspondent suggests it may be the coconut 
disease of the West Indies — the Pcstallozia. 
We have submitted our correspondent's lettei 
to Mr, J B Carruthers, the Government Myco- 
logist, and he has favoured us with the following 
remarks. Mr. Carruthers says ; — "We have a leaf 
disease of the coconut in Ceylon due to a fungus 
which is a Pestallozia, the species of which lam 
not yet sure of. Pestallozia is the name of a 
group of fungi which are only stages in the life 
of some other fungus, so that when more know- 
ledge is gained of the fungus it is placed in its 
proper place in the fungus tiora and gets a new 
name. The disease of the coconut leaf is one 
which I have in my agenda list — which unfortu- 
nately gets longer — as one of the things needing 
early attention, and, when I have liuished on lubber 
canker and some other things, I hope to get down 
to Negombo and Ambalangoda districts, whence 
this has been sent to me and collect and investi- 
gate. I recommend the cutting off and burning 
such leaves and have drawn up some directions 
for copper sulphate spraying experiments which 
i hope will be carried out." 
UULTIVATIOX OF COTTOX IN TliL 
FEDER ATED MALAY STATES. 
Touching the important question ofwhether this 
part of the Empire could not produce its proportion 
of cotton to meet the Empire's needs, the following 
letter from Mr A S Baxendale to the Federal 
Secretary appears in the November " Agricultural 
Bulletiu," [From which we quote.— Ed, T.A.] 
Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 24, 1903. 
Sir,— There are probably in these States tea 
)nillion acres suitable for agriculture, and, under- 
correction, 1 would suggest that not more than half 
a-miilion are under cultivation. The present would 
therefore seem to be a suitable time for Government 
to indicate to planters — European and native — its 
intention to encourage more particularly the growth 
of such products as are unlikely tu undergo 
alarming Uuctuations in price. The improbability 
of cotton being ousted from its present position as 
the staple fibreof the spinning industry is instanced 
by the difficulty of finding a market for ramie — 
which is stated to surpass cotton in nearly every 
essential respect, as a fibre. Seeing, however, that 
ramie cannot be woven by cotton machinery, it is 
a drug in the market at a third of the price given 
for ordinary cotton. To describe tersely the 
comparative merits of cotton and any other staple 
product which can be generally cultivated through- 
out the Federated Malay States, it may be said 
that the yield of an additional 1,000,000 acres of 
cotton would not very appreciably affect the cotton 
market, whereas the successful cultivation of the 
same acreage of any other product with which we 
need be concerned, would cause a collapse in its 
price. I would refer particularly to what is known 
by Javanese as the " Kala-kala.'' (I understand 
from the Director of the Singapore Botanical 
Gardens that this shrub is a variety of the Gassy- 
pium herhaceiim.) I have seen this plant carefully 
cultivated and have seen it practically untended 
producing what appeared to me to be fairly large 
crops. Plants may be seen in many parts of these 
States apparently thriving in a moist climate. 
The following quotation from a letter addressed to 
me by Mr C E S Baxendale discloses the views 
held by practical native cultivators with previous 
experience of thisformof cultivaton.as to the possi- 
bility of growing cotton at a profit in these 
States. " About three and a halt years ago a 
deputation claiming to represent 65 Javanese land- 
holdeis in this district came to see me. They 
asked me to guarantee them a price (15 cents a 
catty for the clean cotton they suggested) and one 
of them would go to Java and bring over seeds of 
the best variety which they called 'Kapas Blanda.' 
This kind is an annual. The only kind I knew here 
is the peiennial Kala-kala, but there are two other 
kinds known to my Javanese friends— ' Kala-kala 
Palembang,' and ' Fardeh,' Their expressed inten- 
tion was to plant cotton solely, not as a catch-crop 
(I do not see any reason why it should not do well 
with either rubber or coconuts) and the fact that 
many of them had been cotton growers in Java and 
know the soils and conditions of both countries was 
noteworthy. The ' Blanda ' is said to yield one 
heavy crop, while our trees are perpetually yielding 
a few pods at a time." Mr Cyril Baxendale did not 
accept this offer, seeing that his brokers were un- 
able to guaranteehim afutureprice. They expressed 
their willingness, however, to buy Kala-kala of the » 
same quality as that he sent to Liverpool at 
prices varying (from different brokers) from 5M 
to 7d per lb. while ordinary prices at Liverpool 
were averaging about 6d a lb. (Prices at present 
aveiage about 7d alb.) The Kala-kala seed was 
valued at £7 a ton--a very high figure for cotton 
seed. The brokers reported that the cotton 
was " a very valuable variety owing to. 
its ' harsh ' fibre, this makes it approach 
wool in consistency and it is greatly sought 
after by woollen manufacturers to mix with 
wool," I presume that the " Kapas Blanda" 
referred to by the Javanese was an imported 
variety of the Sea Island cotton-producing plaat 
