480 
THE TROPICAL AQEICULTURIST. 
[Jan. 1, 1904. 
A CHAT WITH MR. KELWAY BAMBER. 
SALT AND NITROGEN IN CULTIVATION. 
{From a correspondent. ) 
To an enthusiastic agriculturist, as I claim to 
be, a chab with Mr. Bamber could not have failed 
to be as interesting as it certainly was instructive. 
Mr. Bamber will, I teel sure, pardon me, if I 
make public portions of the conversation vvhiciv 
have a public interest. 
It is about 20 years since I advocated the use 
of salt as a manure for coconuts. My arguments 
was that the home of the palm was ou the salt- 
saturated soil and salt-laden atmosphere of the 
sea shore ; that when we carry on its cultivation 
inland we must try to imitate as closely as pos- 
sible the habitat of the palm, by applying salt 
to the soil on which it grew. The late Dr. Trimen 
and many experienced coconut planters were of 
opinion that the South West Monsoon storms car- 
ried inland as much salt as the palms required. 
My reply was that the beneficial results of salt 
should not be measured by the actual requirements 
of the tree. Salt has very 
VALUABLE CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL 
PKOPEKTIES, 
which should not be lost sight of. The hy- 
groscopic properties of salt are of great value, 
both in light and stiflf soils. It was very 
gratifying to me to find that these views are shared 
by Mr Bamber, and that he is as interested as 1 am 
on the issue of salt by Government for agricul- 
tural purposes, at special rates. It is very encour- 
aging to know that two very high officials of govern- 
ment are also interested in the subject, Mr. 
Bamber has been engaged in trying to find a sub- 
stance that will denaturalise it. I have always 
thought, and still think, that this is a waste of 
useful energy. What is possible chemically, will 
be found improbable in practice. Salt for culinary 
purposes, is not a large item of household 
expenditure in native houses. The profits 
from its sale by boutique-keepers are not large. 
Neither consumer nor seller is likely to be 
tempted, for the sake of a few cents and 
rupees, respectively, to purify and crystallise 
what had been rendered impure for manurial pur- 
poses. Except the lowest classes of Tamils, peo- 
ple are generally very 'fastidious of what enters into 
consumption. I always suggested that salt 
should be mixed with " Pandiletti" The only diffi- 
culty will be, to get anyone to handle it after that, 
I have since thought the matter over, and think 
that if it is mixed with lime, and ground, nobody 
will be found to take the trouble to separate the 
salt from the lime, for the problematical gain that 
will result. The mixture, or at least the substan- 
ces that compose it, are of very great value in 
coconut cultivation. 
Would that the Hon Mr Ferguson were in the 
island to agitate the subject in the Legislative 
Council 1 He was always keen on the subject and 
latterly compiled a pamphlet on salt. One of the 
other members might put a question on the subject 
to find out the present views of the Government, 
As in the case of the up-country tea plantations, 
ao on the low-country coconut estates, Mr Bamber 
advocates cultivation of nitrogen-producing plants 
both for the sake of the nitrogen directly accruing^ 
to the soil, and for the humus their decay will yield. 
He places 
THE MIMOSA 
as one of the best of nitrogen-produ- 
cing plants for coconut estates, I pointed out 
to him, that except as an experiment on a small 
patch, no practical planter would allow his estate to 
be over-run v/ith mimosa, however beneficial the re- 
sult might be. it would mean the practical abandon- 
ment of the place. No one unshod would be able to 
do any work whatever on the estate. All 
coolies, cart-drivers, pickers &c, will have to be 
shod to protect their feet from thorns from which 
least scratch produces ulcers in the cooly. Even if it 
is allowed to grow round the coconut tree, it will 
in a short time spread all over the estate, unless a 
constant war of extermination is waged against it. 
Besides, it is very expensive to turn it into the 
soil, or even to bury it. Failing that, he strongly 
suggested the encouragement of the growth of 
'pilla,' a leguminous plant, that cattle and goats 
do not eat, and on which i had always pinned ray 
faith. We examined the roots of a plant, and 
found it full of nodules. The plants should be 
allowed to grow till the seeds dropped, and be 
then rooted up and buried. On the estate from 
which I write, a leguminous creeper has shown 
itself where it is most wanted^ on sandy soils. Its 
roots too are with nodules. The ' Crotolaria ' is 
not very common on this side of the country. The 
lowly ' Indupielli,' the food of hares, should be 
encouraged to grow round coconut trees, and be dag 
in. It, too, belongs to the order leguminosa; and 
has nodules on its roots. 
LIME, &C. 
Too little attention is paid to lime. Without 
its presence in the soil, the nitrifying organisms 
in the soil will be dormant. True, a little lime is 
applied to the tree in the phosphate of lime of bone 
manures ; but that will not do. lb must be free 
iime and lightly broadcasted over the soil. 
RAILWAY SLEEPERS IN CEYLON. 
{To the Editor, " Indian Engineering. ") 
Sir, — The Ceylon people are puzzled about 
sleepers. Suitable material cannot be ob- 
tained from the local forests, and they affect 
a fear of the cost of importing wood that 
has been tried and proved in every way 
satisfactory. The General Manager states 
that Australian jai-rah wood is far and away 
the best for the heavier rails, and withstands 
the attacks of dry rot and ants, which 
destroy other woods. Unfortunately the 
wood has to be imported, and consequently 
a certain proportion of the cost represents 
shipping, inspection and other charges. For 
a management that can swallow the camel 
of an unremunerative narrow-gauge line, 
this is straining at a gnat with a vengeance. 
Jarrah sleepers, now that they are becoming 
the vogue in India, may be obtained in 
any abundunce at a cost which compares 
favourably with that entailed in securing 
local produce, and Colombo being closer to 
i^'remantle than Calcutta, the bugbear of 
shipping charges is exaggerated. It seems 
to us that it would be a much wiser policy 
to adopt the jairah sleeper which has given 
such good results, in preference to the intro- 
duction of the cast-iron pot sleeper, with 
which Mr Greene proposes to experiment. 
Old RaHjQ 
^Indian Engineering, Dec. 12. 
