490 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. 1, 1904. 
SERICULTUEE IN OEISSA, 
' ' An attempt is being made to introduce sericul- 
ture on the Keonjliar Estate in Orissa, where con- 
ditions are favourable for the industry. A trained 
sericulturist lent by the Provincial Agricultural 
Department has been entrusted with the care of 
the experiment which we trust will turn out well. 
-^M. Mail. 
^ 
PEARL FISHING AT THURSDAY ISLAND. 
Brisbane, Dec. 10. — Mr J Douglas, Government 
Resident on Thursday Island, who is on a visit to 
firisbane, states that the past pearl-shelling 
season was tlie worst that he had known for 
bad weather, but within the last two months a 
good number of valuable pearls were obtained. 
The supply of labour had been fairly good. 
About two hundred natives were engaged in 
pearl-fishing at Nevv Guinea under white em- 
ployers. He reports that head-hunting has ap- 
parently been discontinued and that, generally 
speaking, the New Guinea natives vvSre making 
good progress.— PFeito'w {W.A.) Mail. 
A SERIOUS COCOA TEST IN SURINAM. 
It is said that the most promising prospect at 
present for successful investment and activity in 
agriculture is the development of the rubber 
industry, but here again the boundary dis- 
pute between Colombia, Ecuador and Peru make 
the enterprise of doubtful value, for the rubber 
tree forests of Colombia are in this disputed 
territory. The building of the caual at Panama 
would be the industrial salvation of 
that country, but open and secret influ- 
ences are strenuous in preventing any ami- 
cable arrangement whereby ..the caual can be 
built. It is doubtful, therefore, whether Colombia 
will improve her material conditions for many 
years to ome, —American paper. 
DISCOVERY OF THE PEARL-PRODUCING 
PARASITE BY MR HORNBLL, 
(To the Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post.) 
Sir, — Mr James Hornell (formerly a student of 
science in Liverpool, who is now in Ceylon carrying 
on the investigation of the pearl-oyster fisheries, 
which I started in 1902), tella me in a letter I'ust 
received that he has now succeeded in finding the 
final stage of the larval worm which we have deter- 
mined to be the exciting cause of pearl production. 
In the spring of 1902 we found this larva (a 
totrarhynohus) in the pearl-oyster, and what we took 
to be its later stages in the file-fishes (balistes) which 
feed npon the pearl-oysters, and we felt pretty certain 
(as I have stated in the first volume of my report now 
published) that the adult worm would be found in one 
of the large rays (trygon) or sharks which infest the 
pearl banks. This prediction has now been verified. 
Mr HornellJ writes from Trihcomalie, November 
IBth, as follows:— "Just a line ti) tell you that I have 
found the final host of ' Tetrarhynchua unionifactor.' 
It occurs, as surmised, in one of the large rays — a 
trygon, I believe, but I have no work on fishes, and 
cannot indentify at present. There is, I believe; 
practically no doubt as to species ; in the stomach of 
the ray being two balistes (file-fishes) entire and ap- 
parently just devoured, and plenty of bones; in the 
folds of the spira valve various tetrarhynohids mature 
of two sizes. I fancy of (two) species which bears out 
Shipley's belief of two species being in balistes, in the 
stomach a larval tetrarhynehid, just where the larva 
shonld be, the adults being farther along the canal," 
The rest of the letter, hurriedly written to catch the 
mail, refers to other matters. Mr Shipley, of Cam- 
bridge, is examining the pearl-oyster parasites for me, 
and will contribute a joint paper with Mr Hornell to a 
future volume of my report but it is due to Mr 
Hornell, who is working most energetically in the 
wilds of North Ceylon, that his interesting announce- 
ment should be made known at once.— Yours, Ac.. 
W A Hebdman. 
University of Liverpool, December 9ih, 1903- 
« 
PINEAPPLE. PACKING 
is a Singapore industry that seems limited solely 
by the amount of the fruit available for the pur- 
pose of packing. One American agent who was 
visiting the town a little over a year ago made the 
statement that his firm alone could handle twice 
the entire united output of all the lotjal canneries if 
ha coul J only get it at the then current price. This 
assertion may have been partly " bluff," but he 
certainly could not secure nearly as many cases 
as he then wanted. It is likely that he may 
shortly find a better supply available, because the 
Australian colonies seem anxious to exclude the 
Straits product in favour of pineapples of their 
own growth. Mr D F Denham, the Minister^ of 
Agriculture in Queensland, is bent on encouraging 
the growing of pineapples in that State of the 
Commonwealth at any rate. It seems that the 
growers of the fruit in Queensland cannot at 
present stand against Singapore competition. Mr 
Denham means to change all that, and recently 
addressed a meeting of growers on the subject. 
On that occasion he said : — 
lie had been informed that pineapples at la a dozen 
would actually allow the grower a small margin. At 
Singapore the whole of the fruit was tinned not by 
means of slicing, but simply by taking out the core 
and packing the rest of the pine in tins for transport to 
England at 33 ea f.o.b. Singapore. If the Queens- 
land grower could raise pines at Id each, the othe 
charges would not exceed Ijd so there was a margin 
even that way. Still they had a market nearer at hand 
that London, for Western Australia was accus- 
tomed to getting her supply of pineapples 
from Singapore, and they should take the place of 
the latter. It was one of the advantages of federation 
that the duty on pineapples was in favour of Queens- 
land and against Singapore, and presently it would 
disappear altogether as far as Queensland was concer- 
ned, He would recommend the fruit-growers ia 
that district to make ready to capture the Western 
Australian market. 
The last report of the Belgian Consul here 
mentioned that about 400,000 cases of the tinned 
fruit were shipped hence in 1901 to Europe and 
America, He made no mention of the exports to 
Australia, bat stated that about 75 per cent, of 
the entire amount shipped went to the United 
Kingdom. It was set forth in the same report) 
that "The preparation of preserved pineapples is 
an industry characteristic of Singapore, which is 
the only place in the East where this is done. This 
industry was originally founded by Frenchmen, 
whose work-people eventually commenced to 
manufacture on their own account, hence the 
great number of different brands which exist. The 
principal factories are those of J Bastiani, A 
Landau [both European— the latter a brother of Mr 
Ad. Landau, of Colombo.— Ed. T.^.]— and then 
the Chinese, whose brands are pretty well known in 
Europe. Pineapples are prepared in various ways. 
The average price at Singapore is $-5 the case of S 
dozen tins ; freight is charged at 40s per 50 cubit 
i\2,"— Straits Times, Dec, 24. 
