Feb. 1, 1904.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
519 
ANNUAL CULTIVATION. 
Annnal cultivation is now coining into vogue, tliat 
is, the cffdets iire set out auiiually in recently worked 
Boi!, and it ia claimed that iui advantage i<i gained 
thereby. Experience is wanted, however, to determine 
the value of this mode. The distance apart at which 
the plants should be aet is also a maiter which is 
nndergoing a change among good growers in Jimaica. 
Formerly it vi&s considered good practice to set out 
the plants in rows at two feet apart and at one foot 
and n half between each other in the row. L'iter, 
this practice is being changed to much closr-r plantin?, 
eighteen inches apart bdiug the diatanoe now grown 
in newer cultivations, with drains or working paths 
between the rows, six plsnts in width and ten or 
twelve in the row. This compact method of planting 
gives a large increa-^e in the number of plants for 
the area taken up, and it ia held to be of special 
advantage for the cheaper and commoner sorts, 
though in point of fact the fancy Smooth Cayenne 
has been subjected to the same treatment. Ex- 
perience will have to determine among growers which 
of these plans will suit their soils the best. 
The slips should always be prepared prior to being 
Bet out. This is done by removing the lower scales 
and leaves from the offsets or suckers. If these 
leaflets be left on the young plant will be retarded 
in its growth from the fact that the young rootlets 
formed in the axillary buds of the leaves will be 
forced to wind round the plant before arriving in 
the soil which is their obvious destination. This 
important fact is easily susceptible of demonstration. 
The plan is practised by the best growers. 
PRUNING THE FHUIT. 
Second only to the important part played by car^fu 
weeding and good tillage, is the pruning of fruit. 
This consists in the early removal of buds and slips 
from the stem of the fruiting plant, with the object 
that the sap shall be wholly diverted to the nourish- 
ment of the forming fruit. It is the plan of the early 
English and Scottish hothouse growers, who did 
much in the last century to bring the cultivation of 
pine-apples to perfection in their pineries and bark- 
p.ts. By close observation they were enabled to attend 
to the daily wants of the fruit, and their records of 
cultivation handed down to this day are not nnworlhy 
of examination. 
" riplet spike'' disease. 
Drninge of the foil plays a very important part in 
the proper cultivation of this very sensitive and suscep- 
ptible plant. In a wet subsoil it is sure to be attacked 
by a fungoid disease known mostly as '• Ripley spike." 
Plants so attacked Bhonld be removed to drier ground. 
If, on being taken up, they are seen to be only 
partially affected, much may be done to arrest the 
disease in the root by immersinif it in a solution of 
sulphate of irr u, which is oue of the best of crypto- 
gamicides, as we know from the experience of French 
horticulturists, who make frequent use of this agent. 
This substance is usually employed in solutions of 
about five per cent., bat weaker solutions often 
answer a useful purpose. Concentrated infusions of 
strong tobacco, marie from the steins, ure al'^o in 
nse for the same purpose, and for lielping the young 
plants to take on a healthy growth wli'm planted out. 
— Jamaica Agricultural Sociefi/s Journal. 
TROPICAL PRODUCTS IN UGANDA. 
BjTANICAL gardens at ENTEBBE. 
Mr. J. Mahon, in his report on exotic plants of 
economic interest in the Bot.H,uic Gardens at Entebbe, 
published Jan. 1903, gives 30:ue results of recent ex- 
periments. Recognizing that the natural supply of 
rubber must sooner or latter be exhausted, varieties 
of important rubbers have been tried. The para 
rubber, the CentriAl American rubber, and the 
Ceara rubber, are all reported to be growing freely; 
and the Lagos silk rubber is growing fairly well. 
Of varieties of Coffee tried the Coffea robusta, a valu- 
able Congo species, the Maragngipe, a hybrid 
Br'izilian sort, and native coffee from Sesse, are all 
well reported of. The record of Tea U not so 
satisfactory, the rmiifall not proving sufficient. 
However, in the neighbourhood of the Ruwenzori 
nioiiutain?, where the rainfall is very much heavier 
than in Uganda, the prospects of tea growing are, 
according to Mr. Scott Elliot, the naturalist and tra- 
veller, much more hopeful. Mr Mahon calls special 
attention to the unexpectedly good results obtained 
with C icao, a plant which has never as yet been 
grown commercially at an altitude of over 4000 feet, 
but which in Uganda seems to thrive well. Vanilla 
grows moderately well, but the elevati n of the 
country is ngainst it. Of varieties of fruits planted 
the Pineapple especially does well. It is as yet too 
early to report with any certainty on Timber, but, 
of a variety planted the most conspicuous success 
is the Mianji cedar from Nyassaland, specimens 
of which, though only three years old, have already 
reached a height of fifteen feet. 
Fibre of various kinds promises to be an increasingly 
useful commodity in the fature. Sanseviera, or 
Bowstring hemp, was valued in London at £25 a ton. 
Riphia palm is extremely abundant, and can be pro- 
pagated to any extent by traders here at a trifling 
cost. Ramie or " China grass " ia growing well, and 
seems well suited to the country. Specimens of • 
Cotton sent home were favourably reported on in 
Manchester. 
Mr. Miihon appends a list, with brief comments, of 
the principal plants lately introduced into the Bota- 
nical Gardens at Entebbe both by himself and Mr. 
A. Whyte. 
preparation of native PRODl'CE. 
As a considerable amount of ignorance prevails 
among natives who bring in their produce for sale, by 
which they not only lose the full value of their produce, 
but also cause themselves unnecessary suffering, a few 
bints, which can be passed on to the natives, will not 
bo out of place. 
At present the natives find that the juice of the 
Sanseviera (Bugngwa) produce, sores on their arms 
and hands, in the preparation of the fibre. This fact 
was breught to the attention of Mr. Dawe, of the 
Botanical Garden^, who wrote as follows : — '' I cannot 
quite understand why the natives suffer so much in the 
preparation of the fibre. It is true the juice is some- 
what acrid, and they should be told to keep it from their 
arms. What is required is to remove the succulent 
material from the fibre, and this is done by taking 
each individual leaf, holding it on a broad flat board 
by the large toe, and scraping it with a thin square 
piece of hard board, held in both hands. The fibre 
should be washed in water after extraction and hung 
up to dry. 
Coffee should be picked when just ripe, that is when 
red; the hu^k should at once be cleaned away, 'and 
the berries washed in cold wafer in the parchment. 
Tliey should then be laid out in layers in the sun to 
dry for two or three days. Great care should be 
taken to l;iy them oat in a clean place, as the value 
of the coffee is considerably lessened by bringing it 
in in a dirty state. The condition of any produce 
when put on the market will naturally affect its subse- 
quent value. 
The following are the prices obtaining in the En- 
tebe market :— One rupee is pud for 40 lbs. of Ground 
ijuts;_30 lbs. of Semsem ; 20 lbs. of Chillies; 2.5 lbs. 
of Coffee (nnhucked) : 17 lbs. of Sanseviera F.bre ; 15 
lbs. ofRuphia Fibre ; 10 lbs. of Oottoa (cleaned); or 
40 Ibfl, of Chiroko.— .I/rjcon Standani. 
