THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June 1, 1904. 
traders and merchants, with an intimate knowledge 
of the tea requirements of the races in their 
reapeetive parts of tlie country. Such an association 
would naturally have worlced through an ex- 
perienced committee, and nominated an expert in 
this work as its executive head, (b) Secondly the 
Expansion Commission has to the best of my in- 
formation been carrying on the tea campaign on 
far too independent lines of its ov/n, instead of 
utilising the recognised channels of business such 
as the already established tea traders, and more 
especially the ubiquitous buniahs, who are the 
real food purveyors of the vast hulk of the 
people, (c) The Cjmmission started by getting hold 
of the wrong end of the stick in beginning woi k 
where it did. Instead of wasting initial time in 
trying to convert non-tea drinking people in 
Bengal, it should have at first concentrated all its 
energies in the North-West of India where there 
are whole races of actual or potential tea con- 
sumers, who would cheerfully buy up any quantity 
of good cheap tea judiciously brought to their 
doors. Had this course been followed, we would 
by this time have created a real and permanent 
demand for some millions of pounds of our yearly 
out-turn, 
Other reasons could also be easily adduced, bub 
the above-mentioned are the three principal causes 
that have militated against the success of the 
present Commission. The great danger of over- 
production still looms gloomily over the industry ; 
and it would be a deplorable and culpable blunder 
should the tea community now adopt a laisser 
/aire policy, and neglect to secure to itself once 
for all the potentially unlimited markets at its very 
doors. J. B. Leslie Rogers. 
— Indian Planting and Gardening. 
*- — 
"SPOLIA ZEYLANICA." 
We have just received the April number of this 
publication. Dr. Arthur Willey has some interest- 
ing notes on Leaf-mimicing animals. Rewrites — 
i' I was very pleased indeed to have the opportu- 
nity of seeing for myself the peculiar movements of 
a Plataoa vespertilio under perfectly normal 
conditions inside the reef at Beruwala in Feb- 
ruary of this year. I was walking along the 
reef in the company of a fi-hsrnian carrying 
a net when he espied a small fish, which 
he attempted to catch for me. I could not see 
what it was at first, but noticed that the man 
failed to bag it after several ineffectual attempts. 
The fish did not swim far away from the spot, buD 
dodged about baffling its pursuer. I approached 
and seized the net, whereupon I saw a yeilow jak 
leaf gently and inertly sinking to the bottom. This 
is surely no unusual sight close inshore, and I was 
about to turn away, when to my astonishment the 
leaf righted itself and darted away. Efforts were 
then redoubled and the fish srcnied and pubse- 
quently I sketched it alive lo show as far as 
po.ssible its natural contour. When a fish has a 
leaf-shaped and leaf-coloured body and in addition 
has the unique Ivabit of toppling over and feigning 
death when purtued, it seems natural to conclude 
that it is a genuine example of protective 
reseml- lance." 
Other articles are Gregarious Crustacea from 
Ceylon, by Rev. T R Stebbing, Tiger beetles of 
Ceylon by Dr. W Horn, and an account by Dr. 
Chalmers of Ascaris lumbricoides in the liver and 
paDcreus of man. 
LIME AND ITS APPLICATION 
IN AGRICULTURE. 
ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO CEYLON 
TEA SOILS. 
The follovping paper of Mr. Baur, read before 
the Dimbula P.A. meeting is of the highest 
interest to members of the tea commu- 
nity. The use of lime— what it effects and 
how it should be applied— is most dearly and 
carefully described ; and planters, employing 
science for their aid in any degree, cannot fail 
to benefit, The great value of lime is in setting 
free for the tea plant's consumption, the 
available nitrogen in the soil, and thus 
ensuring continuous flushes as nearly as 
possible. It is interesting to note that the 
scattering of lime broadcast is now advocated 
in preference to burying ic with prunings ; 
but, as coolies suffer from this method, a 
hand-machine for the purpose is wanting. 
Mr. Baur's p iper is as follows : — 
Lime— occurs in two forms in Ceylon, viz., as 
Coral-linie and Dolomite. The former is practi- 
cally a pure carbonate of lime containing traces 
of organic matter resulting from the decay of the 
minute animals which produced it. The latter 
is a mixture of Carbosate of lime and magnesia 
with varying proportions of quartz or silica and 
is to be seen out cropping in various parts of the 
tea districts. 
Coral Lime— is what is usually employed 
for manurial purposes in Ceylon either in the 
burned or unburned condition and it is this kind 
of lime referred to in the following remarks : — 
" As imported from India or the Maldives, it occurs 
in hard lumps of irregular shape and size, and 
in this form is practically useless for agricultural 
purposes. To render it useful, it is eillrer ground 
lo a fine .■state of division, and sold as ground 
Coral, or more commonly it is burned in .'■pecial 
kilns with the aid of wood fuel, when it is sold 
as burnt or quick lime." In burning, pure Coral 
loses about 44 per cent of its weight as carbonic 
aciil gas, one hundred parts of the coral yielding 
fifty-six parts of quicklime. Tiris quicklime has 
a strong affinity for water and if exposed to the 
air will absorb about thirty per cent of its weight 
of water when it falls to an extremely finely 
divided drt/ powder, known as slacked lime. 
Quicklime can be slaked immediately by pouring 
over it the above quantity of water, great heat 
being developed by the chemical combination, the 
rise in temperature being sometimes sufficient to 
cause ignition of any organic matter in contact 
with it. As in slaking the bulk as well as the 
weight is considerably increased, it is advisable 
for planters to buy the freslily burned quicklime 
and to slake it on the estate, thus economising 
in freight to extent of thirty per cent. When 
still further exposed to the air for some weeks, the 
slaked lime absorbs carbonic acid gas and is re- 
converted into carbonate of lime, the same chemical 
compound as the original Cora!, bub in a more 
perfect state of division than any grinding 
machinery could cftact. The above ehanjies pro- 
duced by burning, slaking and reearbonating can 
be simply expressed as follows : — 
BURNING. 
Coral lime or Quick lime or Carbonic acid 
Calciara cerbonata. Calcium oxide, gas, 
CaCO;J =• CaO C02 
3 00 = 56 44 
