838 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
of tran.spovt from thab remote part of the Soudan 
will not be prohibitive. In regard to the possi- 
bility of developing cotton cultivation in the Tokar 
Plain, which is watered by the flood from the 
Khor Baraka, Mr Dupuis considers that, at most, 
an additional area of some 10,000 acres would result 
from any storage works carried out on the Baraka 
Kiver. The supply of water is insignificant in 
amount, and extremely irregular. Manifestly it is 
not worth while to undertake any costly works in 
this locality. Mr Dupuis concludes his preliminary 
Report in the following words : — "There is appar- 
ently no other place in the Suakim Mcudirieh 
where the cultivation of cotton is even possible, 
but the not very distant tract of country on the 
Gash, near Kassala, is remarkably similar to the 
Baraka Delta, and is well worth attention in this 
connection. The Gash is an altogether larger and 
more dependable stream than the Baraka, and the 
only material difference between the two tracts 
is, possibly, in the climate, In the absence of 
experimental demonstration ^ it is doubtful whether 
cotton would thrive and mature in the drier 
climate of Kassala, in the same way that it does 
at Tokar ; but it is at least probable tiiat it would 
do fairly well, and the cost of transport to the 
coast, though heavy, should not be prohibitive." 
A preliminary study of th« Gash has already 
been made by an irrigation officer. Next winter 
the subject will be more thoroughly examined. — 
Egyptian Gazette. 
«> 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
Clearing Forest for Rubber.— We draw 
attention to Mr. H. Drummond Deane's letter 
elsewhere regarding the question of clear- 
ing virgin forest for rubber planting. Pre- 
sumably Hevea braziliensis is what Mr. Deane 
intends to plant. The matter is of interest 
to rubber planters and we hope several replies 
will be sent in response to Mr. Deane's request. 
Cotton Growing in India,— As stated in 
Prof. Dunstan's report, one of the reasons of 
the cotton famine in England is the shortage 
of British-grown cotton, India, formerly 
a large supplier of cotton, now no longer 
exports on account of the deterioration of 
its cotton. The West Indies gave up cot- 
ton for sugar cane and banana growing, and 
until quite recently no cotton was produced. 
Now measures are being taken and experi- 
ments made with a view to making cotton 
one of the staple productions of the West 
Indies. In connection with Indian cotton, 
we are glad to see a movement on 
foot for the improvement and enlarge- 
ment of the cotton-growing industry of 
North Gujarat. Thousands of acres of waste 
land there could be cleared and profitably 
cultivated under cotton. Mr. T P King has 
taken the matter up and has issued a cir- 
cular to various mill-owners and others in- 
terested in the cotton-trade, appealing for 
funds to carry out a cotton-growing trial. 
KS.OOO is required to enable Mr. King to 
make a fair trial ; and he has men ready to 
do the work. Best kinds of seed have been 
iniported, and Mr. Fletcher, Deputy-Director 
of Agriculture, Bombay Presidency, is to be 
asked to supervise the scheme. A seed bureau 
to supply local farmers with improved cotton 
seed is part of the scheme. The trial farm 
is situated in the Sanand Taluk of the 
(^hmedabad diatrict, 
Ceylon Rubber Sales in London.— We 
give elsewhere our detailed report of 
the sales of Ceylon rubber in London specially 
sent to us by Messrs, Lewis and Peat, 
which will prove of great use to planters 
as details of each mark are given. Although 
prices at this sale did not reach the recently 
obtained ones it will be noticed that they 
compare extremely well with S. American 
fine Para, which fetched 4s GJd per lb. Three 
Ceylon marks got five shillings for best biscuits, 
Talagalla, Culloden and Tudugalle , Dolahena 
was only a farthing below, and Putupaula 
and Glencorse only a half-penny below ; while 
a number of other estates got very little less. 
Pineapple Growing in the West 
Indies. — We have an interesting article this 
month on the cultivation of the pineapple from 
Mr. Loutrel Lucas, a Jamaica authority on the 
subject. These exceHent fruit are very easy 
to grow and it is surprising that so few fine 
pities are to be purchased in Colombo. 
With a little care in selecting a good variety 
and in the cultivation, first rate fruit might 
be produced which we feel sure woald find 
a ready sale in Colombo, instead of the 
miserable small specimens generally on sale. 
Planters in the West Indies evidently believe 
in a certam amount of exercise and recreation 
which we would not refuse them, but Mr. 
Lucas puts the backward state of the West 
Indian Islands partly down to this ; he 
certainly has a good word when he says 
planters should wear out their agricultural 
implements instead of letting them lust out. 
Coconuts and Coconut Pests.— The re- 
port of Mr. L. C. Brown. Coconut Inspector 
for the P. M. S., is a document, to the publi- 
cation of which we have begun to look for- 
ward with peculiar interest in Ceylon, having 
no such official as the writer, here. We do not 
quote the whole of the report -certain 
portions giving but a repetition of experi- 
ences at various places ; but the bulk is 
printed, and it shows how much Mr. Brown 
has been able to accomplish by way of 
stamping out the beetle pest. Local coconut 
planters, whose aim is to see their estates 
as clean and free from pests as possible, will 
no doubt be encouraged to hear of these 
results— though the drastic method of keep- 
ing one's estate flooded for a certain time, 
to prevent the beetle spreading, may not 
find favour with them. During his inspection, 
Mr. Brown has been able to draw numerous 
lessons and his conviction— that the yield 
might in many cases be increased 50 per 
cent by the exercise of reasonable care and 
increased cultivation— should be an incen- 
tive to the native as well as to any European 
owners. The number of the latter is not 
expected to increase in view of the strides 
rubber is making, even young coconuts- 
coming into bearing amongst rubber— being 
prematurely cut out ! —In this connection we 
reproduce an interesting letter elsewhere, from 
the Madras Mail from a South Indian coconut 
planter, dealing with the various coconut 
beetles and their methods, and questioning 
the existence of a coconut-injuring beetle 
that does not have its existence solely in or 
on the palm. Have the habits described been 
observed in Ceylon ? 
