June 1, 1904.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
839 
PERADENIYA JiXl'EUIMENT STATION. 
A ineetinj; of tlie Committee was held on 
the 6th May, but many of the members were 
unable to attend owing to the P. A. Committee 
Meeting in Kandy. 
Our representative learnt that it had been 
resolved to add 
ANOTHER FSTATE FOR TEA MANURIAL EXPERIMRNTS, 
preferably one with 150 to_200 inches of rainfall, 
and that Mr. Herbert Wriglit is to select suitable 
plots. The manurial experiments in tea are now 
being carried out at Igalkande, Peradeniya, Hapu- 
tale, Fortswood, Dessford and Galaha, and the 
proposed addition will make the list complete. 
The members of the Committee were conducted 
over the 
CACAO Pr.OTS UNDER EXPERIMENTS. 
The following manurial work was in hand : — 
Separate plots are treated with manures con- 
taining nitrogen only, some with phosphoric acid 
only, and otliers with potash only. In addition 
plots are being treated with a combination of 
any two or all of these essential ingredients and 
experiments in forking, lining and trenching are 
also being carried out. 
GREEN MANURES 
are being cultivated on a very large scale under 
tea, cacao and coconuts. There are p'ota to show 
the effect of excess of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphoric acid, and others to determine the 
relative value of soluble as against insoluble 
nitrates, phosphates and potassic conapounds. 
THE CACAO MANURES 
used include all those known in Ceylon and 
India, and no less than thirty kinds are being 
dealt with, which, together with the 72 plots of 
tea under manures, should lay the foundation 
for scientilic cultivation in Ceylon generally. 
OTHER PRODUCTS. 
Indian corn, castor, citronella, lemon grass, 
numerous varieties of ground-nuts, cinchona, 
para, ceara and castilloa rubber, and various 
fibres are being experimented with. 
» 
COFFEE-GKOWING IN INDIA. 
BETTKR PRICES HOPED" FOE THIS YEAR. 
Mr A F Vans Agnew, who h in ch;-irge of a 
large coffee plantation in the Nilgiris, has 
been on a visit to Ceylon. He says that coffee 
is just commencing to obrain better prices. 
The last year was a miserable one for the 
coffee industry. The prices realised were very 
poor, and this was all due to the over produc- 
tion in Brazil. The quality of South In- 
dian, it is true, was not so good as it had been, 
but better than Brazilian coffee. Speaking 
of Ceylon coSee, he said that though there 
was hardly anything of an export, it was of 
very superior quality and fetched high prices. 
♦ 
SHOOTING IN NEPAUL. 
The following nre particulars of a recent shooting 
expedition in the Nepaul Terai. The parly consisted 
of six euns. General Sir Bindon Blooil, Colonel 
Ellis, R E, Mr J S (Jainpboll, 1 C S, Captain 
Morris, A D C, Khan Bahadur Mangal Khan and 
Khan B,ihadur Bala Khan, the two last named 
106 
being well-known sporting brothers of Sherpur, in 
Pilibhit. The bag was eight tigers, a bear, a few 
deer and a great number of quail. One of the 
ti!?ers was of the remarkable length of lU ft 8 in. 
The measurement was made four times with great 
care, and can be fully attested by all the members 
of the party. It was taken immediately after the 
animal'.s death, with a new 50 foot tape, in the 
usual manner, from tip of nose to tip of tail, follow- 
ing all curves. Some other dimensions of this tiger 
were : length of body 7 ft 2 in ; length of tail 3 ft 
6 in ; girth 4 ft .3 in ; from wither to toe 4 ft 4 in. 
A tigress 9 ft 1 in long, probably the mate of the 
big tiger, vvas also shot. 
PliODUGE AND PLANTING, 
THE CONSUMPTION OF TEA, COFFEE, AND 
ALCOHOL IN AMERICA. 
The United States' drink bill for 1903 ia estimated 
at 1,461,633,379 dois, which gives an average yearly 
expenditure per bead of the population of ±'12 83, and 
a consumption of twenty gallons of alcoholic liquors. 
In 1880 the consumption per head was only ten and 
a half gallons. Taking all kinda of beverages, coffee 
heads the list, with beer second. The conauraption of 
the latter for the year 1903 is estimated at 1,449,879,752 
grallons. Tea comes third with a total consumption of 
£90,000,000, equivalent to 225,000,000 gallons. 
THE BANANA " BOOM," 
There has been soraetbicg like " boom " of late in 
the banana a>5 a food product. Banana flour, the use 
of which has been vigorously recommended by vege 
tarian enthusiasts, has now been followed by " banana 
coSee." This latest imitation of coffee ia made of 
dried Mexican and South American bananas, the 
process of preparation being aimilar to that of the 
coffee beat]. In flavour it has little resemblance to 
coffee, and although its use ia being promoted in the 
United States by a stock company, no trade effect 
whatever need be anticipated. — 3 and C 3Iail, 
THE NEW CEYLON MINEEAL. 
FURTHER PARTICULARS. 
Since writing last week, I have made further 
experiments on the cubical mineral, and have 
myself carefully examined the earth consti- 
tuents. The statement made last week, that 
there is only an insignificant amount of 
thorium present, must be modified. On re- 
determining the equivalent of the crude oxalatP| 
prepared after the yttrium metals had been 
separated by treatment with potassium sul- 
phate, it has come out higher than I ex- 
pected : indeed, assuming the metal present 
to be a tetrad, its p.tomic weight is even 
higher than that of thorium— about 240. as 
the mean of two closely concordant deter- 
minations. The lower equivalents mentioned 
in the previous letter were determined as 
fractions of the double potassium sulphate, 
prepared on a large scale. This high atomic 
weight points to the presence of unknown 
elements of higher atomic weight than 
thorium; indeed, the mineral appears to be 
of very complex composition. It may be 
incidentally remarked that the crude oxalate 
mentioned above must have contained all the 
cerium group, and if any considerable pro- 
portion of the elements of this group is 
