856 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
I venture to predict, with the aid of 'careful drainage 
and irrigation worljs. become most important cotton 
areas in the near future. In addition to these broad 
divisions there are the numerous grades of loam usu- 
ally, if not invariably, occurring in countries v?here 
the vegetation is similarly luxuriant and tropical, and 
where the water supply is considerable, resulting in a 
continual accumulation, removal, and redisposition of 
humus or organic products, I do not purpose to enu- 
merate these, important though the amount of organic 
constituents may be in a soil's productiveness, as this 
would serve only to render more complex the distinc- 
tion between the physical properties of sand and clay, 
which determine the amount and regulation of the 
contained moisture. 
It is this contained moisture which permits of the 
growing of cotton without irrigation by the natives in 
the sandy loams of the coast north of Lamu and Patta 
Islands, between the Ist and 2nd degrees south of the 
Equator. A sandy soil with water-bearing clay subsoil 
forms a good proportion of those luxuriant mango tree 
shambas which abound in many parts of the coast 
districts. The same tree occurs in numerous large 
groves on the flats of the Tana river in Makeri district. 
As regards actual results so far obtained, he says: — 
Cotton is grown by natives along the banks of the 
Juba river and on the Bajoon Coast to the north ef 
the Lamu Archipelago. From the latter district some 
8,0001b. of lint were brought into Lamu (the nearest 
shipping port) iu the year 1902. 
The quality is, unfortunately, poor owing to the 
variety of plant cultivated, the lint being sold at 'some 
thing under 3d. per lb locally, after being ginned in 
the most primitive implement imaginable consisting 
merely of two sticks plaaed close together and turned 
by a winch. This is sufficient, however, taken in 
conjunction with the fict that cotton grows wild iu 
many places, to show that the plant will grow and 
mature its lint even with such careless cultivation as 
the undirected native gives to it It is amply shown 
however, that long staple cotton of excellent quality 
will grow equally well. I have several times seen the 
two varieties growing almost side by side 
Samples have been obtained from all parts of the 
Protectorate and submitted to Liverpool the brokers' 
reports having been in many cases quite satisfactory ; 
and tests are now in progress to show which month is 
most suitable for planting, the yield per acre, propor- 
tion of lint, &c. Only within the last month I have 
received samples grown near the coast and hand 
picked which compare in length of staple and lustre 
favourably with many of the best varieties of Egyptian 
cotton. 
He concludes as follows : — 
The coast provinces cover a vast area including the 
whole of Tanaland and Seyidie, part of Ukamba, and 
the Gosha district of Jubaland. It we take, however, 
the coast line, roughly 350 miles direct in length and 
the actual width— some 120 miles inland — which I 
have traversed, this gives us an area of some 42,000 
square miles and, taking the United ^States proportion 
ot only 5 per cent, of the cotton-growing region 
being planted in cotton, we have upwards of 1,250,000 
ncres. There is no doubt, moreover, that many other 
places in the Protectorate not yet sufficiently, 
examined and therefore not included in this report 
which is intended to refer to the coast regions only, 
will and do, yield excellent cotton. 
NOTICE. 
The next issue of the 'T. A." commences a new 
volume, and subscribers are particularly requested to 
send in their subcriptions for the next year at an early 
(late. Our new volume will be better than any that 
hKve gone before, and special features are contem- 
plated, so Eend your Eubscripticns and get your friendg 
to subscribe also. A special engraving of His Excel, 
lency Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Ceylon, will be 
presented with the July number. 
THE DISCOVEEED CURE FOR LEPROSY. 
BY CAPTAIN ROST, KANGOON. 
Rangoon, May 16.— Capt. Rest, Resident 
Medical Officer, Rangoon General Hospital and 
Government Bacteriologist, has discovered a 
cure for that terrible disease, leprosy. He has 
had, it is said, 29 cases under treatnaent in the 
past seven months and has apparently effected 
full and permanent cures in every instance. 
Captain Host will probably go home this 
year and attend the Medical Conference 
held annually in Europe. The discovery has 
created most intense interest and the warmest 
admiration in medical circles. 
The above special telegram containing startling 
news led us to get some expert local medical opinion 
on this subject. Our reporter saw two medical men 
who have made it almost a specia! s ndy of tlieirown. 
Dr. Sinnetamby's views. 
Dr. Sinnetaniby, the officer in charge of the 
parangi and other wards in the General Hos- 
pital, and who disagreed with Dr Hutchin- 
son's view on leprosy — seen on the subject 
of its cure — said that in the first place 
the telegram did nob mention what the cure was 
and it was not wise to say much until this was got. 
He, however, thought the cure was probably an 
Antitoxic serum or Finsen's light — that is to say, 
the ultrS, violet rays of the spectrum whose 
rays had a very destructive influence on Perfi- 
genic microbes. It might also be radium or 
the Eontgen rays. The above experiments had 
just been started for the cure of leprosy, and at 
the very start there was a bright future for its 
treatment. It is a disease which attacks the 
skin and " light treatment " has always proved 
effective in such cases and Finsen's light is 
the most likely cure. Seven months, however, 
was not long enough a time to judge 
finally, and the disease may re-appear. In 
all mierobic diseases an antitoxic serum is by 
far the best and most promising. There have been 
many cases cured by natural means ; in others by 
drugs. The percentage, of course, is very low. The 
disease may be apparently cured and the germs 
may be hidden but show themselves again under 
favourable circumstances. 
VIEWS OF A LEADING MEDICAL AUTHORITY. 
A leading medical authority in Ceylon who 
does not wish his name mentioned, on reading the 
telegram said that the whole thing was very sen- 
sational no doubt and more remarkable than one 
would like to believe. As far as leprosy was 
concerned, he said that a certain number of cases 
could be cured by ordinary treatment. Dr. Hut- 
chinson was even surprised to learn and see that a 
number of cases attheHendela Asylum were cured. 
The X rays treatment was most probably the cure 
as from what they knew of the use of Finsen's light 
&c. in other diseases of an allied nature, it was 
jjosslble that such rays would cure the disease. 
Asked whether seven months was sufficient 
time to show the permanency of the cure, he said 
that if marked results liad appeared it was not likely 
that the germs would show themselves again, 
if every vestige of the disease liad disappeared, 
then the cure ought to be permanent. Unless 
details were given and the cases confirmed by an 
independent man it was not possible to believe that 
it was a permanent cure. Such men were always 
apt to take an optimistic view and were generally 
prejudiced men, but the profession could not accept 
it unless it was corroborated. 
