Sept. 2, 1901.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
161 
vanilla growing in Seychelles nothing pays better 
than vanilla. Its production costs the planter about 
Es. 3 per lb., and as prices vary from Ks, S to 
Kg. 16 per Ih., a net profit of from Es. 5 to _i:»;3. 
13 is the result. The average price was Es. lo m 
1898, and at the present time runs mnoh about the 
same. The yield may safely be taken to be 200 lbs, 
an acre according to the report above alluded to. 
" Taking, therefore, an average of Es. 10 only, an 
acre of vanilla should produce Es. 2,000. " Five acres 
of vanilla at this rate would not come amiss to 
plenty of large tea concerns, to say nothing ot 
small ones. , 
It would even pay them to keep a European who 
throughly understood the plant, its growth, fertihsa- 
tion (which has to be done artificially) and lasi, 
but by no mema least, the curing, sizing, and 
packing. The object of this article is not to make 
planters believe that thay have nothing to do but 
procure vanilla plants, stick them m and wait tor 
the pods to come. We may go the length of asserting 
that out of every 100 planters who attempted 
vanilla growing 98 would very probably not succeed. 
It requires special kuowledge all through as to the 
habits of the plants and its requirements. Ihe 
curin" alone requires considerable study, care and 
experience. The plant when growing, although pre- 
ferring to take its own sweet will during its ado- 
lescence, is entirely helpless when it comes to 
maturity. It will keep on growing certainly, but is 
quite incapable without human aid of reproducing 
its own species ; consequently, if this process is not 
understood the growers will have no produce in the 
shape of the fragrant vanilla pods of commerce. 
"Whatever may happen in the future the industry 
is not suffering at present from over-production to 
the extent of affecting the profitable nature of the 
industry. In 1898 the vanilla crop of tbe Seychellea 
amounted to 63,000 lb., and was sold for Es. J3e,m 
It cannot be gainsaid that the large output of vanilla 
has given a fresh imnetus to its cultivators, and 
large quantities have been planted during the last 
two years. Stili, according to the chemist and 
druggist, the consumption of vanilla pods is increasing 
every year and likely to continue to do so far a 
long time.— "A. P." in Capital. 
COFFEE CULTIVATION IN BRITISH 
CENTRAL AFRICA, 
To the flowering of cofiee the planter looks for 
a forecast of the season's crop. Naturally one 
would expect thia to be correct but for several 
reasons; it cannot always be de{)ended upon, It 
is now well known that Aniestia carierjata is responsi- 
ble for the reduction of both the flower and the 
berries after they have been formed. Drought was 
supposed to do considerable damage also, and, m 
fact is the reason given for the failure of so much 
"crop. I assumed this as correct, and, by some 
notes on the subject to the Central Ajncan Times, 
I concluded that, with the destruction of Antestia 
variegata, and a system of irrigation our success 
in coffee production was assured. Now 1 must 
admit I have been misled, and, therefore, made a 
mistake. My views of the subject now are that 
irrigation would do very little good, and that it is 
not the roots that require moisture, but the plant 
above fround. This drought which we get occasion- 
ally is not directly the cause of our failure of crop, 
or the burnt-up or dead .appearance of our plants, 
but of course it is so indire'jtly. 
From my observations I with no hesitation declare 
thrips to be almost the sole cause of this damage 
put down to sun and heat. Damage caused by 
sun and heat is relatively so immaterial fthat little 
account need be taken of it. We have thripa every 
dry season, and it is only the want of rain or a 
brought which helps to bring them forth m sueii 
vast numbers. At the beginning of the dry season 
they are few and far between, but become more 
conspicuous towards its close. Some time before the 
wet season commences, I should say, they are found 
at the very least to average a dozen larvs to every 
leaf, and the whole of the underside of that 
lesf is sucked and discoloured completely. The time 
when the destruction is disatroua is immediately 
after the ooifee has flowered. Here are tender berries 
much superior in the estimation of thrips to leaves 
months old, or leaves that they have been living 
on and sucked from the under side, giving them the 
appearance of pieces of brovv'n paper lianging from 
the branches instead of leaves, f.nd now discarded 
for berries. Ultimately these leaves fall off, leaving 
the branch and berries black and dead. 
Thrips are first seen as minute red insects gen- 
erally with a drop of dark fluid or excrement attached 
to their abdomen ; they afterwards change to a lighter 
green than the colour of the leaf ; a few of the 
imago or perfect insect with wings and dark body 
are also observed. The elongated abdomen of the 
larvae gives them the appearance of minute worms 
or caterpillars. In fiict, there is sometimes seen ou 
the coffee leaves a grub resembling them which is not 
unlike the larva of a fly. Wherever they are they 
darken the leaf, tender stem, and ^berries by their 
puncture and excrement. 
As to the possibility and feasibility of destroying 
or keeping thrips in check by hand picking in their 
initial stages, I am not iu a position to say at 
present. 
Besides hand-picking we have another alternative; 
we are aware that some seasons we get a shower 
every month ; those showers and everything else 
being favourable, we get a good crop ; in other 
seasons these beneficial showers fail to come, and 
our crop is more or less a failure. Now those 
monthly showers have been the means of keeping 
the thrips iu check. Likewise the wet season almost 
completely overwhelm them. From these facts we 
may conclude that spraying with a syringe or a 
garden engine is the next best thing, and with the 
addition of. tobacco juice or any other insecticide 
less spraying may be required. 
There can be little doubt as to thrips being indi- 
genous, and possibly new to science. The nearest 
approach I can get to the species of thrips on 
•coffee, is one found on grass, which may be the 
same species or quite different. To me it appears 
smaller or shorter. The result of thrips on grass is 
that they are accompained by a fungus. This fungus 
is red, and can be easily noticed; it is on the under 
side of the blade, but c8,n be seen from the top, so 
that grass with thrips can be easily detected. This grass 
had not been burnt in the previous year with bush fires ; 
on grass that had been burnt, or grass grown from seed, 
1 have not noticed them. The appearance of this 
fungus in most cases resembles the larvte of thrips 
in their red stage. 
The next nearest approach to the species found on 
coffee is one found on a shrub, Dissotis princeps, 
growing in our maxshes. 
Thrips belong to the Thysanoptera order, and like 
our plant bugs imbibe the juice of plants by suction. 
At the recommendation of Dr. Sharp, F.R.S., 
Ciimbridge University, I have sent all the specimeng 
of thrips, &c., to Miss Embleton, Balfour Laboratory 
of the above University, for identification, and any 
advice which may be of use to us in the matter. 
Kenneth J. Camebon. 
Namasi, Feb, 26th, 1901. 
—Journal of the Societi/ of Arts. 
SHIKAR AND TRAVEL : 
ONLY A CUP- 
That there was a tigress in the jungles somewhere 
near my camp 1 knew, but she could not be persuaded 
to kill any of the baits that I had had tied up for 
