Sept. % 1901.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
167 
Havinfi to travel a long way for what food he 
picks np he is always in a .'■avage state (d 
hunger, and I doubt if it is ever fully satisfied. 
The native simply delights in dynannte fishiiip. 
The noise, tlie splash, and the result all appeal 
to him, and ^ive him the idea 1 hat tiiey are just 
what tliey should be. He would give anything 
to possess the explosive, but fortunately a wise 
and paternal government has stepped in, and 
made it a punishable offence to supply natives 
with fire-arms or explQsives. The man who is 
foolish enough to furnish them witii tlie means of 
blowing up themselves or their friends will find 
himself liable to a fine of a hundred pounds. A 
spice of danger about dynamite-fishing is ))ei haps 
answeiable to some extent for its use. With the 
trader dynamite is looked upon as an essential 
part of his outfit, and he Avould almost as soon 
think of leaving port without a mainmast as start 
on a cruise without a supply. 
Familiarity breeds contempt In the handling 
of dynamite it generates carelessness. The man 
who understands it, and has used it frequently, 
is usually caught in the end, and the oh! saw of 
the pitcher that goes often to the well is fully 
justified. One could hardly imagine a man 
throwing away the fire-stick and retaining the 
cartridge in his hand. Yet that is what one 
man I know did, in his excitement and absent- 
mindedness, with the resirlt of losing his arm ; 
and had not a friend been on the spot, with 
surgicai knowledge enough to amputate the limb 
above tiie elbow, he must have lost his life. As 
it is," he adds one more to the long list of one- 
armed and one-handed men in the islands, 
maimed through the careless use of dynamite, 
I was once lying at a place called ' Senapa,' on 
the north-east coast of New Guinea. A small 
trading-vessel called in one day, and the trader 
after the usual fashion started fishing. Putting 
half a dozen cartridges down, and turning his back 
for a moment, the natives, who were expert 
thieves, purloined one of them. It was impossible 
to recover it from among such a crowd, so my 
friend sailed away and left it in their hands, I 
came back to the place some few days after, 
and then I heard what had happened. The man 
who had stolen the cartridge, when the coast was 
clear, invited his friends to come and witness 
him dynamite fish in the same manner as the 
white man.. Poor fellow I he didn't know niucli 
about the article he was handling, and it i.s 
certain he never will. The dynamite was a 
double charge ; it was two days since he had <?iven 
his exhibition, and they hadn't found all of him 
then. After witnessing many accidents, dynamite 
strikes me as being a splendid article — for what it 
is intended for, that is mining purposes in the 
hands of experts. 
The sort of fishing practised by the native 
women is mostly done from the beach, or in shallow 
water. A number of them, each provided with 
large two-handed nets, will wade out at different 
points, meeting when up to their armpits in some- 
thing like a half-circle. The fish, if any re- 
main visible, are then frightend into the nets by 
the women wlu remait on shore. As many as 
fifty will sometimes take part in this kind of 
fishing, furnishing a most animated scene. The 
only wonder is that they catch anything at all, for 
the shouting and laughter that goes on should be 
sufficient, one would think, to frighten fish that 
Y'eie h9ilf a mile siway. 
Tow-line-fishing is too well known to need much 
descripfiou. VYiien you are sailing, a hook covered 
with a piece of led and white rag is stowed over 
the sfeni with a good length of line, and proves 
a tempting bait ler ihe ki<!ig fish. Fifteen to 
twenty pounds is the average size of ^tliis fish, 
which iii appearance is sumelbing like a salmon, 
but wliite flashed, and lemaikably good eating. 
The canoe on the beach is a sailing craft, used 
by the natives to go fiom one island to another, 
and long journeys are undertaken in such boats 
when used on trading sxpeditums. The bottom 
is a large cedar log hollowed out, the fiat sides 
being built up with sago palm slabs, sewn together 
wiiheane, and n)?.de watertight with a gluey sub- 
stance extracted from certain t) ees. A large mat, 
made of sago letives, and oval in shape, is 
hoisted on the mast as a sail, and the wa;y these 
canoes lie in the wind and travel is nothing short 
of marvellous. There is a jilatform for 'deck, 
and an outrigger stetching five or six feet out 
on one side, the outrigger being a light log lashed 
to two poies that are fastened 10 the main canoe. 
This out) igger gives such stability that it is im- 
possible to capsize the boat, and all ogether they 
are a most seaworthy craft- Another good point 
in them is that when they are required to go in 
an opposite direction to what jou iiave been'sail- 
ii)g there is no need to turn th-, m round. Both 
ends Leing alike the nativesimply slues the sail 
about, and what was the stern liien becomes the 
bow. Great caie is taken of tliis class of canoe, 
and some of the carving on the ends is really a 
work of art. They are also decorated with cow- 
rie shells along ihe water line, and on the 
stem and stern posts.— Badminton Magazine 
for July. 
ORANGE CULTIVATION IN EGYPT. 
There is no doubt but that the cultivation of orcingca 
is a far too neglected branch of horticulture in Egypt, 
which has been especi-uily recommended by experts 
as cue of the best suited spots for the establishment 
of a garden for oranges and other fruits of its class. 
Although much progress has recently been made in its 
cultivation in this country, there is still room for 
much greater extension. At present the export of 
oranges only amounts to about one-eleveuth of the 
import, and, fortunately for those in the orange trade 
the fruit comes in at the same time of the year as' 
the annual influx of visitors, much to their mutual 
satisfaction. _ The "Yussuf Effeiidi" is the variety 
most extensively grown here. These are mostly sold 
locally or at neighbouring large towns at a fair 
price. Although a nicely-flavoured and satisfactory 
fruit it has been cultivated too exclusively. The 
smaller variety, sold in England as Tangerines, fetch 
about the same price as the best Jaffas. They should 
prove very remunerative to growers here for export. 
Belonging to the same loose-skinned group are the' 
"Nagpore" of Bombay and "Sylliet" of Calcutta. 
Both of these are grown very largely in India and are' 
very muih alike. The " Nagpore" tree is a spreading 
variety while the " Sylhet " is an upright tree, growa 
higher, and is only grown from seed. Both are 
excellent varieties for exportation. Two other varieties 
which should do well here are the ''Suntolah" and 
the " Keonla." The former orange is very small but 
extremely sweet, it grows almosc wild in the hot 
humid part of India between the Himalayas and the 
Ganges. It should be suitable for those parts of 
Egypt or the Soudan which have a similar climate 
bat should, of course, be tried in any part which 
can be kept well supplied with water throughout the 
year. Naturally, it requires very little attention, 
A,n novelties ar§ always accejatable Ih Engltsh ruarketi^ 
