186 
THE TROPICAL 
AaRICULTTJPJST. 
[Sept. 2, 1901. 
difficulties. I refer to Agave, or as it i.s coiiiinonly 
known Aloe, planting and the extracting of iibre 
tlierefrorn on a commercial .scale, A Syndicate 
has been formed in this Presidency under the 
desicjnation of "The South Indian Fibre Syndi- 
cate" and the Manager has taken, on its behalf, 
tor aperiod of years, all the aloe plants belonging to 
the Forest Department and the Lo:al Fund Board 
along the various roads in the Anantapur District, 
in all periiaps some 300 miles. Probably, if all India 
were searched, no such extent of aloe hedging 
could Ije found, and therefore the concession is of 
priceless value to the Syndicate, for money could 
not purchase it in any other part of India, 'or it 
is simply not to be had. Further, it has secured 
Ithrough its Manager a grant of 20,000 acres of 
and for planting purpo.^es. The Syndicate is now 
turning out fibre superior to anytliing that is pro- 
duced by the Bahamas or Mexico, the two chief 
fibre-producing countries. I heai- from a reliable 
source that a gentleman named Gribble has, on 
behalf of a Company at Home, offered to purchase 
the rights and property of the South Iiulian Fibre 
Syndicate for a sum of £60,C00, and I should say, 
from all I iiear, that the property is fully worth 
this or more to any Company in England with 
ca|iital, and that they are getting a cheap bargain. 
I may mention that the fibre now being manu- 
factured by the Soiitli Indian Fibre Syndicate has 
been reported upon by expert? at Home as superior 
ic every way to that received from other countries. 
Agave. 
—Madras Mail, Aug, 6. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The Report on the progress and condition 
of the Government Botanical Gardens, Saha- 
ranpur and Arnigadh, for the year ending 
3lst March 1901, shows that certain drugs — 
Colocynth fruit, Kamela powder and extract 
or dried leaves of Hyoscyamus— are given and 
supplied to the Indian Medical Lepartment. 
Could this not he done iu the same way in 
Ceylon ? In regard to fruits and palms we 
quote : — 
Seedling trees of the coarae stringy mangoes bore 
heavy crops in some of the groves ia the district, 
but the crop carried by the choice grafted kinds 
grown in the gai-den was very light. Bers, figs, 
lichia, loqnats, peaches, country pears and country 
plums were somewhat better in yield ; but in no 
single instance was the crop sufficiently heavy to be 
classed aa good. Oranges, limes, lemons, and granes 
all gave very light crops, and fo -erv light in the 
case o£ the lime that considerable difficulty was ex- 
perienced iu coUeiitiuij sufficifnt; aeed to meet the 
wants of our nurseries for sowing purposes. 
Arahian Bate Palm {Phoeid.x dactylifera). -The date 
palms, with some few exceptions, are making excel- 
lent growth, bu;. the yield of fruit is still insigidfi- 
cantly small. Fruit of excelleni quality w /s piodn.:e i 
by 17 trees, but the buin'h s were all too smail to 
be of any value for rnarkft purpo-;es. The -.ireea 
which were noted in the last rinnual report as ha,ving 
been treated to a cart-load of manure apiece threw 
out a magnificent crop of leaves, but those which 
fruited did not hear larger bunches of fruit than 
trees which were iiot manured. The manured trees 
are hov^cver without question stronger and healthier- 
looking plants than those which haoe not bi'en manured, 
and are almost sure to respond to the manuring 
given by yielding larger-sized bunches of fruit within 
tho next year ortwo. 
"The Wax- Palm op Brazil"— referred to 
by a correspondent the other day— is thus 
noticed in the "Treasury of Botany" : — 
The Carnaiiba or Wax- Palm of Brazil, C. ceri- 
fera, grows about forty feet high, and has a trunk 
six or eight inches thick, composed ot very hard 
wood, which is commonly employed in Brazil for 
building and other purposes, and is sometimes sent 
to this country and used for ventering. The upper 
part of the young stems, however, is soft, and 
yields a kind of sago; and the bitter fruits are 
eaten by the Indians. Tlie young leaves a'e coated 
with wax, called carnauba wax, which is detached 
by shaking them, and then melted and run into 
cakes: it is harder than bees" wax, and ha? been 
used by Price and Co. for making candies, but. as 
no process of bleaching has been discovered, they 
retain the lemon-coloured tint of the raw wax. 
The leaves are also used for thatching, making 
hats, &c., and while young as fodder for horses. 
— A.S. 
Coconuts and Rice in the Southern Pro- 
YINCE Ceylon. — Here is an interesting paragraph 
from Mr. Fowler's able Administration Report 
just received today : — 
New Aheas of Cultivation.— The extension cf 
coconut cultivation progresses rapidly, and the sate of 
land affords a fairly correct index of the extent 
annually brought nn^er cultivation. Tea planting 
ia at a stand-still, and very little additional land 
has been plautei) with citronella. Most of the small 
lots are cultivated as gardens, and the total area 
of these is very considerable. A large extent of 
paddy land can be sold if the purchasers are allowed 
to buy under Sir Henry Ward's Minute, payment 
being made in four instalments, and I expect to 
be able shortly to submit applications. Mr Elliott 
has favoured me with some notes on his interesting 
experiment at Walawe, and it is pleasant to hear 
that experience has not affected his belief in paddy 
cultivation as .a paying investment. He has found 
that working with hired labour, as oa an estate 
upcountry, is impracticable. It is contrary to all 
Sinhalese traditions and customs. ' No reasouabl.i 
wages would secure the services of the regular 
cultivators, and he could only get meu who took 
no interest in their work. He then adopted the 
custom ry share system, and had then no difficulty 
in securing any number of the regular " goyas," 
and only the want of sufficient buffaloes has pre- 
vented him from securing a highly satisfactory 
return. Ploughs cannot be used on newly-opened 
land, and buffaloes, for which a high rate of hire 
must be paid, are indispensable. The area now 
under cultivation is nearly 500 acres, and the 
yield per acre was about 30 to 35 bushels 
His experience shows that, exclusive of cost of 
land, a sum of 6 ' cents represents the working 
expenses in producing a bushel of paddy, including ^ 
Buiop jaii supervision. As the price of p-iddv varies 
fr> m Rl'33 to Rl'56 per bushpl, the return on a 
large [icieiige is sufficient to justify Mr. Elliott's 
fnith in I is enterprise, and it may be hoped that 
the l ine will come wl\ei, European capital will be 
largely .^vested i/i 'h .ro cris th t iie waiting 
uuiiei m Miy re- tiir. «i taiik u.ijd chauutls. I" is 
po> ibl.' thit lij i.he Hamb>utota District cotton- 
plviiiing may prove to b' r-muneraii v". On a 
ci'.'i-'uit in i.hat i-;ti ;ct in ; Oinp nc with Mi. Broun, 
the Conservator of b'orecstB, w found ooiuou grow- 
ing app ! rentiy wild in the jungle and bearing 
freely. Mr. Broun took specimens of the pods which 
proved to be those of a cultivated variety gone 
wild. As the locality was far from any existing 
village of any importance, it must have been planted 
very many years ago, a proof that the soil and 
climate are congenial. 
