340 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. 1, 1901. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Mr W Watson has been graated a special 
license for the purpose of issuing curtiticates to 
any persons having control of any boiler or boilers 
used in any i-AcXoty .—Gazette. 
Cocoa and Banana Planting in Central, 
America.— We direct attention to a letter 
on this subject on page 3.33 from a British 
planter in Costa Rica. He gives us figures of a 
highly satisfactory kind ; but these are not 
on his own experience, and seem almost based 
too good to be true. However, we give them 
quanltit/m aleant. 
Trout in New Zealand.— Twenty thousand 
trout ora were received at Rotorua from the 
Okoroire trout hatchery a few weeks ago. The 
ova has now developed into healthy little fry. — 
Auckland News, September 12. — An enormous 
male trout was recently found lying dead near 
the mouth of the Mimihau river, a tributary of 
the Macaura river. It was .3ft. lin. in length, 
and although in very poor condition, weighed no 
less than 181b.— iV. Z. Mail, September 11. 
AijOK in Flower. — There is n«vv being exhi- 
bited in the conservatory at the West Park, 
Wolverhampton, a fine specimen of the American 
aloe which is said only to flower onoe in about a 
hundred years. It has been given to the Park 
Committee by Mr H Lovatt, of Law Hill Hall, 
and as it is now commencing to flower it will 
doubtless be an object of interest for several weeks. 
It is 18ft high, and it is estimated that it will 
develop about 2,000 hlooms.— Globe. Sept. 27. 
DooMOO Tea Compant. — Elsewhere we 
give an account of the proceedings at the 
annual general meeting of this Company 
which discloses a state of affairs upon which 
the shareholders may very well be congratu- 
lated, considering the condition of the market 
during the year. A dividend of 7 per cent 
has been declared and considerable adititions 
made to the depreciation and reserve accounts 
while there is a balance of nearly R2,000 to 
be^carried forward. A good deal of atten- 
tion has been paid to Verellapatna estate 
and there is every reason to believe that 
the new factory which it is proposed to 
erect there, will help very materially in im- 
proving the manufacture of tea. 
Fruit and Leaf Crops.— We have in the 
Island hill districts whose climate hardly 
suited coffee, so far as fruiting at least 
went, as well as it suited the health and 
comfort of the European Proprietor and 
Superintendent, and in the low-country 
there are tracts in which the coconut tree 
flourishes luxuriantly, but which are too 
rainy to bear paying crops. In the Upper 
Shillory Experimental Farm in Assam, 
they are just beginning to realise that, 
while there is no difficulty in raising fodder 
crops, and in preserving them for cattle in 
the winter. When natural grass is very 
scarce in parts, seed crops yield disap- 
])ointing results. Grasses, cloves and even 
root crops have been successful ; but 
wheat, barley, oats and linseed have proved 
very disappointing owing to the rains 
setting in about the time of flowering, and 
preventing the development of seed. 
" The Ageicultural Gazette " of New South 
Wales. Issued by Direction of the Hon. John Kidd, 
M. P., Secretary for Mines and Agriculture. 
E lifced by W. H Clarke, for August 19CI has the 
following contents : — Introduction by the Under Se- 
creUry for Mines and Agriculture ; Report of the 
Chief Inspecioi- of Agriculture ; Report of the Chem- 
ist ; Report of the Eutomologist ; Report of the 
Dairy Expert ; Report of the Fruit Expert ; Re- 
port of the Wheat Expc-rimentalist ; Report of the 
Viticultarist ; Report of the Inspector of Agriculture 
and Timber ; R?port of the Fruit Inpectors ; Rf- 
port of the Principal, Ilawkeshnry Agri -ultur:.! 
C 'Uege ; Report of the Mao'iger. Wasga Experi- 
mental Farij? ; Report of the Manager, Bathorst Ex- 
perimental Farm ; Report of the Manager, Wollongbar 
Experimental Farm: Report of the Manager Pera 
Bore Experimental Farm ; Report of the Manager, 
Coolabah Experimental Farm ; Report of the Se- 
cretary, Board for Exports ; List of Agricultura- 
Societies' Shows, 1901. 
Central Africa and Seed Importation. 
— The mail from Central Africa brings 
us news of importance to those who 
have coffee and cocoa seed for sale, in 
the announcement that the B G A Chamber 
of Agriculture and Commerce has asked 
the Commissioner to permit a specially 
chosen committee to consider applications 
to import economic seeds from countries 
at present prohibited under the Coffee 
Leaf Disease Regulation Act of 1894. 
Coffee seed will be imported as " cherry- 
dried" only, and all seeds will be chemically 
disinfected. The need of new products is 
being felt, and the following {Central 
Af rican Times, Aug. 24:th) ie germane to the 
subject : — 
INlr. J \V" Moir, of Lauderdale Estate, Mlanje, 
who has for many years imported Jamaica Coffee 
seeil, has another consignment on the way now 
which we trust will prove successful. Mr. Moir 
deserves credit for his persistent efforts to introduce 
not only new Coffee seed, but also to estaolish the 
Cocoa plaut in this country. 
Seed for Central Africa.— With reference 
to this subject, upon which we quote fully else- 
where, the Central African Times has the 
following : — 
We think it may be said that the Planters have 
supported the Administration throughout and that the 
present untoward result is due to the extreme strin- 
gency imposed irpon both the Administration and the 
Planters by the Kew authorities with, we may re- 
mark, the very best intentions. The Regulations so 
far have been completely successful and as yet we 
have been able to keep the leaf disease at bay. In 
barring the importation of seed from all countries 
where leaf disease is known to be, or has been, we 
have, however, handicapped ourselves to a tremend- 
ous extent as, unfortunately for a young country like 
ours, we have been unable to import seed from all 
those countries which are our immediate neighbours. 
We have, in fact, bad to face the problem of im- 
porting our seed Irom the uttermost ends of the earth 
and seed is a commodity which cannot stand long 
carriage. For example, it is practically impossible to 
establish cocoa here because in ninety-nine cases out 
of a hundred the germinative power of the cocoa 
seed is lost by the time the seeds arrive in this 
country from the East Indies, the Leaf Disease 
Regulations absolutely prohibiting the importation 
from our nearest neighbours such as Natal, Mauritius, 
India or Ceylon. It is, however, apparent to all that 
this risk must be taken and we have no donbt but 
that H. M. Commissioner, recognising the urgency 
of the case, will at onoe accede to the Chamber 
CoMQmittee's proposals. 
