344 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. 1, 1901. 
krodnction of leaf disease, and he thought that with 
these precautions we might well take the risk. The 
gravity of the situation demanded that some such 
■taps should be taken. After some discussion it was 
unanimously agreed to support Mr Hynde's motion. 
DETAILS OF THE SCHEME DECIDED ON. 
It is hereby notified for general information that at 
a special meeting of the Committee of the above 
Chamber held in the Labour Bureau Offices on iSth 
August, 1901, Mr. H S Hynde brought forward the 
following motion, viz., " That H. M. Commissioner 
and Consul General be asked to temporarily amend, 
for the period of one year from 1st October next, the 
Regulations at present in force for the Prevention of 
the Introduction of Coffee Leaf Disease into this Pro- 
tectorate to the following effect : — 
1. That a Committee consisting of the Resident 
Government Medical Officer, the Secretary of the 
B. C. A. Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, 
and one elected member of the Chamber, be 
formed to specially consider applications to import 
economic seeds from countries at present prohibited 
under the Coffee Leaf Disease Regulations of 1894. 
2. Anyone desiring to import seeds for economic 
purposes, from countries at present prohibited under 
these Regulations, must fiZst make written application 
to this Committee. Should their application be ap- 
proved they may then import the seed, but it must 
be addressed to the care of the Committee and all 
charges paid to Blantyre. 
3. The Committee will then take such steps 
towards disinfecting the seed as they may deem 
necessary, and after disinfection the seed will be for- 
warded to the applicant without delay, the applicant 
paying all charges for carriage if such be necessary. 
4. Applicants must agree to waive any claims 
against the Committee for any loss or damage arising 
from delay, the disinteoting process, or any other 
cause, while the seed is being dealt with by the rJom- 
mittee. 
5. Applicants must engage to carry out any other 
precautions which the Committee may think fit to pre- 
scribe and the Committee must give written notice of 
special precautions to particular cases when agi-eeing 
in applications. 
PRECAUTIONS. 
The Committee will take the following among other 
precautions :— 
1. Cofiee seed will only be allowed to be imported 
from a prohibited country as cherry-dried. 
2. The Committee will cause the pulp to be removed 
and it, along with all packing material, will bii incine- 
rated under their supervision. The seed will then be 
further chemically disinfected. 
3. Other seeds will be treated in a similar manner 
according to the degree of danger, and special instruc- 
tions, which must be adhered to by all applicants, may 
be issued at the discretion of the Committee in special 
oases." 
The above scheme was unanimously approved of by 
the Committee owing to the urgent need for the im- 
portation of new seeds of economic plants and it was 
decided to publish the scheme before the Annual 
General Meeting and to request members to lodge any 
objections they may have to its adoption by the 
Chamber on or before the General Meeting called for 
the 18th September. 
It is hereby notified therefore that members are re- 
quested to sig lify their approval or otherwise of the 
above scheme on or before the 18th September. Mem- 
bers who canuot attend the meeting per;3onally are 
requested to send their opinions on the subject lond to 
indicate their vote to the Secretary of the Charcber 
Committee, (Signed) J. MacMohland, Secretary. 
— Central African Times, August 3Ist. 
GOOD CULTIVATION NEARLY Ab EFFEC- 
TIVE AS RAINFALL. 
lu a letter to the Department concerning his 
experience in farm and orchard work at El)er.ston, 
Mr J Stephen.s says : — "I liave followed the ad- 
vice of the Agncultural Gazette in respect to 
thorou}<h cultivation of crc.ps, and in pruning and 
working among fi ait-tree.s, and I have often raised 
good crops in both farm and orchard in very dry 
seasons. I consider good cultivation amongst 
growing crop.s nearly equal to rainfall." — Agricul- 
tural Gazette of New South Wales. 
- 
COFFEE AND BLACK BUG. 
A correspondent writes to us : — Government is 
making enquiries of the planters on tiie Nilgiris 
as to the damage done to coftye trees by black 
bug, from which many estates have suffered 
severely. Planters will be interested to know 
that all hybrid Maragugipe plants in the Meka- 
naad District are freei:roni the pest. This cross 
seems to be immune. — M Mail, Oct. 16. 
PEARLS. 
Mr O Burt, of Victoria square, has in his 
possession a number of pearls obtained from 
Shark's Bay, Western Australia, which he 
has been informed are of most uncommon 
size and rare ralue. His attention was 
directed a short while ago to an illustration 
of a specimen | in. in length which was 
valued at £600. Until then he had not re- 
garded his own as ot any considerable worth, 
but several jewellers in the city have since 
told him that they are beautiful specimens 
and of immense value, and he intends send- 
ing them to England for sale. The largest 
is a cluster IJ in. long, and contains some 
hundreds of small round pearls ; another is 
of purer quality about half the size ; a third 
cluster consists of three pearls almost cir- 
cular, each about f in. in diameter. There 
are also two *large single ones and three 
smaller clusters.— iS" A Register, Oct. 2. 
The most famous peai4 discovery in Aus- 
tralia of late years is that known as the 
Southern Cross. It consists of a cluster of 
nine pearls m the shape of a crucifix, and 
is almost perfect in proportion. This freak 
of nature was picked up at low water on 
the Lacipede Islands by a beachcomber named 
Clark; it was last sold for £10,000. -Ibid, 
Sept. 26 
Not a hundred miles from Piccadilly-circut 
there is a sight at present to be seen in a 
jeweller's window calculated to afford mucs 
food for the cynical. Preserved in spirits 
of wine is a large oyster, whose succulen- 
body beloved in its fresh state by the gour 
met, has taken a yellow parchment like ap- 
pearance, which irresistibly recalls the un- 
holy horrors one seen in a hospital museum. 
Close to the sickly-coloured flesh of the 
bivalve is a large pearl, milky and lustrous, 
its beauty contrasting oddly with the dead 
hideousness which adheres to the shell by it, 
and underneath is a card which informs the 
spectator that ' the pe.H.rl if it grows large 
enough kills the oyster.' Nature must have 
been in a malicious mood when she ' started 
in the pearl line ' It is nothing short of 
ironical of her to have ordained that the 
