Dkc. 2, 1901.] THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
To the Editor. 
A TEAM OF ALLKJATOliS FUR KIVER 
WORK. 
New Gal way, Oct. 23. 
Dear Sir, — EncLised you will find a catting 
from a liome paper re alligators : has the experi- 
ment been tried in Ceylon? If not, why not?— 
Yours faithfully, CONNEMARA. 
A Team of Alligators. — Jefferson Lee, who lives 
on the St. John's River in Putnam Uountry, Fla., 
has the most extraordinary team in the country. It 
is a team of alligators that ilr. Lee uses to tow his 
boat up and down the river when he goes to market. 
Mr. Lee has to go six miles down the river to his 
post-oiSce, and it is a hard pull against the current 
coming back. He noticed how swiftly alligators swam, 
and it occurred to him that it might be a good thing 
to turn the alligators that abound in the St. John's 
River to some account. He captured a pair of yoang 
'gators and raised them in his yard. He taught them 
to swim and drag a weight behind them, and he also 
taught them to turn either to the right or left by 
pulling ropes fastened to their teeth on either side. 
When the alligators were big enough he put a har- 
ness that he had constructed on them and harnessed 
{ them to his Doat. They swam well and pulled the 
boat through the water at a good speed. By pulling 
on the reins that passed thiough the mouths of the 
'gators Mr. Lee was able turn his strange water team 
in any direction he pleased. Mr. JiCe made a point 
of never feeding his alligators until after they re- 
returned from a trip, when he would immediately 
reward each one with a fine meal. The alligators 
seem to be willing to perform their task^of pulling his 
boat, and when he turns them out o£ the pen in 
which they are stabled and starts them.for the water 
they shuflie down to the boat in the liveliest style, 
I and after they are hitched they plunge into the water 
with grunts of delight, Mr. Lee says his strange 
team has never run away or kicked out the dash 
( board of his river craft, but that they have one fault, 
j for which, however, he does not blame them. They 
I sometimes sweep their powerful tails in a curve 
through the water, and once smashed one of his 
boats into small bits and threw Mr. Lee and a party 
that he was taking boat riding into the river. They 
would have all been drowned had not the alligators 
i swam back to them and permitted the party to climb 
I on their backs, after which the alligators swam swiftly 
! to the shore and all the party were saTed. Mr. Lee 
! now hitches up his team twenty feet in front of the 
' boat, so that the sweep of their tails will not en- 
danger the craft. Mr. Lee's success has created 
great interest among all of his neighbours, and now 
many alligators are being trained for duty as sea 
horses. 
THE LARGEST OACAO POD IN THE 
WORLD : 
GOOD CROPS IN WATTEGAMA; 
" DAYS OP OLD " IN HUNASGERIA. 
Pranklands, Wattegama, Oct. 25. 
Dear Sir, — I was very glad to read in 
■ your paper about the large Cacao pods (J: to 
each) sent you from our friend, Mr. J. Martin, 
of Katugastotte estate ; no doubt, grown from 
seed planted from pods I supplied to Mr. Fair- 
weather and him. I have now the pleasure to 
send you one pod, length 13 in. girth \a\ in. 
which weighs .5 lb., just ripening and plucked 
from a tree this day. There is another pod 
oil same ttee (amongst other pods) about the 
50 
same .size, but quite green as yet. This grown 
on land which .me intending purchaser would 
not take as it was too steep ;md worn out' 
Ihis shows what jiractical cultivation can do- 
lou remember, 1 also supplied vou with the 
largest Cacao leaf 24 inches long" by 10 inches 
broad taken from tlie same land. I am glad 
to say my crop for this year again prom^ises 
well, though 1 had to fell much shade and so 
lost some blossom. 
Our neighbour. Major Pain, expects o cwt. 
per acre from Meegama cacao in full bearing. 
'J-his also from land which was formerly 
chena; then planted with Tobacco and Cotton, 
after that with Cacao and Coconuts. This 
land has also been carefully planted and its 
wants attended to. 
Our friend, Mr. .J. L. S., is wrong 
when he s;tys Mr. George Beck is the 
only survivor of Hunasgeria estate while 
Messrs. Tnidall and Co. were proprietors I 
jomed Hunasgeria in July 18.58 under the late 
Mr. W. Henderson on Sina Mally ; afterwards 
was sent to Maha-oya division to put up the 
large bungalow and assist Mr. Geo. Harcourt 
m opening the estate. Then I built and lived 
m another bungalow under the Peak where I 
-eceived a number of visitors on their way 
to the Peak. From thence I was sent to Gava- 
tenne and Mr. Geo. Beck came there to learn 
the opening of new land, and I was always glad 
to hear of his great succcess in Dimbula. He 
was a most painstaking, careful planter. In 
those days we had Mr. Adie, as Manager of 
Pendleton : he had a fine Billiard Table, and 
we, yotuig planters from Hunasgeria, used to 
spend our spare time -At his bungalow. Mr. 
Vmcenfc Harcourt, who was on Hunasgeria in 
my time as Assistant, is still alive and is now 
a Minister in India. — Yours faithfully, 
JOSEPH HOLLOWAY. 
[The Cacao pod sent by Mr. Holloway 
is indeed a superb one measuring 1.3 inches 
long by 15^ inches in circumference and 
weignmg close on 5 lb.— it has lost a 
little m drying. Has anything larger 
or heavier been grown in Ceylon ? We 
shall ask the same Cjuestion with reference 
to Trinidad and other Cacao-growing coun- 
tries in our monthly Iropicdl Aciricalturist. 
We are to circidate the pod round the Fort 
as requested by Mr. Holloway, as perhaps 
the largest pod ever seen.— Ed. T.A.] 
Franklanils, Wattegania, Nov. 2. 
Dear SlE,-i?e Mr. P D Young's letter of 
28th Oct. m the "Times of Ceylon" of 29th 
Oct. "KuJos and Cocoa seeds,'' Mr. David 
Fairweather of Glen Esk wrote on 29th Oct.:— "I 
have read your letter of 25th in the "Tunes" 
of 26th inst. The cacao pods supplied by you to 
Katagastota Estate, I am pleased to say' gave me 
every satisfaction." In reply to my letter of .30th 
Oct., Mr. T J Martin writes:— "lam unable to 
say who .supplied the seed from which I got the 
tree which bore the large pods I sent "in last 
year. We have had seed pods from Frankland.«, 
Woodthorpe, Goonambil and a few from other 
places during the last six or seven years. 
P D Young had no authority from ine to make 
any statement as to the seed which produced my 
big pod trees." I (J H) supplied Mr. Young seetl 
