668 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April 1. 1902. 
Y Daniel was won by this bird. Mr S Sara- 
singhe's No 15 took the 2nd prize, while the 
third fell to Mr C E Siebel's No 13. These 
tliree Malay cocks were very clojse together in the 
votinj; and it is hoped that tliey will meet 
again at tlie bi^ Foiiltiy Show in August. It may 
be interesting to know there were at least ten 
cocks that did not secure a single vote (where were 
their owners ?) while there were seven that only 
received one vote. The judging was certainly 
a novelty, it gave great zest to the Show and 
increased the interest of all in the proceedings, 
and further it gave sal/isfaction to all. While 
heartily approving of the method in the small 
Shows of a single breed, it would of course be 
unworkable in a large mixed Show. 
MOSQUITOES AND COLOUR. 
Mr. Herbert L. Thowless writes from Newark* 
New Jersey. U.S.A., under date January 29 : — 
" In a recent number of The Times appeared an 
article entitled ' Mosquitoes and Colour.' This 
article interested me because this State suffers 
from this pest. I clipped the article and sent it 
to Professor John B Smith, State Entomologist, 
Kuffter's College, NewBurnswick, N.J. Professor 
Smith writes me that he knows the facts as stated 
in the article, relative to colour affecting mosquitoes, 
to be true. It is a common observation along the 
seashore that the person wearing a black coat is 
more pestered than those in grey or yellow. The 
Legislature of the State of New Jersey is to be 
asked for a special appropriation of $10,0J0 (£2,000) 
to be used to investigate the mosquito problem. 
In the vicinity of New Jersey, at the town of 
South Orange and at other places, ponds and 
stagnant water were coated with crude kerosine 
oil during the sammer of 1901, and there was 
noted a marked decrease in the pest. This section 
has the misfortune to possess many thousands of 
acres of tide-marshes, and these mar.'^hes are fertile 
breeding places for mosquitoes. There does not 
appear to be much literature on the subject of 
mosquitoes, but the United States Agricultural 
Department prepared and distributed a mono- 
graph on mosquitoes and scattered it throughout 
the land. Copies can be had on application to 
the Secrelary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. , 
U.S.A."— London Times, Feb. 12. 
CEARA RUBBER IN WEST AFRICA. 
A letter from Lagos, dated 6bh Janutary, 
contains the following: — 
" Can you please give me the latest result 
atid all information about the caltivatioii of all 
kinds of rubber, and especially about the ex- 
periment of extracting rubber from yearling rub- 
ber trees ? The last infoiiaation to hand about 
this experiment {Tropical Agriculturist, Aug. 
1890) was that it was being tried with yearlings 
of cast-illoa elastica, the Mexican rubber tree. 
With what result and whether it has been tried 
with yearlings of other kinds of rubber tree, as 
you proposed, I have not been able to know. 
(We recoiiiinend our " Rubber Manual " to 
the attention of our correspondent.) Our planters 
beie have liiousands of ceara trees on 
tlieir land.M ; but the late.st and best result 
j^btained bo tar i« only (J) half an ounce of fine 
elastic rubber per tree, which I obtaine.l some 
time last month from the tapping of some 
isolated trees at Abeokuta — a town upcouutry 
four hours distant by rail from Lago.s. The 
people are naturally disappointed and contem- 
plate cutting down their ceara trees. But 
I advised patience and raised their hope by pro- 
mising to write to you for tlie latest information 
on the subject, especially about the experiment 
of extracting caoutcliouc from yearlings. I hope 
you will be kind enough to favour us with 
some interesting and hope-raising information 
on the subject.'' 
. 
TROPICAL MALADIES. 
^TIRESTING LECTURE BY DR. JOHN ANDERSON. 
In a paper read before the Medical Society of 
London, Dr. John Anderson deals with the remote 
effects of tropical life on Europeans. Dr. Aiideison 
is lecturer on tropical medicine at St. Maiy's 
Hospital Medical School, and points out that in 
hot countries, for example India, the temperature 
of the body is higher, the respiration slower, the 
capacity of the cliest for air is higher, so that 
the relative proportion of blood and air in the 
lungs is altered. The tone of the nervous system 
is also depressed. When a man, after long re- 
sidence in Incfea, returns to Europe, he is less 
adaptable to the second change of climate. 
Malaria and its consequences are very detri- 
mental to the health of Europeans in hot countries. 
Among the consequences are albumenuria and 
neuralgia. Serious conditions of the nervous 
system also result from sun or heat strokes, for 
example, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, and even 
dementia. In milder cases the patient cannot 
bear prolonged mental effort, and heated, stuffy 
rooms cause headache, insomnia, irregularity of 
the heart's a?tion, depression or irritability of 
temper. Such symptoms often disappear with cool 
temperature, avoidance of exposure to the sun, 
or of alcohol and excitement. Anfemia with en- 
largement of spleen is another consequence of 
residence in the tropics. Chronic hypertrophy of 
the spleen is an effect of malaria. Many diseases, 
for example typhoid, are complicated by malaria. 
Abscess of the liver is also a remote effect of 
Indian life, not easy to diagnose or discover. 
Chronic dysentery is another after-effect of long 
tropical residence. Mediterranean fever, ascribed 
to a microbe (the micrococcus melitensis), is not 
deadly, or associated with malaria or typhoid, 
though in its earlier stages it may be mistaken for 
these. Dr. Anderson's lecture, while suggestive, 
shows how much medical men have yet to learn 
with regard to tropical maladies. — (?Zo6e, Feb. 14. 
4, 
Growing Tobacco _ Under Shade.— An 
enthusiast on the subject of growing tobacco 
under shade estimates that within the next five 
years there will be no less than 6,000 acres 
producing wrappers under cheese-cloth in this 
country. At, say, 1,500 lb. to the acre, the 
yield would be 9,000,000 lb. — enough to wrap 
the cigar product of the country, and something 
left for export. The samples of the tobacco 
grown under shade in Connecticut which have 
been shown in the market are absolutely without 
a defect. — Queensland Agricultural Journal^ 
Feb. X. 
