I'iHE TROPICAL AORICULTUBIST. ^May 1, 1902. 
Coppe:?;pon3.e:nee, 
To the Editor. 
ERADICATION OF THE PlilCKLY PEAR 
IN AUSTRAIJA. 
6lh March 1902. 
Sir, — In the 'Tropical Agriculturist of January 1902. 
p. 472 this occurs. " The Government (Bribbune Nov. 
27) today decided to offer a reward of £.5,000 for 
the discovery of a method of eradicating the prickly 
pear," &c., (Adelaide Observer) Befoie eradicating the 
prickly pear tree, would it not be a wise plan to 
see whether some use cannot be found for it. But 
first it might perhaps be useful to try and decide 
what a" prickly pear" is. There are prickly pear 
trees (Opuntia) in South Africa, in Australia and in 
South India. Are these three one and the same species, 
or are they all three different ? The name of "Prickly 
Pear " is very misleading. In the Mediterranean 
there is a fine species which produces delicious fruit 
in summer. It is of three different varieties, the red, 
the white and the yellow fruited. Under cultivation 
It produces fine fruit and grows into a large bush. In 
the Mediterranean it is called Fico cV India, and 
presumably it is the " Opuntia Ficus Indica." But 
in England I found it anything but hardy. So re- 
cently I obtained two species from the Cambridge 
Botanic Garden which are there declared to be per- 
fectly hardy although their fruit is of no value, One 
is opuntia bicolor, and other 0. Engelmanni. My 
object in getting these, is to try and graft the tender 
O. Ficus Indica on to these hardy ones ; and ex- 
periment with them again in the open. The appella- 
tion of 'Prickly Pear' is of no use, as all kinds, 
good, bad and indifferent, are, it seems, called by 
that name. 
Kow, could not the Government of Australia 
import the fine and luscious varieties of the O. 
Ficus Indica from the Mediterranean — they are grown 
in Cyprus, Malta, Sicily and other places — and 
See if they cannot be grafted on the Australian 
Opuntia? That might perhaps be one way of uti- 
lizing some at least of the acres of wild prickly 
pear. It should also make useful hedges. 
But there may possibly be another and more sensible 
Way of utilizing this flat-branched tree. In the Medi. 
terranean I have seen people feeding goats with the 
flat branches of the " Pico d' India," cut in pieces, and 
also with the fruit skins. The goats did not seem 
to mind the prickles in the least. The sheep has 
been largely patronised in Australia, but I have never 
heard that the goat has been cared for there, 
Yet the goat is one of the most useful animals, 
both for its milk and its flesh. Kid is highly prized as 
a meat. Then its skin is also va'uable. One should 
see the milk men in the south of Europe — in Leghorn, 
Naples, Sicily, nyeres, Sic, — going from door to 
door, with a small herd of goats and milking them as 
the people wanted the milk. It would be an in- 
teresting experiment if somebody in Australia would 
try to feed goats on this prickly pear. The waj (o 
commence would be to take a young green branch, 
scrape off the prickles, cut it in pieces, and force a 
bit into the goat's mouth to enable it to get a, taste 
of it. If it is hungry, the chances are it will eat it, 
and continue to do so afterwards. 
E. BONAYIA, M.D, 
•COCONUT PLANTING: TREES PER 
ACRE AFD NUTS PER TREE. 
London, March 7. 
tyv.Aii Sir, — In your Overland Observer there 
ai'e letters iroiri H. L. D., dated 3Ist January 
and .'5rd F(.'l)in;iry, with reference to Kiri- 
nietiana Coconut ewLate, which are not with- 
out iiit';rest. 
Fronfi the figures he gives it would appear 
that last year the estate of 60.3 acres gave 
8.38,970 nuts or 1,391 nuts per acre. He also 
states tlie yield per tree was 44-5 nuts, so it 
follows there are only 31 trees per acre. 
As I under.'jtand. Coconuts run on an 
average 80 trees to the acre : so it would 
appear (unless the 603 acres have an enor- 
mous number of vacancies) that only some 
40 per cent of the trees, which are said to 
he from 10 to .30 years old. aie in hearing. 
Perhaps H. L. D. would kindly publish some 
figures in elucidation ? 
COPRA. 
[An explanation is certainly needed ; for 
the 003 acres are described as " fully planted," 
and if all the trees are not in bearing— as 
we suppose must be the case— it was a, 
mistake to average the total crop without 
specifying how many acres, or trees, were 
in full and how many in partial bearing ?— 
Ed. T.A.] 
ALKALINE PHOSPHATIC MANURES. 
London, E. C. March 21. 
Sir,— In reference to my lecture last week 
at the Society of Arts the enclosed cutting 
from the Standard of the 20th March 
shows that the new manure is favoarably 
regarded.— Yours trulv, 
JOHN HUGHES. 
{Cutting.) 
An interesting discussion on ''The Uiility of 
Alkaline Pliospliatic Manures" tooK jiiace at a 
meeting of the Society of Arts last week, intro- 
duced by Mr. John Hughes, F. I. C. The lecturer 
described the several phosphatic manures, and 
stated their respective degrees of sohibility in 
cold water, or in an extremely weak .■-olntioii of 
citric acid— nmcli weaker than the acidity in the 
juice of the roots of plants, or ui soils that s.re 
not alkaline. The comparisons showed that the 
new manure, basic supei phosphate, is much more 
soluble than basic slag in cold water, or in a citric 
acid solution, and that its proportions of available 
lime and phosphoric acid are very much greater. 
Ordinary superphospliate is still more soluble in 
cold water, and lor alkaline soils it is to be pre- 
ferred to the new manure ; but for acid soils the 
latter can hardly fail to give the better results. 
The several chemical authorities who took part in 
the discussion almost unanimously expressed the 
opinion that basic superphosphate would prove a 
gieat acquisition to farmers. 
PALAI, OR PALU, WOOD. 
flanwella, March 26. 
Dear Sir,— Referru:g to Mr. Arraitage's 
letter re sawing rate paid for Palai 
(Tamil, Sinhalese Palu) wood in vour paper 
of the 22nd instant, may I inform you that 
it is a very tough wood, not inferior to 
ironwood (Na). A cubic foot of Pahi wood 
is said to weigh 68 lb.; hence it is only used 
for heavy work, such as bridge construc- 
tion and for posts in house building. The 
sawing rates differ according to circumstan- 
ces and localities. The rates generally paid 
in the Western Province, for all kinds of 
hard wood, such asDunumadala, Galsiyambala, 
Na, Piilu, Munamal, Mee, Qtc. (ire betw^ejj 
