December i, 1891.] THE TROHCAL aQRIOULTURIST. 
445 
100,000 coolies eaoh, still demand fresh supplies. The 
journey to these districts is comparatively long and 
expensive, »nd the conditions of labour are probably 
lees easy than in more Bcceseible districts. Every- 
thing that tends to make the acquisition of C50lies 
di£Gcult and expensive ti nds to make the coolie's 
lot less easy, in as much as the expanse of importa- 
tion tends to encroach on the wages fund of the 
Province. — Pioneer. 
FISH-CURING. 
From the report of the Board of Revenue on fish- 
curing opsralions during the year 1890-91. it appears 
that the number ot yards actually worked in the 
Presidency during the year was 143, or one more than 
in the previous year. The weight of fish brought to 
be cured increased from 43,496 tons to 50,194 tons, 
or by 15 3 per cent. The increase appears in five 
sub-divisions, while in the remaining three — Nel'ore, 
Ohinglepnt, and Negapatam there was a decrease, 
which is ascribed to a bad fiihing season on the 
East Coist. The average quantity of salt issued to 
each mound offish cured fell from 1216 lb. in 1889-90 
to 11'83 lb. in ttie ye'^r under report. In the sub- 
divisioQS the proport ons of salt issued varied from 
8'4ti lb. in Chioacole to 14 22 lb in Negapatam. The 
experiments c:>nducted by Government officers ex- 
hibit similar variation", the largest quantity of salt 
used being in Tinnevelly (15-5tj lb.), and the smallest 
in Chicacoie (9 lb.), the '.versge for the Presidency 
being liJ'32 lb. Departmoutal experiments in fish- 
curing were conducted on a larger scale than in 
previous years, the quantify dealt with being 2,452 
niannds against 541 maun'^s ia 1889-90. No inform- 
ation is afforded in the report as to whether the 
article thus cured is more appreciated by the public 
than thai; cured in the onHuary manner, and as to 
whether it commands a higher price in the market. 
The quan'ity of salted fish exported by sea amounted 
to 3,610 tons against 2,750 tons in the previous 
year, and the average value of the exported article 
showa a slight rise, being 1 anna 3 6 pies per lb. 
against ) anna 8-4 pies in 1889-90. The financial 
roBults ot the industry, rem&rks Government, are, as 
n«ual, vi<ry satisfactory, the surplus of receipts over 
charges being Rl5,190and the net gain to Government 
from the commencement of operations amounting to 
B.53,2&9.— Madras Times. 
♦■ 
ECHOES OF SCIENCE. 
The question of sterilising water for the supply 
of citii^i by means of electricity has again croppo 1 up 
in a paper by Mr. K. Meidc Bache, recently road 
before the Arac^rican Pliiloaophical Society, Mr. Baohe 
has niaic a number of oxperia-.oiits, which go to pr >ve 
that a current ot eleotiici'y font through water 
dibtroys bacti'ria; but, as in prior experiments by 
others, it is still d;nibt!nl whether the liberated oxyged 
or the electricity itself kills the germs. In any case 
the water is at least partially sterilise J. 
YoHst has been .rdccessi'ully tried ^.•i a remedy for 
typl'.oid fever by Drs. Euibliiiu,-, Lempriere, and 
Thomson, of the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Thirty- 
seven cases were treatod, t )u being severe, the 
temperatnres reaching lOlilos'. ; eight were moderate, 
the temperatures being lOSdeg. ; eleven were mild, 
and eight w<ro very mild, the temperatures reicliiug 
102dog. In evtry rase tbo recoviry took place without 
a relapse. There is a theory to I lie effect that relapses 
are duo to reinfection from ihe intestine, and Dr. 
Thonvon roniarka in his report that ye;ist should 
destroy the baci li in the iutestinal tube, and so 
prevent reinfection. 
Mr. I'lJison is keeping his now oleelric railway a 
prnfounil arcret at present, perlmjis to avoid iiiriicy, 
Iml ho cl aims that his system will supplant all other 
railways, at leant for tratlic i.i cities, and lie declares 
that till- Hroiidway and Third Avenue Car Companies 
will soju regret their receu. enormous expeodif.iro 
for making cable tramways, for his new system can 
be iustalled with very simple changes in the roadway. 
All that ia publicly known about the system i.s that 
it comprises a new electro-motor and a conductor 
which is hidden in the track itself. 
It is rumoured that he employs a current of low 
voltage, or electromotive force, and that he can get 
his current from the track without much loss of power, 
even in muddy weather, when the insulation must be 
low. He is now building a large electrical locomotive 
for this purpose in his private factory at Orange, 
New York. 
The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company 
of the Unite 1 States recently ran a train consisting 
of a "D33" eugine and cars, amounting to a load 
of 169 tons in all, at the surprising speed of 90i 
miles an hour. The run toolc place on a mile of level 
track following a descending grade of 37 feet per 
mile. The New York Central Railway has also 
accomplished 436 1-3 miles in 425min. 14seo. — or over 
60 miles an hour, the locomotive being- a Schenectady 
engine. — Globe. 
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NUTMEG AND 
THE CULTIVATION. 
By Thomas Oxley, Esq., A. B., 
Senior Surgeon of the Settlement of Frince of Wales* 
Island, Singapore and Malacca. 
(From the " Journal of the Indian Archipelago and 
Eastern Asia.") 
The Myristica Moschata, or true Nutmeg, is known 
to botanists as a tree belonging to the Natural 
Family MyristicacaB, Class Disecia, Order Monodelphia 
of the Liunsean System. It would be superfluous to 
enter into a minute description of a plant already 
so well described, particularly by Roxburgh : I shall 
therefore merely notice some peculiarities that deserve 
attention The tree, like many of its class, has a strong 
tendency to become Mousecias, and Planters in gene- 
ral are rather well pleased at this habit, thinking 
they fccure a double advantage by having the male 
and female flowers on the same plant. This however 
is delusive, and being against the order of nature, 
the produce of such trees is invariably inferior, shew- 
ing itself in the production ot double nuts and other 
deformitie?. It is best, therefore, to have only female 
trees with a due proportion of males. But few have 
the moral resolution to cut down the Mouisciaa tree, 
on the principle that something is better than nothing, 
but they forget that the Monreoias plants having 
muoh fever flowers, it will take three or four of them 
to yield the same amount of pollen as the true male, 
and as for the proiluce yielded by such trees, that 
of one good female is worth a dozen of the other. 
The female flowers, which are merely composed 
ot a trifid calyx and no corolla, whin produced by 
a tree in full vigor, are perfectly urceolate, slightly 
tinged with green at the ba.se, and well filled by 
the ovary, whereas the female flowers of weakly 
trees are entirely yellow, imperfectly urceolate, and 
app' oach more to the staminiferous flowers of the male. 
The shape of the fruit varies considerably, being 
spherical, oblong and egg shaped, but " cioteris pari- 
bus " the nearer they approach sphericity of figure, 
the mora highly are they prized. 
There is also a great variety in the foliage of 
different trees, from eliptic, oblong and ovate, to 
almost purely lanceolate shaped leaves. This difference 
seems to indicate in some measure the character of 
the produce, trees with large oblong leaves appearing 
to have the largest and most spherical fruit, and 
therewith small lance jlate heaves being in general 
more prolific bearers, but ot inferior quality. 
Tho otiject of this paper b 'ing practical, I shsll 
couliiie myself as muoh as possible to a record of an 
experience extended over a period of some 20 years ; 
and as the subject of spice planting has now become 
ono of deep interest to very many of the Strait's 
settlers, I entertain a hops of being able to ofter 
