584 
end of a week, the whole of the area sprinkled was 
deaol, with the exception of some thick stems in the 
middle, which were protected by the leaves above 
them, and so got little of the fluid. All the leaves 
were as dry as tinder, and the whole had an un- 
pleasant smell. I had no more of the chemical to 
complete the destruction of the thick stems and their 
roots ; so decided to furnish it by file. The whole 
of the destroyed area was then set fire to with a 
little straw and rubbish ; and all, including the thick 
stems, burnt freely. The whole patch was thus de- 
stroyed. A few sprouts have since appeared here and 
there in the patch ; but so few and so small, that 
they could be destroyed by a few ounces of the fluid, 
or a man could dig up the roots in a few minutes 
and burn them. Such sprouts always appea.r when 
prickly-pear has been nominally destroyed ; and the 
ground has always to be gone over a second time. 
They are much fever than usually appear after de- 
struction by hand-labor. The extent of the patch 
destroyed was 274 square yards. The small clump of 
young pear on which the weak solution was thrown 
was found killed, and it was not necessary to burn it. 
7. The experiment thus proved — 
(a) that the chemical thoroughly destroys all the 
leaves and all the parts of the pear that it 
gets at ; 
(/() that it destroys completely all young pear, 
even when used in a very weak solution ; 
((•) that even old well-established pear, with thick 
stems, is destroyed by it so far that the 
destruction can be readily completed by fire ; 
((}) that, judging from the Australian reports, 
the chemical acts a little more quickly in 
this country than in Australia ; and 
(e) that rain has no effect in checking the decay 
of the plant once it has begun. 
I believe also that the destruction is more complete 
than if done by manual labor. 
8. The only question remaining is 'that of cost. 
I have had to delay this report to be able to an- 
swer the question, as the manufactures gave me no 
information on the point when sending the sample. 
X have now received information from Messrs. Oakes 
& Co. that they can supply the chemical at RGO 
per box of 100 lb. Railway carriage would add a few 
rupees to this. Taking the total cost delivered in 
Trichinopoly at R60, the cost per lb. would be 
about As. 10-8. At this rate, the destruction of the 
274 square yards costs as follows : — 
RS. A. r. 
12 lb. of the chemical at As. 10-8 ..800 
Cost of burning — 
6 Coolies . . ..120) o o n 
Fuel 0 14 0 J 
Total.. 10 0 0 
Or just 7 pies per square yard — a little more than 
the usual rate for destruction by manual labor, viz., 
6 plea. 
9. So far, therefore, it would not pay to use the 
chemical. I believe, however, that the chemical could 
be used much more economically ; and that a 
strength of 1 lb. to 10 gallons of water would be just 
as destructive. It would be slower in action, but 
that is of no consequence. I could not unfortunately 
prove this, except on the clump of young pear, for 
the fire-engine was so large that I had to put all 
the remaining stuff in. The cost of burning too 
would, the Tahsildar tells me, be only one-half the 
figure given in villages away from Trichinopoly town. 
Taking that as correct, the expense for 274 square 
yards would be — 
its. A. V. 
.'il-.') lb. of the chemical at As. 10-8.. S 7 (1 
Cost of burning .. .. ..•..100 
Total.. 4 7 0 
Or 'd^^^> pies per square yard; or including a cooly 
to work the pump, an item I have not taken into 
consideration, as tlie South Indian Railway Company 
lifivo not (-hargcd mo anything, the cost would be 
something under pies per square yard. That rate 
woiWd pay. Another item I have not considered is 
the initial cost, and occasional repairs, of one or 
more suitable pumps; ljut this would make very little 
difference in the cost per square ■\ ard when distri- 
buted over any considerable area. Cartage to a long 
distance from the railway would, of course, raise the 
figure. 
10. The most suitaljle pump, I think, would be a 
garden watering pump, on wheels, to hold about 12 
gallons. One man could easily wheel about and use 
a pump of that size without assistance. 
11. On the whole, the chemical is not, I fear, 
cheap enough to supersede destruction by manual 
labor altogether; but I think it may be used with 
advantage, even at its present price, in places near 
the railway. I propose asking the Local Fund Board 
to put a small sum of RlOO or so at my disposal 
for the purpose of making further experinients with 
weak solutions when the dry weather conies. I shall 
report the result. 
12. I shall also a^k Messrs. Oakes & Co. whether 
they cannot reduce the price. 
jRc'solHlimi—Aa,ted 28th November 1890, No. 869. 
The Board is much indebted to Mr. Fawcett for 
the care with which he has caiTied out the experi- 
ments described above. They leave no doubt that 
the chemical is most efficacious in destroying prickly- 
pear in all stages of its growth ; but, as Mr. Fawcett 
points, out, its present cost is too great to allow of 
its being extensively introduced into a couxitry where 
labor is generally cheap. He states that taking the 
price of the chemical alone at the figure given by 
Messrs. Oakes & Co., viz., R60 per box of 100 
lb., and excluding the cost of pump, &c., which are 
essential to the success of the experiment, the cost 
of destroying the prickly-pear came to 7 pies per 
square yard as against only 6 pies, which is the 
usual cost of destroying it by manual labor. It 
would seem, however, from the report printed in G.O., 
dated Oth September 1889, No. 764, that the quantity 
of the chemical used by Mr. Fawcett, viz., 12 lb. 
in 52 gallons of water for 274 square yards, was 
somewhat excessive. Mr. F. Piper, Head of the 
Forests Branch, Department of Lands, Victoria, con- 
sidered an application of the chemical by Mr. Brodie, 
Prickly-pear Inspector, at the rate of 240 gallons of 
the solution (containing 80 ib. of the chemical) per 
acre, to be firelre times as much as the quantity 
named by the proprietors t^f the patent as sufficient, 
viz., 6f lb. dissolved in 20 gallons of water. The 
quantity of the chemical applied per acre in the ex- 
periments in Trichinopoly was about 212 lb., that is 
nearly times as much as the quantity named 
by the proprietors as sufficient. Both in Australia and 
in Trichinopoly, it has been found that a solution 
of 1 lb. of the chemical in 6 gallons of water was as 
good as a solution of 1 lb. of the chemical in 3 gallons 
of water. For destroying young clumps of prickly- 
pear, Mr. Fawcett found a solution of 1 lb. in 20 gallons 
of water quite sufficient. What the weakest solution 
capable of killing prickly-pear in this country is has 
yet to be determined. 
2. In Australia, prickly-peai of a species which 
attains a far larger size than that usually found in 
this country was found to be completely killed in 
from 8 to 10 days after the application of the chemi- 
cal, and it was found that it acted there much more 
speedily during hot weather than in cold, weather. 
The Collector of Trichinopoly found an old clump of 
prickly-pear completely killed in about a week after 
the application. 
It appears from the Trade Circular issued about 
the chemical, that its cost in Melbourne is ,£2-10-0 
per 100 lb. which, at the current rate of exchange, 
is equivalent to about R3;!j. The cost might pro- 
bably not exceed R40 per 100 lb. delivered at 
Madras. Even if the chemical be applied at the rate 
considered very excessive, at which Mr. Brodie, 
Prickly-pear Insiiector, effected the destruction of 
old clumps on } acre of land, the cost per square 
yard on account of the chemical would probably not 
exceed 1^ pies. Of course, if (l§ lb. of the chemical 
