io8 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[August i, rSgo. 
The^e the Pomflet end the Bombay Duck, 
under more which the Boy introdncps tons 
he is "Lady Pish” and “e-Slio Pish” : but 
new. ’ Tf thing's conventional and tries nothing 
enternr; the memory of enicnres that an 
aco ®®'’’’etarv of the Bombay Club a few years 
species the members of that institution a 
fayour tI ■ ™®'®herpl, which imroediatelv rooe into 
coast h commonest fish on the west 
to bri* ° • r ® servants could scarcelv be induced 
thev market. “It is not food for snliehs,” 
Sardi how few of us suspect that a true 
W this coast, which aocordinff to Mr. 
the P ' ‘ ™ recent paper in the journal of 
^he d Natural History Society is far superior to 
These and manv others we find in Dr. Day’s 
boek. with a passing comment on their edible 
qualitieB; hut unfortunately the plan lof the seriess 
necesaitated so vouch eompres,sion, that miscella- 
neous matter had for the most part to be com- 
pres.sed out altogether. What was essential was a clear, 
concise, and yet complete description of every species, 
with .such svnonsis of families and genera as would 
ena.hle the student to trace his specimen to its place 
in the system. This part of the work is done in a 
maaterlv way and illustrated by a very large number 
of heautifnlly executed drawings, which will aid the 
beginner more than anvthing else could have done. We 
revret to see that there is no attempt at any English 
index. Such a thing would have been very unscientifiic, 
but anv hook which appeals to the Anglo-Indian public, 
in its present state of advancement, must condescend 
to he unscientific. Anyone, however, who means to go 
into the subject even sunerfieially will find it a profi- 
table exercise to make his own English index, and 
also an index of native names for the district in which 
he resides. Onr notion indeed of the best way to use 
a hook of this kind is that it should he interleaved 
and converted into a note hook for recording personal 
ohsorv't.'ons. 
Tt only remains to say that the book is beantifully 
printed on good stout paper, and the binding is not 
sbowv. hpt substantial, and workmanlike, as befit 
a hook which ought to be constantly under references. 
JAVA PLANTING: 
DISEASE IN SUGAE-CANE— COFFEE — BICH. 
Gonsnl McNeill reports as follows to the Marquis of 
Salisbury op the trade, commerce, apd general matters 
relating to the Island of Java for the year 1889 : — 
Exfoets. 
SuoAE. — The past year has been quite an abnormal 
ope, owintr to the unprecedented continuance of the 
wet monsoon during the months of Mav, June and July 
which has exercised a verv unfavourable influence on 
+he outturn of the crop, and caused it to be a late one. 
’Ehe qnalitv of the cane also suffered verv considerably 
from tbe ra.ma and from the “ sereb” disease, which 
appears tr> be spredico. in the eastward residencies, in 
spit" of the planters’ efforts to check it. The import 
of Borneo cane has not proved such a success as was 
aptinipated and mapvplsnters are now contenting them- 
selves with planting in the infected district sound cane i 
procnrod trnm ether parts of the island, where thedis- 
ea^o has thus far not shown itself. 
Tn the first mortbs of tbe year it was expected that 
cFinTpeni’s would begin at an nnusualW early date : but 
ev.'inc te lEe ineiemcncv of the weather at the com- 
TPepo/- enev't of 'he milling season, and the consequent 
vielsi' in tte grinding'operations, deliveries were very 
la*e te arriving at coast stores and exporters who had 
eepel'niv.fi ferward ooptracts for early shipment 
er- er'epeo'f great diffioulf.v in carrying them out. 
Th" p-qt- v-> 0 -’= Prodnetien. exclusive of raolasscq, 
amouri(f,'1 *n ,TS2 9'to tens, ns oomnared with .‘l.fi5,.S34 
tops in 1R3R so'i ?,7r..78'1 tons in 1887, thus showing 
a decrease of 22, .330 tons on last year. 
* The seir fish is common in the Galcutta as well as 
be Golomho market, and "the sardines rnferred lo ^ 
bound in fhe seas around Ceylon.— En, T. A. 
The exports to various countries of 
crops during the three years previous to 
sive of molasses, were as follows:— 
1886 . ’ 1887 . 
Europe 
Australia 
China 
America 
Sundries 
tons. 
topB. 
■ 242,359 
250,036 ... 
. 13,486 
17,269 ... 
. 59,944 
72,848 ... 
5,657 
.5,891 ... 
. 26,195 
11,073 ... 
the sugar- 
1889, exclu- 
1888. 
tons. 
175,141 
26,175 
85.148 
39,208 
12,779 
Total 
346,641 
I, following quantities in tons 
had been exported on December 31st last.— To Chan- 
nel for orders, 62,996 : to Port Said or Malta for 
orders, 84,180 ; to an Iberian port for orders, 3,468 • 
to Marseilles, Genoa or Ancona, 10,072; to Australia’ 
v,ro.?s ;;® » ■ •« * 
The so-called “sereh” disease in the sugar-cane, 
which has appeared to such an alarming extent in 
Java since 1883, continues to be a source of much 
anxiety to planters. Commencing in the Cheribon 
residency, the disease gradually extended its ravages 
proceeding eastwards, attacking the residencies of 
L Pekalong, Samarang, Solo and Djoodja. In 
1889 it also made its appearance in a sporadic form 
m the east end of the island, in Madiven, Djombang. 
Modjokerto and Sidhoardjo, but in these districts the 
disease did not perceptibly affect the production 
of sugar 
The disease manifests itself in the following manner 
viz : — The joints of the cane remain very short grow’ 
ing much closer to one another than in the healthy 
plant ; this causes the leaves to grow more closely 
together, thus presenting the appearance of a fan The 
buds on each joint swell up and burst, forming new 
shoots, which m their turn produce others. Partner 
around the joints of the diseased canes fibres are fre- 
quently developed, similar to those at the root of the 
plant. 
From the cane-shoot used for planting several canes 
spring up as in the healthy plant, and in the earlier 
stage of the disease one or two of these canes generally 
die off, whilst the remainder continue growing in the 
usual manner, and the presence of the disease is then 
only to be detected by the fibres growing around the 
joints, and by the swollen appearance of the buds; when 
the disease shows itself in a more palpable form the 
canes one by one atop growing, ahd remain poor and 
stunted; whilst in the worst stage of the disease the 
plant shows nothing but leaves, and the cane speedily 
dries up and dies. In the diseased plant the roots are 
invariably poorly developed, and harbour a parasite in 
the form of a microscopic worm {Tylanchus saccliari or 
Heferodera mdicicola), the same worm which is found 
in the roots of many plants in Europe. 
The opinions as to the origin of the disease are very 
conflicting, and even the most competent persons 
cannot agree on the subject. Of all the reasons as- 
signed as being the cause of the disease, however the 
following are the two most probable: — 1, That the 
disease is of an infections nature, and has its origin in 
bacterise. 2 That the disease is caused by the small 
worms which specially attack the weakest roots, work 
their way in, and thus prevent these organs performing 
their proper functions of giving life to the plant. “ 
As regards this last opinion, should the question arise 
as to why these parasites did not appear in former 
years, or at least did not affect the roots as is at present 
the case, it is contended that probably the worms 
formerly existed in other plants, and gradually worked 
their way into the sugar cane, upon which they have 
thriven and multiplied, the canes offering a large field 
for their depredations. 
The susceptibility of the canes for the operations of 
these parasites is attributable to the weak condition of 
the canes, which is ascribed to the planting and re- 
planting of cane-shoots in the plane of seed, coupled 
with a too intensive cultivation. Weakness owing to 
planting irrespective of sex has been frequently ex- 
perionoed, as, for instance, the poplar in Enrppe. 
regards the treatment of the disease, the supporters of 
