September i, i8qo.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
igr 
COFFEE IN UVA. 
(From an Old Flantimj Visitor.) 
Coffee looks wonderfully fresh on the Spring Valley 
and Uva Companies’ estates as well as in Haputale, 
and in many places, only close inspection reveals the 
presence of the lurking enemy green bug. It is, how- 
ever, very apparent that all estimates must he more 
or less “shaky” as long as this pest displays such 
vigour as is seen on almost any field of coffee. 
MANGOES AND AIONXEYS IN AFEICA. 
From the proceedings of the A. & H. Society of 
India we quote as follows : — 
Colonel Pollock, writing from 3Iomhassa, says : — “ The 
mango here is excellent, almost as good as any graft, 
and of a very large size.- The trees as soon as one crop 
is all but ripe, begin to flower, and go on flowering at 
intervals : so, on the same tree may be seen fruit from 
the size of a large gooses egg to fruit just forming. 
There is, therefore, on the same tree, fruit which ripen 
n succession, and the same tree givesmangoes for up- 
iwards of two to nearly three mouths, and virtually it 
bears all the year round. 
The trees are never bare, but for six weeks, from 
August to middle of October, there is very little ripe, 
but plenty of unripe fruit, fit for tarts, pickles, &o. 
I have planted a lot of kernels which I brought with 
me from Bombay and Bangalore, and they are gett- 
ing on well. I have also some 6 of the best grafts 
from Bombay ; time will show whether the jjlants 
are affected by the climate, or whether the African 
mango is different from the Indian. I am going to 
graft some best kinds of Africans on to the Indian 
grown from seed, and will let you know, if I remain 
long enough, the result. Please let me know if the 
mango kernels I sent you germinated. I can send you 
hundreds and hundreds, for the place is a mass of 
mango trees. Some of a delicious variety, as large 
as an ordinary musk melon, and others, equally as 
sweet — not much larger then a duck’s egg and all but 
free from fibres ; but the Africans pick them too 
soon, and they sodden in the ripening, but if they 
did not thus pick them the monkeys would save them 
the trouble, for they abound in thousands and are 
most destructive. If they see the ground has been 
disturbed, they immediately ecratch all round, and if 
they find grain, devour it. 1 have had a large area 
planted with Indian corn utterly ruined. The seed 
they failed to find came up only to be destroyed by 
these mischievous brutes, by being plucked up in pure 
devilry. Could you send me some blue gum and 
other Australian seeds to put down. It is puzzling 
here, for the seasons are just opposite to what they 
are in India, and having lived there so long and 
been used to plant in October and November, I can 
scarcely restrain myself from doing so here. But 
December is our hottest month, and though the heat 
under shade is nothing to speak of, the sun is very 
hot, the earth becomes almost red hot. Even the 
Indians or rather Africans, with hoofs like that of a 
Ilbinoceros, can scarcely walk over it, and plants 
crumble up. Can you tell me what will destroy the 
large black ant? They are here in millions and kill 
everything. The climate here is delicious out of the 
sun. There is a nice breeze all day. and I prefer it 
to Bangalore. Twenty miles from this, easy to get at, 
is a plateau 1800 feet high, with a climate like that 
of Shillong.” 
FIBRES. 
Read a letter from Mr. AV. H. P. Driver of Ranchi, 
referring to an article in “ The Englishman” on 
Yucatan hemp, and ashing whether the Society could 
supply the seed, or where he could obtain some. The 
following is the article referred to : — 
“ AA'^here is Yucatan? Probably few people could 
lay their fingers on it on the map at a moment’s 
notice, but it is worth while to look for it. It is 
asserted by the correspondent of the leading Com- 
mercial organ of South Americin trade, that Yucatan 
js now so prosperous that money is a drug, people 
do not know what to do with it, and they are willing 
to buy all kinds of goods even the most costly.” 
The Morning Post states that this assertion is backed 
up by official information, since made public, relating to 
the material progress of Yucatan. AVe are thus 
informed that the abnormal prosperity which the 
country is enjoying is entirely due to the successful 
culture of the ‘ henequen,’ or, as it is generally termed, 
the ‘ Sissal ’ plant of commerce, which yields one of 
the fine.st varieties of hemp extant. The population 
of tbe whole Republic of Yucatan does not exceed 
3,000,000 souls, but the value of the ‘ Sissal ’ 
crop annually exported exceeds ten million dollars. 
There is an unlimited demand fer the article in 
Europe, as well as in the United States, where 
it fetches from fifty to fifty-five pounds sterling a ton. 
The plant, we are told, is indigenous to the country 
and grows wild. It is easily propagated, and will 
thrive in the worst soil. In fact, it does best in 
rocky and impoverished ground, where nothing else 
can be grown, and in such situations it yields the 
best fibre. It cares nothing for drought ; cattle have 
an objection to it, and avoid tbe spots where it grows. 
It suffices to dibble in the young plants in any barren 
and e.xposed plot of ground. Three years after planting 
the leaves are large enough to furnish a supply of 
fibre, and then the plant yields abundantly for 1.5 
or 20 years. The produce of an acre of land is 
estimated at 1,000 lb. to 1,200 lb. of clean fibre, and 
the money value of thi.s produce is estimated by a 
.Jamaica planter, who has spent several years in 
growing Sissal in Yucatan, at eighty dollars or £16 
sterling. But if all this information is correct, why 
should not an attempt be made to cultivate the Sissal 
in India ? Every body cannot emigrate to Yucatan 
to try his fortune there ; so it would be preferable 
to begin by trying if Sissal cannot be acclimatized 
in India. The climate is not dissimilar, and there is 
a fine area in the Sonthal Parganas where an ex- 
periment might be made on the rocky, barren, and 
exposed soil which the Sissal is said to love in 
Yucatan.” 
According to Mr. Baker, the three plants yielding 
the Sissal hemp of commerce are varieties of Agave 
rigida, Mill. Full information respecting this hemp 
has been published in recent numbers of the Kew 
Bulletin, a note embodying all known on the subject 
appeared in one of the earliest numbers. No. 3, fer 
March 1867, and additional notes as recently as March 
and again October of the current year. Prom the 
short allusion made to the machine in use for clean- 
ing the fibre, by Mr. D. J. Stoddart of Jamaica, 
whose pamphlet is quoted in the Bulletin., it appears 
to be similar in form to one of those in use in 
Mauritius for cleaning the aloe fibre (Purercea Gigantea, 
Vent) there. This machine would, no doubt, be 
equally applicable for cleaning aloe fibre in this 
country, and as the raw material can in some places 
be had for the cutting, its capabilities could be readily 
tested and cost of working, &c„ exactly ascertained. 
A model of the machine was obtained some years 
ago and is still in the possession of the Society. 
It may be as well here to quote the Kew Bulletin 
for March last as to the prices for Smef “ The 
market value of this class of fibre, and the per- 
manency of demand for it, has been fully investigated 
at Kew, and in a note on page 3 of the Kew Bulletin 
for April 1887, there is a summary furnished by 
Messrs. Ide and Ohristie which gives the average price 
per ton for Sissal hemp in London for the years 
1879-86 inclusive. These are 1879 I’ll. ■ 1880 211 • 
1881, 28L ; 1882, 287. ; 1883, 211 ; 1884,217. ; 1885,’ 197.’ | 
1886,217. The highe t price paid was 327 lOi. 0(7, in 
December 18(9 to February 1880, the lowest price was 
177. 13.S. 0(7. ill .January and February 1886. Recently 
there has been an increased demand for white fibres, 
with a correspiinding rice in prices. There was no 
quotations for Sisal hemp in Messrs. Ide and Christie’s 
London monthly circular for December loth, 1888. 
The only remark being ‘ in retail supply, and ’selling 
at fancy prices.’ In the United States, Messrs 
Orockens’ statistics, dated the 1st December, gave 
the price at 8 to 8^ cents, per lb. (equal to about 
