THE TROPICAL AGTO^LTURIST; 
November i, 1890.] 
offered, and he hoped that some good would reoiilt 
therefrom. 
Mr. Blorris remarked that 6bre machines had been 
at work for eleven years in Yucatan and six years in 
Mauritius. There was no great dif&cul'y about c’ean- 
ing Sisal hemp, or the pineapple family ; the great 
difficulty had been with regard to the banana and 
ramie. He had examined some machines at Paris 
tor dealing with china grass, and it was hoped that 
M. Favier would send one of his machines to the 
Exhibition. These machines would prepare one ton 
per day of the libbons. The coat of such machines 
was about £?0, while the machines in use at Mauritius 
cost £25. Full particulars of these machines are given 
in the Kew Bulletin for November, 1889, and May 
of this year. 
Mr. O'Halloran asked what success had attended the 
efforts of Mr. Morris to cultivate Manilla hemp, which 
was always marketable, and in very great demand. 
Mr. Morris said the Manilla hemp, which was yielded 
by a kind of banana, was introduced into Oeylon and 
Jamaica a good many years ago, but unfortunately, 
they had not been able to get it to flourish ; in fact, 
they had the utmost difficulty even in keej^ing the 
plants alive at Kew. He did not believe that the 
Manilla hemp could be a success in the West Indies. 
It had been under cultivation in Trinidad, Demerara, 
Dominica, and at St. Vincent, but they had found that 
at no spot outside the Philippine Islands would the 
plant flourish. It would be possible to send the Manilla 
hemp to any part of the West India Islands, where 
the conditions were likely to be favourable, but up to 
the present the results had been most disappointing, 
Mr. Scott regretted that more attention had not 
been devoted in the discussion to the sugar and cocoa 
industries. He thought, also, great advantages might 
be derivf d from the Exhibition in < onuection with the 
United S'ates and Canada. 
Mr. Morris replied that the cultivation of cocoa in 
Jamaica was well understood, as was also (he prepara- 
tion of the bean. It was understood they had really 
been talking that evening of industries which had 
hitherto lacked .‘success on account of the absence of 
maohineiy, or from want of special knowledge. They 
could uot expect to cover the whole of the ground a 
that meeting, thongb he was very glad that Mr. Scott 
had mentioned the subject. They were now dealiu 
with the special difficulties which had hitherto nrise'J 
in Jamaica. He believed as laud was opeired up, an” 
the facilities for transport improved, the culrivatio” 
of various industries, both new and old, would b® 
uudertalion in the West ladies. 
The Chairman said : — I do not know how it may be 
now, blit 50 years ago there were great differences 
between the coast asprect of Jamaica, and of San 
Domingo and Cuba. TPiese larger i.sland8 are equally 
beautiful in scenery, but in those days Jamaica 
alone seemed well cultivated, and to show along the 
coast line the residence of a popmlation in favourable 
conditions of life , — Joiirnal of the Soeiety of Arts. 
J'bXPJMlIMENTS WITH MANA-GRASS 
— ECONOMIC PRODUCTS FOR 
THE ZAMBESI. 
A long letter obligingly written me yesterday by 
Mr. Ibotson is not very encouraging as to antici- 
pation for sunoesB with the present set of experi- 
ments for testing the suitability of mana-grass as 
a board-making material. When my last notes on 
this topic were written you, my letter stated that 
it was intended to try the effect of subjecting the 
boiled grass to the action of edge-runners in the 
pug mill before passing it into the pulping troughs. 
It will bo as well to give you Mr. Ibotson’s own 
words on this subject, though even his trained 
opinion must not be accepted as conclusively proving 
that mana-grass cannot be uiilizedfor the purpose 
desired, because so much might follow as the result 
of chemical admixture during the boiling process 
32s 
which is antecedent to those underteken at the 
Pojle Mills. Opportunity has not yet occurred for 
me to learn what the chemical experts may 
think on this special point, and speculation by 
myself as to possible remedial treatment had 
better therefore be omitted, though I can see no 
insuperable obstacle to its success in anything- 
that Mr, Ibotson has written me. The following 
are the terms of that gentleman’s letter to me : — 
“ Poyle Mills, Colnbrook, Bucks, September 2nd, 
1890. — My dear sir, — The treatment of the mana-grass 
with edge runners certainly improved it a great 
deal ; for whereas we could not at the first trial 
without edge runners get the stuff to mix with 
the water at all, on our subsequent trial after 
being put through the edge runners the fibres 
mixed with the pulp and worked very well on the 
cylinder. 
“ But there was no alteration in the making of 
the board on the winding cylinder. The fibres or 
stalks appear to be too hard, and will not felt 
together into a board. We made two long trials 
on two separate days — one was of the grass alone, 
and the other of the grass with boiled staroh 
added, but in neither form could we get a single 
board that would hang together so as to be taken 
off the roll. We obtained a few pieces, but that 
was all ; there was no consistency in it to make 
the board hang together. 
” Mr. Stanley and Dr. Evans came down and saw 
the stuff on the machine. We shall send up 
to the Syndicate the boards — suoh as they 
are— with all pieces that seem likely to throw 
any light on the subject. But our own opi- 
nion is that the grass is a very troublesome 
material to treat, and that any process that would 
render it suitable for making into boards would 
be found a very expensive one to work. — Yours very 
truly, (Signed) H. P. Ibotson.” 
Mr. Thomas Christy, f. l. s., -who has on so 
many occasions obliged me with his valuable 
opinion as to the nature and properties of Ceylon 
products, has just shipped this week from the 
London Docks to a Portuguese trading colony 
on the Zambesi the largest consignment of eco- 
nomic plants which has even left this country 
to a single order. The plants shipped included 
coffees, teas, cocoas, peppers, and vanilla, all 
plants in fact which have formed leading pro- 
ducts among yourselves. Mr. Christy selected 
and packed all the specimens, and ho viows it 
as a singular fact that the Portuguese should 
be compelled to turn thus to the English to 
assist them in developing the resources of their 
African territories. What a change this is signU 
ficant of that has arisen since the Portuguese were the 
chief colonizing power of the world \— London Cor. 
LAWES’ CHEMICAL MANURE. 
The ordinary meeting of this company was held 
this afternoon at the New Corn Exchange Hotel, 
Mark-lane.— Mr. W. Colchester, who presided, moved 
the adoption of the report stating that the net profit 
for the past year amounted to £25,877, added to 
which was the balance brought forward, making a 
total of £33,692 available for distribution. Out of 
this sum the direotors recommended dividends of 
7 per cent, on the preference, and of lOs per share 
on the ordinary shares, carrying £2,600 to the 
reserve, and writing £5,000 off the land, plant, and 
goodwill aooount, leaving £7,789 to be carried for- 
ward. During the past year six of the company's 
acid chambers at Barking bad been renewed, and 
a proportion of the cost charged to revenue. The 
remainder, amounting to £3,766, the board proposed 
to write off in equal amounts during the nest two 
