l^fovEMBER I, i8go.| THE TROPICAL AQRICULTO RIST, 367 
damage to the drains or detriment to the land. In 
fact to a cocoa planter growing Eice in the drams, 
especially on flat land is a perquisite, and now that 
indentured labour is being employed on such estates 
there is everything in its favour, for suflacrent Rice 
might be grown to furnish the labourers with thmr 
staple food for the year, and this might be 
done year by year, as the decomposed vege- 
table matter on the higher ground washes into the 
drains and remains there to a great extent would thus 
supply manure to yearly raise a crop of splendid Rice. 
Shade does not appear to interfere with the growth or 
ripening of the grain, this has been fairly tested for 
three seasons on land fully shaded by the large growing 
gros michel banana. The general result compares 
favourably with Bice growing on open ground. 
No. 1. — Sowing in June. 
Collected area of drains 9,220 square feet or little less 
than one acre, 
£ s. d. 
Bice for seed ... 38 lb @ Id. V lb ... 0 3 2 
Sowing Sdays @ 1/OJd. V day... 0 3 
B‘‘aping ... ... 21 „ @ „ ,, ... 1 1 10| 
Threshing & win- 
nowing 12 „ @ „ „ ... 0 12 6 
Cost of Labour, &o. ... £2 0 8 
Reaped 1,250 lb Rice, weighed after threshing 
@ Id. per lb=£5 4 2. 
Value of Crop ... .. £5 4 2 
Labour, &c. ... ... 2 0 8 
Profit ...£3 3 6 
No. 2. — Sowing in June. 
Collected area of drains, 12,800 square feet, or rather 
more than 1 acre. 
Rice for Seed 
Sowing 
Reaping 
Threshing & win 
nowing ... 
21 lb @ Id. ^ lb ...£0 1 8 
5 days® l/O^d. day... 0 6 2J 
34 „ „ ... 1 15 5" 
12 „ „ „ ... 0 12 6 
£2 14 9i 
Reaped 1,350 tb Rice, clean in husk @ Id. 
lb ... ... ..£5 12 6 
Value of Crop ... ...£-5 12 6 
Labour, &c. ... ... 2 14 9| 
Profit ...£2 17 94 
No. 2 shews a larger area planted with not such 
good results as No. 1. This is accounted for by roots 
not being so well cleared out of the drains of this 
portion. 
From experiments I find that by cleaning the Rice 
from the husk in the primitive way the Coolies clean 
theirs, a loss of Jib. takes place. This would bring 
the weight of crop to 1,950 lb. Two coolies can clean 
601b pt rday. The total result would he as follows : — 
2,600 Ih less 1,950 lb @ Id. P lb. -= £8 2 6 
Deduct 2 men, 30 days, @ 1/01-d. per day = 3 5 0 
Profit oil 2 acres ...£4 17 6 
The sowing was done by Coolies iu their own style, 
eimply passing up the drains and at every few inches 
making a scratch with the hoe, dropping iu the grain and 
at the i-ame time covering iu ihe ground with the foot. 
Nothing further was done uutd harvesting. Of course, 
the rest that follows is well known, as the Coolies may 
be seen going through the operation any day of the year 
at their doors. IVith machinery for winnowing and 
making while rice, much more favourable re-ults 
could bo obtained. But the experiment is worth try- 
ing, it could be done on shares with the labourers or 
contractors, or the proprietor ni ght take the whole risk 
which I feel satisfied would not be great on favourable 
Xwik.-^Agricidtv.ral licconl, 
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOTiVNIST 
were thus indicated in a lecture delivered by Mr. 
J. H. Hart, f. e. s., Superintendent of the Royal 
Botanic Gardena, Trinidad; — 
The study of Botany is too wide for any one man, 
but yet the teaching of the first principles of the 
science is essentially necessary to a purely agricultural 
community, and should form one of the first consider- 
ations of our educational syfsem. That teaching also 
which gives a knowledge of what are known as the 
lowet forms of vegetable life is coming daily more 
necessary to all sections of every community, for how 
few are there who are aware that as the vegetable 
kingdom provides for the sustenance of the human 
being, so also does it produce agents which are de- 
structive to the human body. The many germs of 
disease which are present among us have been found 
of late years to belong almost entirely to the field 
of botany. The ferments without which even our 
bread cannot be made, our wine, or tobacco, prepared, 
are known to be caused or set up by infinitesimal 
organisms which belong to the vegetable kingdom. 
The fungi which causes dry rot in houses — spoils the 
taste of our wiues, and turns sweetened liquor into 
vinegar — the bacteria of fevers, and other diseases of 
man and animals — and also the germs which cause 
and propagate disease among so many plants, are now 
referred almost entirely to the vegetable kingdom. 
There are of course the harmless, as well as the de- 
structive and baneful species, and it is a part of 
the work of botanists to find out their life history 
to enable those whose special work it is to counteract 
the influence of those which have mischievous effects 
upon either plants or animals. So much has this be- 
come the work of Botanists that in stating the 
qualifications for a recent botanical vacancy it was 
especially laid down by the Legislative Council of 
that Island that the incoming oltioer should be a 
competent Bacteriologist. Travelling into a secluded 
part of Jamaica shortly afterwards I was entertained 
by the District Medical Officer, and the subject of 
Bacteriology was introduced into the conversation 
through it having lately appeared iu the new.'^papera 
in relation to the before mentioned appointment, but 
I was completely stumped when the venerable doctor 
asked me the meaning of the world Bacteriology. It 
was evident, therefore, that the old gentleman was 
not able, or only able by “ rule of thumb,” to crush 
an enemy of whose form and habits he was entirely 
ignorant, and I ask you to whom would you sooner 
trust your lives — to the hands of a man who keeps 
up with the progress of medical science, or to 
one of the old school practitioners who prefers to 
fight the enemies of human life without a knowledge 
of the character, form, magnitude or life history of the 
organisms which cause disease in its various forms ? 
Thus the first class Botanist, instead of being merely 
a walking dictionary of long names, has to become 
a microscopist, and to be a miorosopist, has to possess 
a primary knowledge at least of the elements of 
Chemi.'.try. Botany is therefore elevated among the 
list of important modern sciences of late years, tor no 
medical student can become competent unless he knows 
the series of facts which the science of Bacteriology 
teaches. Only a few years ago it was, I believe, al- 
most impossible to diagnose with any degree of 
certainty the state of the human lung known as 
Tuberculosis. While now with the aid of scientific 
facts recently brought to light, that disease, Leprosy, 
and many others (daily increasing in number) are 
each to be readily determined by the presence of 
the spi-cial Bacterium which is peculiar to each 
disease . — Royal Botanic Gardens Bulletin. 
MANA GRASS* EXPERIMENTS. 
It has not been possible for me since last writing 
to have the mystery about theMana Grass last experi- 
mented upon cleared up. There is such a strongly 
marked difference, however, between the fpooimena 
of the boiled outturn, that my confidenoe that some 
oareless error has been made must remain until it 
