January i, i8qi,] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 5” 
covery that tillage apart from manure confers no 
benefit on tea ? He will probably ask for the 
essential difi'erenoe between tea and all other cul- 
tivated plants. 
^ 
THE UTILISATION OF BONES IN 
AGEICULTUEE. 
About the latter end of 1889 it pleased the Govern- 
ment of India to display an interest in the export of 
animal bones from India. The Government of India was 
under the impression that exports of bones were on 
the increase. From statistics of trade, however, we 
learn that as regards this Presidency, at any rate, there 
was a fall instead of a rise in exports, as the average 
shipments per annum during 1884-86 were 8,528 tons, 
while the annual average during 1886-90 was 2,772 tons. 
This fall is attributed to a dimunition of the Ceylon 
demand, which is now met more from Australia. 
At one time, the island obtained almost all its sup- 
plies from this Presidency, but it now draws largely 
from Australia. Looking at matters as the Government 
of India does, the decrease is matter for pleasure 
rat her than regret on the part of Mudras. The gentle- 
men who study matters from Simla know that bones 
may be l.irgely used for conversion into manure, and 
the careful guardians of India’s agricultural interests 
manifest anxiety oonoeining the “ threareued drain of 
the manurial resources of the country,” As regards 
Madras the dread appears to have been groundless, but 
it has not been without good results. A report was 
called for some months ago on the sources whence 
bones for export are obtained, the extent to which they 
are collected in the Mofussil, their treatment before 
shipment, etc. ; suggestions were invited for the utili- 
sation of bones as manure in this country ; and a 
summary was asked for of any experiments made. This 
has brought to the front a considerable amount of 
information that will interest many, and may be found 
useful. 
Collectors report that bones are not generally used 
in this Presidency as manure for agricultural pur- 
poses, except on Coffee plantations on the Nilgiris, 
the Shevaroy Hills, and in parts of Malabar and Tiune- 
velly. Bone manure, it is said, it occasionally applied 
to coconut trees in the Tanjoro district. In South 
Oanara bones in an unbroken state are sometimes 
burned at the foot of indifferent jack and coconut 
trees. But most of the bones colkcted are exported, 
the greater part going to Ceylon and a few to the 
United Kingdom. The Tinnevelly and Malabar dis- 
tricts head the list with about 1^100 tons and 2,000 
tons, respectively, of exports annually. Ganjam, 
Kistna, the Ceded districts and Kuruool exhibit very 
small exports, the highest being about 400 tons from 
Ouddapah. Godavari exports from 340 to 4:10 tons 
annuaUy ; Visagapatam from 100 to 250 tons ; and 
Nellore about 100 tons. Most of the Southern Districts 
export abont 150 to 200 tons. In Madras a single 
dealer has been exporting about 200 tons annually to 
Ceylon, during the last ten or fifteen years. In regard 
to the above supplies it is stated that the bones are 
collected by ohucklers, pariahs and other low Cistes, 
who dispose of the carcases of cit'.le. Sheep and 
goat bones are rejected in some parts, because they 
are light, and do not suflSoiontly reimburse the collector 
for the cost of getting them together. When the 
collector has got his supplies ready he conveys them 
to the Sea Coast, and there sells them to dealers at 
whatever rates ho oan get. Apparently the price has 
recently ranged about 2 annas per Madras maund, 
equivalent to, say, Kll per ton. On this the dealers 
have to make a profit before selling to ship- 
pers. Owing more, perhaps, to tho greater demand 
than to the increased difficulty of delivering supplies, 
on tho Nilgiris prices are much higher, raw bones being 
delivered by contractors at a cost of R30 to 83 per 
ton; while bone dust runs from R40 per ton as high 
as R70, according to situation. 
As n rule tlve bones are simply dried and broken by 
baud before exportation, In Malabar, however, and to a 
^mall extant in South Oanara, they are crushed by 
machinery and converted into meal for use as mauare. 
They are generally steamed first. Experiments made 
inthis country and elsewhere have established long 
ago that bones are rendered more active os manure 
by being mixed with lime, saltpetre, cattle-manure, oil- 
cake or sulphuric acid, as well as by disintegration, 
steaming and reduction to ash. And it is mentioned 
as a proof of the value of bone manure that a Na- 
live gentleman tested half an acre of wet land (un- 
manurad) with 3761b. of bone ash when transplanting 
paddy seedlings, the cultivation and irrigation being 
as usual. An adjoining plot of an acre, also pre- 
viously unmauured, was cultivated without the ad- 
dition of any manure. The former yielded 720 measures 
of paddy and 1,260 lb. of straw, i 1,440 measures 
of paddy and 2,520 lb. of straw per acre ; while the 
yield from the unmanured acre was 828 measures of 
paddy and 2,352 lb. of straw per acre. The increase 
due to bones ash was thus 612 measures of grain and 
168 lb. of straw in one acre. After an experiment 
made by Mr Lawson of mixing sulphuric acid with 
coarsely powdered bones and applying them to cin- 
chona plants, it was found that the alkaloids 
exhibited marked improvement, and other experiments 
have fully established the advantage of using bone 
manure. As, in addition, considerable quantities of 
bones axe consumed as bonc-oharooal in the Su ir 
feotoriea of Aska, Nallikuppam aod Tutioorin,set 
would appear that bones might be much more utiiiid 
than they are at present, if colleotiou and prepaa- 
tion were systematically oondacted . — Madras Timas. 
^ 
EOUNDABOUT PAPEES. 
Coconut Estates: European verms Native. 
There are a great many coconut estates owned by 
Europeans in Ceylon, and particularly in the Eastern 
Province, and their methods and modes of cultivation 
are sc different from those adopted by the native 
owners, proprietors, or village-holders, that it may 
not be uninteresting to your readers to have laid 
before them a short account in explanation of the 
particular ways in which each side work, and the re- 
sults consequent npon them. 
The Englishman begins by thoroughly felling, clear- 
iug, and burning his land, leaving as many stumps 
and large branches on the ground as possible, which 
will, when thoroughly decayed, go far to enrich the 
soil in the future. He then lines and holes his 
land afterwards, planting the young trees in the 
holes about 23 feet apart, (or about 90 plants to the 
acre), which experience has shewn to be the proper 
distance, so that the branches of the tall palms 
do not lock, or overshade each other, thus allowing 
(in the future) the sun at raid-day, morning, and 
evening to warm the soil, for it is found that if 
trees are planted closer, it interferes in a great 
measure with their bearing capacity. The young 
plants are selected with an eye to their strength and 
general appearance, a plant with a weedy stem and 
thin foliage being rejected, one with a thick stem 
strong well-set and curly dark green branohes being 
all that is required 
Next comes the watering, which must be carefully 
done, (except of course in the rainy season or when 
timely showers moisten the ground) for three full 
years, or even four, after planting. 
The proper watering of the young plants is of tho 
utmost importanoe; each young plant should get a 
full ohatiy each tinae, or from 3 to 4 gallons, ° and 
the aegleoting of this may in the future have very 
disastrous consequences. To entrust this portion of 
the estate work to coolies would be madness as 
I u order to evade their proper amount of watering 
they will divide the contents of one chatty between 
two or even three plants, and the water will not 
be nearly suffioieot to saturate the roots of the young 
plants, ft is, therefore, necessary to employ an 
estate watcher, or a Csngany. to supervise the 
watering gang, when there is some chance of th« 
work being well done. 
