THE TROPiCAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April i, 1891. 
738 
supply ol suitable wood has already become ex- 
hausted in the native gardens in the Central Province. 
There is no need to import tea-box wood into 
this island while we have so many quick-growing 
trees, and none can equal that excellent tree the 
luDumidella, Melia dubid. It loves heat and 
moisture and grows luxuriantly from sea-level to 
2,000 feet, and in ten years can be utilized for 
tea chests. 
I consider wild mango, Mangifera zeylanica, 
and the red cotton tree (katu-imbul), Bomhax 
Malabaricum, may be used, but the wood should 
be out for some time, as the resinous juices they 
contain are of a corrodent nature and would very 
soon destroy the lead lining of a tea chest. The 
following woods should be avoided ; nevertheless it 
is difficult to reject them, as the carpenters mix 
them up with other woods : — Kekuna, Canarium 
zeylanictm. — Wood contains a resinous balsam, 
is used by the natives for burning after being 
mixed with paddy chaff, and the smoke given off 
is reputed to drive away snakes. The wood 
is worthless and readily attacked by insects. 
This tree is one of the most characteristic 
features of a village garden, its silvery white 
foliage add a pleasing contrast to our sylvan hamlets. 
It belongs to that Nat. Order Burseraceoe producing 
balsamiferous trees and shrubs. 
Bukattaua, Alstonia scholaris. — Boards of this 
wood are used by children in the Indian schools 
to write their lessons on, hence its name. The 
wood is very light and does not stand exposure 
for any length of time, is as bitter as gentian ; 
in common use in Ceylon for coffin making. 
The bark is a powerful tonic. 
Eiti, Antiaris innoxia, — A stately evergreen tree 
with light-coloured shiny bark, common in our 
village forests up to 1,500 feet above sea-level ; wood 
light and very inferior, rapidly decays when cut up. 
In the Madras Presidency the natives make bags 
from the bark by a very simple process. A branch 
is cut, corresponding to the length and diameter 
of the sack wanted. It is soaked a little, and then 
beaten with clubs until the inner bark separates 
from the wood. This done, the sack, formed of the 
bark, is turned inside out and pulled down until 
the wood is sawn off, with the exception of 
a %mall piece left to form the bottom of 
the sack, and which is carefully left untouched. 
The (Sinhalese also form bags from the bark, 
but in a rude and simple way. The tree produces 
a small fruit like a hg, purple or crimson, pyriform, 
velvety and intensely bitter. Known as the upas tree 
of Java. The upas antiaris poison is prepared from 
the juice, which flows from incisions in the bark. 
Belongs to the Nat. Order Urticacea, con- 
taining hgs and nettles and many valuable fibre 
plants. AEBOEIST. 
CACAO CULTIVATION. 
March 27th. 
1)EAB SiB, — After all that has been lately written 
in disparagement of cacao by disappointed planters, 
it is refreshing to see Mr. Holloway coming for- 
ward with advice and encouragement for all sceptics. 
There can be no doubt that the variety of 
cacao which he so freely advertises is the very 
best for planters who know how to treat their 
soil and to grow shade properly, and who know 
the right time to prune their trees, but a large 
proportion ol planters have still a good deal to 
learn ; the majority, I believe, never prune at all. 
In your issue ol 21st instant (see page 739) you 
made mention of one fortunate proprietor whose 
crop last year “ was not far off an average ol 6 per 
cwt. pet acre " a very fair yield. 
Your recent correspondent “Eldorado” and other 
hostile critics, though correct in their arithmetic 
as to the average return (from 12,000 acres planted 
before 1885) being less than li cwt. per acre, 
evidently wrote under the impression that an 
acre in cultivation is necessarily in full bearing 
when six years old. But the only way to arrive 
at good results is to calculate, as Mr. Holloway 
has done, the crop given by the very finest trees, 
then allow say 300 good trees to an acre and 
write down one’s acreage according to the number of 
good trees scattered over the whole estate. In this 
way, most estates will show returns “ not far off 
an average of 5 cwt. per acre,” and some even 
more than this, which will satisfy even •* Eldorado,” 
and the figures in your Directory will be brought 
down from 12,050 to about 3,000 as being under 
cacao cultivation. — Yours faithfully, 
VINUIT VEEITAB. 
Loss FROM Insects and Fungi in the United 
State j. — Professor T. Maynaru states on tue 
authority of the Entomological Division of the 
Department of Agriculture, that the loss to the 
farming interests, including ail its branches, for 
the past year from insects and fungi amounts 
to $400,000,000, say over £80,000,000. 
Pepper Cultivation in Perak is thus uotioed 
in a report on the district of Kuala Kaugsa : — 
The Secretary to Government arrived here on the 
morning of the 3rd, and was engaged all day in Court. 
On the night of the 3rd 1 accompanied him to Chigar 
Galah, where we arrived early the next morning, and 
inspected the pepper estate of 8yed Musa. On the 
whole, the estate appears to be doing well ; but as is 
usually the case with plantations superintended by 
Malays, there is not sufUcient attention paid to the 
tying up of the vines, and some portions of the 
estate are not kept so clean as they might be. Mr. 
Treacner proposed that an experienced Chinaman 
should be employed to supervise the work ot the 
contractors, who are mostly Achiuese. Sjed Musa 
was pleased with the suggestion, aud Mr. Lee 
Kong Lin, who accompauied us, undertook to 
secure the services of a man for this purpose. 
There are a number of smaller pJantaiious at Ghigar 
Galah, the owners of which have been supplied with 
dedap and pepper cuttings by Seyd Musa. The 
Seoreiary to Government visited several of these, and 
also a clearing about 9 acres in extent on the op- 
posite bank of the river, belonging to Syed Abdui- 
rahman. This land has been most judicionsly 
selected both as regards aspect and soil ; the latter 
being even more suitable for the oultivation of pepper 
than that oi iiyed Musa’s estate. 
The Government plautaiion at Tempurong, which 
is about 8 acres in extent, includes a large nursery 
which contains about 30,000 plants, and these cau be 
supplied to planters here at a far more reasonable 
price than that which they have hitherto been oaying 
tor cuttings purchased from Ara Kuda and elsewhere. 
The Government plautatiou at Pondok, which was 
also v.sited by Mr. Treacher, is a failure, aa the Malays 
and others interested in the cultivation of pepper 
always predicted it would be. The soil there is com- 
posed pancipaliy ot bat guano, aud, although for the 
first two or three years the pepper vines appeared 
to be thriving, they are now all dying off. 
Great damage is being done to the pepper planta- 
tions by the buffaloes that are allowed by ifieir owners 
to stray at night. In a tew instances the former have 
been captured and the owners iaeutified, but as 
a rule ibis is not possible, as the buffaloes oome in 
herds, and aay attempt to catch them only leads to 
further damage beiug done to the trees and vines. 
About twenty years ago complaints of damage 
done to coffee estates in Ceylon by buffaloes were 
inaesBaut, Now we never bear of damage done by 
tffese hffipalB to tea ot otbet ouUure> 
