Mav I, 1891.] 
THE TROPICAL AQRItRJLTURIST. 
751 
and of clandestine fishing of the banks were also raised 
in the papers received by Government. There appear to 
be three sources of danger to be guarded against — (1) 
Poaching on the banks by a foreign vessel ; (2) Poach- 
ing on the banks by a British vessel ; and (3) Pilfering 
of pearls by the boats’ crews whilst conveying the 
shells from the banks to the shore. The first, the 
Government observes, is a remote danger and may bo 
disro,<arded. The second may possibly have some 
foundation of reality. So long as ago 188ci the beliel 
was expressed that the banks were extensively poached 
but there is nothing on reoord to show to what ex- 
tent such poaohing was prevalent. Before taking any 
action in the matter, the Madras Government has 
resolved to address the Governments of Oeylon and 
Western Australia in order to obtain full particulars 
regarding the pearlfisbery laws in those colonies. In 
the latter country it is said that “ the fishing takes 
place in the main outside the 3*mile limit, and the 
colonial jurisdiction is not snpposed to extend so 
far.” With regard to the third difiiculty the Bank 
of Revenue considers that when once the oysters 
have been raised to the surface and placed on British 
vessels by persons employed for that purpose by 
Government, they become the property of Government, 
and that if the pearls are tbeu abstracted, taken 
ashore, and sold, the offenoe is one of simple thelt. 
In this view of the matter the Government is 
inolined to agree, and in any case by diminishing 
the value of the produce to be shared between them- 
selves and the Government, the divers are guilty of 
cheating. The provisions of the Penal Oode, ibe Go- 
vecumeub considers, are therefore sufficient to meet 
the case . — Madras Times, March 10. 
^ 
This W, P. A., in its usual go-ahead manner, has 
offered a prize of K200 for the best essay on lea culti- 
vation, of practical local value. The point on wuicb 
it requires particular aud reliable detailed informa- 
tion is the best manner in which a Factory on the 
Joint-Stock Principle can bo worked. Essays are to 
be sent to Mr. Hockin of Vayitri, S. Wynaad, before 
1st June . — Madras Times, March 18. 
Wymaab Ppaniing Notes, March 12th. — Bast m onth 
the rain came down heavily, measuring in some 
pi aces, as much as two inches, though the fall was very 
partial, and from what 1 hear, 1 fear was insuflicieui 
m some parts. The Vythery and Sultan’s Battery 
districts were es])ecially favoured ; and the result has 
been a very fine aud healthy blossom which, to all 
appearauoe, has set satisfactorily. A great quantity 
of backward spikj is now maturing, and we shall 
soon be crying out for more ruin to bring out our 
second blossom. So far crop prospects are exceedingly 
favourable, but so many ills is coffee heir to, that 
wo cannot feel sure of our future, until much later 
iu the season. The heat is very great here now, and 
the drought is severely affectiug the locals ; wells 
are being dug iu the paddy flats, and in some of the 
parities the people are actually suffering from want 
of sufficient water to drink. This, of course, is also 
a bad thing for the new clearings, and a great number 
of young plants will be destroyed. In spite of the 
heat aud dryness (attributed to the failure of the North- 
East monsoon), our old coifee is looking remarkably 
well, aud throwing out quite a flush of young leaves. 
Two of our community, each on his owu account, are 
working hard at experiments for the destruction of 
leaf disease. Both seem hopeful on the subject, aud 
even should they fail, are deserviug of our grati- 
tude for their pral.-ewonhy efforts on our behalf. 
Wynaad is not particularly lively just now, but the 
“submerged tenth,” of us who can't get away even 
to the hill tops, contrive to meet once a week or so 
for teuuis, and geuoral sociability, aud it is certainly 
pleasant to catch the oheerful drifts of conversation. 
"Glad to hear you had such a splendid blossom” — 
“ never saw anything like my spike,” aud so on. It 
feels like getting one’s head above water once again. I 
hope that my next will be a further record of things, 
and that 1 may be uble to report that another good 
rainfall has brought out a seooud blossom, nearly if not 
quite equal to the ftieU— Madras Times, March 18. 
The Cultivation of Paddy has been shown to be an 
uuremunerafcive concern. Not only eo, but in a con- 
gested place like Jaffna where everything depends 
upon the periodical rains the chances of success are 
few aud far between. Then let our young men lannch 
themselves into other pursuits. Nothing enriches a 
people or a nation so much as successful commerce. 
But if trade or commerce is to be successfully pursued, 
our young men should fully realise the power of asso- 
ciation and the value of mutual confidence as the chief 
conditions of success on any large scale.— Cow. 
Plant Diseases- — Professor Plowright’s lectures at 
the Royal College of Surgeons have been delivered this 
week. The first was devoted to generalities, and to 
ihe effect of fungi in producing over-growth (hy- 
pertrophy), from irritation or wasting (atrophy), by 
depriving the plant of its natural food, and appro- 
priating it to its own use. Various illustrations 
were given. The second lecture was devoted to the 
Potato disease. As we shall be in a position to 
publish these lectures with numerous illustrations, 
we forbear from further comment at present.-— 
Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
Wynaad Planters’ Association.— From proceed- 
ings of a general meeting held at Vajitiri Jubilee 
Hall, 4th March. Present — Messrs. A* zenwiler, Batty, 
Boosey, W. F. Brown, Chamier, Hockin, Lamb, Mc- 
Cabe, Powell, Ramsay, Rosling, Taylor, Trollope, 
Walker, Winterbotham and J. F. Jowitt, Acting Hony, 
Secy. Mr. Hockin in the chair. Leaf Disease. — Read 
letter from the Honorary Secretary to 0. B P. Veruede, 
Esq. in reply to bis offer to come to Wynaad. Also 
Honorary Secretary’s letter to Dr. McCabe thanking 
him for his Essay. Likewise letter from the Hono- 
rary Secretary to the Chief Secretary to Government, 
Madras, asking the Madras Government to be good 
enough to forward an application on the Association’s 
behalf to the Government of India for the services of 
Surgeon Major Barclay on the special duty of further 
investigating Hemileia Vastatrix. Read also a letter 
from Mr. Murray together with an extract from the 
“Detroit Free Press ” on the Washington Bureau of 
Vegetable Pathology. Resolved that Mr, Murray bo 
thanked for the interesting article, and that the Hono- 
rary Seoretary communicate with Professor Galloway 
m charge of the Bureau, bringing to his notice the 
disease our coffee is suffering from, and solicit his aid. 
Liquorice. — In A Modern Apostle : Alexander N, 
Somerville, D. D., by George Smith, c. i. b , lid., 
there is an interesting account of the manufacture 
of liquoiice as witnessed by Dr. Somerville at Sokia, 
near Smyrna. In his (Dr. Somerville’s) own words 
— “ The juice is extracted by machinery, here and 
in America; for the firm (Messrs. MaoAndrew and 
Forbes) has a factory there, and exports from Asia 
Minor a large quantity of the root. Only a trifling 
amount now is employed for medicinal purposes ; 
it is principally used for combining with Tobacco 
leaf to make ‘ Cavendish,’ which is much iu vogue 
witli sailors. The whole valley of the Meander for 
above 100 miles is more or less overspread with 
diggers, men and women, extracting the roots from 
the ground, stacking them, putting them into bags, 
and eeiidiug them on to various stations on camels. 
I was led to understand that this gives employment 
to nearly 100,000 persons. Indeed, the business has an 
important influence throughout the district, by teaching 
the people habits of industry We went over the 
factory, connected with which are Scotchmen, Oircas- 
sians, Turks, people from the Isle of Patmos, and 
Scala Nuova, near Ephesus. The manufacture of 
liquorice paste is accomplished by grinding down the 
root between ponderous mill-stones. James, observing 
in the yard some seventeen of the stones formerly 
used, aud detecting in them a resemblance to the 
drums of colossal pillars, inquired whether they had 
not been taken Irom some antique structure, aud 
elicited tha information that the worshippers in the 
temple of Artemi.«, at Magnesia, in the days of 
Thcinisiocles, had nut been unfamiliar with them when 
ocupyiug a very different position.”— ATHEN-tECil. — 
Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
