July  t,  1895.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
55 
A Day  Aktkr  thk  Kaik. — Holders  of  C’eylon 
eaeiio  must,  we  fear,  lie  pretty  sick  of  it,  judjj;ing 
from  the  followinj;'  from  a Loudon  correspondent  : 
— “ Forty  sliillin.ns  was  the  hij,diest  hid  j^ot  hy 
— ■ — for  some  ( -eylon  cacao  last  Tuesday  (7th  May), 
for  which  one  hundred  shillings  was  refused  in  LS93.” 
“Coi.onia:  the  Colonial  Colleoe  Magazini:.” 
Spring  Session,  April,  1895.  Contents  : — The  Colonial 
College ; Old  Students’  Coluuin : Communications 
from  Africa,  Australasia,  Canada,  India,  United  States; 
A Visit  to  Canada;  The  Opportunity!  Oranges  and 
Vegetables  in  Florida  ; Noteson  New  Zealand;  Water 
Supply;  Howto  Cultivate  the  “Bump  of  Locality ; 
Frozen  Meat;  Estate,  Farm  and  Building  Notes  ;Col- 
lege  Notes;  The  Athletic  Club  Report;  The  College 
Evening  E.itertainments  ; Notice  to  Correspondents; 
Old  Stuuents’  Directory  (revised). 
Mk.  Akthuk  StNCL.Ui!,  Skntok— has  taken 
up  his  re.^idence  on  Primrose  Hill,  Kandy,  in 
the  bungalow  which  he  occupied  for  so  many 
years  in  the  “si.xties”  and  “seventies”  when 
Visiting  .\gent  for  Messrs.  liOe,  Hedges  A’  Co. 
(who,  at  the  time  had  a very  e.Ktensive  estate 
connection)  and  for  a time  acting  for  Messrs, 
(ieo.  Steuart  A Co.  Mr.  .Simdair  has  been 
|ilanting  tea  on  the  old  place  ; but  he  will 
iloulitles.s  be  making  a round  of  the  districts, 
to  note  the  very  great  (diangcs  wrouglit  in  the  past 
decade.  M r.  Sinclair  [laiil  Hying  visits  upcountry 
o'.i  his  trips  to  and  from  Australia  in  recent  years  ; 
but  he  did  not  stay  long  enough  to  note  in 
detail  the  revolution. 
A New  Dutch  Cocoa  Comi’Any. — The  business  of 
the  firm  of  J.  tfe  C.  Blooker,  cocoa  manufacturers, 
of  Amsterdam,  has  been  turned  into  a company,  under 
the  style  “ luteruationahle  Cocoafabrieken.  " The 
object  of  the  company  is  to  manufacture  cocoa,  cocoa- 
powder,  chocolate,  butter  of  cooca,  and  other  cocoa- 
dsrivatives,  to  trade  in  these  articles  and  the  raw 
materials  from  which  they  are  made,  and  the  buying  and 
selling  of  cocoa-products  made  by  third  parties.  The 
capital  of  the  company  is  l,OOU,0(JOf.  (about  85,OOOL), 
in  20(J  shares  of  5,000f.  each,  of  which  the  firm  of 
J.  & C.  Blooker  obtain  120  in  consideration  of  the 
transfer  of  their  factory  to  the  company.  The  com- 
pany will  issue  debentures  to  the  extent  of  750,000f. 
(825,00 )/.),  liearing  4 per  cent,  interest,  of  which 
;i0(),000f.  are  irredeemable  and  secured  in  first  mort- 
gage'on  tlie  company's  factory,  and  450,0(K)f.  redeem- 
able at  any  time.  Tlie  whole  of  the  delientures  are 
taken  up  by  the  three  Messrs.  Blooker,  one  of  whom, 
Mr.  D.  Blooker,  will  act  as  managing  director, 
and  a second,  Mr.  J.  Blooker,  as  secretary. — Chemist 
and  Dniifi/isf,  May  18. 
LhillT  AND  ClIKAI-  RaIIAVAVS  IN  XliW  SoUTlt 
W.-VLK.S.  -We  notice  that  the  Assemldy  of  New 
South  M'ale.s  has  sanctioned  the  construction  of 
a small  railway  from  .Jerihlerie  to  Ben  igan.  It 
is  to  be  a cheap  line,  at  £2,000  a mile,  and  will 
run  for  a considerable  distance  on  the  main  road. 
There  is  .also  a stipulation  th.at  landowners  are 
to  give  the  necessary  land.  In  referring  to 
wa,ys  and  means,  (he  Premier  Mr.  Reid  said  lhat 
thei'c  wasplentyof  money  foi' M iirlo  of  tlii- eharaetei 
-^indeed,  he  had  luii  (o  hold  up  his  little  Imger, 
and  he  w.a..  afraid  of  the  ijuaniity  id  money  tliat 
might  now  be  borrowed  in  London.  Biit  he 
was  keeping  hinrself  proof  .again.T  the  tempt, ation. 
Tai.uaswli.i.a  Tka  Uompanv.— We  direct  .at- 
tention to  Mr.  E.  S.  Urigson’s  \ery  satisfactory 
Report  and  we  learn  on  the  best  iinthority,  that 
for  the  four  months  (•January-April)  this  year, 
the  tea  ha.  realised  17  cents  average  above  last 
year  and  the  ipiantity  made  shows  an  increase 
of  18, lb.  Altogether  theri*  is  better  news  of 
te.a  in  the  Southern  Province  than  we  Inive 
seen  for  .a  long  time  : Mr.  .Abi'yi'sundere  is  m.aking 
capital  tea  ami  gatlicring  big  returns  on  his 
lilace  iiiid  others  are  doing  well.  The  South  has 
certainly  the  advantage  in  clieaii,  abundant  labour. 
The  Sandakan  Cofe’ee  Estates  Comcany  (Limited) 
has  issued  an  advance  prospectus.  The  cajiital  is 
t;25,001)in  IT  shares,  of  which  the  vendor  takes  5,0(JU 
The  object  of  tli^  company  is  shown  in  its  title.— 
/>.  and  C.  May  17. 
(Ikvldn  fiLv  IN  A.MKiticA.  — The  Committee  of 
'Ihirty  have  iiomimated  Mr.  Wm.  Mackenzie  as 
permanent  Tea  representative  in  Aneriiai,  subject 
to  the  ajiproval  of  “the  (imernor  in  (,'onncil  ” 
— who  must  henceforth  aiiprovc  of  all  that  is 
propo.seil  to  bo  done.  We  had  no  ide.a'  Mr 
Mackenzie  would  accept  a post  that  will  necessi- 
tate a cou|de  of  years  at  least,  we  should  say 
of  work  in  America.  If  he  does,  however,  and 
cordially  works  with  Mr.  Blechynden,  we'  may 
anticipate  some  good  re.sults.  ’ ‘ ^ 
Manure  in  Ceylon. — The  demand  for  manure  in 
Ceylon  is  a healthy  sign,  inasmuch  as  it  indicates 
that  cultivators  are  alive  to  the  fact  th-at  the  ferti- 
lity of  the  soil  must  be  maint.xined.  Apart  from  the 
common  commercial  fertilizers  such  as  bone  dust 
castor  cake,  &c.,  there  is  a good  market  now  for  fish 
manure,  imported  and  locally  prepared,  while  blood 
from  the  Colombo  slaughter-houses  and  nio-ht-soil 
treated  in  Kandy  arc  also  being  utilized.  Of  late 
people  from  South  India  haVe  been  goin<r  about 
offering  such  substances  as  cattle  manure  'dried  in 
cakes,  dry  goat  and  sheep  m.ifiuire,  and  even  ashes 
all  brought  over  from  the  neighbouring  coast.  The 
prices  demanded  per  cwt.  are  R2  00  for  the  first 
K2-50  for  the  second,  and  RL50  for  the  third  [—Che- 
mical Trade  Journal,  May  11. 
Yams.— Our  crop  of  yams  was  harvested  in  February 
and  the  results  were  nearly  equal  to  last  year's  re^ 
turn.  Last  year  our  return  was  0 (i8  lb.  per  square 
foot  oi  thil  teen  tons  to  the  acre,  while  this  year  our 
return  stands  0 (53  lb.  per  square  foot  which  is  slightly 
less.  The  heaviest  weight  of  “Negro  Yam"— one  root 
was  ,30.f  lb.  Yellow'  Yam  gave  I’oot.s  weio'him? 
111b.;  “Afou”  14  lb.,  and  “Devil  Vam’’  20  lb.  to 
25  1b.  The  “Buck  Yam”  is  an  e.xcellent  variety  and 
splendid  for  table,  but  does  not  yield  a heavy  re- 
turn. The  “ Yellow  Yam,”  whicli  i.s  the  same  as  the 
“Dominica  lam,”  yields  an  excellent  table  dish 
The  “Negro”  and  “Barbados  White  ,Yam,”  the 
“Horn  lam  ” and  the  “ Snake  Yam”  proved  to  be  of 
excellent  quality,  and  superior  in  many  respects  to 
those  commonly  grown  in  Trinidad.— Unllrtiiu 
Si’ONiiK.s  Madk  ok  Coconut  Fiui;k_\Vh-.vt 
Nk.kt'i— A h’ort  mercantile  man  sends  us  the 
following  extre.ft  from  a home  p.aper  .and  .asks 
if  it  is  news  to  us.  It  certainly  is  th.at  artilL 
cial  sponges  .are  being  made  out  of  coconut  fibre. 
Has  the  exneriment  been  tried  in  Ceylon '>  We 
quote  .as  follows  : — 
The  report  that  artificial  sponges  have  been  made 
by  chemical  processes  out  oLcoconut  fibre  has  given 
a new  incentive  to  the  industry  of  growiim  cocomit 
palms  in  some  of  the  Pacific  island!.  The”  K of 
the  coconut  and  the  long  leaves  of  the  trees  are  fine 
and  strong,  but  very  dissimilar  to  sponge  in  texture- 
It  would  require  a stretch  of  the  imagination  to  see 
any  connection  betw-een  the  two  in  any  way 
whatsoever.  But  science  has  created  stranger'  births 
than  this.  I he  fibre  of  the  coconut  is  bleached, 
messed,  beaten  and  then  worke  l up  into  a mass  by 
boding  until  the  whole  is  a thick  mucus  substance. 
When  aiieci  it  feels  like  a ton^h,  dvy  sponge,  with 
no  elasticity  or  spring  about  it.  It  is  full  of  holes 
and  cavities,  so  that  air  can  go  in  and  out  of  it. 
ihe  new  sponge  is  then  passed  through  other 
pec’i bar  processes,  ft  is  steamed  and  worked  arti- 
ficially  by  machinery  or  the  hand  until  it  becomes 
as  pliable  as  the  finest  sponge.  This  process  is  con- 
tinued  until  the  mass  is  soft  and  silkv  to  the  touch 
While  being  steamed  it  can  be  pulle'd  and  moulded 
into  any  form  or  shape,  but  as  it  dries  again  it  be- 
comes tough  ami  strong.  After  drying,  the  sponge  is 
finally  bleached  for  the  last  time.  If  too  dark  it  is 
niade  lighter  l)y  being  Ijleachecl  with  steam  and  sul- 
pmu’,  and  it  not  of  the  propet-  yellow  it  is  artificially 
coloured  harmless  chemical'^.  The  artificial 
sponge  IS  then  ready  for  selling,  audit  would  renuire 
au  o.xjiert  to  detect  it  from  the  gcmiiuc  article. 
