Biippleuient  io  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist^' 
[July  1,  1895. 
06 
being  tliH  foritiutiou  of  a sonpy  materinl  with  the 
sticky  part  of  the  spOres  of  fungi.  Of  nietnllic 
steeps,  copper  sulphate,  sulpliate  of  iron  and 
arsenic  are  the  best — sulphate  of  copper  being  the 
most  effective,  ns  it  destroys  the  spores  at  onCe. 
After  treatment  with  bluestone,  1 lit.  of  archangel 
tar,  made  thin  by  hOt  water,  may  be  added  to  Oacli 
sabk  (4  bushels)  of  grain  to  prevent  birds  taking  the 
Seed.  The  seed  is  then  dried  with  aslies  or  lime. 
Borne  think  that  tliis  dressing  prevents  ab.sorption 
of  water  by  the  seed,  but  if  this  were  true  it 
prevents  the  absorption  of  too  much  water  in  wet 
Aveather." 
Neutral  steeps  such  as  common  .salt  Prof.  Wallace 
thinks  useless,  and  of  nitrate  of  potash  (nitre) 
and  nitrate  of  soda  he  expre.sses  a similar  opinion. 
The  application  of  salt  to  coconut  holes  in  planting 
nuts  is  no  doubt  a modification  of  the  pickling 
process,  and  though  Prof.  AV'allace  (referring  to 
fungoid  attack)  considers  salt  of  no  avail,  there 
are  many  in  Ceylon  who  place  great  reliance  on  the 
action  of  salt  in  preventing  the  attacks  of  white- 
ants  and  other  in.sects.  (Query— How  would  the 
process  of  steepiny  nuts  in  a saline  solution  before 
plaiiting  doh)  Dr.  Nicholls  in  his  book  on 
Tropical  Ayriculture  mentions  that  crude  .salt 
or  seawater  may  be  sparingly  applied  to  coconut 
trees,  and  further  states  that  “ when  coconut 
palms  are  cultiAmted  inland,  and  they  do  not 
thrive,  an  application  of  salt  or  seawater  has 
often  been  found  to  make  them  grow  vigourously 
and  bear  fruit."  Dr.  Js’icholls  is  here  referring 
to  his  West  Indian  e.vperience.  The  effect  of 
the  nitrates  of  potash  and  .soda  as  soluble  nitro- 
genous manures  M'ould  be  to  force  the  plant  into 
vigorous  growth  in  the  early  stages,  when  it  is 
most  liable  to  be  attacked  by  pests. 
An  Indian  agricultural  officer  of  high  statiding, 
writing  to  us  on  the  subject  of  treatment  of  seeds, 
s.iys;  “ I pickle  all  kinds  of  seed  liefore  sowing, 
even  j)Otato  seeds,  small  and  delicate,  I keep 
steeped  in  camphor  water,  tlie  bottle  being  kejit 
stoppered  up  for  two  hours  with  Iheseedinit. 
This  is  not  only  a protection  against  fungoid 
diseases,  but  it  actually  helps  germination.  Plants 
that  do  not  ordinarily  grow  from  seed,  sticli  ns  the 
mulberry,  the  Jerusalem  artichoke,  Ac.,  can  be 
easily  grown  from  seed  by  this  means 
In  the  case  of  large  seed,  I do  the  pickling  in  the 
ordinary  way,  i.e.,  I dip  the  seed  in  sulphate  of 
copper  .solution  (1  : 100)  and  immediately  after- 
wards got  it  dried  by  a mixture  of  ashes,  lime  and 
raj)6  dust.  The  pickling  is  done  chiefly  with  the 
object  of  preventing  mildews.  Ashes,  lime  and 
rape  dust  are  insecticidal  manures.  The  drying  is 
essential,  as  too  long  soaking  of  seeds  in  sulphate 
of  copper  ‘ burns'  them  up  and  in  fact  kills  them 
outright." 
We  commend  the  above  remarks  to  the 
serious  consideration  of  our  correspondents.  One 
of  the  most  annoying  experiences  of  cultivators  is 
the  non-germination  of  .seed  from  vai ions  causes. 
Dut  both  bluestone  and  camphor  are  cheap 
eubstauces  and  obtainable  at  most  bazaars  (being 
know  respective!}’  by  the  native  names  of 
palmanikkan  and  kajmru),  and  it  will  be  within 
tlie  means  of  all  to  at  least  give  these  remedies  a 
good  trial,  and  if  the  trial  prove  successful,  of 
adopting  them  iuto  couetaut  use, 
RAINFALL  T\KEN  AT  TIIR  SCHOOL  OF 
AGRICULTURE  DURlNti  JUNE,  189.L 
1 . . 
•01 
13 
. . -83 
2.) 
. . 01 
0 
•01 
1-4 
..  1-86 
2(5 
. . Nil 
»> 
o 
•;h 
L") 
. . -10 
27 
• • Nil 
4 . . 
•01 
i(5 
. 0 
28 
• • -Od 
o . . 
•0.J 
17 
..  2-12 
29 
• • Nil 
0 . . 
Nil 
18 
..  1-84 
30 
• • Nil 
i 
Nil 
19 
••  1-71 
1 
. . •Id 
8 . . 
Nil 
20 
• • -50 
* 
9 . . 
•18 
21 
. . -12 
Total 
. . 12-39 
10  . . 
•08 
22 
11  .. 
•40 
23 
. . ^24 
ilean 
. . -41 
12  . . 
1-61 
24 
. . -Oo 
•eatest 
amount 
of 
rainfall  in 
any 
24  hours 
on  the  17th  instant,  2‘1‘2  inches. 
Recorded  by  P.  Van  Dr  Dona. 
— ♦ 
OCC.VBIONAL  NOTES. 
Tlie  present  number  commences  the  Seventli 
Volume  of  the  Agricultural  Magazine  which 
was  started  in  July  1889.  Since  that  date  it 
has  been  enlarged  and  wo  trust  also  improved. 
To  our  supporters  to  whom  we  owe  so  much 
in  the  past  we  offer  our  hearty  thanks,  and 
hope  that  they  will  continue  their  kind  patron- 
age in  the  future  also. 
We  regret  to  find  that  a few  copies  of  our 
last  issue  did  not  reach  their  destination  owing 
to  the  loss  of  their  wrappers.  We  shall  be 
glad  to  supply  the  June  number  to  those  who 
will  report  to  us  the  non-receipt  of  their  copies. 
yianyrom  Bark. — The  following  is  n conclud- 
ing note  on  this  subject,  and  should  have  completed 
the  notes  in  our  last  issue: — Kandelia  llheedii 
belongs  to  tlie  order  Rhizoplioraceic.  It  is  an 
evergreen  shrul)  or  small  tree  found  on  the 
shores  of  muddy  creeks.  Tlie  bark  is  u.sed  in 
Tavoy  for  dyeing  red,  but  jirobably  as  a mordant. 
It  is  said  to  be  employed  in  Cochin  as  a tan- 
ning material. 
GRAPE  CULTURE  AT  NASIK  IN 
WEBTERN  INDIA. 
Nasik,  one  of  the  most  ancient  sacred  cities 
of  the  Hindus,  is  situated  on  the  river  Godavery 
near  its  source,  to  the  north-east  of  Bombay. 
Its  average  rainfall  is  3o  inches,  and  its  eleva- 
tion about  1,900  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
climate  is  very  salubrious  and  the  soil  fertile. 
Although  its  distance  from  Bombay  is  li’O  miles 
by  rail,  its  shortest  distance  from  the  sea  is 
only  about  (50  miles ; and  it  i.s  reputed  to  have 
the  double  advantage  of  mountain  breeze  and 
sea  breeze,  the  latter  finding  its  way  through 
the  Peiet  gorge.s.  lu  (he  city  and  its  vicinity 
are  grown  fine  Acgetables  and  excellent  grapes. 
Presuming  that  it  will  interest  your  readers  to 
hour  sometliing  of  grape  culture  in  this  place, 
I shall  give  a brief  account  of  one  of  tlie 
(irupe  Gardens  there  which  I visited  lately. 
V iticulture,  as  1 saw  it  practised  at  Nasik,  seemed 
(o  mo  a very  simple  affair.  With  the  exceptiou 
of  the  priming  aud  traiuiug,  it  resembled  pretty 
