176 
THK  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept.  2,  1895. 
an  iileal  inacliine  to  tieat  tlie  fila'e  of  the 
Kliea  01  Kaiiiie  plant  (/jof'/u/io-ni  >ui;prt)  commonly 
known  as  China  grass.  It  is  needless  to 
enumerate  the  advantages  to  Ije  derived  from 
the  use  of  suitable  machinery  for  extracting 
various  fibres  ; but  hitherto  none  of  the  several 
machines  that  have  been  patented  in  England, 
the  Continent  and  America,  has  given  entire 
natisfaction  when  put  to  the  test  (3f  late, 
attention  Inas  been  specially  attracted  to  a 
patent  known  as  the  “Todd  Machine,”  of  Ame- 
rican origin,  in  connection  with  the  fibre  industry 
in  the  Bahamas  and  Florida,  where  it  is  reported 
to  treat  Sisal  and  allied  leaf  fibres  with  great  suc- 
cess ; while  still  more  lately  the  “ Gomes’s  patent  ” 
(said  to  be  a purely  chemic.al  metliod)  for  extr. act- 
ing libre  from  Rhea  and  other  members  of  the 
nettle  family  and  from  the  cortex  of  otlier 
plants,  promises  to  revolutionize  the  trade  in 
such  fibres. 
A prospectus  issued  by  a Manchester  En- 
gineering House,  which  has  reached  our 
hands,  offers  to  sujiply  all  descrijttions  of 
machinery  for  dealing  with  libre  plants,  such 
as  the  extractor,  decorticator,  crushing  machine, 
M'iliow  softening,  seeding,  scutching  ami  brushing 
machine  ; rope-making  machine,  c\;c— capable  of 
dealing  with  leaf  fibres,  stem  fibres  and  coir. 
We  are  specially  interested  in  “ Extractor  No. 
A”  said  to  be  capable  of  extracting  the  fibre 
from  all  descriptions  of  leaves  and  stems,  when 
worked  up  in  a green  state  and  freshly  cut.  The 
hand-power  machine  of  this  description,  suitable 
for  small  planters  and  agriculturists,  and  guar- 
anteed to  produce  150  lb.  of  cleaned  libre  per  day, 
is  offered  at  a moderate  price.  It  would  seem 
to  be  a machine  of  wonderful  capacity,  and  if 
one  of  the  kind  could  be  set  up  in  Golombo,  and 
the  quality  of  its  work  tlemonsf rated  to  satis- 
faction, we  have  litte  doulit  of  a local  de- 
mand springing  up  in  a country  so  rich  in 
])lants  (rapalde  of  yielding  excellent  fibres,  par- 
ticularly .at  the  present  time  when  fresli  in- 
terest appears  to  have  arisen  in  tlie  lilire  industry. 
Tlie  Manchester  House  concerned  ought  to  estah- 
lish  a loc.al  .agency  and  give  the  necessary  demon- 
strations. 
_ ---  
COFFEE  CULTIVATION  IN  NETHER- 
LANDS INDIA. 
Papers  laid  before  the  Netheiland  States  General 
give  details  of  coffee  cultivation  in  tiie  islands  beyond 
Java.  In  West  Sumatra,  and  North  Celebes,  or 
Minahasso,  coffee  is  grown  as  in  Java  by  the  inhabi- 
tants for  Government  at  a fixed  price  on  delivery — 
the  price  being  far  below  the  market  value  The 
result  is  that  the  yield  is  declining.  Elsewhere  in 
these  islands  coffee-growing  is  free.  At  Beucoolen, 
where  the  inhabitants  would  not  plant  coffee  under 
the  compulsory  system,  free  cultivation  has  proved 
su'h  a success  that  several  thousands  of  piculs  of 
the  berry  are  now  exported.  The  coffee  is  grown  in 
the  mountains,  and  its  cultivation  nffoids  an  abundant 
means  of  livelihood  to  the  people.  The  cultivation 
of  the  Liberian  berry  is  extending  also  there,  and 
promises  to  benefit  the  inhabitants  of  the  low  country 
L well.  From  Pulembang,  the  ) early  quantity 
exported  has  now  liieii  to  over  14,000  piculs,  and 
the  people  living  in  the  inouniains  draw  so  much 
profit  from  the  cultivation  of  the  berry  that  many 
of  them  take  to  it  by  neglecting  the  cultivation  of 
rice.  In  the  independent  district  of  Korinchi,  in 
S.  W.  Sumatra,  c ffee-growing  has  widely  extended 
and  gains  i creai-iug  favour  among  the  people.  In 
South  (M.  be--,  too,  the  natives  are  actively  engaged 
in  laying  • tit  fresh  plantations  under  coffee,  and  the 
same  is  reported  fr-  in  Pali.  There,  the  export  of 
coffee  fropi  Rtileling  in  1803  reached  21,000  ’picul  . 
In  the  Lampoiig  Dis'ricts  (Sumatra),  coffee  is  taking 
the  place  of  pepper,  the  cultivation  of  which  is  on 
the  decline  owing  to  the  fall  in  quotations  for  that 
spice.  In  the  Kwantan  district  (lihio),  the  people 
steadily  proceed  with  clearing  forest  land  in  order 
to  plant  coffee  from  seeds  supplied  by  Government. 
— Straits  Paper. 
VARIOUS  PLANTING  NOTES. 
Manuring  of  Tka.— We  he.ar  that  .an  Indi.an 
te.a  pl.anter  of  long  experience  has  been  giving 
an  opinion  quite  the  opposite  of  tli.at  of  the 
German  Agricultnr.al  Professor  from  .Japan.  Large 
(loses  of  artificial  manure  .are  no  doubt  undesir- 
able ; but  sm.all  |)ro|)ortions  with  bulky  stuff 
ouglit  to  do  good  in  every  way.  A trial  of 
small  doses  of  bonedust  with  the  buried  prunings 
might  be  desir.able. 
'If.a  Pn.VNTKiis  UP  NORTH  liavc  been  having  an 
anxious  time  of  it  with  red  spider  and  backward  leaf, 
but  a ebange  appears  to  have  set  in  with  the  rains. 
Red  spider  is  always  destructive  in  the  early  part  of 
the  season,  disappearing  with  the  heavy  rain.  Mr. 
G.  F.  Playfair  suggests  the  sulphus  treatment  as  the 
most  effective  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  pest.  The 
method  is  to  put  I'efiued  flowers  to  sulphur  into 
bags  made  of  loose  woven  cloth,  and  to  sprinkle 
the  tea  bushes  by  simply  shaking  the  bags  over 
them.  This  treatment,  it  appears,  is  useful  also  in 
mosquito  blight,  the  dreaded //efopeh is  thievora.  The 
sulphur,  it  is  said,  adheres  fairly  well  even  on  dry 
bushes,  and  is  applied  at  the  rate  of  from  1 to  2 
cwt.  to  the  acre  and  costs  about  R8-4  per  acre,  in- 
cluding freight  in  Cachar,  where  the  experiments 
were  made. — .V.  Times. 
Ceylon  Te.v  in  Russia. — Read  letter  from  Mr.  M. 
Rogivue,  Moscow,  reporting  on  his  work  in  Russia, 
and  applying  for  monetary  support  towards  adver- 
tisements, pamphlets,  photogr.vphs.  Snow-bills  Ac., 
for  distribution.  Erection  and  fittinu  of  a Pavilion  at 
the  Nini  Novgorod  Geuei'al  Russian  Exhibition  Ac.  Ac. 
Read  letter  from  Mr.  .James  Sinclair,  .also  extracts 
from  letters  of  Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  in  reference 
to  Mr.  Rogivue,  and  his  work  in  Rifisia.  Resolved: — 
‘ That  the  sum  of  tT,()()()/  Sterling,  be  granted  to  M. 
Rogivue  for  the  sole  purpose  of  advertising  and 
pu.shing  Ceylon  Tea  in  Russia  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated ill  his  letters,  dated  29th  A}  r land  tith  May  189.'i 
(2)  that  a credit  to  that  amount  he  granted  to  the 
Ceylon  Association  in  London,  to  be  held  at  the 
disposal  of  M.  Rogivue  as  he  may  require  ; (3)  that 
a cojiy  of  this  Resolution  be  forwarded  to  Govern- 
ment for  approval,  to  the  Ceylon  Association  in 
London,  and  to  M.  Rogivue  ; (4)  that  a letter  on  the 
lines  of  the  draft  approved  by  the  Committee  be 
forwarded  to  Mr.  Rogivue,  through  the  Russian  Con- 
sul in  Ceylon. 
iNniAN  Tea  will  not  by  any  means  have  a walk 
over  in  America,  Ceylon  and  Cliiiui  are  already  in 
the  field  and  now  .Japan  is  preparing  to  enter  the 
lists  and  run  a tilt  against  its  older  and  more  firmly- 
established  rivals.  The  American  taste  has  yet  to  be 
educated  te  appreciate  tea  and  just  now  it  is  very 
much  in  doubt  as  to  what  to  adopt.  Ceylons  and 
Indians  have  rapidly  risen  in  favour,  but  there  are 
many  who  hanker  afier  China  tea  and  evince  a 
special  predeliction  for  the  Oolong  of  P’orinosa.  It 
is  said  to  be  in  strong  demand  all  through  the 
country  but  more  particularly  in  the  eastern  states. 
We  are  told  that  compared  with  Japanese  tea,  no 
particular  superiority  can  he  claimed  for  tea  produced 
in  h’Drinosa,  but  it  holds  a better  place  in  tbe 
American  tea  market,  commanding  a price  higher  by 
10  to  20  dollars  per  100  cattles.  Tlie  totsl  cximi  t of 
Oolong  tea  every  year  to  America  is  about  17  million 
pounds,  worth  5 to  (5  million  i/eii.  It  has  been  proved 
that  any  attempt  to  grow  (iolong  tea  in  .Japan  is 
idle,  but  now  that  the  island  of  Formosa  has  become 
Japanese  territory,  it  will  pay  that  country  to 
abandon  its  hitherto  unsuccessful  experiments  to 
produce  Oolong  at  home  and  turn  its  attention 
serioudy  to  the  improvement  of  the  original  industry 
in  Formosa  and  the  extension  of  its  inaiKets. — Imlian 
Planters'  Oaaette. 
