THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept.  2,  1895. 
I8a 
The  scarcity  of  good  Government  jungle  in  favour- 
able  localities  and  the  price  of  coffee  keeping  up  and 
steady,  has  naturally  caused  a corresponding  rise  in 
the  price  of  land ; but  I tliiiik  the  price  of  very  ordi- 
nary jungle  of  about  12  acres  near  Miuligeri,  which 
was  sold  by  one  Gowda  to  another  for  R7, 000  “takes 
the  cake.  11211  per  acre  was  paid  some  time  ago 
by.  a European  planter  in  public  auction  for  a piece 
of  scrub  adjoining  his  estate,  and  by  another,  an 
extensive  piece  of  deciduous  jungle  was  only  secured 
by  him  at  the  rate  of  nearly  11200  per  acre,  the  villagers 
having  run  the  price  up.  These  are  exceptionally 
fancy  prices,  but  they  are  instances  of  the  upward 
tendency  which  has  lately  taken  place  in  the  price 
of  jungle. — The  borer  has  been  rather  more  active 
this  season  than  last.  The  rubbing  of  the  stems  of 
the  coffee  trees  in  the  pruning,  and  just  before 
the  fly  lays  its  eggs,  seems  only  partially  to  check 
the  pest,  as  the  trees  which  are  bored  generally  break 
off  at  the  foot  of  the  steam  and  often  under  the  soilt 
The  inference  to  be  drawn  is  that  the  fly  finds  its 
way  to  the  stem  below  the  soil  and  deposits 
its  eggs  there.  It  will  be  necessary  to  rub  as 
low  down  as  possible  in  the  next  operation. 
The  silver  oak  (Grevillea)  has  gained  in  favour,  and 
a good  many  planters  have  been  led  to  look  favourably 
on  it  as  a desirable  shade  for  coffee.  It  is  a light 
shade  and  its  deposit  is  doubtless  valuable ; it  grows 
quickly,  which  is  another  great  point  in  its  favour. 
As  regards  labour,  most  managers  are  not  so  well- 
off  in  this  respgct  as  they  were  a year  ago.— .1/.  Jfail, 
PICKINGS  WITH  A LOCAL  APPLICATION. 
An  Australian  exchange  thus  refers  to  the 
enterprising  seed  merchants  and  nurserymen  of 
Ueneratgoda : — 
The  available  information  in  Queensland  concerning 
tropical  products  is  not  great.  This  in  the  past  has 
been  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  agriculturist 
on  our  Northern  coast  lands  has  up  to  the  present 
cohhned  himself  to  cane,  coffee,  and  rice,  and  the 
commoner  varieties  of  tropical  fruits.  Attention  is, 
however,  being  devoted  to  other  products,  and  at  this 
juncture  a useful  budget  of  literature  reaches  us  from 
Geylon.  Messrs.  J.  P.  William  and  Bros.,  seed  mer- 
chants and  nurserymen,  forward  us  their  descriptive 
price  lists  of  tropical  seeds  and  plants,  bulbs,  tubers 
and  yams,  and  a number  of  leaflets  dealing  with  new 
products  and  with  special  varities  of  old  ones.  All 
the  seeds  are  those  of  tropical  and  sub-tropical 
cultivation,  and  the  publishers  show  praiseworthy 
energy  in  pushing  to  the  front  new  varieties  and 
new  species  which  are  finding  a ready  sale  in  the 
markets  of  the  world.  We  have  a large  area  capable 
of  growing  pepper,  spices,  and  oils,  besides  fruits, 
etc.,  and  it  we  cultivate  from  the  best  of  seeds  and 
stocks,  success  should  be  assured.  As  an  instance 
we  may  quote  the  giant  pineapple,  weighing  from  10 
to  28  lb.,  a fruit  unknown  to  us  here,  wdiere  the 
heaviest  pine  never  exceeds  the  lower  figure. 
Kapok  has  lately  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  revival  of  the  fibre  industry  and  the  follow- 
ing correspondence  in  the  Cape  Colony  A(/titnflnral 
Oa~ette  with  reference  to  this  article  is  interesting : — 
The  Melbourne  A(/c,  .January  28th,  urges  the  Vic- 
torian Minister  for  Agriculture  to  experiment  with 
the  South  Sea  Island  (.i»c)  plant  kapok  : which  in  the 
Goulbourn  Valley,  near  Melbourne,  rapidly  reached 
a height  of  12  ft.  and  bore  numerous  peds  full  of 
seeds  and  fibre  ; the  latter  being  largely  imported 
into  Sydney  and  Melbourne  for  stuffing  mattresses, 
cushions,  etc. 
The  matter  has  been  mooted  in  Parliament  by  Mr. 
Pendergast,  m.l.a.  showing  that  the  Australian  soil 
and  climate  suited  the  shrub,  and  that  if  grown  freely, 
the  fibre  might  soon  form  a new  export  to  Europe. 
It  is  already  grown  in  the  Horticultural  Gardens, 
Bumlov,  Victoria,  and  also  at  Shepparton  by 
Mr.  Matthews,  so  that  it  clearly  deserves  some 
help  from  the  executive,  and  if  its  merits  are  attrac- 
tive’enough  to  extract  a small  cheque  from  the  Cape 
Government,  a rood  pf  it  may  in  good  time  be  sets 
flourishing  on  the  Cape  Flats,  where  seed  could  be 
sent  broadcast  through  the  Colony  and  .South  Africa. 
Capo  Town,  February,  27th  189.'i.  r.  f. 
If  our  esteemed  correspondeut  will  look  up  the 
back  issues  of  this  Juui-nul,  he  will  see  that  utiliz- 
ation ef  kapok  down  is  a very  old  scheme  here,  even 
if  it  be  a novelty  in  Victoria.  Compare  Vol.  i.  p. 
120.  where  a re))ort  is  given  on  what  a correspondent 
sent  as  “East  India  Thistle  Down.’’  Then  follows 
on  page  1(12  a letter  in  which  the  plant  providing  it 
is  reported  from  Calvinia;  page  251  refers  to  pro- 
posals to  mix  it  with  silk  and  page  Hlit  giving  name 
and  address  of  a manufacturer  willing  to  pay  cash 
for  any  quantity  of  it.  Also  consult  A'ee- Wales 
Aiiricnltnral  (luzejte  V.  p.  7,  where  a figure  of  the 
plant  is  given.  Cape  kipok  is  in  the  same  predi- 
cament as  Cape  fibres,  and  so  many  other  thing.s  that 
are  Cape.  They  are  bulky  and  will  not  boar  our 
extravagant  freights.  They  grow  without  labour  or 
culture,  yet  the  cost  of  collecting  ninoimts  to  more 
than  the  stuff  will  fetch  at  the  store  of  the  exporter. 
It  is  true  that  the  down  of  lloinha.e  Ceiha.  and  to 
some  extent  of  Calotrojiis  /iroceru  ai-e  imported  into 
Holland  for  upholstery  stuffing,  but  who  is  it  does 
the  collecting?  Not  any  person  comparable  to  our 
well-fed  darkle  population,  but  famine  stricken  Indian 
ryots  and  their  families,  whose  wage  is  calculated  on 
a nice  perception  of  the  exact  amount  of  pice  and 
annas  which  will  serve  to  keep  their  bodies  and  souls 
together.  The  lines  have  fallen  to  our  labourer  in 
far  too  pleasant  places  for  him  to  go  bothering  about 
after  Gomphocarpus  down,  and  get  perhaps  sixpence 
for  his  day’s  collection. 
The  plant  producing  the  down  ei’ows  all  over  the 
colony,  and  could  be  cultivated  as  easily  as  hemp 
or  ramie.  But  when  manufacturers  propose  to  go 
in  lor  utilizing  a new  product  they  iiave  an  awkward 
knack  of  saying  “ Are  you  prepared  to  guarantee  us 
under  penalty  not  less  than  .e  tons  per  annum,  so 
that  we  may  bo  recouped  for  our  outlay  and  initial 
charges,  and  not  find  ourselves  stopped  short  for 
want  of  material?”  And  nob  )dy  here  will  answer 
“ Yes.”  Believe  me,  it  is  this  obvious  necessity  of  the 
manufacturer’s  position  that  has  strangled  iu  the 
birth  dozens  of  fair-seeing  proposals  for  the  utiliza- 
tion of  things  which  have  a small  value,  a large  bulk, 
and  which  unfortunately  will  not  gather  themselves, 
and  jump  into  the  exporter’s  hales  without  hands. 
My  old  friend,  Samuel  Cawood,  spent  a small  fortune 
in  trying  to  get  the  natives  to  grow  and  pick  Sea 
Island  cotton  down  along  the  Albany  and  Kaffr.irian 
coast.  He  gave  them  the  seed  for  nothing  and 
offered  fourpeiice  a pound  for  the  product.  Tliey  put 
the  seed  in,  some  of  them,  and — let  the  cotton  blow 
away.  So  speculative  Samuel  never  got  beyond  the 
second  or  third  bale.  And  mind  you  this  was  not 
cheap  kapok  for  filling  pillows,  but  costly  long  stapled 
cotton,  beloved  of  Lancashire  spinners.  We  are  a 
peculiar  people  at  the  Cape,  and  if  a staple  won't  pay 
for  collecting  and  exportation,  we  let  it  severely  alone. 
P.M.O. 
Dr.  Weir,  District  Surgeon  of  Engcobo,  Tembu- 
land  in  a communication  to  the  Department,  states 
that  he  has  found  a combination  of  Ipecacuanha  and 
Ammonia  a very  effective  antidote  in  snake-bite. 
The  method  of  treatment  which  ho  adopts  is  as 
follows  : — “ Scarify  the  wound  and  sprinkle  a small 
quantity  of  powdered  ammonia  upon  it,  then  apply 
a poultice  of  linseed  meal  with  J ounce  of  ipeca- 
cuanha powder.  Give  an  emetic  of  ipecacuanha 
powder  and  follow  it  up  immediately  with  ipeca- 
cuanha wine  in  medicinal  doses  combined  with  rather 
large  doses  of  aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia  until 
recovery  is  complete.’’  Finding  this  combination  so 
effective  in  snake-bite  he  Tried  it  in  the  treatment 
of  the  contagious  lung-sickness  of  cattle,  and  with 
encouraging  results.  Mr.  Smith  the  gaoler  at  Eng- 
cobo, wno  attended  to  the  cattle,  cured  six  out  of 
seven  cases  affected.  Tho  presciiptiou  for  a full- 
grown  boMt  wm:— 
