Feb.  I,  1896.1 
IHK  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
547 
PLAN'I’INd  IN  MATALE. 
.fan.  12 
Deai;  Sii:,  — In  Mk!  Obsa-ca-  u!  lOtli  inst.  iiiulcr 
the  heading  of  “ Planting  in  Malale”  you  wtate 
tliab  an  estate  lias  yielded  SOU  Ih.  of  made  tea 
))er  acre  over  .‘500  acres  giviim  a ])ro!ib  of  M2oU'00 
per  acre.  It  is  not  ijuite  clear  wliother  juni  mean 
for  the  year  or  only  .at  that  rate  for  the  month 
of  December*' 
If  the  former,  it  is  very  lino,  hut  it  means 
that  the  tea  netted  oO  cents  per  Ih.  and  cost  only 
20  cents  or  a prolit  of  .'50  cents  [ler  Ih.  It  is 
possible,  hut  douhtfnl,  especially  on  old  land. 
At  8 years’  purchase  (the  .acceptcrl  figures  for  low- 
lying  estates)  this  would  M’ork  out  about  tlP20 
sterling  per  acre!!  This  is  ‘‘one  better”  than 
Nnw.ara  Eliya.  — Yours,  &c.,  •!.  A.  I!. 
[A  corrected  p.ara  ai)]>eared  in  the  next  issue  of  the 
Observer.  The  rate  is  for  Deeemlier. — Ei). 
AKECANUT  AS  A VEllMIEUDE  EOT 
DOGS. 
Tunisgala,  Ilangala,  Jan.  16. 
Deab  Sir, — As  the  letter  in  your  Directory 
for  1896  he.aded  “ Arecanut  as  a Vermifuge  for 
Dog.s”  has  been  the  means  of  killing  the  best 
beagle  bitch  1 ever  had,  I think  it  only  light 
that  others  should  prolit  by  my  experience  and 
be  warned  against  taking  the  advice  gi\en  in 
the  letter. 
Unless  our  dogs  have  insides  .similar  to  Capt. 
Vetrio’s,  it  is  impos.sible  for  them  to  live  .after 
having  taken  bub  one-half  of  the  smallest  dose 
recommended  by  A. AY.  At  least  so  1 have  been 
told  since  ; and  I unfortunately  proved  it  in  one 
ease  .at  any  rale. 
1 prepared  the  powder  myself,  ami  it  was  all- 
e.arefully  sifted  through  a piece  of  ceiling-cloth. 
So  the  dog’s  death  was  not  due  to  carelessness 
on  rny  jiart. 
From  one-half  to  one  te.aspoonful  is  the  correct 
dose,  I am  told  ; but  it  tvill  be  some  time  before 
I try  even  that  except  on  .a  pariah. — Yours  faith- 
fully, J.  HALL  IlROWl^. 
[AV'e  greatly  regret  that  we  should  ha\e  been 
the  indirect  means  of  causing  the  death  of  our 
correspondent’s  dog.  The  inform.ation  in  our 
Handbook  was  supplied  by  a former  well-known 
(!eylon  resident  of  much  experience  with  regnrd 
to  .animals.  It  lirst  aiipeareii  over  ten  years  figo, 
.and  has  been  reprinted  in  each  of  our  llandbooks 
.since;  but  we  do  not  remember  to  have  had  its 
accuracy  called  in  ([uestion  before.  AVe  shall  be 
glad  of  the  opinion  of  other  correspondenls  on 
the  subject.  From  Dr.  Geo.  \Abitt’s  “ Diction, ary 
of  the  Economic  Prmlnots  ol  India”  we  (piote 
as  follows  regarding  arecanut  : — 
“Is  very  useful  as  a verinil'ngo  in  dogs.  I have 
given  half  a nut  powdered,  mixed  with  butter,  to 
terriers  with  remarkable  effect.”  {Siirf/e.on  K.  1).  (.-those, 
Khulna.)  “The  powdered  young  bark  is  anthelmin- 
tic, used  for  tape-worm  ; useful  in  animals  ; supposed 
to  be  the  principal  ingredient  in  Naldire's  worm 
tablet.?,”  [.Surgeon  IF.  J>-  Steu-art,  Lbittack.)  “It  is 
a good  anthelmintic,  and  expels  thread-worms.  I 
have  often  given  half  a nut  to  a dog  mixed  up  in 
butter  with  very  good  effect.  The  worms  are  expelled 
afiei  one  or  two  doses”  (Surgeon  A.  /).  Ghose, 
itankura,  Ilengal.)  “Is  a good  vermifuge  for  dogs  in 
1 oz.  doses  (powdered).”  (Surgeon- Major  J.  Ihjers 
Thomu.s,  ]\'altnir,  Vizagapalofu.)  “ Uut  cut  small  and 
soaked  in  nnlk  is  a good  yermifugo  for  dogs.” 
(Surgeon- Major  P.  N.  Mnkerji,  Cuttack,  Orissa.) 
“ A'^ery  useful  in  worms  in  dogs  and  otiior  domestic 
anim.ils.”  (Surgeon  H.  l>.  .Uasani,  Knrrachee.)  “Is 
a valuable  vermifuge  for  dogs,  especially  for  r.Hiud- 
worms.”  [Surgeon  George  Cumberland  lioss,  Delhi.) 
-El).  r.H.]  ■ 
VERMIFUGE  FOR  DOGS. 
North  Gove,  Jan.  20th. 
Di'iAK  Sir,— In  the  Observer  of  the  17th  I see  .a 
letter  having  reference  to  the  Vermifuge  for 
Dogs  as  gi\'eu  in  your  Ilaudliook.  Over  leaf  1 
semi  you  the  prescription  I have  always  used 
fur  my  dogs  and  have  alw.ays  found  it  elective 
and  safe.  It  is  ahvays  prescribed  thus  in  “An- 
swers to  Correspondents”  in  the  Field.  —Yours  &c., 
THOS.  FARR. 
i'ermij'uge — taken  from  The  Field. — For  a dog  up 
to  10  or  12  lb.  in  weight  ; — 
20  grains  freshly  ground  arecanut  and  2 grains  of 
santonine  followed  in  2 hours  by  a table-spoonful 
of  buckthorn  and  castor  oil. 
If  the  dog  be  more  than  12  lb.  in  weight  increase 
the  arecanut  at  the  rate  of  2 grains  for  each  lb.  in 
excess. 
THE  AVANARA.IAH  TEA  CO.,  OF 
CEYLON,  LD. 
.Ian.  20. 
Dear  Sir,— AA^e  beg  to  inform  you  that  the 
Directors  of  the  above  Comiiariy  have  declared 
an  interim  dividend  of  R40  per  share  for  the 
half-year  ending  31st  December  1895,  equal  to  8 
per  cent  on  the  capital  of  the  Company. — Yours 
faithfully,  RAKER  rY  HALL, 
Agents^  and  Secretaries. 
PLANTING  IN  NYASSALAND. 
Jan.  22. 
Dear  Sir, — Enclosed  we  beg  to  hand  you  cojiy 
of  a letter  from  our  Superintendent  in  Nyassa- 
land  in  which  you  may  lind  something  to  interest 
the  general  public. — Yours  faithfully, 
P.  pro.  CARSON  & Co., 
E.  R.  AA’aldock, 
Agents  and  Secretaries, 
Nyassaland  Coffee  Co.,  Limited. 
Nyassaland  Coffee  Co.,  Milange,  Oct.  1.5th,  1895. 
Messi’s.  Carson  A Co.,  Colombo. 
Dear  Sirs, — I arrived  on  the  Company’s  land  on 
the  10th  and  although  far  from  being  settled  down 
I take  the  opportunity  of  sending  you  a few  lines.  I 
left  Chiiide  on  the  2nd  September,  but  after  5 days 
on  the  river  we  had  to  return  owing  to  the  engine 
pumps  breaking  down.  I again  left  on  the  8th  in 
another  steamer,  but  owing  to  the  river  being  very 
low,  navigation  was  very  difficult.  I only  reached 
Rlantyro  on  the  1st  October.  I had  to  w'ait  at  the 
latter  place  i)  days  for  my  luggage.  I called  on  the 
Manager  of  the  African  Lakes  Co.  and  made  all 
arrangements  with  regard  to  banking,  etc.  Owing 
to  labor  being  very  scarce  at  present  they  were 
only  able  to  give  me  18  men  to  remain  with  me, 
beside  sulhcient  labor  to  carry  my  goods,  but  I 
reached  Milange  on  the  6th  and  had  to  stay  two 
days  with  Mr.  Bradshaw,  as  none  of  my  boxes  had 
turned  up.  I spent  Saturday  night  at  a village  on 
the  way  as  it  is  55  miles  from  Blantyre  to  the  Com- 
pany’s land ; and  as  none  of  my  boxes  arrived,  I 
had  to  be  content  with  nigger  grub  (Indian  corn 
and  potatoes).  I stayed  one  night  at  Lauderdale, 
but  unfortunately  Mr.  Moir  was  away.  At  present 
I am  camping  out,  and  am  busy  building  a tem- 
porary house. 
EuKoruAN  Assistant. — AATiile  in  Blantyre  I tried  to 
get  an  liluropean  assistant.  Although  I tried  in  seve- 
lal  places  I was  unsuccessful.  I found  there  was  a 
big  demand  for  Europeans  and  such  a thing  was 
not  to  be  had.  I then  tried  to  get  an  English-speaking 
nigger.  1 also  failed  to  get  that,  so  I started  off 
not,  knowing  a word  of  the  language,  and  with  only 
18  men.  Since  then  I have  picked  up  a good  deal 
of  the  language  which  is  not  at  all  difficult.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  a European  assistant 
wih  be  necessary  to  enable  me  to  open  up  a large 
cleu'ing  next  year,  and  as  it  seems  impossible  to  get 
a man  out  here,  it  will  be  necessary  to  get  a man  from 
