Supplement  to  the  Tropical  Agriculturists 
[April  1,  1896. 
732 
1 got  a strong  fishing  line  150  yards  long  (the 
widtli  of  my  oat  hay  lands,)  to  which  1 tied  white 
rags  about  every  five  yards,  and  had  this  drawn 
along  the  tops  of  the  forage  by  two  men,  one  at 
each  end  of  the  line.  It  was  wonderful  how 
soon  I cleared  the  land  of  locusts  ; the  oftener  the 
operation  is  repeated  the  better.  For  v'erv  long 
lands  I would  suggest  more  than  one  line  drawn 
by  men  on  horseback,  and  perhaj.8  different 
coloured  rags  would  be  better. 
As  the  saying  is,  “ I am  not  out  of  the  bush 
yet,  ’ but  having  mastered  two  large  swarms,  I 
have  every  hopes  of  reaping  my  Oathay  and  Mealie 
crops.  Hoping  that  my  remedy  may  be  the  means 
of  other  crops  being  saved.  West  II.  PyNn. 
Kedlands,  January  8th. 
\ French  agriculturist  iias  discovered  a very 
simple  method  of  protecting  all  kinds  of  grain 
from  the  ravages  of  mice.  He  states  that  a few 
sprigs  of  wild  mint  in  full  leaf,  placed  at  the  top 
and  bottom  of  each  sack,  will  effectually  prevent 
the  little  rodents  from  attacking  it,  as  they  seem 
to  entertain  an  invincible  antipathy  to  its  odour. 
He  adds  that  he  finds  the  herb  equally  beneficial 
for  safe-guarding  his  cheese  dairy.  Wild  mint 
also  possesses  antiseptic  properties. 
Artificial  camphor,  says  Food  and  Sanitation 
may  be  made  by  passing  a current  of  dry  hydro- 
chloric acid  gas  through  spirits  of  turpentine 
cooled  from  a freezing  mixture.  The  liquid 
darkens  and  deposits  crystals,  which  are  dissolved 
in  alcohol  and  precipitated  by  water.  The 
separated  crystals  are  then  drained  and  dried. 
Last  yearsev<jral  planters  made  inquiries  about 
refuse  tea-seed  and  its  value  as  a manure,  and 
asked  if  its  oil  could  be  extracted  profitably  and 
was  in  any  way  superior  to  other  well-known 
fixed  oils.  Mr.  Hooper  made  a complete  analysis 
of  some  seeds  from  a Nilgiri  tea  estate,  and  found 
in  them  22'9  per  cent  of  fixed  oil,  9'1  per  cent  of 
saponin,  8‘o  per  cent  of  albuminoids,  besides  the 
ordinary  constituents  of  plants.  He  concluded  from 
the  analysis  tliat  the  seed  would  not  be  suitable 
for  manufacturing  an  oil,  as  tlie  proportion  of  oil 
wa.s  muc-'i  smaller  than  that  found  in  such  well- 
known  products  as  sesame,  coconut,  and  castor, 
and  the  expressed  oil  would  always  contain  some  of 
the  bitter  and  acrid  saponin,  which  would  render 
it  very  objectionable.  The  seed  might  be  used  as 
manure  or  as  an  in,secticide,  as  saponin  is  a poison 
and  a strong  decoction  of  the  bruised  seeds  might 
kill  many  of  theinseetts  that  infest  cultivated  tea- 
bushes. 
Mr.  Lawson’s  report  contains  some  interesting 
notes  on  the  progress  of  the  medicinal  drug  cul- 
tures in  his  district.  Tlie  Botanical  Gardens  in 
the  Nilgiris  supply  the  Madras  Medical  Depart- 
ment with  all  the  jalap  required  by  it.  A planter 
who  has  succeeded  in  growing  Ipecacuanha 
under  light  artificial  shade,  and  20  lb.  of  dried 
root  obtained  from  the  plants  sent  to  London 
were  sold  by  auction  for  5s  4d  per  lb.  xMessrs. 
S.  Figgis  & Co.,  the  brokers,  described  it  as  “ very 
fine  picked  root  of  nice  colour,’’  while  as  a matter 
of  fact  it  was  not  picked  at  all. 
Mr.  David  Hooper  has  been  carrying  on  some 
experiments  in  the  distillating  camphor  leaves. 
The  following  from  Mr.  Hooper's  report  is  cer- 
tainly complimentary  to  the  planting  commu- 
nity of  this  Island  . “ Another  reason  that  en- 
couraged me  to  make  some  experiments  in  this' 
direction  was  the  hearty  manner  in  which  some 
energetic  planters  of  Ceylon  have  taken  up  the 
camphor  question.”  In  conclusion,  Mr.  Hooper 
says  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  a large  propor- 
tion of  camphor  can  be  obtained  from  the  oil  of 
the  leaves  and  from  the  leaves  themselves,  and 
that  probably  if  taken  from  trees  grown  at  a 
much  lower  elevation  (than  Ootacamuud),  a much 
larger  proportion  of  this  useful  substance  could 
be  collected. 
