May  I,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
741 
“A  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ALT.  TIIK 
SCALE  INSECTS  OF  CEYLON.” 
Sucli  i.s  tlie  proper  desigtiation  of  tlie  inipoi’tanc 
work  on  wliicli  Mr.  E.  Ernest  Green  of  Fiindalii- 
oya  is  at  pre.sent  engaged  in  tlie  old  country, 
and  I must  again  press  on  his  brother  planters, 
tlie  1’lanter.s’  Association  and  the  Ceylon  Gov- 
ernment the  great  call  there  is  for  e.xtending 
support  to  the  author  in  his  most  useful  enter- 
lirise.  In  my  opinion  no  work  of  more  practical 
value  to  our  planters  of  all  grades  and  product.s 
has  been  heard  of  since  “ Nietner’s  Enemies 
of  the  Coftee  Tree.”  Rut,  unfortunately,  ATr. 
Green  has  done  himself  far  le.ss  than  justice — 
at  any  rate  in  the  estimation  of  practical,  non- 
scientilic  planthig  and  busine.ss  men—  by  his  very 
scientitic,  not  to  say  non-popnlar,  dry-as-dust 
Pros)iectus.  I have  jiointed  this  out  to  Mr. 
Green  and  remarked  that  it  is  not  likely  Tea 
Plantation  Com[)anies  or  other  large  ])roprietors 
in  Ceylon  even — ^much  less  in  other  lands — will 
be  attracted  by  a “ Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the 
Coccidae  of  Ceylon  ” even  though  backed  by  a 
long  array  of  scientific  men.  I have  urged  Mr. 
Green  to  draw  up  a lly-leaf  prospectus  making 
jilain  to  planters  what  his  work  will  really  do 
for  them  and  I am  glad  to  say  that  he  is  likely 
to  comply  with  my  suggestion.  What  this  will 
mean  may  be  understood  from  the  following  ex- 
tract from  my  latest  letter  from  Mr.  Green  : — 
“ My  prospectus — as  you  point  out — does  not  per- 
haps aescribo  iny  work  to  the  best  advantage.  It 
was  drawn  up  rather  hurriedly,  and  I was  advised 
by  the  publishers  to  make  it  as  brief  as  possible. 
Although  my  book  is  there  described  as  ‘ a Des- 
criptive Catalogue,’  it  will  really  be— as  far  as  possi- 
ble— a natural  history  of  all  the  Scale  Insects  of 
Ceylon,  with  full  illustrations  of  every  species 
which  should  enable  anyone  to  recognise — almost 
at  a glance — their  particular  enemy. 
“As  I mentioned  in  my  letter  of  ‘2nd  January 
(which  must  have  reached  Colombo  after  your  de- 
parture), although  my  work  i,s  primarily  a natural 
history  of  these  insect  pests,  I shall  add  a general 
review  of  all  the  remedies  and  experiments  that 
have  been  used  against  them,  pointing  out  the  par- 
ticular treatment  most  suitable  for  particular  species 
as  suggested  by  their  habits.  There  is  scarcely  a 
plant  or  tree  of  any  kind  in  Ceylon  that  is  not  sub- 
ject to  one  or  more  species  of  these  ‘ scale-bugs,’ 
and  some,  change  in  the  conditions  of  their  life,  such 
as  the  partial  extermination  of  their  natural  enemies, 
may  at  any  time  cause  any  of  them  to  suddenly 
spring  into  importance.” 
In  view  of  the  above,  and  of  tlie  further  fact.s 
which  Mr.  Green  wdll  no  doubt  bring  out  in  his 
supplementary  pro.spectus,  I ha\e  no  doubt  tliat 
though  the  cost  of  the  w'ork  is  considerable  (some 
R85  in  Ceylon)  that  a great  many  of  the  Tea 
Companies  and  other  large  Plantation  Companies 
wdll  act  on  the  suggestion  about  making  a copy 
available  in  the  hands  of  eacli  of  their  Chief 
Managers  for  reference  by  their  ISuperintendents, 
At  the  same  time  the  Planters’  Association  anil 
the  Ceylon  Government  should  tal'Ce  notice 
of  Mr.  Green’s  work  and  the  latter  should 
either  subsidize,  or  ofl'er  to  take  a considerable 
number  of  copies  for  their  Kachcheries,  E'orest 
and  Rotanical  Departments  as  well  as  to  present 
to  other  Colonial  Governments.  J.F. 
P.>S. — .Since  the  above  was  wuitten,  Mr.  Green 
has  reiiuested  that  subscribers’  names  to  his  new' 
work  should  be  registered  at  the  Observer  Ollice — 
a request  w’e  have  much  iileasure  in  complying 
wdth  ; but  we  feel  sure  the  Flanters’  Committee 
and  the  other  bodies  and  public  men  will  do 
what  they  can  to  give  the  enterprising  author 
due  support. 
03 
IN  THE  METROPOLIS. 
London,  Marcli  RI. 
JJIi.  MOKKIS 
was  as  interesting  and  instructive  in  conversa- 
tii‘11  as  usual.  His  latest  trip  to  the  West  Indies, 
and  especially  the  Rahamas  allorded  interesting 
topics  tiiougii  great  success  has  not  attended 
tlie  elioi  ts  of  Ceylon  planters  who  have  •'■one 
Westwards— iMessrs.  VV.  Sabonadiere,  Marshall, 
Burnett  and  others— yet  there  is  no  doubt  of  a 
revival  of  prosperity  in  m.any  of  the  islands  and 
this  is  due  to  their  taking  advantage  of  the 
grand  and  ever-growing  market  at  their  door, 
almost  for  nearly  all  the  produce  they  iiroduce' 
namely  the  Uniteil  States.  Frost  is  considered 
to  have  wrenched  the  golden  prospects  of  much 
of  Florida  and  California  and  so  the  W'est 
Indies  have  the  ball  at  their  foot  in  supplyin*'- 
fruit,  and  tropical  produce  generally,  to  North 
America.  _ I will  say  nothing  about  the  Bahamas 
and  its  Sisal  industry  until  I hear  (as  I hope  to 
do)  Dr.  Morris’s  lecture  on  the  subject  before 
the  Society  of  Arts  on  ^V'ednesday  next.  The 
ellbrts  of  Dr.  Morris,  when  Director  of  Gardens, 
backed  up  by  his  Assistants,  Messrs.  Neck 
and  Hart,  did  much  for  Jamaica  and  it  is  now 
rapidly  going  ahead.  One  want  in  the  W"est 
seems  to  be  an  independent  enterprising  Press  ; 
but  it  is  diliicult  for  the  sejiarate  islamrcomnui- 
nities  to jiull  together  and  there  is  no  common 
metropolitan  centre  which  for  a paper  would  en- 
sure general  support.  The  'Tropiml  Agriculturist 
continues  to  be  well  supported  and  niuch  ajipre- 
ciated  in  the  W^est.  Douunica  may  now  be 
e.xpected  to_  come  to  the  fiont,  though  an  un- 
kindly critic  seems  to  have  anticipated  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Ceylon  administrator  by  .saying  that 
he  was  a better  judge  of  the  good  things  of  the 
table  than  of  a Colony’s  public  requirements  1 
That  is  not  fair ; for  put  on  his  mettle  in  a 
responsible  charge,  Mr.  P.  A.  Templer  wdll,  I 
have  no  doubt,  give  sco])c  to  his  admitted  ability. 
The  interest  of  the  gathering  in  the  AVhitehall 
Rooms  was  enhanced  by  ladies  being  now  admitted 
to  the  Dinner  as  well  .as  the  meeting:  Sir  G. 
Baden-Powell,  Sir  Francis  Scott  (just  returned 
from  Ash, anti)  and  others  were  thus  accompanied 
by  their  better-halves.  The  lecture,  as  I have 
said,  was  discursive  and  dealt  chiefly  wdth  AVest 
Afrip,  about  which  most  of  the  'speakers— in-- 
eludin'''  Mr.  Alfred  Jones  of  Liverpool,  the  kin i'' 
of^commerce  in  that  part,  Mr.  Hodgson,  Colonial 
Secret.ary,  Sir  Quayle- Jones,  Chief  Justice,  and 
the  Governor  of  St.  Helena,  besides  Sir  Francis 
Scott,  and  Sir  E.  de  AA  inton.  The  last  mentioned 
indeed,  in  dwelling  on  the  absolute  necessity  of 
i-oads  and  railways,  referred  to  South  Africa.  Dr* 
Morris  made  the  most  useful  contribution  to  the 
discussion  in  de.scribing  wdiat  “ Botanic  Station, s’’ 
load  done  and  were  doing  for  the  AVest  African 
Settlements.  He  praised  Governor  Mollony  for 
being  the  first  to  develop  the  rubber  trade  from 
the  Gold  Coast,  now  worth  a great  deal  per 
.annum , and  when  he  was  tr.ansferred  along  the 
Co.ast,  that  Governor  got  tr.ained  men  from  the 
Gardens  to  search  the  natural  forests,  who,  instead 
of  a rubber  vine  {Landolphia)  which  •.■ot  killed 
in  collecting  the  rubbei’,  found  a vigorous  rubber 
forest  tree  which  merely  requireil  scoring  .and 
wouhl  be  ready  foj-  further  harvests  in  a certain 
number  of  years.  This  was  in  Lagos.  Dr. 
Morris  dwelt  on  the  fact  th.at  the  exports  were 
chielly  natural  forest  products ; but  cotl'ee  and 
cacao  could  well  be  cultivated.  He  nientioned 
how  in  York  a monopolist  of  mahogany 
got  from  Africa  via  Liverpool,  called  it  “ver- 
lailion”— origin  unkuowQ~ty  deceivy  rivtiL  jq 
