lUNE  I,  1896. J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
829 
natural  ageucies,  together  with  the  very  destructive 
termite  or  white-ant,  play  au  important  }iart  in 
tropical  agriculture  and  in  the  formation  of  soil.  Daring 
weather  such  as  this,  the  latter  arc  very  busy  in 
eating  up  every  particle  of  decayed  and  decaying 
vegetable  matter  and  using  it  in  the  making  of  the 
tunnelled  chambers  under  which  they  work  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  I have  never  observed  the 
results  of  using  fibre  dust  as  a mulch. 
A great  deal  has  been  written  on  the  use  of  salt 
as  a fertiliser,  especially  for  coconuts.  It  has  been 
argued  that  it  is  a natural  adjunct  of  the  successful 
cultivation  of  coconuts.  It  is  too  patent  to  be  de- 
nied that  the  natural  home  of  the  palm  is  the  sea 
shoi-e.  It  has  been  cai-ried  from  one  hemisphere  to 
another  on  the  sea  and  cast  up  on  shore  there  to 
form  natural  plantations  or  topes.  Shrewd  observers 
as  were  the  Dutch,  opened  the  first  plantations  in  the 
Island  on  the  belt  of  shore  between  Colombo  and  Kalu- 
tara.*  From  there  it  extended,  first  along  the  coast  and 
eventually  inland.  In  carrying  the  cuitivation  inland, 
the  natural  conditions  under  which  the  palm  *ew 
were  departed  from,  more  especially  as  I'egarcrs  a 
salt-saturated  soil.  It  has  been  argued  on  the  other 
side  that  in  a small  Island  such  as  this  exposed  to 
the  force  of  two  monsoons,  there  must  be  carried  in 
the  salt-laden  air,  sufficient  saline  matter  for  the  re- 
quirements of  the  palm.  Possibly  so,  but  experience 
does  not  prove  this,  and  what  is  considered  sufficient 
for  other  forms  of  vegetation  is  not  sufficient  for 
coconuts. 
I have  heard  it  stated  that  if  the  sea-coast  is  the 
natural  home  of  the  palm,  then  the  best  palms  must 
be  met  with  there.  This  by  no  means  follows.  Salt 
is  not  the  only  constituent  required  by  the  palm. 
Where  all  the  necessary  constituents  exist,  plus  a 
liberal  supply  of  salt,  there  the  best  palms  are  to  be 
met  with.  Nothing  can  bo  better  than  the  trees  met 
with  on  the  belt  of  land  between  the  sea  and  the 
road  on  the  journey  from  Colombo  Chilaw-wards,  and 
in  favourable  situations. 
I have  heard  disbelief  expressed  in  the  use  of 
salt  in  coconut  cultivation  after  the  application  of 
one  cwt.  the  acre.  This  is  hardly  fair,  onsidering 
that  no  one  claims  for  salt  wonderful  or  even  ap- 
preciable results  when  applied  in  homeopathic 
doses.  One  and  a half  pound  for  a tree,  that  in 
its  natural  state  grovvs  in  a salt-saturated  soil  and 
in  a salt-ladeu  atmosphere,  is  not  anything  like  a 
dose  one  would  use  who  expected  beneficial  results 
to  follow.  The  wonder  is  that  results  were  watched 
for.  In  Europ  an  agriculture  and  in  the  cultivation 
of  roots  and  cereals  1 cwt  per  acre  is  the  quantity 
used  of  so  powerful  a fertilizer  as  nitrate  of  potash 
or  saltpetre- 
The  use  of  salt  in  agriculture  or  at  least  in  coco- 
nut cultivation  is  effectually  hindered  by  the  short- 
sightedness of  the  Government.  In  a country  such 
as  this,  where  agriculture  is  in  a primitive  state 
amongst  the  natives,  it  behoves  the  Government  to 
offer  every  facility  for  its  advancement.  What  do 
we  see  instead  ? The  Government  barring  the  way 
by  not  removing  the  restrictions  to  the  free  use  of 
salt.  Fish  curing,  a very  promising  industry  which 
was  bound  to  benefit  those  engaged  in  it,  consumers, 
and  the  island  generally,  by  keeping  within  it  the 
million  and  a half  jf  rupees  expended  in  importing 
dried  fish,  was  strangled  in  its  infancy  by  the  su- 
pineness  of  the  Government  and  the  want  of  interest 
shown  in  it  by  the  responsible  officers  of  Government 
once  the  novelty  of  it  wore  off.  Government  will 
never  learn  that  elasticity  in  the  enforcement  of 
taxes  becomes  a necessity  on  occasions.  Application 
had  been  made  to  it  for  salt  at  wholesale  prices  for 
agricultural  uses  or  rather  experiments.  No,  there 
was  the  possibility  of  its  being  used  for  human 
consumption.  It  was  suggested  that  its  appli- 
cation might  be  under  the  supervision  of  one  of  its 
* It  would  be  more  correct  to  say  “ the  first 
systemetic  plantations,”  for  the  Poriuguese  engaged 
in  or  encouraged  the  planting  of  coconut  palms,  and 
converted  Colombo  into  a dense  coconut  grove. 
During  the  great  siege  of  1055-5()  the  palms  were 
all  cut  down  to  form  fascines. — Ec,  C.U. 
officers  who  was  to  be  paid  by  the  purchaser.  That 
did  not  suit  it.  It  was  then  suggested  that  it  might 
be  mixed  with  some  objectionable  substance  such 
as  night-soil.  No,  that  too  would  not  do,  as  chemistry 
had  proved  that  salt  cannot  be  successfully  de- 
naturalised and  there  was  the  possibility  of  its  being 
purified  and  used  for  culinary  purposes ! What  is 
possible  is  not  of  necessity  probable.  Natives  would 
not  study  or  practice  chemistry  or  overcome  their 
natural  prejudices,  to  save  a few  cents  a week.  In- 
quiry will  show  that  ;i  cents  worth  of  salt  will  an- 
swer a villager  with  a family  of  six  persons  for  about 
a week.  To  save  this,  or  a portion  of  this,  for  the 
practice  of  chemictry,  not  to  apeak  of  its  study,  will 
cost  something,  is  it  likely  a native  will  consume 
an  article  mixed  with  dirt?  Not  only  does  the 
Government  not  sell  salt  at  wholesale  prices  to  agri- 
culturists even  with  restrictions,  but  it  actually  sella 
its  surplus  salt  for  export  at  about  115  the  ton  and 
destroys  at  a cost  above  this  (if  my  recollection  of 
what  I read  in  an  Administration  Report  is  correct) 
what  it  cannot  sell.  It  seems  hardly  to  realize  the 
fact  that  by  helping  to  increase  the  yield  of  lands 
it  will  eveutually  be  repaid  by  increase  of  receipts 
at  the  Customs. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Press  will  take  up  this 
subject  in  earnest  and  press  it  on  the  attention  of 
our  new  Governor.  B. 
DRUG  KEPOllT. 
(b'roni  tlie  Chemist  ami  Drmjijist.) 
April  11th. 
Esskxtul  On.s. — Citronclla  Oil  is  much  easier, 
drums  for  April  shipment  offering  as  low  as  Is  2d 
per  lb.,  c.  i.  f.  terms ; but  there  are  no  buyers  at 
more  than  Is  per  lb-,  c.  i.  f.  On  the  spot  sales  have 
been  made  at  Is  7d  to  Is  71d  per  lb.  Lemongrass 
oil  quiet  at  2j-d  per  oz. 
TIIK  AMSTERDAM  MARKET. 
Our  Amsterdam  correspondent  writing  on  April 
9th,  reports  that  the  Cinchona  market  has  undergone 
no  change.  The  March  shipments  from  Java  are 
not  yet  known,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  next 
auction  will  be  smaller  than  usual.  On  April  7th, 
70  tons  of  Van  Ilouten’s  No.  A cocoa  butter  sold  at 
firm  rates,  with  good  competition,  at  an  average  of 
68  45c  per  half-kilo. 
A Long  Price  i-  or  Quinine. — I notice  in  the  L'nimi 
Lina  Gazette  for  March  that  Capt.  Tyson,  of  the 
Guelph,  speaking  of  the  Asiatic  plague  in  the  Mau- 
ritius in  the  latter  sixties,  says,  “ Quinine  was  the 
only  cure  for  it,  and  tnere  was  so  little  of  this 
stuff  to  be  got  on  the  island  that  the  price  actually 
went  up  to  50f.  per  oz.  and  more.”  Rather  differ- 
ent to  its  price  nowadays  ! — J.B. 
WILD  COFFEE  AND  LEAF-DISEASE. 
Dear  Sir. — With  reference  to  the  notes  and  cor- 
respondence in  your  valuable  paper  about  "Wild 
Coffee,”  it  may  be  of  interest  to  your  readers  to 
learn  the  following : — 
The  year  before  last  I paid  a visit  to  Dr.  Trimen, 
in  the  Ceylon  Government  Gardens,  at  Peradeniya, 
and  among  other  things  leaf-disease  and  the  future 
of  coffee,  cropped  up.  Dr.  Trirnen  gave  it  as  his  opi- 
nion that  coffee  in  most  parts  of  Ceylon  w’as  a thing 
of  the  past,  and  gave  as  his  reason  for  so  saying 
the  fact  that  the  indigenous  coffee  in  the  jungles  of 
which  he  said  there  are  several  varieties,  were  all 
infected  with  leaf-disease.  The  immunity  said  to  be 
enjoyed  by  Diplospora  sphaerocarpus  from  leaf-disease 
may  therefore  turn  out  to  be  more  apparent  than  real. 
Devikuea.u,  April  2nd  1896.  A.  Ff.  M. 
[The  question  is  this:  Can  D.  sphcevocarpus  not 
being  in  reality  a coffee  plant  of  any  description, 
suffer  from  leaf-disease? — Ed.] — Flantiwj  Opinion, 
April  11, 
