48 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i,  1896. 
Tiunipad  Royal  Botanic  Gardens. — The  BuVctin 
of  Miscellaneous  luforni^tiou  foi*  April  lias^  the 
following  couteuls  : — Water- Cress,  Artichokes,  Roses 
(Extract),  Sisal  Hemp,  Notes  oii  Manuring 
tiact).  Introduction  of  Lodoicea  Sechellarum,  Rob- 
bery and  Murder,  Circular  Notes:  No.  30  Sguar 
Cane  Seeds,  Water  Measures  and  Rainfall  (Exiract), 
Jamaica  Drift  Fruit,  Gordon’s  Coffee  Machines, 
Chrysauthenuun.s,  Natural  History  Notes:  No.  25 
Corbeau  in  Error,  No.  26 — Now  Coccids,  No.  -7 
Snake  Biles  (Extract),  “ Tabasheer.  ” 
India  and  Ckvi.on’s  Tka  Campaign. — Tlic 
Bomhay  Gazette,  referring  to  the  pro-spect  of 
Ceylon’s  losing  I ndia’s  helj)  in  lighting  a eoinimm 
cause  in  America  in  conseiiuence  of  the  dilli- 
cnlty  of  linding  the  funds  neces.sary  for  keejiing  a 
Coinmi.ssioner  in  Americii,  says  tlnit  surely  the 
best  way  of  meeting  tliat  ililliculty  will  lie  for  the 
India  and  Ceylon  Association  to  amalgamate 
as  was  proposed  from  Calcutta  in  the  first  instance. 
In.skct  Enkmiks  ok  Tka  and  Cokkke, — We 
have  received  from  the  Indian  Government  No. 
6 of  Vol.  Ill  of  “ Indian  Museum  Notes,” 
containing  Miscellaneous  Notes  from  the  Ento- 
mological SeetTon,  by  E.  C.  Cotes,  Deput  y Super- 
intendent, Indian  Museum.  Figures  are  given  of 
various  insects  of  economic  importance  in  India, 
among  tliem  being  two  enemies  of  coflee, 
Sericea  priiinosa,  Bunn.,  and  A<iroits  ncyctutn, 
Scliifl'.  ; a troublesome  jiest  on  cinchona  and 
codec  bushes  in  Ceylon,  Cremastoyaster  dohrni, 
Meyr.  ; ami  the  green  bug  {Lecanitiai  viridc. 
Green)  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Green. 
CoKKEK  IN  Bkiti.sh  North  Borneo.— In  sending 
us  the  interesting  letter  wdiich  appears  in  another 
column  Mr.  Henry  M^alker  writes  in  a i>rivate  note: — 
I may  honestly  say  that  the  difficulty  I had  ex- 
perienced in  advising  young  men  to  come  here  is 
passing  away.  We  are  proving  at  Taritipan  that 
labour  can  be  obtained  locally,  and  Edward  Walker 
is  proving  it  here,  and  I feel  that  I can  now  con- 
scientiously advise  ireople  to  come  here.  Good  soil, 
good  oolfee,  good  food,  and  good  health  with  a fair 
chance  of  profit  is  w'hat  can  be  obtained;  and  I 
shall  be  glad  to  give  information  about  our  territory 
to  aujmne  who  is  inclined  to  come  here.  I intend 
to  make  a short  trip  to  the  Native  States,  and  then 
leave  for  Europe. 
We  are  glad  to  hear  of  the  brighter  prospects 
of  “New  Ceylon.” 
RuniiEu  Cultivation  in  Ceylon.— The  India 
linbher  Wodd  of  May  lU,  in  quoting  tlie  letter 
addressed  to  ns  some  months  ago  by  Mr.  C. 
Furcell  Taylor,  says  : — The  following  communi- 
cation in  the  Tropical  Agriculturist  (Colombo) 
may  possibly  serve  to  throw  some  light  upon  the 
slow'  progress  made  in  rubber-culture  gen- 
erally. It  will  he  remembered  that  Mr.  Clements 
It.  Markham,  who  was  so  largely  instrumentiil  in 
introducing  rubber-cnltiire  into  India,  in  an  article 
contributeil  some  time  ago  to  tlie  India,  Ituhhcr 
Worlft,  mentioned  more  tlian  once  tlie  “ ollicial 
apiithy  and  indid'erence ” shown  toward  the  i)hin- 
tations  even  after  tliey  had  been  started,  he  evi- 
dently feeling  that  under  more  fa\ orable  manage- 
ment the  Imlian  lubber  experiment  would  have 
resulted  more  satisfactorily. 
Tea  in  Manchester. — A London  correspondent  writes 
to  us  {Munch ester  Guardian,  2nd  May) : — “ The  position 
of  the  tea  trade  is  deserving  of  notice  at  the  present 
moment.  Indian  and  Ceylon  descriptions  continue  in 
request,  as  shown  by  the  returns  of  duty  payments, 
while  the  re-exports  also  continue  on  a satisfactory 
scale.  'The  duty  payments  on  Indian  fjr  the  lirst 
ten  mouths  of  tiio  present  season  were  on  101 ,076,652 
lb.,  as  compared  with  1)1,333,861  lb.,  during  the 
corresponding  period  of  18‘.)t-5,  and  on  Ceylon  tea 
63,.5.')'.),>.)(M)  lb.,  as  against  58,538,7!I5  lb.  As  regards 
the  re-exports  from  June  1st  18'.)5,  to  March  31st, 
the  total  of  Indian  was  3,221,183  Ib.  and  Ceylon 
6,150,707  lb.,  or  an  increase  of  221,286  lb.  and 
1,629,978  lb.  respectively.  Heavy  sales  have  taken 
place  this  week  and  with  the  absence  of  supplies 
and  a good  demand  the  lots  were  cleared  on  ra- 
pidly under  keen  competition.  The  better  qualities 
of  Ceylon  are  scarce,  and  the  lower  qnalitie.s  were 
bought  at  a further  advance  of  jd  to  id  per  pound 
above  the  prices  obtained  last  w'eek  ; while  the  ri.se 
in  Indian  teas  is  to  Id  iier  pound.  There 
is  every  appearance  of  values  being  well  maintained.” 
Cocoa  and  Cokfee. — For  .some  years  ])ast 
.successive  Cliancellors  of  the  Exchequer  liave 
told  us  that  the  demand  for  cocoa  is  increasing, 
and  that  tea  is  driving  coflee  out  of  tlie  market. 
Yet  in  face  of  a growdng  deimuid  cocoa  has 
chea))ened,  while  tlie  relatively  high  price  of  coflee 
is  maintained,  nothwithstanding  the  decreased  con- 
.suni|»tion.  How'  is  this  to  be  accounted  for?  Our 
Consul  at  (iuaya«|uil,  Ecuador,  supiilies  ti  partial 
explanation.  Cocoa,  he  writes,  has  chea|)ened 
materially  during  the  last  few  years  owing  to  its 
extensive  cultivation,  and  likewise  to  the  fact  that, 
although  the  demand  has  increa.sed,  it  has  not  in- 
creased jiroportionately  to  the  supjily.  The  maxi- 
mum selling  inice  in  1892  w’as  £5  5s  per  cwt, 
and  the  minimum  in  1895  was  only  ,T2  18s.  On 
the  other  hand,  fair  prices  have  ruled  for  coflee, 
and  the  consequence  has  been  that  “ new’  planta- 
tions may  be  said  to  spring  daily  into  existence.” 
There  is  a good  deal  of  mystery  about  the  main- 
tenance of  the  [nice  of  coflee  in  s[iite  of  a decreased 
demand  and  an  increased  output.  "NYe  can  only 
suppose  that  in  the  case  of  this  commodity  gold 
has  depreciated  con.sidcrably,  and  is  still  depreci- 
ating.— Newcastle  Chronicle,  May  8. 
The  .Silkworm  Superseded.- We  notice 
that  arrangements  have  been  concluded  for  estab- 
lishing a factory  near  Manchester  at  a cost  of 
£30,000  for  the  manufacture  of  artificial  silk  fibre 
from  wood  pulp  according  to  a [irocess  invented  by 
Count  Hilaire  de  Chardonnet  and  which  has  been 
in  operation  fortw’o  or  three  years  at  Besancon. 
Already,  w’e  read,  dress  fabrics  made  of  wood  silk 
are  being  sold  in  London  as  French  novelties  of 
the  .season,  though  their  appearance  difl'ers  from 
that  of  old-fashioned  silks  so  little  that  ladies, 
it  seems,  have  been  buying  them,  and  even  shop- 
keepers .selling  them,  without  realising  that  they 
are  artificial  imitations,  or  that  they  could  trace 
their  lineage  to  the  caiqienter’s  shop  instead  of  to 
the  cocon.  I’lie  wood  pulp  is  taken  in  the  condition 
already  familiar  to  the  [laper-maker.  The  silk- 
maker  treats  his  share  of  the  pulp  with  a mixture 
of  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids.  The  acids  are 
squeezed  out  by  hydraulic  pre.sses,  and  the  con- 
densed pulp  cleansed  in  vats  of  w’ater.  Then  it  is 
treated  with  alcohol  and  ether.  The  jiractical 
effect  is  to  convert  the  whole  mass  into  something 
resembling  ,a  thick  gum,  wdiich  is  then  conducted 
into  cylinders  from  wdiiidi  it  is  forced  by 
[uieumatic  [ucssure  into  pi[)cs  from  the  sides 
of  which  [uoject  a great  number  of  small 
glass  tubes  the  apertures  of  w’hich  are  so 
line  that  a human  hair  couhl  not  be  pa.ssed 
through  them.  'These  tubes  are  theBcstuicon  silk- 
worms, and  it  is  from  their  line  orifices  tliat  the 
gum  is  pressed  out  in  the  shajie  of  delicate 
filaments  w'hich  have  all  the  characteristics  of 
silk.  Eight  to  twelve  such  filaments  are  s[mn 
together  to  make  a silk  thread.  M’hen  this  has 
been  produced  it  is  woven  like  any  other  silk. 
Before  it  goes  to  the  loom  it  passes  through  some 
iiroccsscs  that  gives  it  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
lustre.  It  will  lake  ilye  even  more  readily  than 
natural  silk.  “Now,”  .says  the  'Times,  “that 
industrial  ingenuity  Inis  slmwn  that  the  silkworm 
cm  be  supplanted  liy  any  sort  of  timber,  there  is 
a good  [irospect  of  distrilmting  a good  deal  of 
this  money  iunong  our  own  workers  instead  of 
seuding  ib  abroad.” 
