Jan.  1,  1897.] 
TfIR  TROPIC \l.  AGRICURTaPISr. 
491 
I remember  well  that  the  (iehls  I used  to  look  after 
tlie  manuring  of  in  1871  witli  colfec  pulp,  pig 
manure  and  hone-dust,  were  the  first  to  go, 
wlien  attacked  by  leaf-disease.  Coftee  proprietors 
might  take  a hint  from  Mr.  Sim’s  experience 
and  try  the  eflects  of  coftee  ]julp  on  a few  trees. 
The  experience  may  he  also  useful  to  cocoa 
growers  in  their  search  for  the  cause  of  so  many 
deaths  amongst  their  cocoa  trees  within  the 
past  year. — Yours,  «.'tc. 
JAMES  WESTLAND 
FINGER-AND-TOE  IN  TURNIPS  : 
A DISCOVERY. 
(Alerdren  Free  Press,  27th  Nov.) 
What  seems  to  be  rather  an  important  fact  for 
agriculturists  has  just  been  brought  to  light  by  Mr. 
William  Sim,  naturalist,  Fyvie.  It  deals  with  finger- 
and-toe  in  turnips.  About  a year  ago  Mr.  Sim’s 
attention  was  drawn  by  a neighbouring  farmer  to  a 
rather  remarkable  case  of  cankered  roots.  Across  a 
field  of  perfectly  healthy  bulbs  was  a wide  strip  of 
very  diseased  turnips.  On  inquiry  it  w.rs  found  that 
when  the  field  had  been  in  lea,  three  years  pre- 
viously, several  cartloads  of  scrapings  and  refuse  of 
the  turnip  shed  had  been  spread  over  the  lea  as  top 
dressing.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Sim  discovered 
that  a turnip  drill  which  he  had  himself  laid  down 
under  ordinary  conditions  for  experimental  purposes 
on  land  which  had  not  grown  turnips  for  23  years, 
showed  grave  symptoms  of  finger-and-toe.  He  dis- 
covered that  this  experimental  drill  had  been  manured 
with  a compost  containing  turnip  refuse.  Putting 
the  two  cases  together,  Mr.  Sim  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  disease  was  caused  by  the  presence  in  the 
soil  of  turnip  refuse.  Now,  it  has  long  been  known 
to  farmers  that  the  refuse  of  cankered  roots  was 
highly  dangerous  to  the  new  crop,  but  it  had  never 
been  taught  that  the  turnip  remains  of  even  sound 
roots  were  a source  of  grave  danger  as  well.  Mr. 
Sim  determined  to  put  the  matter  to  a practical 
test.  He  laid  down  two  drills  30  inches  apart,  in 
carefully  prepared  soil.  The  first  drill  got  the  usual 
allowance  of  farmyard  dung  and  ordinaiy  turnip 
manure  as  sold  at  manure  stores.  The  second  drill 
received  the  same  quantity  of  artificial  manure,  and 
a rich  compost  of  turnip  scrapings.  The  results  are 
astounding.  In  the  first  drill  94  per  cent,  are  splen- 
did roots  and  the  remainder  diseased,  while  in  the 
other  drill  the  results  are  simply  reversed,  there 
being. only  five  sound  but  very  small  roots  in  the 
hundred.  The  diseased  turnips,  moreover,  were  al- 
most entirely  useless,  and  the  remainder  following 
fast.  The  presence  of  diseased  bulbs  in  the  first  drill 
is  evidently  the  result  of  their  proximity  to  the 
noxious  influence  of  the  diseased  root  fibres,  and  had 
the  distance  between  the  two  drills  been  increased, 
there  is  no  doubt  the  first  drill  might  have  been 
entirely  free  from  disease.  To  obviate  the  evils 
arising  from  the  use  of  turnip  refuse,  Mr.  Sim  is 
of  opinion  that  this  refuse  should  be  carried  back 
te  the  turnip  fiel  J and  there  laid  down  to  be  exposed 
to  the  frosts  of  winter  and  the  heat  of  summer  for 
five  or  six  years  (presuming,  of  course,  a six  or  seven 
course  rotation),  until  the  dreaded  germ  has  uaaq 
destroyed. 
THE  DUMONT  COFFEE  COMPANY. 
Sir, — No  one  in  Ceylon  is  likely  to  question 
Mr.  Talbot’s  assertion,  that  this  property  excels 
in  luxuriance  anything  he  has  seen  in  Ceylon, 
Straits  and  Java.  It  had  need,  when  it  is  pro- 
posed to  convey  shares  in  this  [iroperty  to  intend- 
ing investors  at  tlie  rate  ot  fl3i)  sterling  per 
acre  for  the  cottee  in  bearing. 
I don’t  know  about  ytraits  and  Java,  but  I 
doubt  very  iimch  if  anyone  has  ever  given  half 
this  rate  per  acre  for  Ceylon  Coflee,  and  tlien 
made  money  by  holding  on  to  it.  Can  yon  give 
me  an  in.stanceV  Yours  truly, 
TWICE  fUT  ISHY  FOR  EVER. 
COFFEE  PRICES,  SERDANG,  0.  K.  SUMA- 
TRA, A NEW  PULPER  FOR  LILERIAN. 
Sir, — Some  time  ago  f sent  you  a few  figures 
relating  to  prices  realised  in  Europe  by  Liberian 
Coffee  from  Serdang.  I lia\e  today  received 
figures  from  another  proprietor,  who  shipped  his 
coflee  to  Hamburg.  The  R.  K.  mark  fetched 
83  pfennings  per  J kilo  when  at  the  same  date 
2,000  bags  coll'ee,  from  Liberia  direct,  could  not 
be  sold  for  62  pfennings  and  the  highest  price 
Santos  was  51  pfennings  per  ^ kilo. 
My  friend  attributes  his  success  in  prices  mainly 
to  special  care  in  curing.  Many,  perhas  most  men 
think.  “ It’s  all  right  if  your  imiper  does  not 
cut.”  Rut  there  is  a deal  more  than  that  in 
curing  Liberian  coll'ee. 
Massr.s.  J.  M.  Lyon  & Co.  of  Singapore  re- 
cently sent  me  a photo  and  description  of  their 
new  p.atent  pulper.  I saw  the  machine  some 
18  months  ago,  .since  when,  they  write  me,  it 
has  been  much  improved  1 certainly  .saw  little 
room  for  improvement  when  I tried  the  machine, 
so  by  now  it  ought  to  be  perfection,  there  or 
thereabouts.  The  three  points  that  struck  me 
chiefly  were  simplicity  of  mechanism,  economy 
of  power,  and  remarkable  saving  of  labour.  Ttie 
perfect  separation  ot  pulp  from  parchment  is  a 
notable  feature,  and  sa\es  much  trouble  in  the 
cisterns  while  an  ingenious  arrangement  of  rubber 
washers  makes  the  breast  eij^ually  accommoda- 
ting to  large  and  small  cherries,  avoiding  cutting 
the  big  beans,  at  the  same  time  successfully 
pulping  the  smaller  one.s. — Yours  &c. 
W.  TURING  MACKENZIE. 
THE  TEA  CROP  OF  1897,  AND  THE  NEED 
OF  WINNING  NEW  MARKETS. 
Central  Province,  Dec.  26. 
Dk.vu  Sir,— My  reason  for  warning  you  that 
the  Tea  Market  would  probably,  most  probably 
have  to  face  an  increased  production  of  15,000,000  lb! 
tea  in  1897  was  to  prevent  correspondents’  blow*- 
ing  cold  on  the  exertions  of  the  Committee  of 
30,  and  our  able  American  commi.ssioner  to 
advertise  Ceylon  Tea  through  the  channels  they 
have  found  out  to  be  the  best  suited  for  the 
purpose. 
The  Kelani  Valley  and  the  Pus.sellawa  District 
A.ssociations  have  already  published  in  the  news- 
pipers  their  Estimates  of  Tea  for  1897  and  these 
show  an  ii  crease  of  lb.  1,999,200  over  1896 
I'hese  districts  are  fairly  representative  of  Ceylon 
a.-i  regards  bearing,  one  being  a very  heavy 
ciM|i:  iiig  district,  the  other  medium.  These  two 
dis'.rivts  comprise  an  area  of  .39,956  acres  and 
by  your  Directory  the  total  area  of  culti’vated 
tea  land  totals  30*4, 84.1  acres,*  so  it  does  not  take 
much  calculation  to  discover  that  we  may  take 
15,000,000  1b.  as  the  increase  on  our  outmitnf  Vpa 
in  1897. 
We  must  not  abate  our  efforts  to  push  the 
sales  of  our  tea  everywhere  they  (lan  be  pushed 
and  my  personal  knowlege  of  our  Commissioner 
in  America  convinces  me  that  he  is  the  last  man 
to  keep  to  hinuself  the  weakness  of  any  .scheme 
He  would  have  published  it  on  the'  houseton 
long  ago.  ' ' 
People  who  re.side  in  Colombo  seem  to 
forget  that  manuring  is  vc  y ,nuch  increa.sed  and 
tho.se  who  travel  in  the  Tea  Districts  know ’what 
that  means  ! — Yours  faithfully,  y ' 
* More  than  that  considerably  now  Ed. T,  1, 
