March  i,  1897.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
627 
To  the  Editor. 
AGRICULTURAL  PROGRESS  IN  ZANZIBAR 
Zanzibar,  Jan.  11. 
Deab  Sir, — The  Government  of  Zanzibar  have 
decided  to  appoint  a Director  of  Agriculture  and  have 
selected  me  for  the  post. 
The  object  in  creating  the  post  is  to  improve, 
where  possible,  the  methods  under  which  the  agricul- 
ture of  the  country  is  now  carried  on,  and  to 
endeavour,  by  experiment,  to  discover  some  new 
product  that  may,  to  a certain  extent,  take  the  place 
of  cloves.  The  Government  desire  that  the  work  so 
admirably  begun  by  Sir  John  Kirk  when  he  was 
Consul-General  there,  and  since  interrupted,  may  be 
continued. 
I have  taken  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  * in  the 
hope  that  you  will  consent  to  open  communication 
with  me,  with  the  view  of  exchanging  information 
that  may  be  considered  of  value,  and  of  mutual 
assistance  in  obtaining  plants  and  seeds  that  majf  be 
required.  It  will  afford  me  pleasure  if,  at  any  time, 
I can  be  of  use  to  you,  and  I hope  you  will  consider 
me  at  your  service. 
Zanzibar  does  not  as  yet  issue  a Botanical  Journal ; 
but,  if  iu  the  course  of  time  it  becomes  possible  to  do 
so,  1 shall  be  glad  to  send  you  copies,  meanwhile  it  you 
will  be  good  enough  to  supply  me  with  any  of  your 
ublications  I shall  be  happy  to  reciprocate  your 
indness. — I am,  dear  sir,  yours  truly, 
R.  N.  LYNE. 
TUSSER  CULTIVATION. 
Weuda,  Fob.  6. 
Dear  Sir, — The  appeal  which  I made  some  months 
ago  in  your  columns  for  live  Tusser  cocoons  met 
with  no  response,  but  I succeeded  in  finding  some 
in  another  district  and  have  got  the  moths  to  pair 
without  much  difficulty.  The  next  step  in  their 
domestication  is  to  get  the  worms  to  feed  in  con- 
finement. It  will  be  probably  impossible  to  feed 
the  worms  of  the  first  brood  on  single  leaves,  like 
the  mulberry  feeding  w’orms  but  they  can  easily  be 
reared  on  small  branches  of  loquat,  Kahata  (patana 
oak),  avocado  pear  or  weralu,  placed  in  bottles  of 
water.  They  spin  in  about  30  days. 
These  worms  will  probably  do  better  at  higher 
elevations  than  this  ; I have  grown  very  fine  cocoons 
in  Dimbula.  bein^  somewhat  pressed  for  space,  with 
the  Japanese  mulberry  silkworms  and  other  species, 
I shall  be  glad  to  distribute  half  of  these  eggs,  gratis, 
in  lots  of  50,  to  any  applicants  who  may  care  to 
assist  in  their  domestication.— Yours  faithfully,  B. 
MR.  TURING  MACKENZIE  AND  THE 
CLIMATE  OF  PERAK. 
3ir. — I have  just  seen  in  the  Penang  Gazette  of 
January  29th  an  extract  from  your  papert  quoting  an 
interview  with  Mr.  Turing  Mackenzie,  who  is  reported 
to  have  stated,  when  referring  to  coffee  planting  in 
Perak  and  Singapore— “ I would  chuck  up  my  Sumatra 
land  tomorrow  to  take  up  land  on  the  Government 
terms  there,  but  the  climate  of  Sumatra  is  very  much 
better  at  all  events  than  that  of  Perak— witness  the 
churchyard  at  Thaiping,  which  speaks  for  itself.  It 
is  excellently  well  furnished,  mostly  with  men  under 
35  years  of  age,  malaria  being  the  great  scourge.” 
For  Mr.  W.  Turing  Mackenzie  to  have  made  a 
statement  of  this  nature  either  shows  that  he  must 
have  a barely  bowing  acquaintance  with  the  Perak 
climate  or  he  has  been  very  much  misinformed.  The 
* As  Editor  of  Tromcal  Agriculturist. 
j Local  “Timos.” 
Thaiping  churchyard,  which  has  been  in  existence 
for  20  years,  has  at  present  38  graves  (Luiopeans). 
The  number  includes  five  children  and  six  women. 
I am  in  a position  to  state  that  malarial  fever  caused 
the  death  of  tw'o,  possibly  three  of  the  total  num- 
ber, so  that  the  statement  about  ‘‘  fever  ” being  the 
cause  of  the  number  of  graves  in  the  church}  arJ 
is  erroneous. 
It  will  be  news  to  the  several  ex-Sumatra  Planters 
now  resident  in  Perak  to  learn  of  the  superiority  of 
the  Sumatra  climate  as  compared  with  ours.  Speak- 
ing from  an  experience  of  nearly  nine  years  in 
Perak,  I am  able  to  state  that  the  type  of  malarial 
fever  met  with  is  comparatively  mild,  except  when 
there  is  severe  and  prolonged  exposure,  as  in  the 
case  of  those  engaged  in  the  Trigonometrical  Survey. 
I shall,  therefore,  be  much  obliged  if  you  will 
publish  this  letter  to  endeavour  to  do  away  with  any 
misapprehension  that  may  have  been  raised  through 
Mr.  W.  Turing  Mackenzie’s  somewhat  rash  state- 
ment.— I am,  (fee.,  S.  C.  G.  FOX. 
District-Surgeon,  Perak. 
Thaiping,  Perak,  February  4th. 
MR.  MACKENZIE’S  REPLY. 
Upcountiy,  Feb.  13. 
Sir, — I take  off  my  hat  to  Dr.  Fox,  who  is  a 
good  specimen  of  the  climate  of  Perak,  and  as  lie 
gives  actual  figures  there  is  no  more  to  be  said. 
For  myself,  I confess  to  the  funks  as  regards 
Perak,  and  during  the  past  year  three  of  my 
particular  friends  have  been  at  death’s  door  from 
fever  in  Thaiping,  two  of  whom  had  no  connec- 
tion with  the  Trigonometrical  Survey. 
“ The  climate  of  Sumatra”  is  a tail  order  ; but 
speaking  of  niy  own  district  of  Boven  Serdang, 
it  is  certainly  the  best  lowcountry  climate  that 
I know  ; am\  my  exiieriences  have  been  many 
and  various. 
W.  TURING  MACKENZIE. 
THE  COCONUT  PALM  AND  THE 
SENSITIVE  PLANT. 
Dear  Sir, — Can  any  of  your  scientific  readers  ex- 
plain what  influence  the  sensitive  plant  [Mimosa  pudica 
— Sinhalese  [Nidikiunba)  has  on  the  growth  of  the 
cocount  tree  [Cocos  imdfcra)  ? It  is  asserted  that 
wherever  this  plant  (or  weed)  grows  at  the  foot  cr 
a coconut  tree,  that  tree  thrives  better  than  others, 
and  is  a more  prolific  bearer.  I heard  this  a few 
years  ago,  and  recently  when  going  over  a large 
tract  of  coconuts  at  Welikada,  I mentioned  it  t " the 
proprietor  and  he  told  me  that  he  was  cognizant  of 
the  fact,  and  that  he  had  noticed  it  on  some  of 
his  trees:  accordingly  we  visited  the  spot.  I was 
impressed  with  what  I saw — the  trees  growing  there, 
taking  them  as  a whole,  were  not  very  good  speci- 
mens. Some  hwked  “ jaundiced,”  the  result  of  hard, 
bare,  cabook  soil  nnd  quick  evaporation  of  moisture; 
but  those  at  the  foot  of  which  the  sensitive  plants 
were  growing,  certainly  looked  more  robust  and  theif 
superiority  over  the  rest  was  at  once  perceptible. 
The  following  theories  to  my  mind  bear  a certain 
amount  of  weight  in  the  solution  of  the  question, 
viz  : — The  weed  being  a surface  feeder,  it  is  prob- 
able that  its  roots  open  out  the  surface  soil,  thus 
making  it  easy  for  the  coconut  to  absorb  moisture ; 
or  it  may  be  that  the  roots  or  tubers  of  the  weed 
contain  certain  chemical  properties  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  the  coconut,  which  the  spongiolea  of  its 
rootlets  readily  imbibe;  or  that  the  weed  affords  a 
certain  amount  of  succour  to  the  coconuts,  by  shad- 
ing its  roots  from  the  scorching  heat  of  the  fierce  rays 
of  the  sun. 
I pointed  out  the  absurdity  of  manuring  coconuts 
with  husks  and  dry  fronds.  No  tree  thrives  on  its 
own  refuse;  coconut  husk  takes  years  to  decay  and 
iu  its  damp  musty  state,  is  a favourable  receptacle 
lor  the  larvae  of  grub, 
79 
