878 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[June  i,  1897. 
Italian  Coral. — The  coral  industry,  which  is  of 
considerable  importance  in  Italy,  from  the  maritime 
point  of  view,  also  employs  both  capital  and  labour 
for  working  up  the  raw  material  procured  by  the 
fishermen.  Leghorn  and  Naples,  and  particularly 
the  former,  are  the  great  centres  of  the  coral-working 
industry.  There  are  no  complicated  processes,  it  being 
only  necessary  to  select  from  the  rough  material 
the  better  qualities  according  to  colour,  and  the 
better  portions  of  such  qualities,  and  to  form  them 
into  beads  of  various  shapes  to  suit  different  markets. 
The  work  is  almost  entirely  done  by  girls,  who  saw, 
turn,  file  and  polish  the  raw  material.  Prices  vary 
greatly  according  to  the  shades  of  co.our  and  to  the 
size  of  bead  of  uniform  shade  which  can  be  produced. 
“ Of  late  years  the  average  piice  has  fallen  con- 
siderably,” says  Mr.  FitzGerald  Law,  Commercial 
Attache,  “owing  to  the  increased  production  of  what 
are  considered  inferior  qualities,  but  the  price  of  the 
best-coloured  coral  remains  very  high,  reaching  ex- 
ceptionally to  as  much  as  AT2  per  ounce.”  The  ex- 
ports of  coral,  rough  and  worked,  amounted  in  1895 
to  somewhat  over  £1,000,000  sterling.  About  60  per 
cent,  of  the  exportation  is  to  British  India,  and  the 
demand  for  the  African  market  is  said  to  be  most 
promising  for  the  future. — Journal  of  the  Societi/  oj 
Arts,  April  9. 
Agriculture  AND  Planting  in  Brazil.— One 
of  tlie  most  elaborately  prepared  volumes  that 
reach  us  year  by  yeai,  is^a  bulky  paper-covered 
quarto  (about  500  pages)  from  San  Paulo,  entitled 
this  time  : — 
Relatorio  Annual  do  Instituto  Acronomico  do 
Estado  de  S.  Paulo  (Brazil)  em  Campinas  1894  e 1895 
Volume  VII.  e VIII.  Publicado  Pelo  Director  Dr. 
Phil.  F.  W.  Dafert  m.a..  Com  a collaboracao  dos  Surs. 
F.  M.  Draenert  e L.  Rivinius  e dos  Membros  do 
Instituto,  San  Paulo,  B razil. 
The  index  shows— apart  from  Administration- 
chapters  on  Agricultural  Chemistry  ; experiments 
with  Coffee  (accompanied  by  a series  of  engravings 
of  the  busli)  ; Viticvilture  ; Veterinary  ; Hygiene  ; 
Commercial  and  Industrial  ; Meteorology  ; Rural 
Economy,  &c.  The  statistics  are  very  elabor- 
ate ; tiie  letter  press  is  all  in  Portuguese. 
There  is  a great  deal  about  coffee  and  sugar 
preparing  machinery  with  detailed  illustrations. 
The  whole  reflects  great  credit  on  the  Brazilian, 
or  San  Paulo,  authorities  and  their  officers. 
Liberian  Co^ee.— The  production  and  export 
of  Liberian  coffee  is  becoming  a subject  of  great 
concern  to  the  farmers  of  the  Republic.  The 
phenomenal  increase  in  its  production  is  worthy 
of  consideration.  The  coffee  exported  during  tlie 
fiscal  year,  1896,  amounted  to  600,000  pounds, 
while  the  exports  for  the  year  ended  June  .30th, 
1896,  amounted  to  3,000,000  pounds.  F'armers, 
merchants,  and  people  generally  have  turned  their 
attention  to  coffee  growing.  While  no  American 
ships  touch  at  any  Liberian  port,  yet  more  than 
one-fifteenth  of  the  coffee  producetl  is  shipped  to 
the  United  States  vid  Liverpool.  Coffee  is  the 
largest  export,  yet  palm  oil,  palm  kernels,  piassava, 
ftud  rubber  aie  shipped  in  great  quantities.  It 
is  asserted  that  if  ships  from  the  United  States 
touched  at  Monrovia,  Bassa,  and  Cape  Palmas, 
half  of  the  imports  would  be  American,  and,  in 
♦urn,  the  exports  would  go  to  the  United  States, 
as  the  people,  with  the  exception  of  the  few 
Europeans  residing  in  laberia,  [uefer  American 
produce.  The  reason  for  this  preference  is  that 
the  people  are  immigrants  from  the  Lhiited  States, 
and  in  habit  and  life  are  American.  It  is  stated 
that  a direct  line  of  steamers  from  New  V'ork  or 
Boston,  touching  at  Monrovia  once  in  two  months, 
would  be  a paying  enterprise.— ^ t/ie 
Society  of  Arts. 
Plucking  and  Pruning  of  Tea.”— An  old 
“ V.  A.”  writes  to  us  : — 
“ To  show  you  the  depravity  of  planting  human 
nature  I may  tell  you  that  I meet  planters  who 
believe  that  the  letters  you  have  published  on 
Manuring  and  Plucking  and  Pruning  tea  are  mostly 
manufactured  on  the  premises — as  there  is  so  much 
they  don’t  appreciate  in  them ! The  bulk  of  the 
creeper  and  assistaut-dom  of  the  present  day  is 
far  more  interested  in  the  district  tennis  and  golf 
tournaments  than  discussions  of  subjects  they  are 
paid  to  become  masters  of.” 
We  are  obliged  to  our  friend  and  fully  em- 
power him  to  refer  any  sceptic  to  a visit  to 
our  office  where  the  MSS.  of  the  150  to  170  letters 
printed  can  be  produced  for  his  benefit.  But 
planters  who  do  not  care  much  for  their  work  or 
its  improvement,  are  just  those  who  are  most 
likely  to  cavil  on  any  excuse,  however  forced. 
Here,  however,  is  what  Mr.  John  Hughes  of 
Mark  Lane — one  of  the  most  competent  authori- 
ties— writes  to  us  by  last  mail  : — 
“Plucking  and  Pruning  discussion  is  of  real  interest 
and  has  a genuine  ring  about  it.  Have  written  a 
letter  to  London  Ceylon  Association  Tea  Committee 
drawing  special  attention  to  the  matter.” 
Forage  Plants.— In  the  Report  on  Natal 
Botanic  Gardens  for  the  year  1896,  by  J.  Med- 
ley Wood,  A.L.S.,  Curator,  which  has  just  reached 
us,  we  find  several  interesting  paragraphs  ; — 
Mr.  F.  Lamson  Scribner,  the  United  States 
Agrostologist,  saj’s; — 
“ I send  you  by  mail  today  a small  sample  of 
seed  of  one  of  our  native  forage  plants  Atriplex 
canescens,  James,  locally  known  as  ‘ Shad  Scale,' 
‘White  Sage,’  or  ‘ Sweet  Sage.’  It  was  formerly  one 
of  the  chief  reliances  of  the  cattle  men  on  the  arid 
plains  from  Western  Texas  to  Arizona,  but  has  now 
become  almost  extinct,  occurring  only  on  steep  cliffs 
and  in  protected  situations  where  cattle  and  sheep 
cannot  reach  it.”  This  plant  will  have  a fair  trial 
here  and  will  be  noticed  in  a future  report. 
Desinodium  tortnosum,  “ Florida  Beggar  Weed.” — In 
September  I received  from  the  same  gentleman  a 
packet  of  seed  of  this  plant  about  vvhich  he  says 
that  it  is  “ A wild  forage  plant  highly  esteemed  in 
the  subtropical  portion  of  the  United  States.  It 
produces  a fodder  of  fine  quality  in  large  quantities, 
and  grows  best  on  sandy  soils  containing  lime. 
On  cultivated  lands  it  grows  often  8 to  10  feet  high. 
The  haulms,  though  woody,  are  eaten  by  cattle  and 
working  stock  of  all  kinds.  Beggar  Weed  makes  an 
excellent  green  manure.  In  Florida  it  is  extensively 
used  as  a renewer  of  worn  lands.  It  promises  to 
be  a plant  of  much  agricultural  value  in  the  warmer 
countries.”  This  seed  was  sown  at  once  on  receipt,  and 
the  plants  are  now  from  12  to  15  inches  high,  and  grow- 
ing vigorously,  seed  will  most  likely  be  obtained  from 
it  for  distribution,  and  I quite  expect  to  beagain  told 
that  “cattle  will  not  eat  it,”  but  farmers  must  surely 
understand  that  cattle  require  a little  management 
before  they  will  take  to  a plant  so  different  from  their 
ordinary  food  plants  as  these  are,  but  a little  care 
and  trouble  will  soon  overcome  the  difficulty,  as  I 
know  from  personal  experience. 
Mr.  Nock  of  H.tkgalla  gives  Us  opinion  of  the 
plant  for  Ceylon,  in  a letter  as  follows: — 
“ The  paragraph  about  ‘ Florida  deggar  weed  ’ is 
interesting.  I have  a few  seedlings  Ranted  here  for 
trial,  whicn  have  only  just  been  planted  out;  but  one 
should  soon  be  able  to  see  if  it  is  likely  to  suit  Ceylon.” 
n r A F M P Q Q ‘describing  a really 
ULArlNLOUi  genuine  Cure  for  Deafness 
Ringing  in  Ears,  &c. , no  matter  how  severe  or  long- 
standing, will  be  sent  post  free. — Artificial  Ear- 
drums and  similar  api)liances  entirely  suiierscdod. 
Address  THUMAIS  KFMI’E,  Victoria  Cham- 
BEILS,  19,  Southampton  Buildings,  Holborn, 
London. 
