145 
Aug. 2, 1897.] Supi^ement to the ''• Troincal AgricxdturhV' 
principally to the vast areas devoted to special 
crops and the inaportation of foreign insects. 
It not infrequently happens that, owing to cli- 
matic differences, the habits of an insect in one 
country differ from its habits in another country. 
In different countries, also, the effects of certain 
insecticides are different, not only to the insects 
they are used to destroy but also the foliage. It is 
therefore often necessary to confirm the habits of 
an insect when it is found in a new country before 
advising means for its destruction which have 
proved successful in other countries, and likewise 
to demonstrate the efficacy of the insecticide even 
if the habits of the insect are similar. 
^ 
BLOOD-MANURE. 
We are accustomed to hear the native cultivators 
of the Island spoken of as conservative to 
such a degree that native agriculture i.s 
practically at a standstill. There are, however, 
instances in which the charge of conservatism (if 
it is nothing more) may be laid at the door of their 
more enlightened brethern, theplanters, whether of 
coconuts or other products. One instance of this 
that has been brought to our notice is the chari- 
ness which is shown in the use of “ new ” manures, 
new ill the sense that they have not been used on 
Ceylon plantations. Blood manure is a fertilizer 
that is not kindly looked on here, though next to 
the well-known chemical salts, sulphate of ammo- 
nia and nitrate of soda, it is the most nitrogenous 
manurial substance. In a (cash) price list of man- 
ures (drawn up in February of this year) which we 
received by a late mail, we find the following 
values given for the three above-mentioned ferti- 
lizers : Sulphate of ammonia, 95% pure, 20% 
nitrogen— £7 15s. per ton ; nitrate of soda, 95% 
pure, 15g% nitrogen — £8 5s. per ton ; and 
dried blood, 14% nitrogen — £7 per ton. The 
unit value of nitrogen in each of these man- 
ures are given as follow’s : Sulphate of ammonia, 
7s, 9d. ; Nitrate of soda, iOs, 8d. ; and Dried Blood, 
lOs. These figures ought to convince the sceptical 
that Dried Blood is one of our most valuable fer- 
tilizers, and eminently suitable for perennial 
crops, for which indeed the two chemical salts are 
not. 
Here is a specimen analysis of Dried Blood 
manure, given in the Agricultural Gazette of New 
South Wales, made by the Departmental Ana- 
lyst 
Moisture 
Substances volatile at red heat 
Containing nitrogen 10 08 
Equal to ammonia 12’24 
11'30 per cent 
8093 „ 
Substances soluble in acid 
... 4-31 
Phosphoric acid (lU O5) 
... -62 
Potash 
... -42 
Lime 
... -87 
Magnesia 
... traces 
The manure is there valued at £6 15s. per ton, 
In choosing manures for their nitrogen what 
should be done is to compare their values after 
calculating it out by assigning the value per 
unit to the nitrogen. By doing this, there will be 
great scope for ])ractising economy in manuring. 
Blood-manure of excellent quality is now being 
manufactured locally, and we believe is also being 
offered much below its real value. We have heard 
further of a local firm that has facilities for 
importing dried blood, but that there will be but 
a poor demand for the fertilizer. 
MALT COFFEE. 
From a Consular Report on the trade and finance 
of Bavaria it appears that a considerable trade is 
done in that country in the manufacture and sale 
of a material called “ malt coffee. ” This material 
is nothing more than barley grain or malted 
barley (more generally the former) which has been 
roasted and is then used either alone, as a substi- 
tute for genuine coffee, or mixed with genuine 
coffee, just as chicory is, to form a much cheapened 
article. It appears to be u.sed as a beverage 
among agricultural labourers in Bavaria, and it 
has been suggested that, owing to its cheapness, 
it might advantageously be used by the agricul- 
tural labouring classes in England, and would at 
the same time open up a way of further utilizing 
barley to the benefit of the agriculturist generally 
as has, it seems, been the case in Bavaria. Th, 
report above mentioned states that in 1894 the 
sales of malt-coffee amounted to about 3,800 tonse 
and increased in 1896 to about 5,200 tons. At the, 
factory of Messrs. Kathreiner & Co., at Munich, 
181 people areenployed, and a new factory engag- 
ing 162 persons has been opened at Uerdingen ou- 
tlie Rhine. 
Malt coffee is sold in packets of different sizes, 
and it is reckoned that a cup of malt coffee can be 
made at a cost of one-tenth of a penny. 
At the request of Sir John Thorold 1 made a che- 
mical examination of the malt coffee, obtaining 
some from Germany for the purpose. I made also 
extracts of this and compared it with similarly- 
made extracts obtained from genuine coffee 
and from mixtures of coffee and chicory sold in 
England under the name of “French ” coffee and 
“ Swiss ’■ coffee. The malt coffee is richer in nitro- 
genous matters than the the French or Swis coffee, 
but has less mineral matter and more fibre. By 
analysis of extracts of these three as well ns of 
genuine coffee, the riclier character of the genuine 
coffee and the inferiority of malt coffee to even 
the other mixtures was brought out. (We omit 
the tables of analysis given.) 
The much larger proportions of nitrogenous 
matters and of mineral constituents in the genuine 
coffee come out very clearly in the analyses 
the “ malt” coffee extract being the poorest of all. 
Of course, however, the great value of genuine 
coffee consists in its containing the alkaloid sub- 
stance caffeine, which is not present in the “malt’ 
coffee, nor in other substitutes for coffee. 
The malt coffee is ground in a mill just like 
ordinary coffee, cold water is then added, and the 
whole brought up to boiling point. The liquid is 
then allowed to settle, or is passed through a 
strainer. The malt coffee is either used alone, or 
it may be mixed with a certain proportion of coffee 
and the two boiled together with water. 
No one taking the malt coffee infusion by itself 
would be misled into the belief that it was genuine 
coffee, but Sir John Thorold assures me that 
labourers on his estate have tried it and found it 
an agreeable drink. 1 may say that 1 also tried 
