2o6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept, i, 1897. 
THE CACAO DISEASE. 
J uly 6. 
Dkau Sli:,— Mr. E. II Creeu in liis letter (see 
jiagc 100) states;— “Mr. v-D-Poorten’s argument 
in favour of the “poocliie’ tlieory, is nieiely 
that the dead wood is full C)f heevles and that 
they are often attracted in large (juantities hy 
light.” Not wishing your readers to have the 
notion that my intellect is belo .v par, I wish to 
state that in llie letter 1 wrote to Mr. Green, 
at his request, on the subject, these were only 
minor observations and I rvonder that he failed 
to see this. The main one I considered to be 
the following: — “The 1st sign of the presence 
of the grub is the w'eeping of the bark which 
when shaved, presents only a slightly grey coloi- 
ation which deepens rapidly, becomes of a claret 
colour and later dries up. When the ring is not 
complete the tree survives, if complete but sumci- 
ently high to allow for new shoots, they soon appeal 
and form a new tree or ra.ther bush. I think that 
when the tree is only partially attacked, the flow of 
sail kills the grub, but however the vitality of the 
bark within a regular radius ot the puncture is 
destroyed ' — Yours faithfully, 
A. VANDEK POOKTEN. 
be glad if you would send me your book catalogue. 
There are three of us here, who came with the 
idea ot going into cotlee raising, but wc do not 
like the'pol'uical insecurity and should prefer to 
invest our caiiital under the British flag, \ouis 
truly, CHARLES LENNOX. 
[This is refreshing, while Ceylon men are going 
freely into land for planting, in foreign territory ; 
ljut then tlie Dutch wlio rule in -Java and 
Sumatra, may be said to be good as well as 
near neighbours. — E d. 7’. A.] 
PLANTING NOTES. 
“MANNA” IN AUSTRALIA. 
Technological Museum, 
Sydney, July 22nd 1897- 
Dear Sir,— Seeing your no,te on “Manna” 
in the June issue of the Tropical Agrievnnriat, 
0 828, I have taken the liberty to enclose 
herewith a cojiy of my paper on that substance, 
read before our Royal Society, and hope it may 
be of interest to you in your Editorial work ot 
that excellent publication.-Yoims 
[The pamphlet referred to is entitled 
On the PiiESENCE or a True Manna on a Blue 
Grass ” Androi’ogon Annulatus, Iorsk. 
Bv R T Baker, f.l.s., Assistant Curator ana 
Botanist; 'lechnoiogioal Museum and Henry G 
Smith F.C.S., Chemist, Technological Museum. [With 
Plates XXI-XXII.] Read brfore the Royal Society 
of N. S. Wales, December 2nd, 1890. 
And the opening paragraph runs 
The specimens, the subject of this papei, weie 
obtained at Wild’s Valley, Torren s Creek via 
Townsville, Queensland, by Mr. J. R. Chisholm. 
They had previous to our receiving them been 
determined as Spumaria k Bull,-a fungus found 
on grass in this Colony and figured in Cooks Aiu- 
?ralian Fuuji, PI .05, fig. 056, but as Mr ^isholm 
was of opinion that they were galls, he asked if we 
would also examine them for him. Our first ex- 
amiuation showed that they were manna and not a 
funous, as we found that they consisted of large 
quantities of crystals, as well its some sugars. 
Tliere are some 17 pages of letterpress iiiclud- 
i„.> “Chemical investigation” be.sides the two 
of^platey. Any one interested can have tlie loan 
of this paiiipiiiet. — E d. T.A.] 
PLANTING IN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS : 
UNDER A EOREIGN V. BRITISH 
I'LAG. 
Ewa Mill, UiiliU, Hawaiian Islands, May .31, 1897. 
yjjj \ mu anxious to acquire some information 
respecting Ceylon and Collee Plantiiig. If you 
have any works bearing on tins subject, I should 
Mb. H. L. Templer, who left for Europe receutjy 
in the M.M. ss. “ Australien, ” was on his way to Brazil, 
there to take up the new appointment on the Dumont 
Company’s property which we mentioned some time 
ago Mr. G. A. Talbot had ofiered him. He will 
spend about a month in the old country before going 
to South America, but will set out from LiverpoM 
for Bio about the > ud of October, eii route for th > 
Province of Paulo; and he expects to take up duties 
about the middle of November. 
Ceylon Supply Baskets for Brazil.— Ceylon 
planters, and Ceylon tea and coffee machinery, are 
not the only things that other planting countries 
obtain from this island, for we understand that a 
well-known Civil Servant has placed a very large 
order in the hands of a manufacturer for “ Supply 
baskets.” They are intende d for Brazil, and, as soon 
as they are ready, will be sent off to their destination. 
They have been ordered for a coSee estate there, and 
it is very likely that further orders will follow this 
shipment. 
Orange Cultivation. — We learn that our informant 
was not quite correct in the information publi.shed 
by us (see page 210) about orange cultivation. The 
importation consisted of 1.0 doz. plants which the 
Manager of the Ceylon Tea Plantations Company 
ordered from Australia, and we learn that they have 
now been planted on 30 estates connected with that 
Company, from Nuwara Eliya to sea level, and it 
will be interesting to see where they thrive best. 
They have been planted more for the benefit of the 
estate superintendents than anything else, altheugh 
useful information will doubtless be forthcoming as to 
their growth. 
Planting in Paraguay. — The Paraguayans have not 
found much market lor their ‘‘ Mate' ” of Paraguay 
(Ilex paraguayensis), the bush from which the South 
Americans prepare a kind of tea. The Indians 
collect and dry their leave.s, which are ground in 
mills, those of Parana and St. Catherine, for ex- 
ample, an I the powder is packed for transport. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Camiuhoa, mate is less exciting than 
tea or coffee, about as stimulating as green lea. and 
more diuretic than coffee. Some think that mateine, 
tlie active p.dnciple of mate tea, is the same alkaloid 
as caffeine, others that it is different because it acts 
directly on the muscles, whereas caffeine only acts 
upon them through the nerve centres. Be that 
as it may, mateine would appear to increase the 
vital activity in every way ; and it does not cause 
sleeplessness, even when taken in a large quantity. 
Tobacco is to be cultivated on a larger scale in Para- 
guay. Several Cubans who paid a visit to Paraguay 
at the invitation of the Government, go so far as to say 
that the soil in some parts is almost identical with that 
of Cuba, which prouuces the best growth. About a 
year ago the Government placed two of these Cubans in 
charge of a plantation near Villa Rica, paying them 
salaries, and giving them a half share in the profits, 
besides providing hibourer.s, on tho understanding that 
Cuban methoda of cultivation should bo employed, and 
the .same taught to such Paraguayans as were willing to 
learn. The crop raised on this plantation in 1«86, 
though small, is said to be almost equal to the Vuelta 
Abajo, one of the most esteemed tobaccos of Cuba. — 
11. A C. Mail, July 30. 
