266 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. I, 1897. 
2 . The red borer which will bore to the pith of 
tree, make a passage half way between pith and 
bark around the stem, then eats the pith ; and the 
stem above the r;und made hole of the borer dies 
and can easily be broken off ; but leaves the tree 
as soon as it finds the pith no longer connected 
with lower part turns sour, and then goes to another 
tree if permitted. 
3. The small red cotton beetle perforates tlie 
leaves, especially the young leaf of cacao plants. 
4. Flying foxes and porcupines eat our cacao 
bark and destroy our pods. Kola vedda, squirrels and 
bats destroy our pods. 
Remarks, 1. None of these are serious pests, and 
an intelligent, hard-working planter who is allowed 
sufficietit funds can keep all these enemies in check 
keep his cacao in good heart and get good crops. 
Cacao is a delicate plant and wants continual watch- 
ing and attending ; a stitch in time saves nine. 
Suckers, 2. I may say I chiefly got my crop on 
this estate from stickers, but I seldom allow 
more than one at a time ; on some vigorous 
trees two, but never more than two. Often a good 
suclcer grown on a Caracas i.s as hardy as a Foras- 
tero tree. 
THEATJIENT BECOMMENDED. 
1. Ilclopcltis and paddij-fhi can be kept away by 
making up a powder of sulphur J, fresh burnt dolo- 
mite lime 1 and wood ash 3 parts; well mixed to- 
gether, then thrown into and over the trees either 
in the morning early when there is dew on the leaves 
or after a shower of rain. They cair also be caught 
by coolies either late in the evening or e.uly in the 
morning — by hand, with long sticks with a gummy 
substance near the end of the stick, or lighted torches 
on spare ground near the cacao field. 
2. Red borer. — You should catch the- moth and 
prevent it laying eggs on your estate; otherwise watch 
your trees. When your coolies find the least sign of 
a borer they should catch it at once. If he has al- 
ready gone out of sight into the hole, then use a 
wire, push it in as far as possible with some mar- 
gosa oil and sulphur at end of wire and then put 
a peg in the hole. 
3. The cotton beetle can be kept off with the same 
mixture and is as recommended for helopeltis. 
4. Porcupines, di/ing-foxes, bats, Jcolaveddas and 
squirrels. — Put on men to shoot them. 
6. Tomicus of which so much has been written is 
a small beetle whose chief food is sour sap, so there 
is nothing to fear from them on a healthy tree ; 
but their scent is very powerful and they can scent 
a tree v.'hen its sap is turning, and then at once 
attack the tree. 
It remains for the planter to be always on the 
watch and be able to judge from the trees whether 
they are healthy or not. if not what are the wants 
of the tree (a) has it been grown from unripe seed 
and requires an extra dose of lime, potash and 
humus to make it a vigorous tree '? — (b) has the tree 
been starved and lost all its power of suction ? — (c) 
has it been exposed to a very hot wind by which 
leaves lost their power and dropped off and sap be- 
came stagnant in the branches ?— (d) has it been poor 
soil and a dry season which weakened the sap and 
allowed blotches of bad sap to appear on the outer 
bark — attraction at once to a great many insects who 
live on the sour sap of decaying trees ? Where these 
blotches appear the bark is raised and cracks, then 
insects got between bark and stem among the fibre 
lining and also bore into the tree. There is one other 
point: trees are often allowed to bear crop too young 
or more than trees can supply sap to ; then the sap 
channels contract and sap cannot rise in sufficient 
quantity to nourish the tree though some of the ripe 
crop has already been picked. — Yours faithfully, 
J. HOLLOWAY. 
P.S.— I now find shade to be too dense, for the 
trees have grown too large : hence the crop is getting 
short. I will have to out out fully half of the dadap 
BOW, to get better crops,— J,H. 
F..STATE CROP AND EXPENDITURE : 
Fm- 1892-3 1893-4 1891-5 189>-6 18 6-7. 
15 acres in Irearing 
Cocoa now 
.V. u. P. cwt. qr. lb. 
33 1 4 1892-3 Cocoa crop 82 1 01 
Tea ,, 
3 2 38 1S93-4 
18 acres 
„ 1-25 0 09 
Grass ,, 
1 2 38 1891-5 
20 acres 
„ 104 1 22 
1895 6 
22 acres 
,. 99 2 27 
1896-7 
22 acres 
„ 86 1 23 
For five years 502 3 26on total 
97 acres 
Per annum 100 1 16, or 5 0 20 
per acre these 5 years. 
'Ve will only take va- 
lue per cwt. these 5 
years at the average 
of R.vo. not £5 10s 
thougli some Wdssold 
at 85/. 
R 
25,149 91 Cacao crop 502 3 26 
at 50/ 
509-34 Tea at /6 
2-20 '0' I Coffee 
36'00 Pepper 
25,915-25 for .5 ye rs, R5,183-05 
per annum. 
EXPENDITURE. 
1892-3 
1893-1 
1894-5 
1895-6 
1896-7 
Total 
R c 
R c 
R c 
R c 
R c 
R^ 
.Superin- 
tendence 360 00 
360 CO 
360 00 
360 00 
360 00 
1800 (0 
Weeding 336 82 
484 35 
516 47 
474 6.3 
342 43 
2154 to 
Wauure and 
application 499 66 
491 32 
572 76 
458 52 
347 65 
2369 81 
Road.s and 
drains 99 54 
223 88 
113 25 
1-23 50 
65 83 
626 00 
Planting, shad- 
ing & cacao 46 97 
85 89 
27 40 
2 55 
162 81 
Shade, planting 
& trimming 215 39 
19 17 
33 37 
1-27 71 
91 56 
487 20 
Nursery tea 8 03 
16 20 
1 00 
25 23 
PI -nting tea and 
plants 10 32 
11 71 
53 03 
34 77 
109 S3 
Pruning tea 
3 68 
40 76 
17 25 
5 78 
67 43 
Plucking tea 36 90 
37 64 
70 82 
4 08 
149 44 
Gathering and 
curing cacao 247 84 
434 34 
402 44 
372 06 
401 53 
1858 21 
Pruning ,, 
10 00 
.56 93 
15 44 
82 37 
Lines 5o 92 
79 20 
18 92 
51 92 
11 04 
212 00 
Bungalow 39 50 
361 68 
147 41 
164 79 
378 71 
1142 09 
Watcher, &c. 12 47 
57 69 
62 01 
132 08 
Coffee gathering . 
5 42 
3 89 
7 -20 
0 34 
16 85 
Pepper ,, 
0 90 
16 19 
17 06 
Clearing bound- 
aries 5 55 
2 88 
2 04 
10 47 
Cutting fuel, &c. . 
13 ’ SO 
0 68 
14 48 
Total R209 91 2632 94 2362 48 2 57 35 2065 33 11438 01 
THE EFFECT OF THE PAPAW ON 
TOUGH MEAT. 
Dear Sib, — Considering the quality of meat that 
is usually produced in Ceylon, I wonder it is no- 
more generally known among householders thatth 
leaves of the Papaw tree (Carica Papatja) have th*^ 
remarkable property of rendering meat wrapped up 
them tender in a very short time, a ferment in th^ 
exuding juice causing a separation of the ranscula' 
fibres. This is really a time-worn story, more es 
pecially in countries which have longest been asso 
dated with the papaw, though those who are yet un 
acquainted with the fact will probably regard it at 
first with some degree of scepticism. But, as the 
papaw leaves and fruit — for the unripe fruit poss- 
esses the same property in this respect— are easily 
available at all seasons in every habited locality in 
(he island (the tree taking the name pf “ MountaiQ 
We take Expendituve R 
for 5 years 11 ,43S'01 
* Expenditure 1 year 2,2S7'60 
t Profit „ 2,895-45 
Crop ,, 5,183’05 
* Only 22 c.acao acres and It 
acres tea bearing. 
t But wliole expenditure 
charged on 38a. 3r. 
