Dec. I, 1897.] THE TROPICAL 
GEMMING— AND GEM-SEPARATING. 
Ever f3ince we made the acquaintance in 
London of Mr. \V. S. Lockhart, M.i C.E., M. I. M.E., 
and saw his patent Gem-Separator at work, 
we have been anxious to see his invention 
tested in the Gemming Fields of Ceylon. Quite 
tAvo years have elapsed since we first heard of the 
formation of a Prospecting Syndicate in London 
having a strong Board and ample capital with 
the object of purchasing and utilizing the 
Patent Rights of the Geni-Separator for Ceylon. 
But we have still to learn of actual work hav- 
ing been begun. 
It is, of course, quite possible that, taught by his 
experience in Burma, — where Mr. Lockhart was 
at one time connected with the famous Rubies 
Company, and which he left in order to invent 
and perfect the separating machine he felt to 
be indispensable to success, — the patentee prefers 
to make quite sure of his invention, as well as of his 
position in Ceylon, and of the certainty of getting 
at the best fields, before he consents to make 
a start. Delay, therefore, we hope, will only 
strengthen the assurance of eventual success ; 
for, by recent news, it appears, the time is drawing 
near when Mr. Lockhart himself proposes to visit 
the island, no doubt in order to give a fair 
start to the Gem-Separator and to learn where 
it can best be applied. 
Of the machine itself, though we do not mean 
at present, to attempt an exact description, we have 
only praise to give from what we saw of its work. 
It IS simplicity itself. We saw a buckettull of 
such clay as oiir sapphires are found in, mixed up 
with a handful of small gems, carefully counted, 
and the whole tin own into the hopper of the 
machine ; and in a wonderfully short time we 
had the full quota of precious stones deposited in a 
glass case below the machine, having, through the 
process worked clear of the clay by their specific 
gravity. When taken out they were found to be 
correct in number. So with minute grains of gold 
thrown into a mass of detritus which seemed 
to swallow them up, never more to be seen 
separately ; but passed through the hopper and 
mmdiine,' the result was equally satisfactory, 
and not a grain tvas missing. 
Not only therefore was it demonstrated that 
masses of clay or gravel containing precious 
stones or precious metals could be speedily 
treated in the machine ; but that there was 
the most absolute guarantee against theft, hitherto 
the chief drawback experienced by all Europeans 
embarking in the gemming industry in Ceylon. 
Mr. Lockhart has said that he is prepared to 
deal with from 50 to 500 tons of gem-bearing 
earth per day per machine— a quantity ample 
to test the best fields around Ratnapuia, or in 
the Kakwana and Matara districts. We feel 
sure that when the trial is made, the result 
will be satisfactory in bringing to light, and 
that very speedily, any gems or gold there may be 
in the soil treated ; and we therefore consider that 
the introduction of Lockhart’s Patent Gem Separa- 
tors Avill mean the commencement of a-mew and 
important development in the history of Gemming 
—an industry going back beyond the Christian era 
—in Ceylon. , , j j. 
Since writing the above we have learned from 
the local Agents, Messrs. Lewis Brown & Co., 
that a Mr. Goldie was engaged some months 
a</o, to take charge, it is supposed, of the 
interests of the Syndicate or Company in Ceylon. 
A call of capital' has also been recently made. 
We may therefore hope for some active steps 
47 
AGRICULTURIST. 379 
erelong; but, unless machines are on their way 
out, tliey may be too late for operations during 
this North-East monsoon, and so lose the best 
of another year. 
SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 
Several agricultural schools have of late years sprung 
up in various parts of Italy, the most iiiiportanb iii 
the Naples district, says Consul Neville-Rolfe, being 
that of Portici. The school has been in existence 
about 24 years, having been originally established 
by the province, but it was taken over by the State, 
and re-established by the Royal Charter in 1885. A 
portion of the disused Royal Palace was given over 
to its use, the spacious grounds, gardens, and use- 
ful group of farm buildings being especially adapted 
to that purpose. The instruotion is conducted by 
sixteen professors, each of whom takes his own branch 
of the subject, as chemistry, botany, horticultnre, 
zoology, entomology, geology, farm accoumts, mete- 
orology, physics, forestry, irrigation, &o., and lectures 
upon it. The ootirse occupies three years, after 
which students who satisfy the examiners obtain the 
degree of Laiu-eato Agrommo, or bachelor of agri- 
culture. Besides the lectures, practical instruotion 
is given in the field, and the making of cheese, wine, 
and oil is systematically carried on. It is, in short, 
an agricultural university ; 670 scholars have passed 
through the school, of whom 228 have obtained 
degrees, and there are 21 freshmen inscribed for 
the coming year. Most of the laureates become 
professors in other colleges in Italy, and some have 
gone to other places, such as Cairo, Buenos Ayres, and 
San Francisco. One very useful branch of the institu- 
tion is the exhibition of agricultural machinery, upon 
which the future of Italian husbandry depends so much, 
and another, the dissemination of pamphlets by the 
various professors on their special subjects. Of these 
last there is a very interesting one by Professor Italo 
Giglioli, the head of the school, on the importation 
of Italian fruit into Great Britain, He begins by stat- 
ing that the total importation of fruit into the British 
Isles has risen from £5,977,351, in 1880, £7,287,566, in 
1890, with a steady annual increase. Besides this, 
in 1890, nuts to the value of £622,936 were imported. 
In 1890, only 4 per cent, of the fruit imported into 
Great Britain came from her own colonies, and 8 per 
cent, from Italy, but the Professor is strongly of opinion 
that while the colonies have increased their export to a 
very large extent, the next decennial period will 
show that Italy has not been idle, and that with 
more attention to cultivation, packing, and means 
of transport, the Italian fruit will obtain a more in- 
fluential place in Great Britain, which is shown to 
be the most influential fruit market in the world. — 
Journal of the Society of Arts, Oct. 1st. 
PRESENT PROSPECT OF TEA 
PLANTING IN FI.JI. 
Only two estates of any iuipoitance have been 
opened in these islands, i.e.. Alph 1 , and what is 
now known as the Wainunu Estates. The former 
was started by the late hou. J. E. Mason, 
M.L c. When ho had to cease planting Arabian 
coffee owing to its destrnotion by leaf disease 
(llemileia Vastatrix) in 1884, he turned his attention 
to the cultivation of tea on high lands at the north 
end of Taviuni. The altitude was sufficiently high, 
about 1,000 feet, the laud of good quality and the 
right nature to produce the best quality of tea, 
a result fully attained by Mr. A. J. Stephens who 
undertook the management for Mr. Mason. 
Unfortunately while Mr. Mason was on a visit to 
England and acting as Uemmissioner for Fiji to the 
Indian and Colonial Exhibition ho died, and the 
finances of the estate going into other hands, while the 
manager was unable to get suitable and che.an labonr- 
ers, the plantation, originally about 400 acres, dragged 
along until 1895, when the proprietors decided to put 
