478 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan. I, 1898. 
THAT RIDICULOUS “ COCOANUT.” 
THE EDITOR OP THE “ DAILY CHRONICLE. ” 
Sir; — In the “ good long taste ” you have today 
given your readers of Mr. Allen Upward’s poetic 
quality, there is one “ thing ” described by that gen- 
tleman which can scarcely be characterised as “ com- 
mon.” You quote Mr. Upward as referring to the 
A. B. ('. shops. 
“ Y’hose air the rich aroma fills 
That from the cocoa palm distills.” 
For Mr. Upward’s benefit I may state (1) that the 
odour of the toddy distilled by the coco-palm is the very 
opposite of a rich aroma ; ” and (2) that cocoa is a 
product of the cacao-tree ;Theohroma cacao). But 
so long as the erroneous spelling coeoanut (due to 
a blunder of the printers or .Johnson’s Dictionary) 
continues to mislead the ignorant, so long must we 
expect such absurdities as that perpetrated by Mr. 
Upward. — Yours faithfully. Donald Ferguson. 
Croydon, Nov. 6. 
[The strange part is that bolanisls beginning 
with Kew, keep to the “ CocoHiiut ” form of 
spelling of cocos nuc\fcva. Emerson Tenn- nt set 
the example of “cocmiut” in his Ceylon books, 
and we li.ave adhered to it for many years in 
all our publications. — Eu. T.A.1 
from each maund, and 3,000 to 4,000 plants 
as covering an acre, accoiding to distance 
the planted,— total imjjorts .should represent from 
27,000 to 34,000 additional acres to be planted 
wiili tea ! 
THE CHINA TEA TRADE. 
We reprint in our Agriculturist 
Hongkong paper, informationwliichoughtat onceto 
edify and amuse Ceylon tea planters. The latter are 
already aware of tlie steps taken by a Syndicate 
through a regularly organised Factory to ariange 
for the preparation by machinery of all teas grown 
in the extensive tea districts around Foochow, 
and of the high testimoniaks • put forward 
as to the value of “machine-made’' teas. Now', 
however, the tables are turned. The Dutch 
Minister at Pekin, acting on behalf of Amster- 
dam tea importers — of all people in the world — 
has pro'ested against the fine delicate flavour 
of Chit .a teas being destroyed by European 
machims, — lost in the many processes incidental 
to the Eoocliow tactoiy, — so that if the new 
scheme is persisted in, it will be impossible 
to piocnre the highly-prized teas prepared 
by the old Cbine.'^e methods. This protest 
has been taken up coidially by the Chinese 
authorities and the resulting Proclamation to 
the Provincial and District Mandarins may, quite 
possibly, have the efl'ect of keeping back a great 
deal of the tea-leaf expected at the Foochow 
Factory. 
Meantime, the export of China teas this season 
seems to show a decided decrease all round, 
while that of Japan teas to the United States 
.shews a comparative increase ! 
IMPORTS OF TEA SEED. 
The ini])orts of tea seed at Colombo this 
season have been rather notable, consideiing the 
feeling that extension of cultivation had received 
a check though adverse exchange and low prices. 
The Customs returns are as follows; — 
British India. 
September . . — Nil. 
October . . . . Cases 137 
November .. ,, 4,28,5 
Up to 9th December .. „ 2,434 
Cases 6,856 
Each ca.se of tea seed may be taken to represent 
a maund ot 84 lb. with from 20,t00 to 30, COO 
seed, and counting 15,000 plants as resulting 
SEYCHELLES VANILLA. 
From official information supplied by Ihe Colonial 
Office we leain that the vanilla-crop of 1896 in the 
Seychelles was the largest ever produced in those 
islands, viz., 63,000 lb. As the prices ruled higher 
than for many years past, the planters have done so 
well by this o op that they have very greatly extended 
their plantations. Moreover, the country is lu w 
being opened up by new roads, and many thousands 
of acres of virgin soil suited to vanilla growing, but 
now uncultivated, w'ill short'j he Dinde available. 
In the district of the Mare aux Cochons alone there 
are about 5,00;i acres of this kind. The cultivation 
of vanilla in the Seychelles dates back about 20 years, 
but it is only now begiunlBg to be understood. 
Formerly the vines were trained on artificial supports, 
by the Mexican system of allowing the vines to grow 
wild has of late years almost superseded the old plan. 
It is said that nothing pays better than vanilla- 
growing. The average cest of production, including 
dry and getting ready for the local market in the 
Seychelles, is only B3 per lb. whereas the local sale 
price in 1896 averaged from E8 to R16 per lb. And as 
the average yield of dried beans per acre is 200 lb. 
it follows that there are few crops (certaii ly not sugar, 
the staple product of the Seychelles) which give the 
grower a better return. Most of the land in Seychelles 
is in the hand of private owners, but may be bought 
at from RlOO to R200 the acre for ready money. 
There is also some land belonging to the Government 
well adapted for vanilla cultivation, which can be 
leased for periods varying from 9 to 21 years. In 
1882 the yield of vanilla in the Seychelles was only 
2,400 Vo — Chemist and Druyyist, Nov. 27. 
CALOTROPIS PROCERA AND GIGANTEA 
“WARA” FIBRE CONDEMNED. 
In the “ Forester” for September it is stated that 
an expert is coming to experiment with the above- 
named plants, and G.M.R. asks for information or 
opinion on certain points. He probably knows as 
much as anybody about C. procera. To begin with 
a trifle, it is a very mild statement that the fibre has 
been known for 20 years or more. A fibre that is used 
to the exclusion of all others for every important pur- 
pose, except clothing and large ropes, for which it is 
not common enough, must have been known to the 
people of Alexander’s time, if not of Noah’s, and the 
poor young merchant a,dventurer who left his bones at 
Tatta sometime about the middle ages had 
no doubt a practical acquaintance with it as 
we have. As to quality, it is stated that the fibres of 
both species are equally good. That is a statement 
that I have hitherto taken for tinth, and have now 
to suffer certain qualms of conscience, because I 
knew the fibre of C. gigantea to be neglected in the 
Deccan, where it is common, and never suspected 
the possible reason, viz., its uselessness. However 
that may be, I found the fibre of C. 
gigantea quite useless in the Saharanpnr 
District in the month of February. We have 
thus to find out when and where this species is 
worth gathfiing. That being the case it is little 
consolation to be told that this fibre gives a greater 
proportionate yield. As to cultivation, I considered 
the matter some twenty years ago, and came to the 
conclusion that it could not pay, and think so still, 
principally on the ground that the plant is of a strag- 
gling light demanding habit and could probably not 
be grown dense enough to give any considerable yield, 
but I made no experiments on the point, and that is 
the only reliable source of information. — F. Gleadow. . % 
— Indian Forester for November, 
