THE TROPICAL AGRlCTULTURlST. 
[April i, 1898, 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Planting in the Nilgieis. —A recent visitor 
reports : — “ Tlie Coffee in the Nilgiris looked 
grand and a line lilossoni was just coming out, 
hut the Tea is mostly China. 'The shops were 
advertising Darjiling Teas at I>2 per lb.” 
Ammonia Suxm’HATe.— The report of the Deuts- 
che Ammonia Verkaufs Vereinigung for 1897 
shows that during that year they sold in England 
2150.000 tons ot ammonia .sulphate, in Germany 
100.000 tons, in France 30,000 tons, in llelgium 
and the Netherlands 30,000 tons — altogether 
375.000 tons, or 40,000 more than in 1896. — Chemist 
and Druggist. 
A Coconut Palm Caterpillar. — The Gov- 
ernment has just sent to the jiress a very use- 
ful memorandum on a coconut pest from the 
Honorary Entomologist, Mr. Green, which i\e 
reproduce on page 721 with the inten- 
tion of at once including it in our current ma- 
nual “All About the Coconut Palm.” A\ e have not 
heard much of the caterpillar on the Western side 
of the island ; out to he forewarned is to be fore- 
armed ; and Mr. Green states very clearly what 
ought to be done where its presence is de- 
tected. 
Cea’L^n Gems. — At a recent meeting of the 
Iloyal Society of New South Wales, Prof. 
Tdversidge exhibited some mineral specimens. 
Amongst them was, says a home paper, a sap- 
phire from Ceylon, which is of a fairly deep red 
or amethyst tint 1 y candle or gas light, but 
of a blue colour by day-light, by the electric 
light and by magnesium light. The change in 
colour was exhibited to the members. 'These 
gems are being sold at Colombo as blue alex- 
andrites (chrysoberyl). Many sapphires show 
this dichroism ; but good specimens are not 
common. 
Ramie— says an expert— grows luxuriously, and 
with very little cultivation in both temperate and tropi- 
cal climates providing that the atmosphere is fairly 
moist aud the ground not swampy. Given a fairly 
warm and damp air, the rods grow quickly to a 
height of ten to twelve feet and are of a uniform 
ch^acter and easy to decorticate. But if the cli- 
mate is irregirlar, and dry periods occur, then the 
vigorous growth of the stem is checked, and the 
bark is hardened and ripened to such an extent as 
makes separation of its' fibres difficult. The main 
difficulty, however, has up to the present been expe- 
rienced in the absence of a suitable machine to 
properly separate the fibre from the other con- 
stituent of the stem. 
Ostrich Farm in San Antonio.— Before April 
opens an exten.sive and completely equipped ostrich 
farm will be well established within San An- 
tonio city limits. Mr. Thomas A. Cockburn of 
California, formerly of Ceylon, the promote: of 
the enterprise, arrived in San Anto-iio about a 
week ago, (says a. San A??fonio paper of Feb. 17) 
aud lost no time in m.aking the preliminary 
arrangements for establishing the farm. He is 
one of the mo.st experienced and best known 
ostrich raisers in the country. In partnership 
with Edwin Cawston be owns two of the great- 
est ostrich f.arins in California— one at Los 
AiK^etes and one at F.isadena — whicli contain 
soine 300 birds. Fur tl.isse.ason the San Antonio 
farm will be. stocked with between thirty and 
forty birds. Mr Cockburn’s paitner, Mr. Caw- 
ston, writes that he has picked out some of the 
finest birds on the Los Angeles farm to send 
to San Antonio, and that he has already fitted 
up a car for their transportation. 
EUCALYRTU.S IN Ea.st AFRICA.— Tlie German 
Colonial Office reports that following upon the 
sueceisGil plantation of Encalgptiis globulus in 
German East Africa a small plantation of Eucalyp- 
tus rostrata (the led-gnm tree) has been laid 
down at the Kovai Station, and it is doing well. 
— Chemist and Druggist, March 12. 
Amsterdam Cocoa Butter Market, — Our Amster- 
dam representative sends us the following information 
concerning the results of the cocoa butter auctions 
held in Amsterdam on the 1st inst. Of the 70 tons 
of I'ati Uouten'i) make ofiered, all was sold at 47 to 
48L Dutch cents per half kilo, or an average price 
of 47'35 cents (about 8 3-othd per lb.) ; of 20 tons of 
the “ Hamer" brand l.S] tons were sold at 46i to 
4(5| cents (about 8 3-7thd to SJd per lb.) ; of 5 tons 
from Hollandcshe Cacaofabriek, all was bought in ; of 
10 tons oi Foreign make about 3 toos (Mackay A Co.) 
were sold at 4.5 cents (about 8jd per lb.) — British and 
Colonial Druggist, March 4. 
Adulteration of Food - says the C/u'o- 
nicle of March 4; — 
What is chocolate ? W'hat is Demerara sugar ? 
W^hat is butter ? What is whisky ? What is bees- 
wax ? Judging by the information which appears in 
cur news columns today, lbs authorities are disagreed, 
and the grocers, not being troubled by philosophic 
doubts serve out pretty much what they please when 
a customer mentions any of these familiar articles. 
According to an adulteration case that was tried 
yesterday, chocolate may legitimately contain a very 
large percentage of coco nut oil and still be choco- 
late, whilst we have it on the authority of the public 
analyst for Islington that unless customers ask 
for pure sugar, pure butter, pure whisky, pure bees, 
wax, pure coffee, pure anything, they may legally be 
served with any mixture the tradesman oilers, pro- 
vided it is not poisonous. Which all goes to prove 
that our adulteration laws are an amiable imposture. 
The San Jose Scale— We are unwilling to 
create needless alarm, at the same time it is our 
duty to warn our fruit growers of a possible dan- 
ger, against wliicli the Canadians and some of 
the States, of the L^nion have already taken action. 
Considering tlie enormous quantities of fruit import- 
ed from Canada, some of the Eastern United States, 
and even California, it is but too probable that 
the scale will make its way to this country. In 
California damage to the extent of millions of 
dollars has been effected. Within twelve yea’^s 
it has infested every fruit section of San Josh, 
and reached the orchards of Oregon and AVashing- 
ton. Evidently, says the Canadian Horticulturist, 
this pest will infest every orchard in Canada 
witliin the next ten years unless the greatest 
promptitude is taken to destroy it.” We have 
already given illustrations of the insect. — 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, March 12. 
'The Women’s Branch of the Swanley , 
Horticultural College has an enviable posi- 
tion at present. During 1897 it had the largest 
number of students it has ever had ; at one | 
time there were thirty-five students in residence. j 
Moreover, the authorities are able to obtain re- I 
munerative employment for all their duly qualified I 
students ; the demand for lady gardeners is ' 
greater tlian the supply. It is pieasent to note ( 
that tlie Director of Kew Gardens now employs ( 
three of the Sw.anley ladies ; two have posts at j 
the Edinburgli Botanic gardens ; other as _ are i 
as a coiiA ale-ceut home, .an inclnstrial faiui i 
colony, at ladie-’ se'iools and col!.'-ges ; one finds 
employme.’it i'l laying out gardens in London, I 
uniler the Metropolitan Public Gardens Associa- 
tion. Is is not generally known that four county 
councils- i’.e., London, Berkshire, Essex and Kent 
— grant scholarships both to men and women to 
be held at the Swanley Horticultural College, 
