728 
Supijlenient to the Tropical Agriculturist. 
[April 1, 1898. 
“Eamie, its CLiUivation, Decortication, Treat- 
ment, and Uses,” is the little of a pamphlet 
isued by Messrs. Macdonald, Boyle & Co., the 
patentees of the decorlicatiii” and degiunming 
proce-s known as the Boyle process. The Ceylon 
agents for the firm are Messrs. Lee, Hedges & Co. 
of Colombo, the head office being at No. 39, 
Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W. The 
pamphlet contains an analysis of the plant, direc- 
tions for planting and harvesting, e.stimates of 
Crop, plant and machinery and other information 
that will be useful to intending growers, Tho 
most suitable areas for planting are within the 
tropics, and especially within 10 degrees North 
or South of the Equator, where there is a moist 
climate, and very little variation in the tempera- 
ture, or in the ranifall throughout the year. For 
other facts and figures we must refer our readers 
to the pamphlet itself, for a copy of which 
We are indebted to Messrs. Lee, Hedges & Co. 
We have received the third Circular issued by 
Mr. A, Baur, proprietor of the Ceylon Manure 
Works, refer.ing to fertilizers for ten, coffee, 
cocao, coconuts, paddy, &c. The price per ton 
for the fertilizers varies from B125 to R135, 
the terms being net cash delivered at the Colombo 
Railway Station. According to the Circular the 
materials employed are of the best only, blood, 
fish, raw-bones and refuse, saltpetre being ex- 
cluded. f to f of the phosphoric acid are said to be 
in a readily available form, the balance being 
more readily decomposable than steamed bones. 
The percentages (except in the case of tea for 
■which the percentages have been fixedby Mr. John 
Hughes) have been revised by an Agiicultural 
Chemist with considerable experience and personal 
knowledge of Ceylon. Mr. Baur also advertises 
almost every description of manure, in addition 
to his mixed fertilizers. 
CEYLON F. COCHIN COCONUT OIL. 
The following information derived from Cochin 
and Calicut gives further interesting information 
With reference to the manufacture" of Cochin 
oil. “ The superiority of ‘Cochin’ over ‘Ceylon’ 
oil lies in the finer quality of the former, 
occasioned by only white siin-dned Copper.rh being 
used in its manufacture. The European mer- 
chants who get their supply of oil from the 
native dealers, 1 understand, strain it properly 
before exporting it. It appeal’s that there is 
al.^o an inferior class of oil made here (Calicut) 
out of inferior Copperah. The inferior Copperah 
consists of unseasoned coconuts. This is not 
exported to European or American markets, 
but only to Asiatic ports. The term ‘Cochin 
oil ’ is not a trade name but means the produce 
of Cochin. iSoine of the European merchants 
who were consulted are unable to give any further 
piarticulars in the absence of information a,s to 
tho methods adopted in Ceylon for the manufacture 
of Coconut oil.” 
A communication from Cochin says, that if 
the coconuts are gathered every second month, 
'Le., six gatherings a year, wlien they should be 
■well seutoned and dried in bright sunshine for 
full seven days, the Copperah will make very 
good white oil, fit to be shipped to any European 
port. If any of the nuts are gathered earlier 
these unsea.soned nuts will, when converted 
into Copperah and mixed with the rest, go to 
spoil the colour and purity of the oil ; the 
Copperah from unseasoned nuts also yield less 
oil than that from well-seasoned ones. That 
Colombo oil is not so much appreciated as 
Cochin oil is .c.'dd to be attributable to the 
fruits there being dried by smoke. Indeed, no 
pure oil can be expected from nuts dried in 
smoke. Where it is good it is due to the 
vigilant care of the supervisors. 
The above information coming, as it does, from 
the centre of the ‘ Cochin oil’ industry is particu- 
larly valuable, and from it, we may infer, that 
it is the careful method of preparation that 
makes the Cochin oil superior to Colombo oil. 
A dry sunny clime is what seems to be essential 
for good Copperah, and we have been told 
by more than one contributor to the Observer 
that oil equal to that of Cochin is produced 
in the dry parts of the Island. There is no 
doubt something in the after-treatmeut of the 
oil, such as the “careful straining ” (why not 
also bleaching;-’) referred to in the first com- 
munication. Our best thanks are due to the 
Indian official for procuring the opinions which 
we have given above. 
SOME IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL- 
CHEMICAL FACTS. 
Prof. Maeicker, of Halle, in an address deli- 
vered befo.-e the German Chemical Society, spoke 
of the advances of Agricultural Chemistry during 
the last quarter of a century, and referred to 
many important facts that have been established 
mainly as the result of German research. 
The chief sources of our knowledge of plant-food 
has been the method of water culture introduced 
by Sachs, Knoop and Nobbe, and the method of 
Sand Culture of Hellriegel, by which experiments 
were carried on in pure media, which not only 
make it possible to find out what substances are 
essential to plant life, but also the part played by 
each. By this means it has been ascertained that 
phosphoric acid is essential for the formation of 
nitrogenous substances, since the albumens whicli 
are of fundamental importance in the transforma- 
tion of substances in the plant, result from an inter- 
mediate pho.sphoric acid compound as is indicated 
by the occurrence of lechithin in protoplasm. 
Again, iron is an essential constituent of chloro- 
phyll and sulphur of albumen. The true function 
of calcium was for long doubtful; its action is now 
known to be of a “ medicinal character,” since it 
serves to neutralize the poisonous oxalic acid 
which is always an intermediate product of the 
oxidation of the carbohydrates. It was formerly 
thought that calcium fulfilled some important 
function in the leaves, as it was chiefly found in 
the foliage of plants. Since, however, the leaves 
are also the chief seat of the oxalic acid, this dis- 
tribution of calcium is easily explained. The 
part played by potassium has only within the last 
three years been explained by Hellriegel, who 
by exact experiments with beetroot showed that 
the amount of sugar in the beet stands in close 
