June i, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Si'p 
RAZIL AND ITS MIRACULOUS PALM. 
In the Forum for March the Hon. T. L. 
Thompson, late United States Minister to Brazil, 
writes on “ Brazil : its Commerce and Resources.” 
The most interesting passage in his article is that 
in which he. describes the marvellous tree, which 
grows like a weed in Brazil, but the like of 
which is unknown in any other part of the 
world. It is the carnahuba (Copernicia ccriferi), 
which grows- uncultivated in the States of Para- 
hiba, Ceara, Rio Orande do Norte, Piauhi, and 
some of the neighbouring States. The descrip- 
tione given of it to me seem incredible. Perhaps 
in no other region is a tree to be found that 
can be employed for such varied and useful 
purposes. It resists intense and protected droughts, 
and is always green and vigorous. Its roots 
produce the same medicinal effects as sarsaparilla. 
Its stem alfords strong, light fibres, which acquire 
a beautiful lustre, and serves also for joists, 
rafters, and other building materials, as well as 
for stakes for fences. From parts of the tree w'ine 
and vinegar are made. It yields also a saccharine 
substance, as well as starch resembling sago. In 
periods of famine, caused by protracted droughts, 
the nutritiou.s substances obtained from it are of 
immense benefit to the poorer classes. Its fruit 
is used for feeding cattle. The pulp has an 
agreeable taste ; and the nut, which is oleaginous 
and emulsive, is sometimes used as a substitute 
for coffee. Of the wood of the stem musical 
instruments, water-tubs and pumps are made. 
The pith is an excellent substitute for cork. 
From the stem a white liquid, similar to the 
milk of the coconut, and a flour resembling 
maizena may be extracted. Of the straw, hats, 
baskets, brooms, and mats are made.. A con- 
siderable quantity of this straw is shipped to 
Europe ; and a part ot it returns to Brazil manu- 
factured into hats. The straw is also used for 
thatching house-s. Moreover, salt is extracted from 
it, and likewise an alkali used in the manufac- 
ture, of common soap. But from an industrial 
and commercial point of view, the most valuable 
product of the carnahuba tree is the wax obtained 
from its leaves. 
Was there ever such a tree described before ? 
There are many British colonies whose climate 
is not unlike that of the Brazilian States in 
which the carnahuba palm flourishes. It might 
be well worth Mr. Chamberlain’s attention to 
conduct exj eriments to ascertain whether or not 
this marvellous tree could not be naturalised iu 
our hotter colonies, which are, at present, in 
need ot some help from without. 
Prince Henry of Germany. — A Peking te- 
legram to the local Mandarins reports that the 
Emperor has appointed H. H. the Prince of Li, 
and Their Excellencies Li Hung-chang and Chang 
Yinhuan to go to Tientsin to meet Prince Henry 
ot Prussia should the latcer decide to visit Peking. 
— N.-C. Daily Neivs. 
SOMETHING ABOUT GUATEMALA. 
“ The resources of Guatemala are varied and 
abundant,” says W. E. Curtis in the April Forum. 
“ Coffee is the chief staple, and the berry is as 
f ood as the best the world provides. Corn and 
eans are the chief food of the people. Sugar, 
tobacco and other tropical plants can be raised, 
to an unlimited extent, on the hot lands along 
the coast ; while wheat and other cereals yield 
rich harvests in the higher and more temperate 
di atricts of the interior, Guatemala might easiljf 
sustain ten times its present population. The 
soil is rich and easily cultivated, and, unlike 
the other Central American republics, there is 
plenty of labor. Some parts of the country are 
quite thickly populated, but the others are covered 
with dense forests and a variety of timber which 
might be easily made marketable if means of 
transportation were provided. But, although 
Guatemala is much further advanced than’ the 
rest of Central America, her railway system 
does not exceed 250 miles ; there is no internal 
navigation, and the wagon roads are in a de- 
plorable condition. The mineral wealth of the 
country is supposed to be large, but it is only 
slightly developed. The miles are inaccessible, 
and, in the absence of modern machinery, which 
at present cannot be conveyed to them, cannot 
be worked with profit. The Government offers 
generous inducements to immigrants. The land 
laws are liberal, and efforts have been made 
from time to time to secure the establishment 
of colonies and the preemption, of public lands 
by private settlers. But all the accessible area 
is at present occupied, and no foreigner can ex- 
pect to prosper in Guatemala unless he has 
abundant capital which enables him to purchase 
at high prices plantations already developed. If 
peace could be assured, if railways and wagon* 
roads could be extended into the interior — so that 
the timber regions, the mineral deposits and the 
wild agricultural lands could be reached as con* 
veniently as the new portions of our own country 
— Guatemala would offer great advantages to the 
immigrant and would enjoy a rapid developmenti 
Coffee Planting is likely to become an im- 
portant industry in the Transvaal. The Capt 
Times says : It appears that the entire Eastern 
part of the Transvaal, from Spelonken in^ the 
North to Vryheid in the South, contains tracts 
of ground particularly suitable for the cultivation 
of coffee. The coffee plant must be sheltered and 
the chain of mountains from North to South 
through the Eastern half of the Transvaal affords 
that shelter. The equatorial current from the 
Indian Ocean and the other ocean currents blow- 
ing in a Southerly direction through the Mozain* 
bique Channel have a beneficial influence upon 
the cultivation. Right up, in the North in Ser* 
vaas’ country, many farmers grow their own coffee. 
One farms in the Lydenburg district, in 'Water- 
vallei, on the slopes of Spitzkop and the Seer, 
coenie’s Mountains, coffee has been cultivaieu 
with success. Some time ago Mr. Spearman, re- 
presenting a Natal syndicate, inspected several 
localities with a view of establishing plantations. 
He was convinced of the suitability of the soil 
and climate. To the North and North-east (f 
Middelbur?, in that part of the district known 
as the “Banken,” and in the immediate vicinity 
of the Cobalt Mines, the coffee plant as well as 
the date palm grew luxuriantly. '1 lie climate of 
the ’Vrytheid district is eminently suitable for the 
cultivation of the plant, and on the farms of Messrs. 
Gune, Borstelman, Potgeiter, and others, coffee 
plantations of three years’ growth yield 12 lb. per 
tree annually. I'hese men find that it pays better 
than sheeptarming. Coffee from the district ex- 
hibited in the ’Yryheid Show in 1896 was judged 
to be of excellent quality. The plant appears 
to grow best iu a loose, sandy soil of a reddish 
colour. It must be sheltered against wind ard 
frost. Twenty-five years ago a farmer, nanird 
Gysbert van Rooyen, grew not only his own cpffee, 
but bis sugar. 
