40 
THE TROPlOkL AQKiCULTUmST. 
[July i, 1891. 
enterprise, m»y daunt them. Pepper le growing well, 
and » good deal oJ it i» alao being planted and we hope 
to get a better crop on that ae well as on out ootlee. 
1 am afraid this is rather a Peter Grievous sort ol 
letter, but I van cheerfully assure you that we shall all 
of us get ronia crop tbit seaeon, and this, after laat year a 
expctieucoo, is no small cause of gratitude for all of us. 
—Madras Timts, May d6th. 
SOMK EVILS OF ACCLlilATISATION. 
The evilt that have resulted from the injudicious 
and thoughtless introduction of new animals va- 
. ^ wv.**o nf th« wopid cftu hardly be ov«r*Rtftt»?d. 
ThrmUHon of acres desolated by the rabbit in Aus- 
*,aUa thriuBuite amount of damage cflected by the 
trails, tne in (where the bird wsa introduced 
ara'^moaiis of checking tbo numbers of caUrpilUrs 
wUrch existed in the trees of the larger cities), and 
Jv, a extirpation of edible birds by letting pigs run 
wUdin X islands ol the South Sess, might be re- 
^Lrded as sufficient to prove the evils of ill-oonsidurod 
Jcolimalisatiou : but apparently these examples have 
Xot An evil is seen in the aiistenoe of some 
noxioim animal, and thoughtless norBOns, without eon- 
ridering the ultimate result of w^at they are doing, 
Sduoe some other animal to check .ta oaroet-not 
iXothig for a moment that the remedy they propose 
r^arhe a hundred timea worse than the disease which 
they attempt to cure. The employment of stoats, 
weuels, ferrets, kc., for thepurpo^of ohookiog the 
progress of the rabbit p^l lu Australia is evidently 
one ol these short-sigbl^ proaoedmgs. .JVliat will bo 
the ultimate result of that aotion, provided it is sue. 
r««ful may bo inferred from the eonsequenoes which 
have followed the introduction of the mongoose into 
Jamaioa. (or the purpose of destroying the rata that 
Id on thesugsreanesaud other apicnlturai produce. 
The tropical climate of this island, the nature of 
country; the variety of food which it is able to obtain 
have been favourable to the reproduction of the mon- 
oMse. whiob now oxials in Jamsioa m largo oumbors. 
Kb may even be said in favour of Una ammal. It has 
rieated the island of snakes (harmless as well us poi- 
Boiious), and it has extirpated the rats from the sogar 
estates Nevertueless, the mongoose has come to be 
regarded as an intolerable curse, not only to the aet- 
tlers and planters, but to the people of Jamatoa as a 
whole. Jamaica need to be celebrated for certain 
table delicacies that existed in a wild aiate. Guinea, 
fowl were introduced from Africa some two oentunoe 
ago and for 160 yours have been regarded as fsm 
nalilra They laid their abundant egga on the ground, 
and conacauently have been exterminated by the mon- 
goose The large pigeons which h^d a foremost plaoo 
fmongst the native delicacies of the island arc gone. 
The edible land crabs that wero found m legions at a 
certain season of tho year are now as rare m Jamaica 
they were at oae time pluutifnl. These art) some 
of the resuits of the importation of tho mongoose into 
Tamaioe • but worse still remains to be recorded. The 
whX of the fauna ol tho country is being atfceled by 
riiis noxious animal, which was* introduced with the 
wii a that it would act beuefioiiiUy. 
The manner iu which tho exiatouee of ouo ammal 
acts on another was curiously evidenced when D«wn 
t;«,vod the connection between the existence of the 
? w»l.eb and that of old maids. Tne m sts of the 
ifhL arc apt to bo destroyed by Sold mice, 
in their turn are preyed upon by oata, and 
which in 
oats “tL "ares of maternity ! iu this way the 
pied with ,■ wiiich extends from old maids to 
beris traCd-Te ’lMtt r being more frequent near 
&an ha^bitiuon. than in district, whore Beld ni.ee 
are unchecked by the presence of cats. A similar 
untoward result has occurred m •“* 
tbs present time is said to bo suffering ' 
tense plague of ticks and grsss hee, that abonlid in 
hundreds of thousands, and of the 
of grass, leaf, and twig in the rural disUiots ol tho 
island, entailing an immense amount of suffering on 
man and beast throughout the colony. This plague 
is duo to tho introduction b( the mongoose, which, 
having destroyed the ground lix.rds aud well-nigh ex- 
tirpated the inseulivorous birds that used to prey upon, 
the tics, has given rise to the increase of Ibis terri- 
ble annoyance. Bo great baa been the damage done 
by tbo introduction of the mongoose that dnriog the 
last soasioD of the Legislative Counoil a oommisrion 
was appointed to devise means for its extirpation, 
hey examined witneises from all puls of the island ;. 
They presented a report to the Guvetnor, which was 
placed before the Legisialive Uouuoil, and they aug- 
geated that a bill should be p'sesed for the protection 
of tbo country from the ravages of the mongoose, 
wbioh, as it was introduceri by the Government with 
a view to the deetruotion of tho rata in the augu 
piautatiuus, should, it is contended, bo oxlirpaled by 
the same authority now that it has beoome an intole- 
rable nuisance and pest. The committee suggested that 
three haif-penoe should bo offered for the skin of 
every male, and tbre^.-penoe fur every female mon- 
gousu — a reward regarded as auffioicntly high to induoa 
the negro peasantry to purchase traps, and to encour- 
age their ardour in the work ef exterminating this 
savage animal tbroagbonl the whole colony. A feel- 
ing of intense irritation and dissatisfaction is said to 
be imminent, unlosa the Government adopts seme 
measures for destroying an animal, tbo introduotion at 
wbioh has produced such an infinite amount of harm 
to the colony. The enormous amount of evil that has 
been effeoted by tbo thoughtless introduction of ani- 
mals, usnally with the most beneficial intentiona, into 
countiies where they did not previously exist, should 
cause all would-be aoolimatiserd to oonsider well what 
may be the ultimate, as well as tbo immediate, offeot 
of introducing new species into ooantries where they 
were previously unknown. — AVsW. 
0 I>X’I 10 NA cultivation. 
TO THE BUITOU OP THE “ MAPSAS TIMES." 
Sib, — Baron J. Von Bosenlerg iu bis interesting 
letter appears, by his remarks, to miss the economy 
of the queitiou. It is all very well to say that bad 
prices nucassitate close planting aud inattention to 
soil, but tbe question is which method is moru last- 
ing? There is no sound argument in saying (assum- 
ing Ifarnu Rosenberg so iutendsy that his methods 
give quickest returns, unlees he cau prove they also 
insure reasonable permautnoy From observation, else- 
where, I doubt it. From nature’s laws it seems practi- 
o.lly impossible. How cau any soil, even with manure, 
maintain to best advantage 3,000 troes to tbe acre? 
A strong Oinobona tree is surely a more peimaneot 
investment than an attennated stripling ? Flantatious 
4 by 4 when ten years old are little else than tbe 
latter, they do not thicken iu stem satisfactorily aft» r 
SIX years; thorough thinning might aid, but still the toil 
has bad a great deal to sastaiii, and to honestly reduce 
the number by one half is a practice that the hard- 
up planter iuieusely dislikes. If liable to ailments, 
tbe strong grown tree is ot least more likely to re- 
cover, if not to avoid them. It is no advice to a 
young planter to hoar what the best soils for cinobena 
can achieve for 8 or 4 years. If North Travanoore men 
con continue to sti ip 3, OUO trees to the acre tor 8 or 10 
years, then they ate in a happy position, (or the 
valne of bark is tolerably sure of advance, nor is there 
any doubt now as to tbe quality tbuee forests produce. 
It is tbe best perhaps in tho world. The forests run 
from 6,600 feet down to 2,000. Suited admirably for 
cinchona, tea and coffee, it is a mystery why that 
Gusohen has been so litile touched. 
A beginner must judge fur himself between the 
champions of various methods. May he however, 
avoid tbe fatal error of starling an estate too Urge 
for bis capital, and always bear in mind that more 
than half the failures in India and Ceylon are due to 
the fanciful theory that soil can maintain products 
without tho thorough attention required and admitted 
in every other country. 
SooKCH£P, 
