SemMUEn », 1891.] fHf TROPICAL AQRI 0 ULTURI 8 T. 
199 
5!otitiesponi3«no0. 
— — 
To the Editor. 
E. Long, areenwich) were partitioned (as a heritage 
for Young Australia), there would still be enough 
playground left our Dutch cousins between Batavia 
and iValkoop Bay, (or them to romp around in.— 
Yours truly, WM. G, SANDISON. 
JAVA REVISITED. 
Sana Estate, Ratnapura, Oeylon, July STth, 
Deab " OnssBVEB,"— ■■ The Oeylon Planter on the 
Prowl ” has (I verily believe) good reason to thank 
Ueaven that he is not as other men are, when he 
sees the want of " go " in other nations. 
On reviaiting, I find planting Java stands 
just about where it did, when I was there in the 
year ot our Lord 1888. *' General Funk” Beems 
to prevent them going in for any bold stroke of 
planting enterprise. While, in the 8 years gone 
by, the whole face of Oeylon baa been ohaoged (or 
the better : — our brothers in Java as a olaes are 
still crying over the low rate for the cinchona unit, 
and are inclined to growl at the Brunswick quinine 
manufacturer and at the former rivol, the Oeylon 
planter. 
Buitenzorg Botanical! Gardens are as pretty and 
inatruotivo as ever ; and Dr. Trenb is making 
experiments with my indigenous tea seed I took 
down with me. It only took 10 days ixnm Ratnapura 
to Buitenzorg, and when the oases were opened 
tht-y were found quite fresh, contrasting favorably, 
it was said, with what had been imported from 
Assam a month or G weeks or so eii route. 
Further, Dr. Trenb has kindly promised to keep 
oaroful ‘ count and reckoning ’ of germination &a. 
and to send me fall details, 3 or 4 months henoe, 
when the experiments are completed, and these I 
will send you on receipt for pnldication in your 
Tropical Agriculturist^ a periodical I found as 
much appreciated in Java as in Oeylon : — even 
perhaps more thumbed and carefully studied there, 
than hero. 
My boss kangani Tirrimally whom I took with 
me will have great yarns to spin in the lines when 
he gets back to the estate, about the volcanic wonders 
of Rapaduya which we also visited. Judging from 
the copious samples of sulphur ho sooured, his 
thoughts were in Ceylon, like the Dying Gladiator. 
God bless the Duke I 
It must not be imagined that the Dutch planters 
are not aware of the supotior merits of a high 
class indigenous seed as compared with the original 
China jilt whioh they planted first j recent high 
prices, from a tew Java estates growing ‘indigenous,’ 
have accentuated the belief. In faot, I saw some 
loaves from Mr. Van Uengat’s estate that 
equalled anything we can show in Oeylon, but their 
trees are mostly young, and not seed-bearing as 
yet, for a large demand. 
What impresses one is the seeming slowness with 
which they aot, and the want of boldness in going 
in for a “ brand new stook, look and barrel ” policy, 
when the old musket is found, and proven, unfit. 
Sinoa the events ot A. D. 1870 even a Frcnuliman 
r, cognises son/e merits in Herr Krupp's manu- 
facture 
Individually, they sre as hospitable and good- 
natured as over, i w.is at Soekahoemi the day of 
their I'lantors’ Association meet, and was inuted 
tj be present, but I did not think fit to go: it would 
not have been etiquette to have talked ‘ quiua and 
its compounds” a red rag to I, hull, or a spirit 
(however insignificant in itself) in a powder 
magazine. 
To sun up the whole matter : — They need more 
new blood. If Sumatra (north ot the equator) were 
annexed by the Straits Government, the Atcheen 
row would soon be settled; while it Java (say 108“ 
KAPU, KAPOK, AND PULUN. 
„ Colombo, July 28tb, 
DBAS — Could yon or any of your nnincrnns 
readers inform me and the general public through the 
medium of your iournal, the correct meaninits of 
” kapn,” “ kapok,” and •' pnlun.” 
So far as I am aware the term ‘‘kapii" Is applied 
by the Sinhalese to weaving cotton, and "pulun” is 
usually applied to what is known as tree cotton or 
silk cotton. But the proper msauing of ” pulun ” is 
au.y a'^ft fibrous substance. Hence the SinhalcPe sneak 
of kapu pulun," weaving cotton; “imbnl pulun," 
the tree or silk oetton, and “ wara pulun,” the cottony 
substance found inside the pods of the Calatropis 
ysyantsa, "The word ” kapok *' is a commercial term 
of recent introdnotion to designate the tree or silk 
cotton, the '‘imbul pulnn” of the Sinhalese. There 
is a certain amount of confusion in the use of these 
terms especially among ooloniatB ; and It will be useful 
to know their proper moauiiigs.— Yours truly 
„ . KATTT IMBUL. 
[In our issue of the 11th we had on these words, 
to whioh wo would refer our correspondent. — 
Ed. T. a.] 
AN ENEMY OF TEA. 
„ Uva, July 3l8t. 
Dear Sir, — B y today’s post I ana eendiog you 
some sort of caterpillar that I found devouring 
my tea : every leaf on one bush was perforated 
and they had begun on several others. Are we 
to consider them an enemy of our tea? - Yours truly 
rr. , . . , INQUIRER. 
I Uur entomological authority writes : — " Cater- 
pillars of a moth of the genua Psyche, living in a ease 
ooBatrnotod from fragments of leaves, and lined 
with silky threads. They can oertainlv be eon- 
si^dercd an enemy to the tea tree, while ihey 
themselves are well proteclod from enemies They 
are very common and widely distributed,”— 
Ed. T, a.] 
THE COFFEE SEED FROM BURMA. 
- „ Diggings, Aug. lat. 
Dear Sm,— The coffee seed sent mo by my son 
from Rangoon came up in the nursery all well 
but I am sorry to say now, the small plants havi 
not enjoyed immunity from leaf diseaso," and 
1 intend writiog to toll him so. — Yours very truly, 
JOHN STEPHENS. 
Enguwinq on Mktai., — A Buasiau electrieim of 
lie Dame of Koloint-irow is reported in the St, 
1 eterebiirg papers t > have devised a process of 
ptiotographiiig and i-r graving on raohats by nieiina 
ot tljctricitT, reudiri ig llio etciii'ig method nn- 
iii-oesaiiry. Ue ia ols.nt to start I -r nbroad to dispose 
of Ins invention. — Kteciricol Iteriew. 
I'hANTINCt AND LaHOI’U IN SOUTIIEIIN 1,Vdia 
form the Biihj 'ct ol an artiolo in the Madras 
Times given elsewhere. It wiil be teen that the 
plaiitora across the water arc as badly o0 for 
labour as their Oeylon brethren, whom the 
Madras Times reoommeuda to oonv in fnrm.n,, . 
of“‘ceylon''““‘“‘‘°“ Planters’ Assooiation 
