M»j IS, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
373 
jungle. Labour from Calicut, Cananore, and other parts of the Malabar 
Coast was frequently drafted into the Wynaad, the mopalah and their 
•castes undertaking contract work, such as clearing, pitting, weeding. &c., 
at so much per acre. But as these men, like the others, would never 
begin work by any chance without first receiving an advance, much 
money was lost in consequence. In the matter of wages anil rates of 
.contract planters were not always of one opinion, which the native 
was not slow to find out and take advantage of, giving his services of 
■course to the highest bidder. 
A brief outline of the general mode of Coffee culture in Malabar 
may not be uninteresting in this place. The jungle, whether Bamboo or 
-forest, is first felled and lopped. Bamboo clumps are felled close to the 
ground, but trees of all sizes are cut from 2 to 3 feet from the ground to 
suit the convenience of the workman. These are left on the ground for 
six weeks after the last tree is felled, by which time the burning sun and 
strong east winds have done their work, and the clearing is then fired all 
round and allowed to burn towards the centre. Sometimes the fire did 
its work in a most efficient manner, clearing the ground of all branches, 
undergrowth, and saplings, and leaving nothing but the charred stumps 
-and trunks of the larger trees. At other times, from various causes, the 
fire would simply run through the felling, burning patches here and 
there and leaving the remainder to be lopped, heaped, anil burned by the 
planter at considerable extra cost. Burning a clearing of 150 or 
:200 acres in extent on forest land was usually a grand sight, the huge 
columns of smoke and flame rising to an immense height, and sometimes 
destroying the surrounding standing forest to a considerable extent. 
M hen what was called a “good bum ” took place, the soil was usually 
burned and baked to a depth varying from 3 to 9 inches, all the top or 
vegetable mould being destroyed, which was always, of course, a draw¬ 
back to future cultivation, but which could not be avoided, as no other 
“paying” method of clearing the land of the dense mass of vegetation 
could be devised. Small patches have been left without firing till all 
■the vegetable matter has decayed before planting with Coffee with 
wonderful results with regard to crops ; but this method was never 
known to be a success financially, even leaving out of sight the danger 
■of accidental fires. Any attempt to get rid of the charred stumps and 
trunks of the large trees remaining on the ground after firing, even if 
desirable, would have been out of the question on the score of expense, 
but in reality they were of great use on very steep lands in preventing 
the washing away into the ravines below of the loose soil during the 
heavy monsoon rains, which frequently amounted to 12 to 15 inches in 
the twenty-four hours. 
After clearing, the ground was marked out by driving in pegs at 
regular distances of C feet apart, after which pits were dug from 18 to 
"21 inches cube, according to the nature of the soil, and then filled in for 
the reception of the Coffee plants. Every endeavour was made from 
the commencement to keep the ground as clear of weeds as possible and 
to prevent their seeding ; and this—with the exception of staking, 
'tying, and stopping the trees—made up the sum total of Coffee cultivation 
up to the end of the third year after planting, when the trees yielded 
their first crop. There was always a marked contrast in the item of 
expenditure on account of weeding between Bamboo and forest lands 
for the first few years, the former being much more difficult to keep 
■clear of weeds owing to the more forcing nature of the climate and the 
distinctiveness of the vegetation. What was termed “ hand weeding ” was 
frequently adopted on the forest clearings, which consisted of pulling 
up by the hand all weeds as they appeared from the time of first planting 
the Coffee and depositing them in pits dug at intervals over the estate 
for the purpose ; seeding was thus in a great measure prevented for 
some years, and the cost of weeding per acre did not usually amount to 
one-half that on Bamboo land.— Planteb. 
(To bs continued.) 
PARSLEY. 
Excepting perhaps the Potato there is no vegetable with which I 
am acquainted that there is such an all-the-year-round demand for as 
Parsley. In the general run of vegetables the cook can substitute Peas 
for Beans, Asparagus for Spinach, Salsafy for Turnips, and Tomatoes for 
Vegetable Marrows, and things may go on comfortably in this way ; 
but if a reply of “No Parsley” is given once and continued for a 
short time there will soon be some dissatisfaction. 
There is only one enemy that Parsley growers have to contend against, 
and that is grubs at the root. They are the cause of almost all the 
Parsley dying, and if they can only be guarded against there is no 
danger of failure from other causes. Sometimes the plants become 
yellow and die before they have the rough leaf ; in other cases they will 
become large and robust, and appear a permanent success, when they 
will suddenly droop ar.d decay, and if this happens in the autumn when 
there is no time to rear more plants, the winter will generally have to 
be passed without any Parsley in the garden. Those who have had no 
experience of its failure and know little of its culture never think of 
introducing means to prevent its destruction when sowing the seed. As 
soon as it Ls noticed that the j lauts are dying antidotes are applied ; 
but as a rule it will be found that these are useless, as when once the 
grubs get into the roots nothing will reach them that will not kill the 
plant. No matter how well ground has been prepared for Parsley there 
is always a danger of grubs appearing, and it is very advantageous to 
give it a good dressing of salt, lime, or soot before sowing or planting. 
We have not been troubled with Parsley grubs or failures for years, but 
we dress the land just the same before introducing it, and I believe this 
is the secret of success. I am a great believer in soot as an antidote, 
anil all growing Parsley should have a good sprinkling of this cheap 
stimulant during wet weather. As a rule two sowings of Parsley are 
better than one. The first should be made early in the season (March 
is a good time to sow), and the other in June or July, as the former 
will be most useful in summer and autumn and the latter in winter and 
next spring ; and early summer Parsley bears transplanting well, and 
as soon as the young plants can be handled they may be thinned and 
replanted. We are about to carry out this practice. Old Parsley plants 
are not very trustworthy at this season. They will furnish gatherings 
for a time, but they all show a tendency to run to flower. This detracts 
from their usefulness, and the sooner the Parsley of this year’s sowing 
is ready the better.— A Kitchen Gabdeneb. 
SOOT AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR CHRYSANTHEMUM 
APHIDES. 
Last year while waiting for tobacco powder, which has hitherto been 
considered the orthodox destructive of aphides on the tops of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums at this time of the year, I was curious to try the effect of dusting 
them with dry soot. I am particular in noting that the soot must be 
dry and finely powdered. To my great satisfaction it proved instant 
death to the green flies, without doing the Chrysanthemums any apparent 
injury. This year, so far, I have used it more largely in the same way, 
especially with Lilies. If used dry it will not even soil the fingers, and 
can be washed or syringed off in an hour afterwards. It has the advan¬ 
tage also of being a manurial agent, and for the Chrysanthemum is 
almost indispensable, giving that brilliant healthy glossy green colour to 
the foliage so much admired. Dry soot direct from the chimney is very 
acrid and pungent, and in the case of young succulent Chrysanthemum 
shoots it would be advisable, should your readers try it this way, to have 
the plants dry. Not even the fingers need be soiled if a small tin duster 
is used, but the soot to be of any use this way must not be kept where 
it can absorb moisture or get wet, which it is pretty sure to do in any 
glass structure. Those who have not hitherto tried this hail better only 
use it with a plant or two and observe the results. 1 cannot speak of 
the effects of soot water for this purpose, but should say it would hope¬ 
lessly discolour the foliage if the solution was strong enough to kill 
aphis.—W. J. Mubphy, Clonmel. 
SCOTTISH AURICULA AND PRIMULA SOCIETY. 
The first Exhibition of this recently formed Society was held in 
Edinburgh on the 4th inst., and its promoters had the pleasure of seeing 
the tables tilled with a goodly number of plants. Mr. Ben Simonite, 
who judged the Auriculas, considered the Show a very good one, but 
thought there was room for some improvement in bringing forward and 
setting up this plant, many of the pips having been rubbed and 
damaged in transit. Some 400 plants were staged, and at least another 
100 were so damaged at the hands of railway porters as to be unpresent¬ 
able. One gentleman, who had been at some expense in having proper 
boxes made for carrying the plants having had the indescribable vexa¬ 
tion of seein r his boxes set up on end, and their inmates were found to 
be so badly damaged that he refrained from staging a plant. A large 
number of the plants shown were too young to produce good trusses, 
but that was greatly the fault of the season, which has been a late one 
for Auriculas, and strong plants were not generally in bloom. One 
large grower could not forward a plant, and expects it will be another 
fortnight before his blooms are forward. 
For six stage varieties Mr. Stratton, Annfield, Broughty Ferry, was 
placed first of seven exhibitors. General Niel was very fine in this 
collection, and to an example of George Lightbody (Headley) the prize for 
best grey edge was awarded, and also a silver medal as the the premium 
plant shown. Mr. Marshall, Ayr, was second, Acme and Robert Trail 
being his two best plants; Mr. White, Killingworth Colliery, New¬ 
castle, was third, Rev. F. D. Horner being very fine. 
Nine growers staged four varieties, Mr. White being first, Confidence 
and Prince of Greens being fine ; the latter plants had the prize for the 
best green edge ; Mr. Black, East Caliler, second ; and Mr. Marshall 
third. 
For two varieties, eight staged, Mr. White was again first with Dr. 
Kidd and Ajax ; Mr. Black second ; and Mr. Kilgour, Blair Drum¬ 
mond, third. 
For one green edge Mr. Kilgour was first with Admiral Wisbey; Mr. 
Scott, Forgan, second with Lovely Ann ; Mr. Black third with Admiral 
Napier ; and Mr. White fourth and fifth. For one grey edge Mr. White 
was first with Geo. Lightbody, and third with Frank; Mr. Marshall 
second with Geo. Lightbody ; and Mr. Black fourth and fifth. For one 
white edge Mr. White was first with Acme, and fifth with Dr. Kidd ; 
Mr. Black second ; and Mr. Marshall third and fourth in each case with 
Acme. The first prize self was a fine Blackbird shown by Mr. Kilgour ; 
Mr. White second with a seedling ; Mr. Marshall third and fouth ; and 
Mr. Stratton fifth. To Garibaldi, a plant of Mr, Kilgour’s, was awarded 
the prize as the premier self in the collection. 
For six Alpine Auriculas Mr. Turner, Slough, was first with very fine 
examples, Rosalind, Hotspur, Lady Grosvenor, Sunrise, Mungo, 
McGeorge, and Troubadour being the sorts ; Mr. Marshall second ; and 
Mr. Black third. Mr. Turner was again first with four Alpines. Prizes 
were also offered for Polyanthuses and various Primulas, but these were 
generally very poor. 
Several collections of Auriculas were exhibited, Mr. Cathcart 
