374 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 19, 1904. 



SCIENCE NOTES. 



Wild Tamarind Trees. 



There are in the \Vest Indies two leguminous trees 

 known by the name of '\\"M Tamarind.' Tliis is apt to 

 lead to confusion, and it should be mentioned that the tree 

 referred to in the Aijricultuial Kkivs (Vol. Ill, p. oil) as 

 a food plant of the cotton worm in Antigua was not 

 Pithecolohium Jillcifoliuin, as stated there, but the other wild 

 tamarind, viz., Leuotfiia f/liuica. 



In .Tamaica it is Fithecolohiwii filicifnUniii that receives 

 the name 'Wild Tamarind.' This is a large tree, native of the 

 AVest Indies and Central .Vmerica, with finely divided leaves. 

 Its whitish flowers are borne in long, peduncled heads. The 

 most striking feature of the tree is the twisted, scarlet pod, 

 blood-coloured within, which bears black seeds (often used as 

 beads). The tree grows to a considerable size, its diameter 

 being usually about .3 feet. The wood, which takes a fine 

 polish, is much used in building for flooring and other work. 

 The wild tamarind of Barbados and the Northern Islands 

 is, however, Leuaiena glauoi, also known in Barbados as 

 ' ilimosa.' This is the plant from which are obtained the 

 well-known ' Mimosa' seeds, .so much used for ornamental 

 woi-k, such as necklaces, bracelets, etc. This common and 

 well-known .shrub is spineless, its branches and petioles are 

 powdery, with four- to eight-paired pinnae and leaflets ten- 

 to twenty-paired, glaucous beneath. The pod is broadly 

 linear, .5 to 6 inches long with Hat, brown, shining seeds. 



Nutmeg Tree. 



The following description of the nutmeg tree i.s 

 taken fi'oni the 1 liar mace at ical Journal: — - 



The nutmeg is the kernel only of the seed of J/i/ristica 

 fraijrans (N.t). ifijristiceat:). Tlie nutmeg tree is a native of 

 the ilolucca Islands, and is cultivated on the islands of the 

 Malay Archipelago, on the Malay Peninusula, and in other 

 tropical countries. It produces a fruit about the size and 

 shajie of a peadi, the fie.sh of which dries and splits as the 

 fruit ripens, disclosing a large, brown seed surrounded by 

 a brilliant, ciimson, branching arillus. The seed is 

 separated, and the arillus stri|)ped from it and dried, during 

 which process the crimson colour changes to a dull reddish- 

 yellow : it then forms the spice known as mace. After the 



Anatomy of the Leaves of British Grasses. 



A paper on the above subject by ilr. L. Le.wton-Brain, 

 B.A., F.L.iS., is publLshed in the 7\-a>isactions of the Linnean 

 Society (Vol. vi., part 7). On account of the important 

 position occupied by grasses in British agriculture, 

 Mr. Lewton-Brain's paper is likely to prove of considerable 

 value to agricultural botanists. 



The author refers to the fact that the anatomical 

 .stmcture of the leaves as seen in cross section is a valuable 

 aid in the identification of many of the grasses. This is 

 speciallj' the case when the grasses are not in flower. The 

 paper is divided into three parts : — (i) General anatomy and 

 histology ; (ii) brief descriptions of the leaf-structure of all 

 the grasses examined by the author ; (iii) a grouping of the 

 grasses according to habitat. 



In part ii descriptions are given of the leaves of some 

 ninety grasses, the descriptions being accompanied by seventy- 

 five original diagrams and diawings, for the most part 

 transverse sections of leaves. 



Part iii is devoted to a study of habitat with a view to 

 discovering how far the leaf-structure is constant throughout 

 an oecological group. The grasses examined are divided 

 into the following seven groups according to habitat : — (i) 

 ileadows and jjastures ; (ii) waste and .sandy places ; (iii) 

 woods and shaded places ; (iv) maritime sands ; (v) moors 

 and heaths ; (vi) wet places ; (vii) Alpine grasses. It is 

 shown that each group has certain typical characteristics, but 

 that in every case some grasses have to be described as 

 exceptional for the group. Among the features more or less 

 common to certain groups may be mentioned the form of the 

 transverse section of the leaf, the presence or alssence of 

 hairs, distribution of stomata, the amount of mechanical 

 supporting tissue (sfermi/ir') jiresent and its arrangement, the 

 arrangement of the chlorophyll-containing tissue, the 

 presence or absence of large air-lacunae in the leaf, etc. 



Fig. 15. Nutjieu. 



Two twigs (rcducL'd) are shown ; one bearing three clusters uf 



male tluwers, the other with ripe fruit. On the left 



is a detached flower, and a seed (the nutmeg) 



covered by its aril (the mace). 



[Fn.ni K< 



r (iu 



;./,.] 



separation of the arillu.s, the seed is dried until the kernel 

 rattles in the shell. It is then opened, and the kernel 

 removed : the latter constitutes the nutmeg of commerce. 

 Before exportation the}' are sometimes dusted with lime, or 

 washed in milk of lime and dried, a process that jirotects 

 them from the attacks of insects, to which they are 

 particularly liable. Nutmegs are imported into this country 

 [United Kingdom] chiefly unlimed ; on their arrival they are 

 sorted according to their size, the broken or otherwise 

 defective ones l)eing set aside for the production of volatile 

 {oleum irii/risttaie) or fixed oil of nutmeg {oleum int/rixtinie 

 e.i-jivemuiii, oleum macis). Sometimes they are limed in this 

 country to suit the requirements of trade custom. 



Further inf'ornuition relating ti> the nutmeg tree, 

 especially in connexion with propagation by grafting, 

 will be found in the Agricultn nd Xi'icf (Vol. I, p. (iO). 



'A. B. C. of Cotton Planting.' A third edition 

 of this publication (Pamphlet Series, No. M, of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture) has just been is.sued. Cotton 

 growers in the West Indies and elsewhere have found this 

 pamphlet of great assistance. Copies can, therefore, still be 

 obtained of all Agents, price 4'/., post free M. 



