"Vol. III. No. 69. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



395 



ORNAMENTAL SEEDS. 



At a meeting of the Barbados Natural History 

 •Society held on November 10, a jDaper was read by 

 Mr. W. R. Buttenshaw, M.A., B.Sc, on 'A West Indian 

 -Curiosity Shop, from a botanical point of view.' 

 Mr. Buttenshaw's account of ornamental seeds is 

 reproduced here as it is likely to be of interest to 

 readers of the Ar/ricultural A^ews: — 



Among the wares of the West Indian curio shop 

 ■a prominent place is always occupied by the rosaries, neck- 

 laces, bracelets, and other ornaments made with seeds. 

 There is in the West Indies a fairly large number of i]retty 

 -and striking seeds suitable for this purpose. The following 

 list includes, I think, most of the seeds employed in this 

 way. From a botanical point of view it is an interesting 

 point to observe that the majority of the plants yielding 

 seeds of this kind belong to the natural order Leguiiiiiiosae. 

 We will deal with these first : — 



Afirus precatoi-ius. The seeds, known as 'Crab's Eyes,' 

 are used for making necklaces, rosaries, etc., in fact, the 

 •specific name ' precatorius ' shows at once the connexion with 

 ' praying.' In India they are used by goldsmiths as weights. 

 These well-known scarlet seeds with their black eyes need no 

 ■description. 



Adenanthera pavonia. Circassian seed tree. In Porto 

 Rico it is know'n as ' Coral plant,' since the seeds can be 

 used in making scarf pins, etc., in the place of coral. 

 It is also commonly used in making necklaces, etc. The 

 seeds are of a uniformlj' bright, scarlet colour, devoid of 

 nMrkings, somewhat lens-shaped, ] to ^ iuch in diameter, are 

 particularly uniform in size and weight, and on account of 

 this latter characteristic are, like 'Crab's Eyes,' used in India 

 as weights. 



Alhizzia Lehheh. The Woman's Tongue tree, or, as it is 

 known here, Barbados Ebony. These seeds are not in such 

 common use as those already mentioned for ornamental work, 

 although they are among those used in Barbados for neck- 

 laces, etc. They are of a pale-brown colour, and are Hat. 



Cdemljiiaia Bonducella. This is the Horse Xicker tree 

 — bearing the grey nickers — common along our c<jasts and 

 therefore well known to you all. The seeds are used for 

 making rosaries, necklaces, etc. These are rather large 

 seeds — from i to f inch in diameter — and of a dull lead 

 colour. 



Caeialplnia Bonduc is the name of the tree that bears 

 the yellow nicker seeds. The specific names of these two 

 plants are derived from the Arabic Bondog, signifying 

 a necklace. 



Crotolaria retrusa. Rattle bush (yellow). Used for 

 making necklaces, chains, etc. 



Erythri)ia CoraUodendron. Variously named the ' Red 

 bean tree,' ' Coral tree,' ' Coral bean tree,' ' Bead tree,' etc. 

 The last name in allusion to its seeds being strung as beads 

 in chaplets. The seeds are scarlet with a little black spot. 



Leucaena glauca. The seeds of this tree, known as 

 * Wild Tamarind,' are used for fancy work in several of the 

 islands, notably, for baskets, work-bags, etc. In Barbados 

 they are called ' ilimosa seeds.' In appearance they are flat 

 and dark-brown, with a shining surface. 



Ormosia das//carpa. This tree bears the true 'Jumbee' or 

 Mohn Crow' beads. It is also known as the ' ^Vest Indian 

 Bead tree ' or ' Necklace tree.' The seeds are somewhat 

 varied in size, round and flattened, mostly scarlet with 

 a black blotch at one end. The generic name is derived from 

 the Greek work Or/nos, a necklace. Not only are the seeds 



threaded into bracelets and necklaces, but are mounted in 

 gold or silver for studs and buttons. 



Pithecolobiuni Unijuis-cati. ' Bread and Cheese.' Black, 

 shiny seeds with rosy arillus, used for necklaces and bracelets. 



Of non-leguminous seeds the following are used: — 



Anacardiiim occidentale. Ca.shew. The kidney-shaped 

 nut is frequently mounted for pendants. 



Canna Indira. Indian shot. I have not come across 

 these seeds in any West Indian curiosity .'hop, but in India 

 and East Africa they are used as beads and made into 

 necklaces. 



Coix Lachryma-Johi. .lob's tears. These are used for 

 all sorts of ornamental purposes — not only for necklaces, 

 bracelets, girdles, etc., but also for trimming ladies' dresses, 

 etc. Mats are also frequently made of .lob's tears. 



Sajnndus Snponaria . Soap-berry plant. These round black 

 seeds were formerly exported to England for use as waistcoat 

 buttons ; they are now often strung as beads. The watery 

 juice yielded by these seeds makes a lather with water and 

 therefore serves all the purposes of soap, but is liable to 

 injure clothes. Used for rosaries in the West Indies. 



Thuvetia nereifolia. This is an important plant from 

 the curio dealer's jjoint of view, as it yields the well-known 

 ' Lucky seeds,' or ' Lucky beans.' In the Northern Islands it 

 is known as ' Milk bush.' This plant belongs to the 

 Allamanda order {Aponjiieae) and has, indeed, a very similar 

 yellow flower. The seeds are usually mounted as pendants. 



SISAL HEMP IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The Hawaiian Forester and AgricvlUirist gives 

 the following extract showing the quantities and values 

 of the importations of sisal for the last ten years : — 



During the ten years cited it will be seen that the 

 importations have not only nearly doubled, but the price 

 obtained per ton has, during the same time, increased 

 proportionately, making the value for 1903 approximately 

 four times as much as that for 1894. 



Pens for Exhibiting Poultry. The manner in 



which poultry are exhiViited at many of the Agricultural 

 Shows in the West Indies is far from satisfactory. Birds 

 are frequently placed in wooden boxes that are much too 

 small for them : considerable damage — sometimes to valuable 

 birds — is often the result. With a view to bringing about 

 some improvement in this connexion, it is proposed to import 

 for the use of the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 a number of specially constructed poultry jiens, with sheet- 

 iron divisions. It might be well if the Agricultural Societies 

 in the various islands were also to import these pens. They 

 can be obtained from .lohn Penketh, 22, ^Market Place, 



Manchester, in four sizes, viz., 27 x 

 inches, and 18 inches square. 



24 inches, 24 inches, 21 



