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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1884. 



Garden Sceeens— A capital screen may be made as ^ 

 follows — Fix a good post the reqmred height at each end i 

 of the space to be shut out, then from their tops strain j 

 a strong galvanised wire, also, perhaps, another halfway 

 down if a rapid covering or a high screen is wanted. >.ow 

 plant Virgmian Creeper at the bottom, 12 ft. apart, and 

 train it up to the top. It will sometimes rnn along the 

 wires of its own accord, but if not, a very httle trouble will 

 cause it to do so ; then it will hang down delightf uUy, swing- 

 ing to and fro in the wind, and getting thicker and thicker 

 every year. If in a conspicuous positiou, plant alternately 

 with the Virginian Creeper, Clematis .lackmanni or lanuginosa. 

 These, running widly through the mass of A^rginian Creeper, 

 with their lovely flowers peeping out here and there, will 

 soon form a sight worth looking at.— ^«s(™/«sm«. 



The Obaxge in New South Wales.— What apple cult- 

 ure is in England, that of the orange is in New South 

 Wales; the Parramattadistrict.nearSydney,beingto Australia 

 what Kent, with its countless luxuriant orchards, is to the 

 United Kingdom. The scenery of the Parramatta Eiver 

 is not unlike that of the Thames above Richmond, only 

 more romantic and beautiful, especially during spring-time, 

 when the wonderful profusion of wild flowers imparts an 

 additional charm to the picture. Even the masses of roclc, 

 which in many places rise boldly from the edges of the 

 stream, are decked with bright-coloured clusters of Austrahan 

 natives flowers of the most lovely and varied description. 

 . The trees also claim a large share of admiration, not only 

 from the lover of the beautiful in nature, but also from 

 the utilitarian ; for thev include the orange, with its bright 

 green foUage and dainty white flowers or rich golden fruit, 

 both often being seen on the tree at one and the same 

 time. The orange is not only a picturesque adjunct to the 

 garden, but also more than repays the trouble and cost 

 of cultivation. From a tree, appropriately known as the 

 "poor man's profit," there was gathered this year an orange 

 weighing 30 ounces, and measuring 16§ inches in diamerer. 

 Of course this was exceptional, but rich and luscious oranges 

 are as plentiful in the Parramatta disti-ict as blackberries in 

 an English country lane duringautumn-tiine.—/'Mi?!<'Opni (Oil. 

 Heseguen or Sisal Hemp.— In a recently issued Govern- 

 ment report; on the trade and commerce of Mexico, the 

 following appears :—" Heneguen, known in England as 

 Sisal, or Sisal Hemp, and so called from the name of a 

 port whence large shipments of it used to be made, is 

 the product of a plant of the Agave family, and is grown 

 almost exclusively iu the peninsula of Yucatan. Its uses 

 for the manufacture of cords and ropes were known to 

 the ancient inhabitants of Mexico, but it is only withm 

 comparatively recent times that its value has been recog- 

 nised in other countries, and it has come to be an im- 

 portant item of exjxirt. It is said that cables of Hene- 

 guen are superior to those made of Hemp, i« that they 

 retain their flexibility unaltered by cold or wet; but in 

 spite of this and of the great and growing demand for 

 it, especially in the Tnited States, the price is always 

 considerably below that of a similar class of JlainUa. 

 Ixtle is the fibre of another species of Agave, which flour- 

 islies principally in the United States of Tamaulipas, San 

 Luis de Potosi, and Vera Cruz, and is of somewhat finer 

 texture than the Heneguen. Up to quite recently no 

 •ipparatus has been found that will satisfactorily separate 

 the fibre from the pulp, and it is probably due to this 

 that the price of it is so much higher than that of Hene- 

 guen. which can be treated by machinery." To show the 

 enormous development of these industries in the past fif- 

 teen years, it is stated that " the United States, which 

 takes on an average 80 per cent of the gross amount of 

 fibre produced in Mexico, imported in 1867, under the head 

 of Hemp and .lute, 975 tons of these materials, whereas 

 in 1881 the imports under the same head amounted to 

 17,454 tons." The writer of this report had made some 

 confusion in the trade names of the fibres, as well as in 

 their botanical c\assification, referring them to the genus 

 Aloe The Sisal Hemp of commerce is furnished by Agave 

 I.ttil. Karmnsld. var. Sisalana. Engel., and the plant is 

 called " Sosquil " in Mexico, and '• Cabulla " in Central 

 Amiirica. To extract this fibre the fleshy leaves are scraped 

 with a long wooden implement, having three sharp edges ; 

 by this process, it is said, nil the Sisal Hemp bron.ght to 

 inarU.t. as well as the iiifinitrly larger quantity used by 

 the natives themselves is slowly and laboriously extracted, 

 the produce being only from 5 lb. to 6 lb. per day. The 



report refers the Sisal Hemp to plants belonging to the 

 Aloe family, instead of which, as is well known to our 

 readers, the species of the genus Agave belonging to the 

 AmaryUidaeeae. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



A NEW DRUG called extract of guachamaca, by M. Schip- 

 per. is said by him to re.semble curare, without possessing 

 any of its dangers. The general symptoms produce.l by 

 the injection of about 15 gi'aius of the dry extract into 

 the skin of a man were at first a light and tlien a deeper 

 sleep, which lasted from two and a half to three hours, 

 as well as a slight muscular spasm. The breathing and 

 circulation were not affected.— New York Hour. 



Plants Suitable for Pehulanent Cultivation in Draw- 

 ing Rooms. — A correspondent suggests that "a selection from 

 the following list will make pretty and permanent groups: 

 — Araha Sieboldi (two variegated forms), A. quinquefolia, A. 

 q. gracilis, A. heteromorpha, Dianella tasmanica, Aspidistra 

 lurida and A. 1. variegata, Dracaena Australis and D. a 

 congesta, Ehodea Japonica and the variegat«d varieties. 

 Griselinia lucida, Lomatias of different sorts, Aspleninm 

 bulbiferum, various Scolopendriums, Farfugium grande, 

 Ligul.ariaK«mpferi,Pittosporumtenuifoliuniandeugenioides, 

 Yucca Whippier, Y. alliospica and angustifolia; Choisya 

 ternata is also a most distinct and accommodating shrub. 

 I have seen various bamboos tried tor indoor decoration, 

 but always with unsatisfactory results. Both forms of 

 Aspidistra prefer a shady situation, as, of course, will the 

 few ferns mentioned. It these are kept well supplied with 

 water at the root, the atmosphere will always be moist 

 enough. Occasional spongings of the foliage is of importance, 

 as also is a good shower-b.ath outside, either mth tepid 

 water from a watering-pot or a warm shower of rain." 

 Another correspondent writes: — "Room plants may consist 

 of Arum lily fOalla), Ancuba, Aspidistra lurida, New Zealand 

 holly fern, and red and green Dracaenas. A walnut put into 

 a pot of rich earth as soon as ripe makes a very hand- 

 some and uncommon pot plant the next summer, and has 

 a delightful perfume. A Spanish chesnut, too, is useful 

 planted in the same way. All these plants are kept m good 

 foliage by occasionally sponging the leaves with tepid water, 

 and if allowed to get too dry they are recovered by plunging 

 the pot over its rim in water for an hour or so. This drives 

 out the air and lets in the water." — Australasian. 



Hand and Machine Manufacture.- Mr. T. C. Owen 

 writes us regarduig the estimate Mr. Graham Hogg was 

 good enough to furnish us with the other day of the saving 

 to be effected by the employment of machinery in tea 

 manufactm-e as "follows:— " Mr. Hogg's estimate is very 

 interesting and well drawn up, but his allowance tor 

 depreciation of machinery is too high, I think. We have 

 water-wheels, for instance, 20 years old and more on many 

 estates and as good as new. He also omits all reference 

 to the innumerable savings by employment of a lessened 

 labour force, and to the saring on initial cost of factory 

 buildmgs owing to the less space required for machinery. 

 Then there are sifting, breaking, and equalling machines 

 to be allowed for, and sm-ely fuel, which m the future 

 will be an important matter, is made more of when burnt 

 a.s wood than when a large jiortion of its combustible parts 

 are vai:tcd in turning it into charcoal."— The allowance 

 made by Mr. Hogg tor wear and tear of machinery, we 

 stated at the time to he in our opinion rather high, unless 

 it was mtended to include initial cost, which no one as 

 yet seems to have made allowance for. Though 7 per cent 

 as the amount of wear and tear of water-wheel masonry, 

 water course, &c., appears high, yet we doubt whether the 

 repairs which have been undertaken in most stores from 

 time to time, do not aggregate this on the gross amount 

 expended. There are water-wheels and water-wheels, some 

 requiring with the masonry, constant overhauling, and 

 others little if any. but it is always best to be on the safe 

 side. Again, we do not think that any allowance should 

 i be made for the saving effected in the initial cost of fact- 

 ory buildings owing to the lessened space required for 

 I machinery, as such an allowance would be very difiicult 

 if not impossible to approximate, but the same cannot be 

 said of Mr. Owen's other objections. Allowance should 

 certainly be made for the loss of fuel which occurs when 

 charcoal is used for hand manufacture, but this, as well as 

 the small saving obtained bv the employment of a lessened 

 i labor force, is difficult to estimate, though it is well to note 

 ' their existence as tendingto show that Mr. Hogg's estim- 

 ate is an eminently safe one.— Local " Times." 



