686 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1884, 



calcareous regions. This variety is naturally extensively 

 spread, and follows immediately after the first. 



The following varieties are all of them more limited, or 

 occur more or less frequently here and there, as m Rembang, 

 in other parts more rarely. These ' are : — 



4° . Djati doreivj, marked, marhled djati; the most beauti- 

 ful of all, much preferred for furniture; it is hard and 

 durable, but requires some preparation, otherwise it is 

 subject to bursting and fissures, especially by long drought. 



5 ° . Djati eri or doeri, thortud djati, with small thorny 

 knobs and' irregular fibre; durable, hard, troublesome to work. 



6 * . Diati keonji, she! /-formed djati, with rather larger 

 knobs in "the form of shells. 



7°. Djati oerany (Cordes calls it Djati daging oerang) 

 with ring-shaped weals on the surface of the trunks, like 

 the articulations of lobsters or shi-imps (oeram/). 



8 ° . Djati weroe, wood of a bro\Tuish yellow, somewhat 

 glossy, with an equal, rather fine, fibre, which reminds one 

 of the wood of the Weroe {Ki hi/anc/ of the Sunda-lands, 

 Alhizcia procera, a JTimosa, already treated of in the .sylvan- 

 productions and woods). All tlu-ee good and useful varieties, 

 especially the last. Finally: 



9 '^ . Djati l-emhami,fiimcred djati. Properly not a variety, 

 more a common name for a few mostly casual deviations; 

 some beautifully and peculiarly marked, others more or less 

 fragrant, and .such-like. 



The enemies to the Djati-tree are not very numerous 

 in sorts, but they are sometimes, as to numbers, and can 

 then cause a great deal of devastation. As to the vegetable 

 kingdom, the tree is rather dangerous to its neighbours, 

 than they to it. Few other plants can thrive iu the Djati 

 forests; yet strange enough, a relation of its own, uot 

 long ago," (some say only 50 years) brought over from America, 

 but" which spread over the whole Archipelago in an incredibly 

 short space of time, the Lantana a/ha (Miq. II, 904) or 

 tjintee, less dehcately called, on account of its peculiar 

 odour, liemhanii tembe/eli, temhe/i/ian poejenti etc. proved to 

 be one of the most dangerous enemies to the young djatis. 

 After this, but only on barren grounds, the a/ang p 

 (Imperata spec, div.) it is greatest enemy; of the animal 

 creation it is the white ants, rajap (Termes fatalis), and a 

 kindred ant wranyas (Termes spec. ?), and sometimes a large 

 sort of genuine ants, rang-rany-an. Of these the white 

 ant is the most destructive, as it sometimes attacks the 

 tree from its first germ, and mostly nestles itself in the 

 soft pith of the young shoots, which then never get rid 

 of their guests, and though shooting up, remain jiining and 

 never reach a perfect, healthy growth. The rang p-an only 

 attacks the tree externally, occasions much less devastation, 

 and destroys or dispels, when once settled, all the white 

 ants, so that it is much less dreaded. Temporary attacks 

 of other insects do not damage to the tree, the annual 

 growth of which, even endures the regular buruiug out of 

 the. brushwood shooting up between them, and thi-ives 

 afterwards all the better. 



On account of the great extent of the copsewood, and 

 the little opportunity for a regular seasoning of the wood, 

 a treatment has been adopted called " ringing ", namely 

 the notching of a groove round the trunk, by which the 

 tree gradually loses all its sap, therefore it literally bleeds 

 to death, as it is .nlso sometimes called, and then dies 

 away, when it is cut down. Now the question still remains 

 unsolved, whether this treatment, or the ordinary season- 

 ing iu running water, is better. With us the first treat- 

 ment is generally practised; in British India it has mauv 

 opponents. One thing is sure, that dryrot which the djati 

 was considered unsn.sceptible of, is made out to bo possible 

 with either process, and that other less dangerous germin- 

 ating and fermenting processes had with either treatment, 

 as insignificant results. 



Artificial treatment with mineral salts, overheated steam, 

 etc. is not applied by us, as applied elsewhere, though 

 hitherto too scantily to be able to show definite results. 

 As a general ride, however, they are favourable. — Indian 

 Mereuri;. (To be continued.) 



INDIA : CROP AND AVEATHER REPORT- 



rOE TnH WKEK EN'MKO THE 19tU FEB. 1884. 



General Rpm.^eks. — Rain bus fallen in most Provinces 

 during the week under report, but the fall has been 

 light and partial. ■ . ' 



Iu the Madras Presidency and Mysore, the_,^staading 



crops continue generally in good condition. Harvesting is 

 in progress, the yield being in most districts equal to or 

 below the average. In Bombay the hai-vesting of the rabi 

 has commenced, and prospects are good. The crops in 

 parts of Sindh have benefitted by recent r.iin. In parts 

 of Dharwar there is a scarcity of, drinking water. In 

 Hyderabad, Central India, Rajaputana, agricultural pro- 

 spects continue satisfactory, although some injury has been 

 caused by hail to standing crops in Morar, and rain is 

 needed in Ulwar. In the Punjab,, the south-eastern dis- 

 tricts require rain : elswhere, the prospects are favourable. 

 In the North-Western Provinces prospects remain unchanged 

 Rain is much wanted in most districts for crops on unirrig- 

 ated lands, and some injury has been done by frost. 

 Irrigated crops promise well. In the Central Provinces 

 prospects are excellent. 



Iu Bengal the rainfall of the week has proved bene- 

 ficial to the rabi, and moistened the ground for the cult- 

 ivation of the ensuing rice and jute crops. The rabi 

 crops are on the whole in fair condition, .except (jn un- 

 irrigated tracts in Ohota Nagpur and Behar. Pulses, &c. 

 are being reaped with a fair yield, and the outturn from 

 the sugarcane is also good. In Assam there has been 

 over two inches of rain, (accompanied in some cases by 

 hail) in Cacliar and Sylhet. Standing crops are doing 

 well, and mustard, sugarcane, itc, are being cut, and the 

 land prepared for ensuing crops. In British Burma the 

 rice harvest is over, and has proved an abundant one. 

 Cholera continues severe in Tanjore, and smallpox exists 

 in most parts of India, othervrise the pubUc health is 

 fair. Prices are generally steady, but have sustained a 

 further rise in parts of Bengal. 



Madras. — General prospects good. 



British Burma. — Smallpox still very prevalent, chiefly 

 in the town of Rangoon and in Pegu : no cattle -disease 

 to speak of; harvest reported to be a good one : supplies 

 at ports in good quantity for tlie season; prices keeping 

 fairly steady. 



Assam (Gatihati, Feb. I9tb).— Weather seasonable ; 

 mustard being gathered; sugarcane being cut; lands being 

 prepared for amun cultivation; public health fair. — I'ionee^'. 

 ♦ 



Plantings Prospects in Teneriffe. — The diminu- 

 tion in the cultivation of cochineal in Teneriffe is 

 thus alluded to in a recent report from that island. 

 The prices at which it is now selling will not cover 

 the cist of its production, and according to the 

 opinion of t' ose expreicuced in such matters not 

 more than half the crop of former jrais vnay for 

 the future be expected. The cultivation of the sugar- 

 cane and the production of fugar aud rum is now 

 considered a settled matter. Tolsacco also is progr ss- 

 ing by slow degrees, and the quality is gradually im- 

 proving. The best way to increase the culture of 

 this article, it is stated, is to Iniy it in its green 

 state from the growers, so that the small (iroducers 

 who cannot aflford to wait the time required for its 

 preparation may thus have an opportunity of con- 

 verting it into cash as soon as they cut the leaf, 

 for which purpose a drying-house is being constructed. 

 — PlantfTfi' Gazette. 



Forest Flora of Japan. — This, according to Dr. Yarokn 

 Nakamura, may be divided into five zones, according to 

 altitude, as follows:— (1) Zone of Pines, reaching to a 

 height of 1,500—1,600 feet. In the lower part, Pinus Mas- 

 soniana, with evergreen Oaks, Quercus glauca, Q. glabra, 

 Buxus sempervirens, &c. Above these Pinus densiflora, 

 Zelkowa Keaki, Gingko biloba, Sophora japonica, Populus 

 Sieboldi, Ilex crenata, &c. (2) The zone of Cypresses, from 

 1,500—3,500 feet. Here occur the Retiuosporas obtusa, 

 pisifera, Podocarpus macrophylla, P. Nageia, Sciadopitys 

 verticillata, Torreya nucifera, &c. (3) The zone of decidu- 

 ous trees, from 3,500—5,100 feet. In this zone occur Mag- 

 nolia- hjTJoleuca, Alnus campestris, A. maritima, Juglans 

 Sieboldiana, Acer palmatum, A. cratajgifolium, &c. (4) 

 Zone of Firs, extending from 5,100—7,000 feet. At the 

 lower part occur Abies firrna, A. Tsuga, and Larix lepto- 

 lepis ; while above occur Abies Veitchii, Picea Alcockinea, 

 I", polita, &c. (5) Zone of Alpine Pines, from 7,2C0--.s,400 

 feet. In this zone grow Pinus parviflora, Alnus viridis, 

 A. firma, Betula alba, Sorbus aucnparia, kc— Gardeners' 

 Chronide. 



