April i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



697 



GROWIXG CABBAGES IN SUMJIEK. 



TO THE EDITOE OF THE " AUSTKALASIAN." 



Sir, — ■VnU you be good enough to iaform me through 

 the next country edition of the Austi'alasiait it calibages 

 can be grown to perfection by di-opping the seed where 

 the cabbage is intended to be grown without resorting 

 to transplanting, as in hot weather the latter process is 

 almost sure to kill them? I have heard that without 

 transplanting the cabbage will run to seed. 



Ignobamus. 



[Cabbages can be grown in the manner proposed with 

 good success, but we consider transplanting preferable. 

 In order to carry out the former plan, let the soil be 

 well em-iched and deeply worked. Draw wide and deep 

 drills (three inches deep), drop the seeds two or three 

 at intervals of three feet (if the variety be a large one), 

 cover very slightly, and water. As the plants grow draw 

 out the surplus, and fill the earth in to the level. Throw 

 the plants you liavi^ drawn imto a bucket of puddle clay. 

 Let eacii be thoroughly covered with the clay, and plant 

 out immediately. This is the best method of transplant- 

 ing cabbage plajits in hot weather. If you can give them 

 a watering at the time of planting, it will increase 

 their chance of liWng ; you will, at all events, have tho.se 

 that were not tran-^planted. — Ed. " A."] 



COMPOUND TINCTUEE OF CARDAMOMS. 



BV FRAXK WILSON. 



This pref ar.'^tion has always been considered one of the 

 eieg^uc tinctures, highly esteemed therapeutically for its 

 carminative properties, either by itself or in combination 

 with stomachics, it is largely employed as a flavoring and 

 coloring agent with or without viscid ingredients; hence, 

 it is one of the important tinctures of the pharmacopceia. 

 Our query truthfully says the officinal tincture "precipitates 

 badly," and inquires for a remedy, a substitute for the 

 honey, to which it attributes the precipitation. Inasmuch 

 as the carminative and stimulating properties of the in- 

 gredients, cardamom, caraway and cinnamon, consist in their 

 volatile oils, and knowing that alcohol was the better solvent 

 of these active principles, I reasoned that an increase of 

 the alcoholic strength of the menstruum would not only 

 make a better solution, but tend to prevent precipitation. 

 I could see no therapeutic objection to thus increasing the 

 volume of alcohol, as the tincture would hardly be ad- 

 ministered in large doses; accordingly I prepared a tincture 

 by the following formulie: — 



Tinct. Cardaawmi Composita. 



Cardamom 4 parts. ^ 



Cinnamon 4 „ ( -vt rr» t» i 



,, o " >No. 50 Powder. 



Caraway 2 „ r "■" 



Cochineal I „ J 



Alcohol 133 „ ■) n, u • J ■ 



„i • io To be mixed m 



Glycerme 12 , ' 



^rater 44 , 



the proportion of. 



To make 



200 



Mix the solid ingredients, powder them together, pass 

 through a No. 50 sieve. Moisten the mixture with half 

 an ounce, or qs. of the menstruum, pack in a cylindrical 

 percolator, gradually pom- the remainder of the menstruum 

 upon it, afterwards diluted alcohol to obtain 200 parts. 

 This sample was completed June 15th, and placed ivith 

 the other tliree; it has stood a test of seven months and 

 presents an elegant appearance, free from sediment. I 

 would offer the above formula as the best solution of the 

 query my limited experiments have enabled me to deduce. — 

 oil (Old Drug JVetcs. 



COLONIAL NOTES. 



SiNCAroKT:. — "We have received the report on the Botanical 

 and Zoological Gardens for 1882, detaihng the work of the 

 year, the most important of which was tile relabelling of 

 the plants in the garden, a matter that bad, it is alleged, 

 been very inelticiently attended to. The sons of H.ll.H. 

 the Prince of Wa'es, each planted a specimen Martinezia 

 89 



caryotifolia on the occasion of their visit to the garden. 



Mr. Cantley has also issued, under date July, 1S83, his 

 report on the forests of the Straits Settlements, m which 

 attention has been called to the SKireity of forest and forest 

 produce in the Settlements from want of forethought and 

 reckless felling. A description of the island of Singapore 

 and its physical features is given, including some meteor- 

 ological details, from which it appears that the highest 

 temperature observed is 91°, the lowest 66° , the relat- 

 ive humidity of the atmosphere (counting saturation as 

 100 ° ) varjing only from 78 ° to^SO ° , the annual average 

 being 79 ° '4. The rainfall averages 910 inches per annum, 

 as much as 6-25 inches falling within twenty-four hours, 

 and serving to flush out the drains. No forest rules at 

 all exist in Singapore, and indeed, no timber seems to be 

 now available, as all that is used for constructional pur- 

 poses is imported from Johore and the neiglibouring Dutch 

 islands. Most of the fuel used is also derived from the 

 same source. 



Maucca. — The meteorological phenomena are practically 

 the same as those experienced ui Singapore. There are 

 still some 40,000 acres of forest land in the hands of the 

 Government, but the forest conservancy is " as meagre as 

 in Singapore." 



Penaxo is more hilly than the previou.sly mentioned 

 districts, and more subject to drought, though the annual 

 rainfall is still cited at 1077 inches, and the mean temp- 

 erature at 88 ^ , the mean minimum being no lower than 75 ° . 



Province Welleslet.— An island separated from Penang 

 by a narrow strait, has a somewhat cooler climate, the 

 temperature having been registered as low as C5 = Fain:., 

 though the mean is still 79° Fahr. Mr. Cantley makes 

 suggestions as to the creation of forest reserves, the enact- 

 ment of a proper system of conservancy, and adds a list 

 of the species still remaining in the districts visited by him. 

 The list of timber trees given in one of the appendices 

 is interesting, but unfortunately the number of species, 

 enumerated only by their Malay names, is very large. A 

 Forest Flora would, therefore, seem to he a desideratum. 

 — Gardtners' Chronicle. 



SUITABLE FRUITS FOR QUEENSLAND. 

 In the country along the coast from the southernmost 

 point of Queensland many tropical and sub-tropical fruits 

 thrive, such as the banana, pineapple, mango, custard apple, 

 tamarind, jackfruit, alligator pear, wampee, litchi (or 

 leechee), rose apple, Herbe'rt Vale cherry, and perhaps a 

 few more ; but when going further north, decidedly within 

 the tropical zone, these will be found to flourish amazingly, 

 on the coast line more especially. But there are a few 

 decidedly tropical fruits which wjll eventually be confined 

 to the far north. They have been experimented on m 

 many places, where they eventually succumb to the cold 

 of winter; in the far north— that is to say from Bowen 

 northward — the breadfruit, durion, mangosteen, cocoanut, 

 and the cacao (from which cncoa and chocolate are pre- 

 pared), nutmegs, and many of the spices may be grown 

 profitably, and here will prove to be the real home of 

 the banana and pineapple, plants which should never 

 e.xperience cold lower than 45 ° or 60 ° Fahrenheit. True 

 coffee lauds must alsobe beyond the reach of frost, for 

 anything that nips the young wood and checks its growth, 

 prevents it from doing anything hke its best and takes 

 away from the chance of working it profitably. These 

 remarks tell with even greater certainty when the 

 Liberian coffee is taken into account, for Liberia is a 

 region on the west coast of Africa, near the Gulf of Guinea, 

 and not far removed from the equator. In hilly country 

 the highest and steepest land would suit coffee well if it 

 were terraced, as these situations would be exempt from 

 frost, even when the valleys at the foot were visit<jd 

 with several degrees of it. But we have fulfiled our in- 

 tention in penning these lines, and in conclusion would 

 advise our readers who intend to plant an orchard, and 

 are afraid of trusting their own judgment, to select some 

 trustworthy ai.d reliable nurseryman from whom to pur- 

 chase their trees, and after stating their case to hmi a- 

 plainly and fully as possible to follow his guidance " 

 such "men. briviug a reputation to win or lose, " 

 afford to mislead customers. — Queens/ander. 



for 

 cannot 



