August i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



95 



The Orange moth is committing a great deal of depred- 

 atiou this season, and means should l>e taken to destroy 

 them. A gentleman, writing to the Maryboroucjh Chroaiclc, 

 says that this moth cannot be mistaken, being unlike other 

 moths, as it never rolls its proboscis up, but keeps it straight 

 out before it. — I'lanUr and Farmer. 



Laece Oraxges. — Mr. W. .J. De Shields, of Azusa, has 

 some of the finest and largest oranges that we have seen 

 this year. They were large, smooth, solid and handsome ; 

 one cluster of fom' averaged I'ii inches in circumference, 

 and two others 14 inches in girth. The largest girthed 17 

 inches. They are a fair average of the product of the ti'ees. — 

 Rvrid Califonnan. 



The New Crop. — The Queensland crop, which has yet 

 over three months to grow, is roughly estimated at 50,000 

 tons for the ensuing season. The New South M'ales croj), 

 which gieatly increased last year and upset Mr. Metson's 

 conclusions, may be .set down at 1.5,000 tons. Crops are 

 heavy everywhere, and the yield of sugar will probably 

 average two tons to the acre. — Suyar Planter. 



Blue Gums for Fuel in South Oalifoenia. — Mi-. Nadeau 

 is now cutting his five year old blue gums, which yield '15 

 cords of good hard wood per acre, worth SIO per cord ou 

 the ground or S250 per acre. This is S50 per year for the 

 land. In the next five years the stumps from these trees 

 will produce trees that will yield at least 50 per cent more 

 wood or 37 J cords, worth S>>75 per acre; or if permitted 

 to grow for ten years, S7o0, and no care or expenses to 

 the o\vner except thinning out the suckers the year after 

 cutting. The total cost of the land, planting and cultiv- 

 ation need not be over SlOO per acre, and after the trees 

 are large enough to cut the harvest is annual and the iu- 

 come pei-petual. There is no possible chance to lose money. 

 Select the right kind of land, cultivate and plant it propely, 

 and man can provide an income for his children which will 

 not fail. — liural Califurnian. 



How to Set Hens. — Make your boxes 14 inches square, 

 14 inches high, nail bottom on, hang top with leather hinges 

 for cheapne.ss ; front side make only 7 inches high— that will 

 leave 7 inches for the hen to get in the nest. Keep the 

 boxes well white-washed, fill the box sLx inches with fresh 

 earth ; form the nest with the hand, then take some fine 

 grass or pepper leaves, just cover the dirt; put in your China 

 or common eggs. Then take carboUc powder, sprinkle well 

 and dust the hen; if she sticks to her bu.siness, then put your 

 good eggs under her. After setting two weeks, take a table 

 sjJooufuU of pulverized sulphur and sprinkle nest. Then 

 you mil find that your young brood will come off clean and 

 free from vermin. Never feeil your setting hen anything 

 but whole corn : keep plenty of gi-avel and fresh water, feed 

 your young chicks for the two first weeks hard boiled eggs 

 crumbled fine with oat meal or crumbs of stale bread ; keep 

 the hen in coop for two weeks — set the coop where the 

 little chicks can run on some grass spot; if you will do this 

 and keep coops and houses clean your chicks will be strong 

 and healthy. — Iltirat Californian. 



Peach Pruning. — Mr. Downing long ago wrote that the 

 peach bears pruning especially well ; and even late in the 

 spring, when it is unsafe to prune many trees because the 

 fresh wounds continue to blee<l. A laborer can be shown 

 in five minutes how to prune a whole orchard, for the best 

 course is simply to shorten back all the strongest .shoots, 

 over the top of the tree, one-half . The philosophy of this is 

 that the later formed buds seldom set fruit, but drop off, 

 while the best peaches are obtained from the stout triple buds 

 that have been first formed low down on the shoot (early in 

 the season 'sgrowth). The side-shoots that growoutof strong 

 leaders as a second growth are not so apt to hold their fruit 

 as the slender shoots, often covered with fruit buds alone, 

 which have issued lower down and earlier, and which dry up 

 after bearing, ami in time drop off. Tliis pruning enables 

 the tree to carry its burden more safely, and facilitates pick- 

 ing, besides conserving the health of the tree by removing the 

 half-ripened fruit which would be hable to disease. This 

 principle in pruning en- cutting away before the spring sap 

 flows, nil unripe wood liable to injury by the winter, is ap- 

 pUcable to other treesthan the peach. The pear is especially 

 safe-guarded by it, and gi-ape-viues, Antwerp raspberries and 

 halt hardy roses will grow nnu-h better by having this soin-cc 

 of decayed and currupting sap removed. Its virus is com- 

 parable' to that of unhealthy pus ab.sorbcd by the blood, and 

 spreading jjyajmia through every \cm.—BnTUl Californian. 



Profitable Planting. — The most profitable planting I 

 have ever seen was in Kent, where a quantity of good strong 

 land ou clialk had yielde<l several cuttings of hop-poles. The 

 kind of wood was chestnut, which makes the best of hop- 

 poies, being a far tougher wood wlien young than oak 

 of tlie same age. As the yield was remarkable I obtained 

 the particulars from the agent of estate (Lord Darniey's, 

 at Cobham), ami the figures may be relied ou. The best 

 chestnut underwood, cut by the buyer, sold at £o3 per 

 acre for hop-poles, the poles eleven years' growth, the 

 underwood fifty years planted. Eleven years later the 

 same piece sold at 42 guineas an acre, poles being 

 cheaper. — Forestri/. 



CuLTiv.vTiON AS A Test 01-' SpECiES. — It is very curious to 

 note the opinions of cultivators as to the limits of species. 

 At the Scientific Committee the other day, Mr. Elwes brought 

 illustratious of Tulips and Fritillarias, to show the immense 

 change which resulted in a comparatively short time from 

 the cidtivation of originally wild forms, and drew from 

 them the conclusion that the number of species was very 

 limited, but their variation gi-eat. On the other hand, such 

 cultivator-botanists as M. Jordan, dealing with exactly the 

 same kmd of evidence, woidd dub each one of these forms 

 as a separate species. Sjieciesare judgments, says Asa Gray, 

 and the nature of ihe judgment in this case is to a larg<! 

 extent determined by the habitual frame of mind and prc- 

 posses.sions of the judge. — (!ar(Uiiti:<^ Chruniclt\ 



MuKiNGAi. — In the Lanctt Dr. P. S. Brito mentions the 

 leaves of the "nim-ingai" as being used in India in the treat- 

 ment of hyth'ophobia, and suggests whether some constituent 

 of the leaves nlay modify counteract, in short, act as an anti- 

 dote to the poison contained in the saliva, antl asks for statis- 

 tics and reliable experiments. The botanical name of the tree, 

 which appears to be unknown to him, is JIoriit(/a ptcri/i/o- 

 sp6Tina,the native name having become the generic one. The 

 tree is commonly known to Emopean residents ui India and 

 Ceylon as the horseradish tree, from possessing similar 

 properties to that plant. Its use in hpih'ojihobia is milaiown 

 to Dr. Ondaatje, of Ceylon, and it is difhcult to see how 

 it cuulil act as au antidote, unless the sulphuretted vol- 

 atile oil it contains is proved to have a lethal effect on the 

 bacillus of the disease. — Pluirmaceuiical Jourtial. 



CojraoN Salt as a Fertilizer. — Salt is not a direct fert- 

 ihzer. Its chief value hes in the power it has of rendering 

 various kinds of pliant foods soluble, so that they can be 

 used by the plant. Ammonia, potash, and phosphoric acid 

 are rendered .soluble by the action of salt. A prominent 

 scientist calls salt a "soil digester." The visible effect of 

 salt is to retard the matiu'ity of the plant, thus lengthen- 

 mg the period of growth, and therefore insuring a better 

 yield. As the ripening is naturally delayed sufficiently on 

 heavy soils, salt in this wav would there produce no beneficial 

 effect. Light soils are almost invariably benefited by salt. 

 It is not a successful insecticide. An entomologist wi-ites: 

 "I have experimented enough with salt on the cut-worm 

 to know that you can kill your plants before you can kill 

 the worms." Impiu'e, unrefined salt is much to be preferred, 

 being cheaper anil containmg other valuable plant foods. — 

 L. H. B. — American Ayriculturist. 



Cinchona. — Under the name of " cinchocerotin," Herr 

 Kerner sent to the exhibition in Paris in 1850 a substance 

 which had gradually been deposited in some copper tubing 

 during the cooling of an alcoholic decoction of a dried paste 

 of South American flat eali.say.i bark and miik of lime. It has 

 been recently examineil by llerr Helms, who states that the 

 crude brown cinchocerotin yiekl two different constituents, 

 one easily soluble iu alcohol, white: and crystalline, and a 

 much smaller qu.antity of .a yellowish-white substance, diffic- 

 ultly soluble in alcohol. The crystalline substance, for 

 which he proposes to letaiu the name "cinchocerotin," 

 melts at 130 ° C, sublimes with partial decomposition when 

 heated higher, .and is freely soluble in ether, chloroform 

 and alcohol, but insoluble when boiled with v.'ater, hydrii- 

 chloric .'icid, dilute sulphuric acid and acetic acid. Its 

 composition is represented by the formula C2;H4802, but 

 the behaviour of the acid resulting from its oxidation in- 

 dicates that it has possibly a higher molecular weight. From 

 the results obtained it is evident that cinchocerotin is 

 neither a wax nor a fat, ami its piopei ties aud occurrence 

 probably place it in the neighbourhood of hetuliuaud ccriu. — 

 Pharmaceutical Journal. 



