April i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



7S7 



leoted chiefly from wild plants, and used for medicinal 

 purposes to allay pain or in rheumatic affections. It is a 

 very virulent poison ; deaths have occurred through mis- 

 taking Aconite root for Horseradish. A little care, how- 

 ever, might obviate this ; the Aconite has a short dark 

 coloiured tapering root, from which numerous rootlets are 

 given off; the Horseradish is much longer, of more uni- 

 form thickness throughout, of a yellowish colour, aud with- 

 out root fibres. 



The rootstocks of Aconitmn ferox. Wall, and other spe- 

 cies furnish the Bish poison of India, used for poisoning 

 the arrows in tiger traps. &c. A tiger trap of bamboo from 

 Sikkim Terai is e.xhibited. Note also sheep muzzle from 

 Sikkim made of split bamboo; when the shepherds take 

 their flocks across the district where Aconite grows, they 

 halt and a muzzle is made for each sheep to prevent it 

 from becoming poisoned. 



No. 21. False O.iLtTMBA (Cosc;'«j«m/(!KcstratKm, Oolebr.). 

 A climber, native of the forests of Ceylon, Malacca, and 

 Malabar. "Wood bright greenish yellow, strongly marked 

 in cross section by broad medullary rays ; it is bitter, and 

 has been used as a tonic. 



JSfo. 22. Calujiba or Colosibo Koot (Jatemi-hiza Caiumha, 

 Miers). A perennial climber with a short rootstock and 

 numerous fleshy fusiform roots. It grows in the forests 

 of Mozambique and Quillimane. Calumba root of com- 

 merce consists of the sliced and dried roots, and is shipped 

 to this country either from Zanzibar direct, or by way of 

 Bombay. It has a bitter taste, and is a mild tonic. 



No. 27. Lotus {Ndumhium speciosum, Willd.). Regarded 

 by the early Egyptians, and by the Buddhists and Hin- 

 doos of the present day as an emblem of peculiar sanctity. 

 Observe the seeds, or more properly fruits, imbedded in 

 the dry toi^-shaped receptacle. These are believed to have 

 been the " sacred beans " of Pythagoras. The seeds aud 

 stem, which contain much starch, are used as food in India 

 and China. 



No. 44. Arnatto. An orange or yellow dye for silks, 

 and for staining cheese ; exported chiefly from South Amer- 

 ica and to the United States from the "West Indies. It 

 is prepared from the red coloured pulp which covers the 

 seeds of Bixa Orellana, L. Dried specimens of the plant 

 are also here shown having the red seeds still attached 

 to the inside of the fruit capsules. 



No. 54. Bark and young wood of th& Ceylon Gamboge 

 tree {Garcinia Morella, Desr.), showing the coloured juice 

 which has exuded and dried upon the cut edge. In Oeylon 

 Gamboge is obtained by incisions in the bark, or by cut- 

 ting out pieces of it; the juice oozing from the wounds 

 hardens on exposure, and is scraped off. 



Observe wood, fruits, seeils, and oil of Camellia Sasanqiia, 

 Thb., a native of China and Japan, where the oil is used for 

 a variety of domestic piu"poses. The fh'ied leaves are fragrant, 

 and are said to be used to mix with tea. 



The most important member of the order is the Tea Plant 

 {Camellia Tli^a, Link.). It is a native of Assam, and prob- 

 ably China, though in the latter country so famed for its 

 production, it is oidy known under cultivation. Black or 

 green teas are prepared from the same plant by peculiar 

 methods of drying or curing ; the leaves made up into (/reen 

 being more rapidly dried, and not permitted to remain in 

 a moist and flaccid state so long as those intended for black 

 tea. Note a very fine series of Indian teas, now largely used 

 in this country . Upwards of 165,079,881 poimds of tea were 

 entered for home consumption in 1882, the total import ex- 

 ceeding 211,080,000 of which 53,927,998 pounds were from 

 British India. 



No. 59. A box of ingredients as used in China in the 

 artificial colouring of lower kinds of green tea. 



No. 60. Brick Tea of Tibet, pressed and dried in moidds. 

 It is largely used m Central Asia, boiled with salt, butter, 

 &c. Observe the *' wheatsheaf," "lozenge," and other sorts 

 of tea. 



Upon the adjoining wall are hung Chinese drawings, upon 

 rice paper, representing the history of the Tea-plant from 

 its first introduction in fabulous times to human notice by 

 a monkey, to the packing and exportation of the present 

 period. 



No. 65. RosELLE (Hihi^cus Sahdarijfa^ L.). An aniui.al, 

 cnltivated largely in India, Ceylon, and the tropics generally, 

 for the sake of the fleshy calyx and fruit, which are made 

 into preserve, aud also for the fibre. 



H. cannahinus, L.,and other species of Hibiscus yield useful 

 fibres. • . 



No. G6. OciiEO or Gombo {Hibisms escvlentiis, L.). An 

 annual, largely cultivated in tropical comitries as well as in 

 the MeiUterranean region, for the sake of the fruits, which vary 

 in length from three to eight inches, and are used in a green 

 state as an article of food and for thickeuing soups. Gombo 

 soup is the characteristic dish of the Southern United States. 

 No. 67. Cuba Bast, the inner bark of the Mahoe(//27>i.sc«.,- 

 datus, Sw.),_ a West Indian tree, formerly used for tying 

 plants in gardens, as well as for tying up bundles of cigars. 

 In tlus case note fibre, fruits, flowers, and gum of llte^/)esia 

 ponnlnea^ Corr., a small tree of India, Ceylon, Pacific Islands, 

 Africa, &c. The fibre from the inner bark is said to be used 

 in Demerara for making coffee bags. The wood is liard 

 and durable. 



A cotton plant, mounted specimens of cotton pods from 

 China, Assam, Brazil, and Cuba, and a collection of Indian 

 Cotton in various stages of manufacture, are shown in 

 special cases near Case 5. 



No. 68. Cottox consists of the delicate, tubular, hair-like 

 .cells which clothe the seeds; its commercial \alue depends 

 on the length and tenacity of these hairs. The species yield- 

 ing the cotton of commerce are (josst/pium barbadense^ L., 

 known as Sea Island Cotton, GJierhaceimi, L. and G. arboreitm, 

 L. ; numerous varieties of these species are known. The 

 Kidney, Peruvian, Brazil and Bahia Cotton of commerce are 

 all produced by varieties of G. haibadense. Nankin Cotton 

 is a naturally coloured variety. A portion of this case is 

 devoted to the different sorts of commercial cottou, grown 

 ui the United States, South America, India, Africa, and the 

 warmer parts ot Europe ; also to specimens of Cotton cloths 

 in various stages of manufacture both by civihsed and bar- 

 barous nations. The total imports of raw cotton amounted 

 in 1882 to 15,794,566 cwt. 



The use of Cotton dates from a very early period. Sanscrit 

 records carry it back at least 2.600 years, while in Peruviau 

 sepulchres cottou cloth and seeds have been found. No. 69 

 is a piece of cotton cloth from a I'erurian mummy. 



No. 70. Oil, and oil cake for feeding cattle, from the 

 W£iste seeds of the cottou plant. 



Exhibited in this case is a tinder box and matches with 

 tinder of burnt cotton rag. Such were in universal use 

 throughout England before the invention of lucifers. 



Tkibe IV. BoMBACE.ii. SiLK CoTTON TREES. They are 

 nearly all tropical, some of immense size, as the Boabab 

 (Adansonia diyitata,'L.),oi Western Africa. The bark has 

 been introduced for making paper, of which specimens are 

 exhibited. 



No. 71 is a portion of a small branch of the Baobab, to- 

 gether with fine specimens of the gourd-hke fruit, which 

 contains an eatable acid pulp. Trunks have been measureil 

 30 feet in diameter. The wood is light, soft, and of little 

 use. 



Adansnnia Gret/m-ii, F. Muell, is the Adstealian Baobab 

 or Gouty Stem tree. 



Observe specimens of Silk Cotton, the silky covering ot 

 the seeds of liomhax malabariciim, DC A large soft wood- 

 ed tree of India, Burma, Java, &c. Ropes are made from 

 its fibrous bark, and a gum called Mucherus is also furnisliod 

 by the tree. 



No. 72. Silk Cotton surrounding the seeds of Eriodeiidron 

 anfractiiosmn, DC, of the tropics of the old and new world. 

 Used for sturtiug cushions, and the like, but not suited to work 

 into cloth-fabrics. Another beautiful "Silk-cotton" (West 

 Indian), from Orliroma Laijopus Sw., is exhibited on an ad- 

 joining shelf, with a nest of the ■' Doctor Humming-bird " 

 made from it. 



The bast from Cavatiillesia j'latanifolia H.B.K. is exhibited 

 in this case. 



No. 74. Kola Nuts, the seeds of a Tropical African tree 

 naturalized in .famakmCola acuniinata.'R.'BT.). Kola nuts 

 i are said to ])Ossess the virtue of rendi-iing putrid water agree- 

 ! able to the taste. They are chiefly used, however, for satis- 

 fying the cravuig of h\mger and enabling those who^ eat 

 them to endure prolougeil labour without fatigue. From 

 ; recent chemical investigation the Kola nut has been lound 

 j to contain more caffeine in an uncoiubined state than the 



best samples of coffee, also theobromine. 

 ' No. 75. Cocoa or Chocolate {Ttieohrmna Cacao, h.). A 

 moderate sized tree of Central an<l South America, cultiv- 

 I uted to a large extent throughout the tropics of both hemi- 



