September i, 1S83.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



165 



SULrHUllIC ACID VS. CAllBOUC ACID F ( R 



DESTROYIXG WEEDS. 



By au inadvertence I am made in answers to correspond- 

 ents, page 330, to recommend carbolic acid for destroy- 

 ing weeds. I have never done so, but did some time ago 

 call attention to the value of sulphuric acid tor that pur- 

 pose. As some confusion appears to exist in the minds of 

 many gardeners concorning the two acids, it may be well 

 to explaui what they are, and something of the uses to 

 which they are applied. Carbolic acid is a substance re- 

 sembUng creosote, and is obtained by the distillation of coal 

 tar. I have used it ([uite recently mi.xedwith oil as a dis- 

 infectant with much success among animal.s, but have 

 never known it to be regarded as useful for the whole- 

 sale destruction of weeds. .Sulphuric acid or oil of ntriol, 

 on the contrary, is a wellknown destroyer both of vegetable 

 and animal hfe. It is obtained by au elaborate process from 

 sulphur and nitrate of soda, which is fully explained in 

 Brande's " Dictionary of Science," where, too, in a lengthy 

 account of its various properties, it is stated that " its 

 affinity for water is such that it rapidly absorbs it from 

 the atmosphere, and when mixed with water much heat 

 is evolved. It acts energetically upon animal and vegetable 

 substances, generally charring them, and often, as in the 

 case of sugar, with singidar rapidity.'' I may add that 

 when using it for destroying weeds, I have noticed that the 

 heat imparted by the acid to water is so great, that it may 

 instantly be felt outside a waterpot after the half pint of 

 acid is poured into a gallon of water. 



Edward LrcKnriiST. 

 — Jovnud of Horticidture. 



LIME LEAVES AS FOOD. 



TO THE KDITOR OF THE JOFIiNAL OF FOUESTBT. 



Sir, — It is perhaps not generally known that the young 

 leaves of the Lime have a pleasant, sweet, mucilaginous 

 taste if eaten raw or boiled as a vegetable, or used for 

 salad. I and my family have used them for years. 



Often, when weary and hungry after some hours' toil 

 surveying, I have refreshed myself by e.ating the young 

 leaves of the Lime. Before garden produce becomes plenti- 

 ful, this palatable substitute might, if known be more bene- 

 ficially used. — J. Charles Kixg. 



FOREST TREE PRUNINCJ. 



Sir, — Might I presume to ask Mr. M'C'orquodale, Scone> 

 through the medium of your .Journal, whether, in his ex- 

 cellent paper on Pruning, read at the last annual meeting 

 of the Scottish Arboricultural .Society, he is correctly report- 

 ed where it is .stated, with reference to the point at which 

 branches should be foreshortened — 'These should always be 

 cut at a latsral small branch or twig of an wy^r////;/ growth.' 



My reason for asking is that my experience leads me to 

 practice rather the opposite to what he is reported to re- 

 commen<l. I agree w-ith him as to the point at which the 

 cutting should take place, ^^z., at a small branch or twig, 

 but, in place of one of an upriyht grjwth, I would, if poss- 

 ible, select one inclined rather in an o])posite direction. 



A branch or twig of an upright growth will, sooner or 

 later, assume the force of a competing leader, and attract 

 much of the s-ap which should find its way up the main 

 st -m. In my opinion, all branches of an upright growth 

 slioulil be speedly (checked in the manner described, as also 

 all others of a straggling habit. With the exception of 

 the remark to w-hich I have referi-ed. I am glad to know 

 that my oiiiuions in this important branch of forestry alto- 

 gether coincide with those of such an authority as Mr. 

 M'Conjuodale. Forester. 



VEGETABLE PRODUCTS AT KlUNCCTIOTT. 



A recent report from Kiuugchou states that the quality 

 of sugar produced is slightly lielow that of Swatow, liut 

 somewhat bettt;r than the Ftn-mosan article. The export of 

 brown sugar always exceeds that of white, the reason ap- 

 p.arently being th.at the former is better suited for ni.auu- 

 facturing i)urposes, while the latter goes to (Janton and 

 else-'^luire for use in sweetmeats and sugared fruits. Two 

 varieties of the cane an; cultivated — the "water cane" anil 

 2-' 



the " bamboo cane " — the juicy stalk of the former of which 

 is is much eaten by the natives in summer, while the latter 

 furnishes the sugar of commerce. The methoil of pro- 

 pagation is extremely simple. In the first month of the year 

 the tops of the best stalks in a field of sugar-cane are lop- 

 ped off and stuck in rows as progenitors of the next year's 

 crop, into ground which has been carefully prepared and 

 well manured for the purpose. Towards the end of the 

 year, when the harvest is gathered, the roots are left in the 

 ground to produce the crop of the following year. The 

 same course is repeated in the third year, after which the 

 gi-ound is used for less exhausting crops for at least four 

 seasons before being again jilanted with sugar-cane. The 

 second year's harvest generally turns out the best, as the 

 thu-d is ex])ected to be the worst. The process of crushing 

 the cane is laborious and wasteful; in drying it the molasses 

 ai-e not separated from the sugar, and clog up the machinery 

 so badly in Hongkong that recent experiments with the 

 Hainan article gave a result of only 5S per cent. Ground 

 nuts (Ai-achis hypog.'ea) are the farmer's second most valu- 

 able crop, and the annual outturn of cake and oil has been 

 estimated, on competent authority, to about 500,000 piculs, 

 of which 04,10-1 piculs were exijorted last year through the 

 foreigir customs. The seed is sown in February or March, 

 and when the crop ripens (about December) women and 

 children may be seen everywhere in the fields busily en- 

 gaged in taking out the nuts, which are taken at once to 

 the factory in the farmer's home.stead, where they are (hied 

 on a kiln furnace, steamed, and after much labour reduced 

 to oil and cake. Another very large item of exixirt from 

 Hainan is Betel-nut, but somehow foreign steamers are 

 not much employed in its conveyance. The two districts 

 of this island most noted for their Betel-nut groves are Ai- 

 chou and Ling-shin, the fruit from the latter- of which is 

 considered the best. The trees are planted some 15 feet 

 apart, and bear fruit from the ages of ten to ninety years. 

 Their most jirolific period is between their fifteenth and 

 thirtieth year, when one tree will produce 700 or feOO nuts, 

 valued at about 40 cents. Large herds of cattle are allowed 

 to roam at will through the plantations, and theur manm-e 

 serves to fertili.se the soil from which the trees derive their 

 substance. The groves are said to be the seat of pestilential 

 malaria, especially at the season when the trees are in 

 flower. In preparation for the market the nut is mnde to 

 assume a variety of forms to suit the fastidious tastes 

 of the Chinese customers, which are different in almost 

 •Gardeners' Ch voii icle. 



every province.- 



THE FAITNA AND FLORA OF THE KEELING 

 ISLANDS, INDIAN OCEAN. 



I have only recently been able to obtain my copy of Jlr. 

 AVallace's "Lslau'l Life," in which I find an estimate of the 

 fauna and flora of the Keeling Atoll in the South Indian 

 Ocean. I had the fortune to \'isit that outlying .spot in the 

 year 1879, and made a collection both of its plants and of 

 its animal life. With the exception of my birds and a few 

 of the insects, my collections were destroyed by sea water, 

 so that it is now impossible for me to give a definite list, 

 but I may note that rats were in such numbers as to have 

 become almost a plague. A goodly herd of introduced Riuas, 

 a cross between the Sumatran (C. eqniiit/s) and Javan (C. Tlip- 

 pelaphu.'i) species, were in excellent condition, and were living 

 wild on Direction Island, where also pigs were li"ng, 

 m the same state. Among bird.s,, the Gallv.s harujkiva (in- 

 troduced) wa.s in considerabl(! numbers ; I saw also the nest 

 of the /'/nceiis lii//m.niiitliu.i, which conies, not every year, 

 but very often ti) breed there, but the pnigi-uy seems either 

 to die or to return to .Java (':'). I did not .see the snipe, but 

 of the Hall Its iJiili/i/iinirs I got several s])ecinK'ns. Egrets, 

 blue and white, abounded and rested on the high trees on 

 some of the islands. Liziu-d of several species are now found 

 on nmst of the islands in large niunbers. Of iu.sects the 

 number of species is very considerable. Coleoptera were 

 represented ' by Melolimthiitie, Cetoniiih,; Oaiahidn; Klntcridir; 

 Chri/somdida; but as I have not my journals of that date 

 by me, I cannot ri-e.all other families n.n- st.ate tlie number 

 of genera repvesi^nted. Of Heniiptera I caught a good mauy 

 species, mostly of small size. I\lany siiecies of ants wero 

 observed. Ncan-optera are represented, uuf oi-tunately, by the 

 termite, introduced some years ago in furniture, it is said, 

 but it occurs now on every i.slet of the group in myriails. 



