86c 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June 2, 1884- 



at, or obtainefl, if needed, from my Assam, Calcutta, or 

 London Agents, (the " Flnnter's Stores and Af/e^^i/ Co.) in 

 whoso hands a telegraph -code will be placed, which will 

 enable tea, or coffee growers to or<ler at once either in 

 London, or direct from myself machines needed for uso 

 during the coming season, and a prompt order accompanied 

 by draft, or London Agent's reference will insure as prompt 

 despatch via Suez Canal, or as directed. The Evapor- 

 ators are priced low as all sales are arranged as for cnsh u-ith 

 order. Remittances must be made in my own favor and 

 name, or to my order, at ruling rates of exchange between 

 India, London and America. My Banker in the United 

 States is The Merchants' Xutional Bank, of Philadelphia, 

 (Pa.,) on whom drafts, or credits may be eifected, or in 

 London, at 1, Great "Winchester Street, {P. S. and A. Co.,) 

 if more convenient. 



Any alterations required in the evaporators, other than 

 as specified in the books, must be especially expressed 

 clearly, and distinctly by letter, and all suggestions either 

 from tea. coffee, or other planters will be thankfully ac- 

 cepted, and trnnsmitted by me to the manufacturers, from 

 whom they will command jirompt attention. My own ex- 

 perience as a planter is based upon my position as manager 

 in two of the largest, and best known London companies, 

 and that experience permits me to recognize and appreci- 

 ate the dominant attributes which will commend the 

 "American" to tho notice of all classes of planters, as the 

 dri/cr par exccUcncc of the future. In conclusion I briefly 

 synopsize its value under the follov.'ing heads, viz. : — 



(1) Economy, in cost, labor, fuel and heat. 



(2) Its simiiUcity, durability, and portability. 



(3) Immunity from fire when used in " cutcha " build- 

 ings. 



(4) Absence of lengthy smoke stacks, insures safety in 

 cyclones, hurricanes or earthquakes. 



(o) Preservation of aroma, strength, pungency, and color 

 of outturn. 



(6) Briskness of. firing insiu'ed by direct action of heat, 

 and combined avoidance of steaming, or soddening. 



(7) Increased market value, and consequent ]irofit. 



(5) Pi'eedom from scorching, or discoloration of "tips." 

 ('.)) Its adaptabihty for bmning all kinds of fuel, viz : 



coal, coke, charcoal, bamboo, wood, or " Ekara." 



(10) That its use is likely to reduce to a-miuimum, all 

 such as brickmakiug, Ume, masons, carpenters and wood 

 cutters' expenses, avoiding also the need of " chulas " or 

 "dholes," and lessening the demand for " salonies," &c. 

 Tlie cost is such that the evaj)orator is iilaced within 

 reach of the smallest gardens, in one, or other size, while 

 large factories can likewise use them in sizes as needed, 

 regulating their working according to the day's income 

 of gi'eeu leai, or firing capacity required. 

 We have only finally to remark, that, if the de- 

 hydrating machines are not suited for the drying 

 of tea without any such alterations, as Mr. Ilollins- 

 wortli asks planters to suggest, his responsibility is 

 a serious one, for he distinctly recommends the 

 machines as specially and fully suited for tea-roast- 

 ing. It would seem as if they either are or couW 

 be ea.sily altered for the purpose. Who will try 

 the experiment ? 



CHINESE AQUATIC VEGETABLES. 



The following is a postscript to Dr. Macgowan's article 

 on plants acclimatizable in the United States: — 



Why not experiment with Chinese water plants? Those 

 of the sub-tropical latitude would take kindly to ric(^ regions 

 and to marshy lands generally, — where waters do not freeze, 

 or freeze but lightly. Among these valuable esculents in 

 the water caitraps, {Tra2ms hicornis, Imy chiao — buffalo-horn) 

 sometimes called water chestnut, because of its flavour ; it 

 does not furnish much in the way of food, like the Trujm 

 hispinosa of Cashmere, but it is valuable as a fruit, ehduring 

 the severe climate of Chihli and requiring no culture. The 

 next in value is a tuber ( AY foc/iacis i!(?i«'os«s) water chest- 

 nut, although the water lily (Nelumhmm speciosmn) perhaps 

 is more used for food (in some places people are veritable 

 lathoplmgi) ; it appears to be the Egyjrtain hean of Pyth- 

 agoras. It is rich in starch; its root-stuck and seeds are 

 alike e<lible ; its arrowroot is much used V»y invalids : its 

 caves are used for wrapping paper, while its flowers are 



strilringly gorgeous and not without fragrance. 



Another of the numerous water plants of the Chinese 

 is the celery-like shoots of the chiao-pai (extending far 

 north), and yet another is the chin-tsai, water celery, which 

 is planted on bamboo rafts covered with mud, forming 

 floating-gardens like those of ancient Mexico, and modern 

 Kashgar. Let tho plants be securely placed in AVard's 

 cases, and an account of the mode of culture sent with 

 tho specimens. If any ornamental plants are sent, let me 

 commend for the sunny south, or for conservatories, tho 

 t'ieh-sku, iron tree, the most beautiful of the ct/codaciie. Its 

 name comes from its property of absorbing and assimilat- 

 ing iron; when it shows signs of decadence, nails are driven 

 into its trunk, which gives it a new lease of life. The 

 tiao-lan hanging epidendrum would be much prized ; it flowers 

 only when take from the ground and suspended from a 

 ceiling. I omitted to state respecting the nut-oil tree, that 

 it wouM prove easily cultivable in any port of our continent. 

 — B. — North-China Herald. 



THE PIIEI'^VEATION OF CAMPHOR IN JAPAN. 



The camphor-tree is much cultivated in Japan. It thrives 

 best in the Southern part of that country, especially in tho 

 provinces of Tosa and Sikok, where, too, the most camphor 

 is prepareil. Dr. A. van Roretz, at Otayama, in Japan, 

 says that the only tree that produces the camphor of the 

 Japan and Formosa trade, is the Lauras Camphorata, called 

 by the Japanese tsunohi. The camphor is gathered during 

 the wholt; year, but the best season is in winter. AVhen 

 the camphor-.seekers find a spot where many young camphor- 

 trees grow, they settle down there, build a hut to live in 

 and a furnace to prepare the raw camphor. When they 

 have gained all that was to be gained, they take down the 

 hut and depart to another region. 



The method of obtaining the camphor is very simple' 

 The workman selects a tree, and with a sharp instrument 

 adapted for the puri>ose, he makes several regular incisions, . 

 by which he obtains slips or chips. These he carries to 

 a furnace. These furnaces are generally built in the proxim- 

 ity of a naming water and are of a very simple con- 

 struction. A circular space is surroimded with bricks and 

 covered with a kind of grating. On this grating is put 

 a vesse in sh.ape like a truncated cane at the base more or 

 less 90 centimetres in diameter, at top more or less 45. A 

 little above the bottom of this vessel is an opening which can 

 be closed v. ith clay. The whole of the upper part is surrounded 

 with a covering of clay. In the upper plane of this truncated 

 cone-shaped space an opening is practised in the clay-covering 

 ■which can be closcfl with a plug. Near this upper plane, 

 in the side of the cane, a bamboo tube is affixed, leading 

 to a condenser, This condenser consists simply of a square 

 box, divided into five compartments, while a stream of water 

 flows from above upon it. 



The process itself is as follows: — The cone-shaped ve.s,sel 

 is filled with the chips, and, after closing the cover well 

 with claj, a certain quantity of water is made to flow through 

 the plug-holo in the cover. Then a fire is kindleil under 

 it and the vapour of the water, driven by the heat through 

 the chips, carries camphor and cam]jbor-oil with it into the 

 condenser, in which the camphor is deposited. In 24 hours' 

 time such a charge is completely worked off. 



The deposited camphor is then freed from the oil by 

 pressure, and the dry product — the camphor proper^is then 

 sent to Osaka, the chief emporium of the canqihor-trade. 

 The camphor-oil is used by the lower classes to burn in 

 l;).mps, notwithstanding tho pungent odour and the fume, 

 the products of the combustion. Cam}5hor perfectly pure 

 is never exported. The substance is subjected to further 

 rectification in Europe by means of distillation. The remain- 

 ing chips arc dried on stages erected against the furnace, 

 to be used as firewood. — India 31ercurj/. 



FLORIDA, PER CONTRA. 



The statements made by your correspondent "Per damna, 

 jier ca-das" (p. Sl>2. — En.), strongly inclines an impartial 

 critic to believe either that he is only slightly acquainted 

 with Florida, or else that ho is so unaccust<>nK'd to travel in 

 now and wild lands that he is unable to accurately judge 

 of their merits, and grapple with tho difficulties that are 



