9o6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June 2, 1884. 



climate ami soil to which it is subjected. Under these 

 oonditioiis Mr. Baker said he was not surprised that the 

 potato plant lost its vitality, as is indicated by the fact 

 that after a time it ceased to produce flowers and seeds, 

 and then readily becomes a prey to the potato disease. 

 Mr. Baker thinks the vitality of the plant may be restored 

 by c»tting off the stems, which produce tubers, and sa\ing 

 only the roots which obtain nourishment for the plant. — 

 Auitralasiaii. 



^ 



EGYPTIAN GARDENS. 



On leariug Alexandria to take the train for Cairo from 

 the old station of Miniet-el-Basal (great market of Alex- 

 andria), 4 kilometres from the Place des Consuls, the road 

 traverses a superb forest of Date Palms, which looks es- 

 pecially well in autumn when these trees are loaded with 

 fruit. The Date Palms are cultivated in forests, and wave 

 theii- fronds in the air, about 60 or 70 feet above the 

 ground, and with their straight stems. 6 to 9 feet in cir- 

 cumference, produce an astonishing etfect. especially upon 

 those who see them for the first time when ai'riving from 

 Europe, where we see but small specimens of these trees 

 in greenhouses. 



The station of Sliniet-el-Basal (the Onion market) is 

 now only used for merchandise. Another station has re- 

 cently been constructed nearer the town with the frame- 

 work of a conservatory the size of that of the Societe cV 

 Acclimatatiou of Paris, and even larger, and which was 

 ordereil by the late Said Pasha during his visit to Paris 

 in 1S60. This great conservatory, which remained for fif- 

 teen years in the warehouses of iVlexanilria, has at length 

 been utilised, but covered with zinc instead of glass. From 

 Alexandria to Cairo the journey by express train takes 

 four hours and a half. At Kaf r-zayat, a .station situated 

 half-way to Cairo, the train stops for 20 minutes; there 

 is an alwudautly provided buffet, and a European UihU-iV- 

 )wte. At intervals on the journey the .\rab children offer 

 at every station little baskets (made of Juncus spinosus) 

 fUlexl with fruits, such as JIaudariu ana Blood Oranges in 

 winter, Loijuats in spring. Bananas and Figs in summer, 

 and enormous Pomegranates in autumn, which the Eui-o- 

 pean travellers buy for one or two piastres. For the Arabs 

 and the Fellahs there are Radishes and green Onions in 

 winter. Chick-peas and Fenugreek in spriug, Cucumbers 

 and Water Melons in summer, and Dates in autumu. 



The chit'f garden worth visiting at Cairo is the park of 

 Ezbehieh, situated iu the centre of the Emopean quarter, 

 and having an area of upwards of 85,000 square yards of 

 an octagonal form, with four gates — north, south, ea.st and 

 west. This gardeu was reconstructed iu 1871 and em- 

 banked 6 feet all round, especially in its circular part. In 

 the centre is a great basin fed with water by a cascade, 

 falling from a reservoir, constructed above a grotto, and 

 hidden by a rustic kiosque. There is a concert of mihtary 

 music given here every afternoon during the promenade 

 hours. 



The lawns are formed of Zapania nodiflora. The most 

 remarkable of the old trees of this garden were carefully 

 preserved diu-ing the alterations, especially fine specimens 

 of Taniarix arborca, Alhizzia lebbex, Cassia fistula, &c. All 

 the other plantations date from 1871, and are specimens 

 taken from the old Khedivial nursery of Ghezireh, estab- 

 lished by us iu l.sGH, and which was closed in 187!), on the 

 abdicatiou of Khedive Ismail. After the alterations, the 

 garden of Ezbekieh was thrown open to the public in lti7l-72; 

 but the Arabs or Fellahs, who frequented it in great num- 

 bers, put themselves so much at their ease there, that the 

 custodians were obliged to put turnstiles at the gates, and 

 chax'ge a copi)er piastre (about a halfpenny) as an entrance 

 fee to get rid of these objectionable visitors, who made 

 their ablutions iu public ou the borders of the lake, occu- 

 pied a whole seat, or two or three chairs, where they 

 stretched themselves to rest, or busied themselves with 

 the capture of sundry parasitic iusect.s, iu great numbers, 

 throwing them right and left without killing them, fol- 

 lowing the ISIussulmau custom, but leaving them to be 

 swept up by the European ladies unth their long dresses. — 

 G. Delchevalebie, in V Illustration HoHicole. 



Iktluence of Teees on Climate. — TheLosAngelesi/«TOW 

 thinks tree-planting h&s sccuitd to that section of the state 

 immuuity from dry Bests^^is.—Axtiti'ala^ian. 



ORANGE-GROAVING IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 



At a recent meeting at Adelaide of the Agricultural and 

 Horticultural Society, a paper was read on the cultivation of 

 the orange. The author of the paper was Jlr. Joseph Cur- 

 now, of Orange-vale, near Moutacute, who appears to have 

 read a paper on fruit culture generally some five years ago. 

 In the interim his experiences have led him to condemn the 

 use of the lemon as a stock for oranges, many of those planted 

 by him and thus worked having died. Trees worked by him- 

 self on seedling oranges have remained healthy, except a few 

 which suffered from over-irrigation. That over-irrigation was 

 the cau,se of their death is proved by the continuance in ex- ' 

 cellent healthof a large number of trees planted at the same 

 time, but which have had no artificial watering. Irrigation 

 might be practised with safety on a gravelly, porous subsoil, 

 but when the latter is retentive irrigation is sm-e to produce 

 bad results. Mr. Ciurnow attached much importance to the 

 practice of keeping the surface open and perfectly free from 

 weeds. A loose surface never cracks to let in the sun. He 

 would employ mulching on stiff soils, butnot place it near the 

 stem of the tree. The discussion on the paper ehcited rather 

 wide differences of opinion upon practical matters. Mr 

 Crozier sajd: — "In the cultivation of the orange the prin- 

 cipal thing to consider was the class of 'soil, the next was 

 judicious watering, and the third pruning. He had heard 

 of a system of cutting off the surface roots, which was 

 said to be effectual, although opinions differed much upon 

 that point, some contending that the tree drew most' of 

 its nourishment from the sm'face roots, while others argued 

 that by cuttiug those fibrous growths the tree then sent 

 its roots deeper do\vn into the soil, and was streugthened 

 thereby. The proper treatment of the branches of the 

 orange tree in the matter of pruning had a great effect 

 upon the health and vigorous growth of the tree; circul- 

 ation of air and shading of the roots being points not to 

 be lightly considered." Mr. AA'. .Jones's "experience told 

 him that every tree was the better for being planted near 

 the surface, as nature did when she took it in hand. Our 

 gum trees naturally planted grew better timber than if they 

 were put in by hand. The great fault about planting lay 

 in going too deep in the first instance. Orange-trees should 

 be grown iu shape as much hke au umbrella as possible, 

 so as to shade the roots, otherwise the ground cracked, 

 and they suffered from the too direct rays of the sun. In 

 Sydney the gai'deners followed an excellent plan in lajiug 

 down a flagstone some nine inches below the surface and 

 planting the tree over it, so that the roots shoidd .spread 

 out as much as possible and gather nourishment from a 

 wider area. There was a great deal of forethought in that 

 system, and the result showed how practical it was." The 

 president was not quite clear about the cutting of the 

 fibrous roots; a tree so dealt with undoubtedly sent its 

 roots deeply into the ground, inducing a vigorous growth. 

 Mr. Davenport presumed that the reason for cutting the 

 surface roots was that the other roots would then have a 

 tendency to strike out better. He referred to a similar 

 system adopted in Corfu in growing %'ines. The general 

 opinion was unquestionably in favour of the Seville as a 

 stock for oranges. The selection of a proper site and soil 

 was also recognised as a point of the first importance. — 

 Aiiitralasian. 



AGRICULTURE IN .JAPAN. 



Those who live by the cultivation of the soil in Jai)an 

 occupy a higher rank iu society than farmers or gardeners 

 geuerally do in Europe or other comitries. They rank next 

 to the oflicial and militai-y class, and above the artisans 

 and merchants. About four-fifths of the population till 

 the soil, and some sections of the couutry have the appear- 

 ance of gardens. The hills ai-e often terraced with prodigious 

 labour, and cultivated ^vith great skill. 



A correspondent of the San Francisco Bidlttin, from 

 whose letter we make a tew extracts, states that in a journey 

 of twenty miles, between Tokio and Yokohama, the follow- 

 ing crops were seen in the fields, all yielding profitable 

 retui'iis: — Rice, beans (several varieties), nnlict (three 

 varieties), Intlian corn, broom corn, buckwheat, onions, 

 endives, tomatoes, beets, radishes, turnips, par.suips, carrots, 

 salsify, artichokes, dock, sweet potatoes. Ii-ish potatoes, 

 cabbages, cauliflower, s]>inach. egg plant, rhubarb, taro (up- 

 land variety), ginger root, cuciunbers, squashes, gourds. 



