January i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



4S9 



GUJI FEOM THE GKiVSS TREE. 



TO THE EDITOE OF THE "aUSTBALASIAN." 



.Sib, — You will oblige your readers in this district if you 

 could give any information as to • the gathering the gvim 

 from the grass tree, the time for gathering, the process of 

 separating it from the roots, &c. — it seems to he found about 

 the roots and fibrous matter, and dilEcult to separate — and 

 any other information that would be useful. Enclosed is 

 a paragraph which has incited us to ask for information. — 

 Dhomana. 



[The material portion of the clipping is as follows: — "The 

 Braidvood Despatch hears that between Miltou and Moruya 

 there are no less than 200 men now employed gathering 

 grass-tree gum, which is in great demand in the English 

 market, where it is at present fetching £80 per ton. The 

 men thus employed are reported to be earning as much as 

 £1 per day. They take out a timber licence, and can go 

 anywhere on Grown hand. The pursuit is so profitable that 

 the free selectors have great trouble in keeping off tres- 

 passers from their lands."] 



WOOD AND TllEES. 

 SiE, — I address with all deference such a well-known 

 authority on trees in Assam as Mr. Sam Peal, but what he 

 says in your i.ssue of 2:.'nd May auent Gowryand Pan Sopa 

 trees having no heart, is contrary to what I believe, for, 

 as far as I have seen, if these trees be exposed to the 

 weather, thepulluk or sap-wood soon goes and leaves a heart, 

 or what I talie to be such. GowTy is of no use for posts, 

 while Pan is. Korika is of little use m the ground, but fine 

 for ujjper work. There is also another Sopa called Kotal 

 Pattia Sopa, scniewhat hke Tita Sopa, but the baik and 

 also leaves are like a kotal (Jack), only larger. There are 

 very few of this jit. I have great faith in the Sopas, and 

 I know of a bungalow whose posts are only some 1^ years 

 old, and almost all the Nahors are eaten or rotted through and 

 through at ground level, while the Tita Sopas are as sound as 

 the day they were put in. I know of a Tita Sopa post which 

 has been in a "Naragohr" for over 20 years, and is quite 

 sound. It is extraordiuary how Uttle planters know atout 

 the different treesby which they are surrounded, bar the 

 very commonest; and we ought to feel much obliged to 

 Mr. Peal for his kindness in allowing us to benefit by his 

 experiences, which extend over so many years. — Vours, &c., 

 Blackwatee. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

 Our Consul at Manilla (Mr. Richard Wilkinson), reports 

 that in consequence of the abolition of the tobacco mono- 

 poly iu the Philippine Islands, and the development which 

 the cultivation of the plant is expected to acquire, the 

 Spanish Government has resolved to dispose of the waste 

 crown lauds in the tobacco districts, and certain prescrip- 

 tions regulating their sale have been pubUshed, by virtue 

 of which foreigners are allowed to become purchasers on 

 the following conditions, namely ■ — 1. That they reside in 

 the Philippine Islands, and are duly registered in the 

 books of their respective Consulates ; "2. That their lands 

 to be sold should they leave these islands, and establish 

 their domicile elsewhere; and .3. That in the event of the 

 death of a landed proprietor, his heirs be compelled to 

 reside within the territory of the Philippine Islands, or 

 sell the property. The acquisition of land by foreign Com- 

 panies or associations is absolutely ijrohibite'd. The waste 

 cromi lands are very extensive, and the Government 

 would be greatly benefited by the sale of the same if 

 only i)urch.asers could be found ; imfortunatelv, excepting 

 a few districts where the extraordinary fertility of the 

 soil and the facilities for irrigation have attracted a Large 

 population, these islands, as a vholc, are but thinly 

 populated, and consequently the scarcity of labour deters 

 would-be purchasers from investing tlieir money in land 

 spe.culations, which promise no immediate returns. The 

 , Chinese, who might have supplied nece.ssary labour, are 

 not parti.%1 to .agi-icultural pursuits, and notwithstanding 

 treaty .stipulations, which only permits their residing 

 the Philippine Islands on condition of their dedicating 

 iM.-nsrlves to agricnlture, scarcely 100 indiriduals, oiii of 

 a resident Chinese popidation of upward of 40,000 souls 

 devote themselves to that miinstry. ~C}iamber of Commerce 

 Jounud. 

 0,3 



TEA INDIGENOUS (?) TO CEYLON. 



{From liennetVs " Ceylon ami its Capahilities") 



The jungles adjoining this place, and throughout the 

 Mahagampattoo district, abound with the "wild tea tree," 

 as it is called, but which, I am informed, is a species of 

 orchis. It bears yellow flowers; and the poorest people 

 are accu.stomed to use the leaf both for food and driuk; 

 for the former, boiled and mixed with Tyre^ and for the 

 latter, an infusion of the green leaf. It is called Gal- 

 Kuroo by the Singhalese; who also employ the leaf of 

 another plant, which greatly resembles that of the Tliea 

 Bohea, L., and is called by them Eata-Tlii-Kola, (or Ked- 

 Tea leaf,) in a similar manner. 



Although the infusion of the green leaf is a very bitter 

 drink, it is an excellent tonic, and its taste may be greatly 

 improved by the addition of the indigenous lemon gi-ass 

 {And ropoffon Scltosnanthvs, L.) and sugar; but that made 

 with the dried leaf, is a tolerable substitute for Eohea tea. 



The late Assistant Staff Surgeon Cr.iwford, at the time 

 he superintended the hospital duties at liatticaloa, in 1826 

 sent me, by a native Dhonei/ bound to Hambantotte,' 4' 

 coUectiou of insects and plants; and, among, the latter 

 a very fine specimen of what he considered the real tea' 

 in flower. It fully answered the generic description of the 

 Thm JiohCa of Linnreus; and, as it both Howercd and seeded 

 freely, I made a sketch of it, of which .an engraving is 

 annexed, but I was altogether unsuccessful in" my own 

 researches for the plant in the jungles of the Mahagampattoo. 



Mr. Crawford did not assume any merit to himself as 

 having made a new di.scovery, and it is very clear that 

 the Dutch were well aware of the tea plant being m- 

 digcnous in the eastern province; but it is to be wondered 

 at, that the government has not, long ere this, directed 

 its attention to so important an object of commerce ; for 

 if it be worth wliile to cidtivate tea in so distant a country as 

 Assam, with all its inconveuiencies and dangers, surely it 

 would be a more lucrative speculation, in a colony so much 

 nearer home, and with increased facilities of export. But 

 this, like the bread fruit tree, is another c/ww^f discovery; 



and a better acquaintance witli Ceylon in 1787 1789, would 



have rendered the two expen.sive trips to Otaheite for 

 supplying the West Indies with bread fruit plants', in- 

 expedient; for they could have been obtained in any quantity 

 from this island, and have obviated all the disas'trous con- 

 sequences of the mutiny on board His Majesty's shin 

 "Bounty." " 



Captain Percival, m his "Account of Ceylon," published 

 in 1805, informs us, "that the tea plant has also been 

 discovered native in the forests of the island It gi-ows 

 spontaneously in the neighbourhood of Trineomalee and 

 other northern parts of Ceylon. General ChampagnO in- 

 formed me that the soldiers of the garrison frequently use 

 it. They cut the branches and twigs, and hang them in 

 the sun to dry ; they then take off the leaves, and boil 

 them to extract the juice, which has all the properties of 

 that of the China leaf. I have in my pocket a letter 

 trom an oflicer m the 80th regiment, in which he states 

 that he had found the riai tea „lant, in the woods of 

 Ceylon, of a quality equal to any that ever gi-ew in China 

 and that it vvas in his power to point out to government 

 the means of cultivating it in a proper manner." 



MANFFAOTURE OF CAMPHOR IN JAPAN.* 



The manufacture of camphor is an important industry 

 on the island ol Kin Shiu (Kew Shew). 



From the port of Nagasaki there were exported in the 

 year 18S2. 15,186-18 piculs, valued at ^27,792 dollars A 

 picul IS 133J poimds. From other ports of the island not 

 yet open to foreign trade, a large quantity vas shijiped by 

 native merchants in native vessels to Shanghai in Ohin.a 

 and Hong Kong, whence it finds its way to India and' 

 England; little or none of it is exported to (be United 

 States. The camphor tree grows abundantly all over this 

 portion of Japan. It is found alike on high elevations 

 and in the valleys and lowlands. It is a hardy, vigorous 

 long-lived tree, and , flourishes iu all situations. 



Many of these trees attain an enormous size. There 

 a re a number in the vicinity of Nagasak i which measure 



* Report by Consul Jones, of Nagasaki. 

 the St. Louis Driu/i/ist, August 18, 1883. 



Reprinted fronj 



