Vat. XI. No. 253. 



THE AQRICULTUrvAL NEWS. 



As a result of the revision of the genera concerned, by 

 Dr. Stapf at Kew, supplemented to some extent by Mr. J. F. 

 Jowitt's work in Ceylon, a number of the botanical problems 

 connected with the exact determination of the sources of these 

 oils have been solved, though certain points have not yet 

 been completely cleared up (compare Kew Bulbtin. 1906, 

 p 237), and, in particular, as will be shown later, there is 

 still some difficulty in correlating the botanical classification 

 of some of the grasses with the chemical composition of the 

 oils they yield. On the chemical side, perhaps the most 

 important practical problem is that of finding a satisfactory 

 means of judging the quality of citronella oil, and fixing 

 a standard on which thi.< oil should be purchased. This 

 matter has received much attention in this country recently, 

 and at the present time an attempt is being made by a group 

 of experts in London to find a solution of this problem. 

 (Ferfiinin-i/ and Ex.-u'iitinl Oil Rtnjnl, 1911, i, 172.) 



During the last few years a large number of oils belong- 

 ing to this group have been received at the Imperial Institute 

 for examination, and the results of this work are of interest 

 not only as contributing in some measure to the solution of 

 some of the problems indicated above, but also as affording 

 information regarding new sources of supply of some of the 

 oils of this group already known in commerce. In addition, 

 the oils of a number of Cymbopogon species have been 

 examined for the first time. The present account is con- 

 fined to the factors of commercial importance in connexion 

 with the oils discussed, and for detail-s of scientific impor- 

 tance readers are referred to a paper on 'The Aromatic Grass 

 Oils', communicated by Dr. S. S. Pickles, of the Scientific 

 and Technical Department of the Imperial Institute, to the 

 International Congress of Tropical Agriculture and Colonial 

 Development, held at Brussels in 1910, and which will be 

 published shortl}' in the proceedings of that Congress. 



THE CULTIVATION OF CAMPHOR 



The following extracts, presenting details of cam- 

 phor cultivation, are taken from the Yearhooh of the 

 I'nited States Department of Agriculture, for 1910, 

 p. 452. Tney refer )>articularly tii conditions in that coun- 

 try; but possess an interest, in the- West Indies: — 



The camphor tree is hardy where the winter tempera- 

 ture does not fall below 15'F., but even at this tempera- 

 ture some loss of small branches will occur if the tree continues 

 to grow until late in the season and has not become com- 

 pletely dormant before the frost comes. The tree easily 

 adapts itself to new conditions, and can be grown on a wide 

 range of soils; in fact, it can be grown on any soils except on 

 very low land where water stands part of the year. The 

 maximum growth occurs, however, on a rich, well-drained soil. 



For commercial cultivation it is probably best to plant 

 on low-priced sandy land, since in this situation the trees do 

 well with less cost for cultivation and a smaller initial cost of 

 land. 



rR0P.\i;ATioN Camphor can be propagated by seed, 

 cuttings, and root cuttings, but for commercial purposes the 

 first method is to be preferred, except in cases of special 

 varieties having some valuable characteristic which would not 

 be reproduced by the seed. In propagation by seed great 

 care should be taken in the selection of the land for the seed 

 bed. If possible, a rich, well-drained soil which has been 

 under cultivation in previous years should be found. If this 

 i»i not possible, new land can be used; but in either case land 

 infested with Bermuda grass [Devil's grass — Cynodon Darty- 

 hin\ or maiden cane cannot be used, since the roots of the.se 



grasses will take up the moisture in the soil and prevent the 

 germination of the seed. 



THE .SEED AND SEED liED. Too much euiphasis cannot 

 be placed on the preparation of the seed bed, since after the 

 seeds are planted no cultivation can be given for three months. 



In size and shape, camphor seed resembles the common 

 wild black cherry, consisting of a small stone surrounded by 

 a fleshy pulp covered with a thin black skin. 



The seed bed should be prepared before the seeds are 

 gathered, and as soon as secured the berries should be planted 

 fresh with the pulp left on. For convenience in future 

 handling, the seed should be planted in hills 3i feet by 1| 

 feet, with three seeds to the hill, and covered about 2 inches 

 deep. This method will require about 24 quarts of seed per 

 acre and will produce enough trees for setting out 16 acres 

 of field planting. 



CULTIVATION. The seeds will begin to come up about 

 three months after planting, but four or five months are 

 often required for a full stand. The percentage of germina- 

 tion is very low, and only about one-half the seeds may be 

 expected to grow. Cultivation should begin as soon as 

 possible, and as soon as a full stand is obtained the plants 

 should be thinned to one in a hill and given a good dressing 

 of high grade fertilizer. 



The first season the plants should make a growth of 12 

 to 18 inches, with a very large and vigorous root system. 

 The treatment the second 3-ear should be the same, and at 

 twenty-six months from planting the plants should be from 

 2 to 3 feet high and well-branched. At this time they are 

 ready for field setting, 



I'REl'AKATIOX OF LAND FOB PLANTING. The land should 



be well prepared by deep ploughing early in the fall and 

 again worked just before the trees are set The trees can be 

 dug with a tree digger, and should be cut back very 

 severely. All leaves and small twigs should be removed and 

 the tree well headed back. The tap root should be cut back 

 to 12 inches, and all the small laterals removed. 



The trees should be set at the depth at which they were 

 in the seed bed, and a small basin formed by the soil about 

 them for the reception of water. One application of water 

 should bf given when the trees ate set and one or two later 

 on, as needed, if the rainfall is scanty. No growth will 

 take place in the roots if dry soil is allowed to remain in 

 contact with thein, but too much water will cause the roots 

 to sour and die. 



The Late Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, O.M,— 



It is with much regret that the death is recorded of 

 Sir Jo,seph Dalton Hooker, O.M,, G.CS.I., D.C.L,, F.K,S„ 

 etc., .sometime Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 

 who is regarded generally as having been the greatest botan- 

 ist of his time. The larger part of Sir Joseph's scientific 

 career was occupied in travel, chiefly for the purposes of 

 botanical exploration; though this was interrupted during the 

 periods 1855 to 1865 and 1835 to 1885, in which he was 

 respective!}' Assistant Director, and Directof of Kew (iir- 

 dens, being succeeded in the latter post by his son-iii-l.nv, 

 Sir W. T, ThiseltonDyer. Among other places, Sir .Jo,<epli's 

 travels took him to the Antarctic and the Southern Sea*, ihe 

 Himalayas. Palestine, North Africa and the Rocky .Nloun- 

 tains. He received the Order of Merit in 1907, on his 90ih 

 birthday. 



Sir .Joseph Hooker will be remembered in this part of 

 the world chiefly for the special interest that he took in the 

 West Indies, particularly during the time that he was at Kew. 



