July i, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



69 



farmer who, by great industry, had studied the question 

 and learnt the commercial and agricultural value of 

 manures and farming on a large scale, who estima- 

 ted the value of such knowledge as he possessed at 

 a saving of fully £'200 a year. 



The Manchester and Liverpool Society are carrying 

 out a series of experiments to determine the best 

 mixture of seeds for (1) permanent grass, (2) for 

 leys of two or three years, (3) the comparative value 

 of different artificial mixtures on oats, and experi- 

 ments on varieties of potatoes, and plots for tke 

 growth of the different grasses. Land has been 

 provided on Mr John Roberts's farm near Chester, 

 owned by Mr. W. E. Gladstone. The grass seed 

 mixtures have been sown in a crop of oats, and 

 each member of the society has been furnished with 

 a plan of the plots and full particulars. The arrange- 

 ments have been made by Mr. Robert Holland, the 

 society's botanist ; aud in carrying out the details 

 he has been ably assisted by Mr. John Roberts, the 

 tenant of the farm, one who fully appreciates the 

 immense importance of the work. The following 

 extract from the report of the Experimental Committee 

 will show the object in view: — 



The committee suggest that, in addition to the 

 practical test of grazing the permanent grass seeds 

 next year, which the council aud members may judge 

 of for themselves in occasional visits, the society's 

 botanist, Mr Holland, should make periodical visits 

 of inspection, and report annually in the Journal 

 on the quality of all the pastures, their growth in 

 this and subsequent years, the degree in which the 

 grasses are grazed to stock, their comparative value 

 as pastures, their relative cost in seeding, and such 

 other facts as would lead to a better knowledge of 

 the best kinds and proportions of seeds to sow for 

 permanent pasture. 



We anticipate very important results from this 

 movement on the part of local societies, and we 

 feel sure that, if carefully and conscientiously worked 

 out, these experiments will in time give data which 

 will influence our practice, and lead to more econom- 

 iail and scientific agriculture. — Field. 



Dr. Trimen's Report for 1885 on the various bota- 

 nic gardens in Oeylon, of which he is Director, is 

 a very satisfactory document, as such reports from 

 our colonial gardens generally are. It contains a 

 considerable number of meteorological observations, 

 and describes the arrangements made to carry out 

 the scheme of a garden at Baduba, in the new 

 province of Ceylon, for which funds have been voted. 

 The usual report on the distribution of plants and 

 seeds is given, and then comes a long list of addi- 

 tions to the collections of plants at the various gardens, 

 which is followed by some interesting notes on economic 

 plants and products. Under this h^ad be makes various 

 recommendations and suggestions which wdl no ioubt 

 be of the utmost value to perplexe 1 plmters who 

 are assailed on all sides by dangers which are only 

 too apparent, but which it reqnire-i wcie itific train- 

 ing and inv. stigation to combat. Thus he advises 

 thao tea and cinch jna should not be growu together, 

 a'* it is only in such cases that the plan'er's .scourge, 

 helopeltis, does any appreciable damage to tea. un 

 the other hand, he thinks that the diminution in 

 the cultivation of cacao, through dread of helopeltis, 

 is unreasonable, for the insect only attai;ks cacao 

 grown in the open, and not th^t. htowu under the 

 shaiie of trees, for example. Th»- Ceyl'>n Herba'-ium 

 has been arranged during the y' ar in accoiditnce 

 with Dr. Trimen's " System.ttic Oat logut- of (Jeylou 

 Plants," and in the worn: of rearranging ue was able 

 to put together a series of notes tlescnhing about 

 2ft0 additions to the flora of Ceyl'ju, a:id 40 new 

 species or varities. That much yet remains to be 

 done is obviou!? from the fact thao daring 1885 

 fifteen additional have bean discovered in the island, 

 many ^f which are striking plants. The Government 

 has approved the formation of an exhiintion con- 

 tuiuing specimens of the plants, grains, &c., of the 

 island. Like many other colonial officials, Dr. Tri- 



men has been busy during the past year preparing 

 for the Colonial and Indian E.xhibition, where the 

 series of woods in the Ceylon section was prepared 

 by him. — Nature. 



Coffee in Cfa'lon lias come to a low pitch, 

 but scarcely so low as the Editor of the "Journal 

 of Horticulture" would make it out to be, when 

 ill writing on the " Colindies," he speaks of an 

 average of 500,000 lb. of coffee berries being re- 

 ceived in London from Ceylon. "Cwt" was 

 probably meant, though of late years 200,000 cwt. 

 would be nearer the average ; but in "lb." this would 

 be well on for 25 millions. 



The T. a. — A Fiji planter who has never been 

 in Ceylon, writing by last mail, says : — "I feel I must 

 express my acknowledgements and thanks that 

 I have continued to receive your most vain- 

 able aud practical paper most regularly. We 

 have been for some time passing through a 

 most trying time of depression in this colony, and 

 it still seems very doubtful when and how any 

 change for the better is likely to arise. Hoping 

 however for better times yet." 



Ro^.vr, Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. — Dr. Trimen's 

 report indicates continued progress aud usefulness in 

 the gardens under his charge. A Thwaites Memorial, 

 in the shape of au octagonal building in the ordin- 

 ary Kandyan style, and modelled after a Sinhalese 

 temple, has been erected in the garden. No rain 

 fell in January at Peradenyia, but the total for the 

 year was 92 inches, distributed over 14G days. At 

 Ha-kgalla the rainfall was 83 inches, over 215 daj's. 

 The maximum air temperature at this station was 

 79^', on August 31 ; the minimum 43'^.5, on February 3. 

 Coffee planting is steadily diminishing, but Tea has 

 been exported very largely, and Cinchona bark also. 

 In spite of an estimate of 70,000,000 of trees, and 

 an acreage of 18,24b under Cinchona, Dr. Trimen 

 counsels the further extension of planting. Caoutchouc 

 and Gutta-percha trees of various kinds are mostly 

 doing well; Sechium edule is mentioned as a pro- 

 mising vegetable, while the beautiful Carica cundina- 

 marccusis is spoken of as '■ a very valuable intro- 

 duction. Stewed, or cooked in tarts and puddings, 

 it has very much the flavour of apples, aud for 

 mincemeat it is quite equal to them. It is also very 

 good, when fully ripe, eaten raw with a little sugar." 

 The Kumara, Ipomcea chrysorhiza has turned out 

 very suitable for culture in Ceylon as a substitute for 

 the Potato. A second edition of Dr. Trimen's useful 

 Hand-guide has also been issued, with maps. — Garden- 

 ers^ Chronicle. 



The Products of Borneo. — In a report from Buinei, 

 Borneo, it is stated that amongst the staple articles 

 of produce, sago and gutta-percha hold a prominent 

 plhce ; the planting of new lands with Sago Palm is 

 making steady progress to meet the demand. During 

 the year 1884 the sujiply of gutta-percha fell off, 

 •'but this was owing, to some extent, to the increas- 

 ing scarcity of the gutta-yielding trees, which are 

 ilt-stroyed for the sake of the immediate larger yield, 

 an<l no system of planting beiug introduced to make 

 up for the continual drain, the work of collection 

 is gradually becoming more burdensome and less and 

 less profitable. For a like reason the collection of 

 gutta susiu, or ludia-rubber, shows a falling off, though 

 in this case a rise in the market value would with 

 less difficulty be met by au increased production. 

 The cultivation of Gambler (Uncaria gambier) and 

 Pepper, now amongst the settled industries of the 

 cou'.itry, do not make such progress as the resources 

 of tlie jungle lands could well stand, nor do the 

 liberal terms on which the (ioverument are willing 

 to make grants of laud for agricultural purposes 

 appear to attract the attention from outside which 

 they deserve ; still the production of Gambier last 

 year was larger than in any previous year." " Rattans 

 form another important item in the export from 

 Sarawak, with the prospect of the trade increasing 

 as th*^ Baram district gets more thoroughly opened 

 to collectors." — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



