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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1886. 



1 illaniinable vapour is important and was made 

 IIP standard of test in both thf Petroleum Acts of 

 I >71 and l.sTi) and was called tlie oil rtashin;,' 

 loint. The 1871 act adopted tlie open test whicli 

 "vas found inaccurate, while the 1879 Act describes tiie 

 .lose test so minutely that it is practical and 

 workable. 



" Cold kerosene oil of good quality will not take 

 lie when a light is applied nor will the supev- 

 latant vapour inflame. The flashing point Ly the 

 i;s71 Act was limited to not le.ss than 100° F. 

 whereas th(> 1S79 Act shows and has lixed it at 

 not less than* 73' P. r- D. 22.7 C. Now the 

 I'urning point may be 10' or 20° liigher and the 

 two mu'^t not be confounded, as oils when spilled 

 will ignite instantly on the approach of a flame 

 ,vhen heated a degree or two above their Hash- 

 ing point. Now experiment shows that an oil 

 flashing at 8Ct" by open test and burning at 107° 

 can be made to liash at 100' by removing 6 to 

 7 per cent by distillation, on the other hand a 

 small admixture of Naphtha will reduce them 

 greatly. Water -white oil is the best brand I know 

 of, it has a flashing point of 140° F. and over, 

 accompanied by a low specific gravity. The par- 

 tial exhaustion of the U. S. supply has necessitated 

 a larger use of Canadian oil, which is heavier, 

 hence the greater density of that recently im- 

 ported. The heavier and more viscous oils re- 

 quire a more loosely woven wick for their satis- 

 factory consumption. The N. Y. Produce Exchange 

 lias adopted the test and limit as described iii 

 Act of 1879 for export oil test to England." 



IN SEARCH OF A HOME IN TASMANIA. 

 {By " Old Coloimt," F. R. C. I.) 



illE FRUITFUL DISTRICT ©F FKANKMN — THE GRAND 

 HUOX ROAD— GREAT EUCAJ^YPTS AND PINES — A COACH 



AND FIVE SPANKERS THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE — 



FR.\NKLIN TOWNSHIP — IN THE FIELDS : THE ODOUR 



OF OLD FAVORITES ORCHARDS AT £100 PER ACRE — 



A JA.M FACTORY — TIIE FIRST SHIPMENT OF CEYLON 

 TEA TO HOB ART. 



"AVhatever fruits in different climes are found, 

 That proudly rise, or humbly court the ground ; 

 Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear, 

 Whose bright succession decks the varied year ; 

 Whatever sweets salute the Northern sky 

 With vernal lives that blossom but to die ; — 

 These here disporting own the kindred soil, 

 Nor ask luxuriance from the planter's toil." 



No one is supposed to have seen Tasmania who 

 has not visited the fruitful district of Franklin. 

 One might as well talk of having seen Ceylon 

 without having done Dimbula. Franklin— named 

 after the celebrated Sir John — lies S. W. from 

 Hobart, (50 miles by water or 30 by land, and 

 is famous for its fruits and valuable forests. The 

 climate is decidedly damp, the yearly rainfall 

 being ii'A inches against 19 at the Botanical Gardens, 

 Hobart. The soil as a rule is very good, but the 

 lay of the land being rugged and rocky, it is reck- 

 oned unfit for general agriculture. Admirably adapted 

 for fruit-growing however, and as yet, free from 

 codlin moth. 



The magnificent road leading to Franklin — 

 for the Huon — is one of the chief lions of the 

 south-side oi the island. "Have you seeia the 

 Huon Road ?" is the usual query put to the 

 new-comer by fair Hobartina, when she makes her 

 formal call. A certain clement of danger seems 

 necessary to give zest to the enjoyment of travel- 

 ling. The Huon Road has not so many awkward 

 zig-zags as the old Ramboda Pass, but more break- 

 neck gullies, and i:)leasant surprizes in the shape 

 of lovely peeps by the wayside. A ratthng good 



an d the 

 hill. On 

 the roni- 



coach leaves Hobart every morning drawn by five 

 spanking horses. Mr. Froude, in his " Oceana" 

 expresses his diappointment with Melbourne horses, 

 thinks them decidedly " a scratch lot " and surmises 

 that the best may be away in Hobart with their 

 owners during the hot season. But the fact is, it 

 takes the eye a little time to become accustomed 

 to the Australian horse : he is less compact and 

 graceful than the English or Arab horse, but has many 

 good qualities, and there can be no question that the 

 gum-sucker is an admirable whip. Talk of horses 

 and you at once rouse the dormant enthusiasm of 

 young Tasmania, and rise in his estimation. To 

 thoroughly enjoy a ride like this, one would cert- 

 ainly require a driver in whom they could place 

 implicit confidence. The first few miles of the 

 road are well-known to all who have done Mount 

 Wellington, and is daily being traversed by picnic 

 parties, whose destination may be the fern tree 

 bowers. A charming view of Hobart 

 Derwent is obtained as we ascend the 

 the right, some hundred feet below, is 

 antic cascade hollow, in which is pointed out that 

 excellent institution " The Training School " for 

 boys, so admirably managed by Mr. Longmore 

 an indefatigable young Aberdonian, and born 

 manager of boys. A little further up the hollow 

 is the Cascade Brewery, an institution which 

 if less admirable, is probably quite as much ap- 

 preciated. We soon arrive at the finger-post 

 pointing towards Wellington's pinnacle, and pass in 

 succession fern-tree bower, and fern-tree inn, and 

 onwards we go at the rate of 9 or 10 miles an 

 hour, now holding in our breath as the horses 

 turn the awkwardly acute angles, and cannot help 

 thinking how a little bridging would have saved 

 much road-making, and the nerves of many an 

 old gent. These deep dark gullies are no doubt 

 very pretty, and very interesting, but I doubt if 

 the best way to enjoy them is riding in a coach 

 and five and, I confess, I breathe much more 

 freely when we get upon a tolerably straight bit 

 of road, from whence we can have peeps of the 

 distant channels. A fine view of Adventure Bay 

 (where Cook landed) is^to be had from here. 



The little clearings themselves are not encouraging 

 examples of the petit culture. Fruit, potatoes and 

 grain are grown in a half-hearted sort of way, 

 amongst the dead gum trees, which like gaunt 

 skeletons extend their bleached arms from a height 

 of 250 feet and upwards ; their colossal trunks 

 measuring from 50 to 80 feet round. What pigmies 

 men look while perched on a scaffold ringing one 

 of these gigantic denizens ! The Eucahjtus amyg- 

 dalina may indeed be allowed to rank amongst 

 the largest trees in the world : the celebrated 

 Lady Franklin's tree is 107 feet in circumference at 

 four feet from the ground, and other trees are pointed 

 out with boles capable of holding a party of 15 or 20, 

 and Sir John is remembered to have once attended 

 service held in the bole of one of those trees I 

 The most valuable tree, however, in this part of the 

 world is the Huon pine, Dncri/diitm Franklini, which 

 is restricted to this island, and most abundant in 

 this locality. An extensive trade is now carried 

 on in this fine wood, used for boat-building, house 

 furniture, and anything for which oak is used in 

 England ; it is very durable, and in the hands of 

 the cabinet-maker takes on a beautiful polish. 

 I am afraid to trust myself to express exactly 

 what I think of the unmitigated vandalism which 

 destroys those fine trees for the jDurpose of dibbling 

 a few potatoes or scratching in a few grains of 

 oat-seed ; and yet the poor immigrant— driven back 

 from the agricultural land — is not to blame, but 

 no langurtge is strong enough or gibbeting bad 

 enough for the men who have idiotically 



