I^S 



THE TROPICAL AmiCULWmST. [Avg. ^, im. 



to and fro over the fire, so as to prevent them from 

 burning. The leaves are arranged all on one side and 

 the stems on the other, in order, that the whole of 

 the leaves may be equally exposed to the heat with- 

 out nterfering with the drying of the stem. The 

 process is completed when the leaves have turned to 

 a rich brownish-green colour and have become crisp 

 aud brittle. The flavor and quahty of the leaves 

 depend on the care bestowed on this operation ; if 

 carefully performed the raw vegetable taste is en- 

 tirely dissipated, which is not the case if sufficiently 

 done. "When singed, or overdone, the aroma is lost. 

 It is also very necessary to have a clear smokeless 

 fire, the creasote and other empyreumatic bodies con- 

 tained in smoke spoiling the flavour of the leaves. 

 This object is attained by using dried bamboo sticks 

 as fuel. Previous to being used for making tea the 

 dried leaves, which are very brittle, are rubbed to 

 powder between the hands. The powder is then in- 

 fused in boiling water exactly as in making tea, except 

 that it is used in much larger quantities. It produces 

 a dark brown liquid, looking like coffee, smelling like 

 green tea and tasting Hke mixture of the two.* Mr. 

 N. M. Ward, who had been for many years accus- 

 tomed to the use of this coffee tea in Sumatra says 

 of it:- 



" While I hud the use of the berry for a few days 

 invariably to produce on me, :fe on many others, the 

 effects of nervousness and bilious obstruction, I drink 

 a strong infusion of the leaf daily with evident bene- 

 fit to my health and strength. As a restorative on 

 exhaustion from the severeties of labour or of the 

 weather, from heat or cold, or long exposure to rain, 

 I know nothing superior to it. . . . Of its nutritive 

 power no proof can be stronger than that it suspends 

 hunger and enables the labouring man to pursue his 

 work for hours after he would otherwise be unable. . . . 

 With a little boiled rice and infusion of the coffee 

 leaf a man will support the labours of the field in 

 rice planting for days and weeks sucessively, up to 

 the knees in Tnud, under a burning sun or drenching 

 rains, which we could not by the use of simple water 

 or by the aid of spirituous or fermented liquors. I 

 have had the opportunity of observing for twenty 

 years the comparative use of the coffee leaf in one 

 class of natives and of spirituous liquors in another, 

 the natives of Sumatra using the former, and the 

 natives of British India, settled here, the latter, and 

 I find that while the former expose themselves with 

 immunity for any period to every degree of heat, 

 cold or wet, the latter can neither endure wet, nor 

 cold for even a short period without danger to their 

 health." f 



Specimens of the coffee leaf tea were exhibited in 

 Loudon at the International Exhibition in 1851, to- 

 gether with caffeine prepared from them. Dr. John 

 Gardiner, the exhibitor, subsequently took out a 

 patent for preparing the leaves. According to a fur- 

 ther statement made by Mr. N. M. Ward to the 

 late Mr. D. HauburyJ the leaves could be prepared 

 and packed Sumatra at a cost of 2d. per lb., and 

 would even then afford sufficient profit to the planted 

 especially if grown on low lands where berries are not 

 fret'ly produced. The leaves were analysed by Dr. 

 Stenhouse, who found them to contain more caffeine, 

 than coffee berries and as much as mate or Paraguay 

 tca.§ F>i iug thus rich in caffeine, if a little scientific 

 skill were devoted to producing and retaining the 

 aroma, thore seems to be no ostensible reason why 

 roasted coffee leaves in powder should not replace 

 much of the chicory and other substances now used 

 to cheai:)en coffee. 



The seeds of Baa^ia Latifotia and the oil expressed 

 from them, which in the Mauritius Court were labelled 

 "illipc seeds and oil," are exhibited in the Perak 

 rollection under the name of " suring seeds and oil," 

 while the name of " illipe nuts " is applied to the seeds 

 of a Dipterocarpous tree, probably Hopea macrojihylla, 



* Ilooker, Jov.m. of Botany , 1855, p. 41. 

 f rharm. Jov.m. y [1], vol. xii., p. 443. 

 — • xiii., p. 207. 



Pharm 

 i Pharm. Journ. 



Journ., [1], vol. 



•n., [11 



r»,, tl 



or an allied species,* which yield the fat known in 

 Borneo as " minjak tangkawang," specimens of which 

 are in North Borneo Court. 



Several resins also derived from the same natural 

 order, and marked " JJipteroearpvn 'Sp.," are exhi- 

 bited under the various names of "damar sesa," 

 " damar " and " mata kuching," or cat's eye damar, 

 and "damar renkong; " most of these come from 

 Larut, Perak. They do not present a very bright 

 appearance, but may be more . valuable than their 

 appearance indicates. The damar mata kuching is 

 indentified by Professor Van Eeden as the product 

 of Hopea Mengarawan, Miq. 



The lesser cardamom {Arnomnm CardamoiiiU)7i), shown 

 at the same stand, was formerly official in this country, 

 and is easily recognizable from its globular shape and 

 smooth surface. The seeds closely resemble those of 

 the official cardamom in flavour. They are used in 

 medicine by the natives as a carminative. Another 

 cardamom, unnamed, from Gapis, Perak, is labelled 

 " wild cardamom.'' — Pharmcevtical Journal, 



REPORT OF THE ADELAIDE BOTANIC 

 GARDENS. 



BY DK. i;. SCHOMBUKGK. 



Botanic Gardens, March, 1886. 



I have the honor to submit to you my report upon 

 the progress and condition of the Botanic Garden and 

 Park, and of the Museum of Economic Botany, for the 

 year 1885. That year, I regret to say, was one of the 

 driest and most ungenial that I have ever had to contend 

 with, the rainfall having been no more than 15*887 

 inches. This is 2-851 inches less than the fall of 1884, 

 and 5272 inches below the average rainfall during the 

 previous forty years. The minimum rainfall during 

 that time was 14 inches. The spring and summer were 

 very dry; during September, October, November, 

 December and January no more than 3 inches of rain 

 fell. The heat during these months was abnormally 

 great, the maximum in the sun being 173° and 113° in 

 the shade. The highest temperature in the sun was 

 182 ° in January, 1882, and 115" in the shade. 



Such a temperature after a drought of nearly three 

 months' duration could not fail to be most injurious to 

 all vegetation, but especially to those trees and shrubs 

 which are natives of cooler climates. It will be grati- 

 fying to all those who take an interest in this establish- 

 ment to learn that the damage done to the plants, and 

 the losses sustained, have not been so great or so 

 extensive as might have been expected. It is a matter 

 of sincere congratulation to know that the supply of 

 water at high pressure is sufficient for the community, 

 and that the Government has allowed me an unlimited 

 quantity for watering purposes ; but for this the 

 unfavourable season would have proved most destructive 

 to the vegetation in the gardens, and many very 

 serious losses would have occurred. Most of the men 

 employed in the garden have been engaged during the 

 last three mouths in watering only, aud I must continue 

 to employ fhem in this manner throughout the season if 

 the drought does not break up. Such a season could 

 not fail to be disastrous to the farming interest— and 

 we have had one of the worst crops of wheat hitherto 

 recorded. In some parts of the colony the crop has 

 been a total failure. The average yield is about three 

 bushels to tlie acre, which is the smallest yet known. 

 The fruit crops are about up to the average ; but some 

 fruits, especially those of the apples, have not attained 

 their usual flavor and perfection. Dunng May aud 

 June we had to suffer from severe frosts. The temper- 

 ature on several nights was as lowas29"'"aud 30°. As might 

 have been expected, such weather had a very injurious 

 effect upon the garden, aud the tropical and sub-tropical 

 plants and shrubs suffered greatly. In the spring, the 

 cold aud <lry weather consideriibly retarded the growth 

 and development of the florists' flowers. This was 

 especially noticeable amongst the annuals, especially 

 phloxes, stocks, iS:c. The commencement of the rose 

 season was verj- promising. The first flowers reached 



*Seo Pkarm. Journ., [3], xjv.. p. i82. 



