m 



i^HE TROPJCAL AGRlC0LtURlSf, [Aug. 2, 18&6, 



growth is interrupted, and in many cases the plant is 

 thrown into a state of ill-health or chronic disease. 

 If trees were only grown in accordance wth the laws 

 of Nature there would be little or no room for com- 

 everything else, have their natural enemies, but a 

 plaints about insects destroying them. Trees like 

 great many insects found on trees, especiallj' of the 

 beetle tribe, are there, not as enemies at all, but 

 from beneficent motives, or at least to do benevolent 

 rather than malevolent work, by putting out of exist- 

 ence trees already diseased, dying or dead. Paring 

 of the turf is also a plan often adopted and highly 

 commendable, and when burning the surface is im- 

 practicable tltis is the best alternative system to adopt. 



Boring the ground by means of the forester's foot- 

 pick may or may not be considered a preparatory 

 work, but rather an actual part of the planting itself. 

 Be this as it may, it is generally done before the 

 plants are put into the ground, although it can be 

 done afterwards, as it sometimes is, and with very 

 satisfactory results. 



Another, and by no means unimportant consider- 

 ation, preliminary to planting has reference to orna- 

 mental effect in the fiat, tame landscape. Mountain- 

 ous and hilly ground so very naturally indicates how 

 and what to plant, that less consideration is there 

 required than when the surface is uniform and level. 

 The plain, however, usually consists of more fertile 

 and valuable land than the mountam. and there- 

 fore the area that can be afforded for planting is 

 corre.spondingly less. There is, however, in the plain 

 a compensation for this of no small magnitude, namely, 

 every single tree so situated imparts to the landscape, 

 an effect equal, and often mnch superior to, a large 

 area on the hill. From this it is not to be inferred 

 that the plantation on high ground is not a prom- 

 inent and commanding object, and usually seen from 

 a greater distance than a tree on the plain ; but what 

 is here meant is, that a row of trees stretching across 

 a plain district of country, or even a small gioup or 

 a single tree, adds much more to the clothed ap- 

 pearance of the landscape viewed from nearly the 

 same level, than an infinitely greater extent of jilant- 

 ation would do in an undulating district ; it should 

 therefore be kept in mind in preparing for planting 

 what the real and true effect will be on level ground 

 when the trees are grown up, in comparison with what 

 is produced in a mountainous district, and that an 

 acre, or even a single tree on the plain, is equal to 

 many on the mountain side.— C. Y, MiCHiE, Cullen 

 House, — Gardciurs Chrvnicfe. 



NOTK ON QUIMNK SULPHATE, BV Dk. O. HesSE. — 



This is part of a highly technical controversy and 

 we content ourselves with quoting the conclusion of 

 the paper in the Pharmaceutical Journal, thus: — 

 " Commercial quinine sulphate contains a sensible per- 

 centage amount of of hydrocjuinine, and that for 

 every unit of hydroquinine sulphate a result would 

 be obtained the same as if 042 per cent of ciucho- 

 nidine sulphate were present. It is for this reason 

 that the amount of cinohonidine sulphate is generally 

 indicated too high by several units per cent by the 

 optical method. Instances have indeed been met with 

 in which the optical method has given data indicating 

 the presence of some two per cent of cinchonidiue 

 sulphate in material that did not contain a trace of 

 it. This elucidation of the subject may at least 

 suffice to show what value is to be attached to the 

 Btatcments of Dr. de Yrij as to the amount of cin- 

 chonidiue sulphate in quinine sulphate, so far as 

 they are based upon the application of the optical 

 method of examination." 



Cauk oi" THE Hands. — The Hcientijic American 

 says, "There are not nearly as many secrets in hand 

 treatment as people imagine. A little ammonia or 

 borax in the water you wash your hands with, and 

 that water just lukewarm, will keep the skin clean 

 and soft. A Uttle oatmeal mixed with the water 

 will whiten the hands. Many people use glycerine 

 on their hands when they go to bed, wearing glove 

 to keep the bedding clean; but glycerine does not 

 agreo witli every uuv. It nuktis euue ekius Larsli 



.1 I JH-' 



and red. These people should rub their hands with 

 dry oatmeal and wear gloves in bed. The best pre- 

 paration for the hands at night is white of egg with 

 a grain of alum dissolved in it. (^tuacks have a fancy 

 name for it ; but all can make it and spread it over 

 their hands, and the job is done. They also make 

 the Eomau toilet paste. It is merely white of egg, 

 barley flour and honey. They say it was used by 

 the Homans in olden time. Any way, it is a first- 

 rate thing ; but it is a sticky sort of stuff to use, and 

 does not do the work any better than oatmeal. The 

 roughest and hardest hands can be made soft and 

 white in a month's time by doctoring them a little 

 at bed time, and all the tools you need are a nail brush, 

 a bottle of ammonia, a box of powdered borax, and 

 a little fine white sand to rub the stains off, or a 

 cut of lemon, which will do even better." 



Olive Oil in Tuscany.— In a report on the trade 

 and commerce of Leghorn it is stated that the Olive 

 crop during the season 1885-86 throughout Tuscany 

 was very short. The yield of Olive oil is consequently 

 estimated at barely one-tenth of a full crop. The 

 fruit while still on the trees was considerably damaged 

 by severe frosts, hence much of the oil made was 

 of very inferior quality. Nevertheless, in a few 

 sheltered localities the Olives escaped injury, and 

 yielded oil of perfect quality, but the productioH 

 of such oil has been on a very limited scale. Under 

 these circumstances the prices of the finest qualities 

 of Tuscan oil, which are generally considered much 

 superior to the best growth of other soil-producing 

 districts of Italy and of France, might have been 

 expected to rule very high, particularly as in Tus- 

 cany stocks of Olive oil of the previous season's 

 crop were quite exhausted. But, owing partly to 

 good Olive oil crops in the districts of Nice, the 

 Italian Kiviera and Bari, and partly to the general 

 trade depression and fall in values of almost every 

 commodity, new Tuscan Olive oils have fetched com- 

 paratively low prices. The Olive trees are generally 

 in fine condition, and promise well for next seasOH. — 

 Gardenem' Chronicle. 



Cultivation or Cinchona in Europe. — In a recent 

 issue the Atlienaiun quotes from M. Yogel {Bieder- 

 mann^i Central Blatt) that is a •' very remarkable fact 

 in relation to the chemical action of the solar rays, that 

 cinchona trees growing in hothouses in Europe develop 

 no quinine in their bark." This is contrary to the 

 experience of the late Mr. J. E. Howard, who took 

 a warm interest in the propagation of cinchona, in his 

 own hothouses. On one of these he rote as follows 

 in a paper contributed to the BritishwPharmaceutical 

 Conference, 1880 : — " I found that canker had invaded 

 the plant to a serious extent ; and, after trying in vaiu 

 some heroic remedies, I determined to root up the 

 calisaya, and if possible gain some useful information 

 as to the cause of its death. The age of this tree Mas 

 eight years, the height between 7 and 8 feet, but would 

 have been much more had I not been compelled to cut 

 olf the top some years before in accordance with the 

 requirements of my conservatory. Before doing this I 

 succeeded in taking a strip along this upper portion 

 and renewing the bark under moss, as practised in 

 India. The girth of the stem at the base wa? 9| 

 inches, and about (i;} inches at the summit (where cut 

 otf }. The result of the analysis of the bark of my tree 

 was as follows : — CaHsii/a Angelica quill : l^b sulpliate 

 of (juinine, 070 cinchonine, Olo (juiuidine. CaViMya 

 Am/clica stem hark : 3 20 sulphate of quinine, 1'50 cin- 

 chonine, 32 quinidiue. Calisat/a AiKjelica root hark : 

 3'95 sulphate of quinine, 1 00 cinchonidiue, 400 cin- 

 chonine, 27 quinidine. Thi4 must be considered 

 satisfactory for a tree grown under glass in England." 

 This is a direct contradiction to Mr. "N'ogel's state- 

 ment. AVe take it tbat what is meant is that the solar 

 rays have the effect of decreasing the percentage of 

 alkaloids, and not only so, but have the power of causing 

 degeneration of the quinine. This is not a new fact. 

 It was first observed by Mr. Maclvor, and no further 

 back than last year Mr. David Hooper, Government 

 quinologist of IMadras, referred to the point in his paper 

 communicated to the Aberdeen couforeucc— OVte/zaii 

 did Ifruc/tjiit. 



