Oct. 1, 1 886. J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



285 



observe that Professor Oliver does not agree with the 

 synonymus of C. B. Olaike, in Fl. IJiit. Im!." 



The Houoiary Secretary ob-erved on a recent 

 journey from Bombay that the Oiii'ntia Professor 

 Oliver names O. nif/ricans was the common species 

 all along the railway after ascending the P>hore 

 Ghaut, and possibly all the way from Bombay to 

 Madras. Recorded %vith thauks to Mr. tbiseltou Dyer 

 and Profe.'sor Oliver, for their assistance. Head the 

 following letter from J. T. Ward, Esq,, dated Nellore, 

 5th June 18S6 : — " I find from the report of the 

 Committee of the Madras Agri-Horticultui-al Society 

 of last year, that allu^iou is made to the seedless 

 Bread-fruit {^Artocarpus incisus) and the Tree Tomato 

 ( <'i/pho)nan}ra hetacea). May I enquire whether you 

 can furnish rae with root cuttings of the former 

 and a few seeds of the letter. Also a few seeds 

 of the Cherimoya {Anona ckeiimolia). They could be 

 sent by post, and I would like to know their cost 

 including postage." " I have found the thornle-ss 

 Prickly Pear in some hedges here. I have fed Cattle, 

 Butfaloe,-*, and on it Pigs relish it very much. 

 Cattle refuse it at first, but if made to fast for a 

 <lay, take to it and relish it afterwards. Buffaloes take 

 to it easier than cattle. When cut up and thrown 

 into a tub of water, the water becomes very glutinous, 

 and is much relished by cattle. Can this plaut be 

 the '• Kew Nopal" which was introduced in the Nor- 

 thern Circars and in Tiuuevelly iu the year 1792, 

 and was even eaten by the people of latter place in 

 that year's famine. It was introduced from Kew 

 Gardens to St. Helena iu 1807 for the nourishment 

 of the Cochineal insect. It is said to cure and even 

 prevent scurvy and to be excellent forage for cattle, 

 &c." "The Mangrove plant grows luxuriantly on the 

 Coast, and by the banks of salt streams. Buffaloes 

 are very fond of the leaf. I believe ■< revenue is derived 

 from the cuttings of this plant I r fuel in Masuli- 

 patam." Resolved that Mr. Ward be thanked for 

 his interesting communication ami asked to be so 

 good as to send to the Society >pecimens of the 

 thornless Prickly Pear and Mangrove to which he 

 refers. 



KOOTS AND THEIR WOEK. 

 Applications to Methods of Cultivation. 



iSeeiU and seedlings. — We have seen how delicate is 

 the structure of roots after first being developed. 

 The soil must be liglit, easilj- penetrated, and damp 

 at the surface, for all plants whatever their habitat 

 may be when fully grown. Air must liave access to 

 .soil — it must not "cake," as stiff clayej' soil is apt to 

 do — the mere shaking of soil down in the seed-pot 

 is sufhcient for the purpose, except just a little 

 pressure after sowing to flatter the surface. 



BuANCHiHG. — The branching rootlets are apt to get 

 broken, they should be removed from the seed-pot 

 before of much length, and in pricking in the seed it 

 is easily seen that a displacement of the soil to one 

 side instead of boring a hole and shoving the roots 

 in, is the preferable plan. 



Pottin(t. — At potting, if we cannot indeed judge 

 from the seedling what is the habit of the plant, 

 we can at least see of what nature the perfect plant 

 is, and act accordingly, Had the plant a creeping 

 habit, tasily rooting from the stem, what folly it 

 would be to pre.ss the soil firmly around the seedling. 

 Were the roots very smooth and fibrou.s, plentifully 

 produced, we should judge that the plant wanted 

 plenty of water and a moisture-retaining soil. If our 

 root branched readily we might judge that it liked 

 a fairly loose damp soil. If there were naturally 

 delicate long hairs and a hard root, stony places would 

 be likely enough its natural home, and we should pot 

 it firmly. As to wedging plants (alpines) between 

 stones, there is the danger of drying them to death — 

 the stones and small pots if not plunged becoming 

 so( n very dry. It is an excellent help in cases where 

 there is no dwnger of this drought. 



Kepoti i.N'ii. — In repotting plants great care should 

 be taken to get the old and new sail of the same 

 density, eleu if the new is looser the water passes 



through it when watered and leaves the original ball 

 dry. !Somc potters slope tlie surface oi' the soil from 

 the centre to the circumference, considering tliat the 

 roots are mostly formed at the edge of the pot, or 

 on the further side of the old ball, therefore it is 

 best to send the water to the side. Others prefer 

 that the soil should be quite even, so as to secure 

 an etjual distribution of the water. This seems reason- 

 able when it is considered that the slope of the 

 pot will cause the outside to get most after all. It 

 is, however, very objectionable indeed to see a hole 

 in the surface of the soil into which the water always 

 runs, and so goes only through one part of the 

 "ball" thoroughly. If the ball be dusty it should be 

 shaken out or else water never penetrates it, although 

 as a rule there is not much root in the dentre of 

 the ball of pot plants. In cases where the roots are 

 very fine indeed and make but slow growth the roots 

 penetrate right through the ball. The best known 

 case of this is to be met with iu the Cape Heaths. 

 Where the growth is so, it stands to reason that the 

 "shift" in potting on should not be great, and 

 where the root is very fine it may be taken for 

 granted that it naturally grows iu a hanl, somewhat 

 dry place. These fine roots and long root-hairs need 

 the more careful treatment. In repotting also, except 

 among coarse, easily branching roots (those of not 

 too hard texture), care should be taken not to break 

 the •' ball," or the chances are that the greater part 

 of fibrous growths of the root are broken away, when 

 the shock caused by evaporation subsequently is too 

 much for the plant. Nor in slowly growing hard 

 roots, which do not give off branch roots, as Heaths, 

 should the fibre be disturbed more than possible, 

 certainly not broken by poking among them with 

 pointed sticks. 



Watering. — Watering is considered about themost 

 difhcult part of plant-culture to manage well. That 

 the soil shall not be tjo much saturated with water 

 is quite as important as that it shall not be too 

 dry : in the latter case the flagging is readily seen. 

 Where saturated with water the soil is cold — if not 

 decaying — and the needful warmth is absent which 

 Causes the delicate growing roots to develop. Es- 

 pecially should this be taken care about where a 

 plaut is newly "potted on." The larger mass of 

 soil retains the water more readily, and the roots 

 cannot take it up quickly enough ; and siniilarly, if 

 a '"ball" is not fairly well covered with roots, it is 

 hurtful to water it much even if the leaves are large 

 and appear as though they would draw water up 

 quickly. 



Dbainagk. — As to the drainage in pots, it is well 

 to have a considerable amount where the roots do 

 not — as, for instaiu:e, iu Gleichenia— penetrate deeply. 

 The plant may like a great aniouut of water about 

 it, but it does not want stagnant acid-generatiug soil, 

 which if the drainage is clogged is apt to occur. To 

 pour water on freely and left it pass off freely is a 

 better plan. For the same reason it is well to have 

 the soil porous, not to allow too much tine soil to 

 remain in the potting mixture, though among common 

 plants — and coarsely rooting plants especially — it of 

 course is not worth while to riddle the fine away. 

 AVe may notice that when the drainage is blocked 

 up the roots have a tendency to grow to the surface 

 again. Xi times we may see pots well filled with 

 roots at the sutface, and roots absent entirely from 

 lower dowu the pot. This shows that the roots object 

 to a water clogged soil. A considerable length of 

 root, as in Imautophylhnii, indicates great ( apabilitics 

 for absorbing water. Iu many eases one is tempted 

 to moisten the surface only of the soil in small pots. 

 This, though beneficial, on account of the damp, to 

 the leaves, is likely, unless very carefully managed, 

 to be productive of harm. The bottom of the '' ball" 

 may be dry whilst damp at the surface — a most 

 ruinous state of things, quite contrary to Nature. 

 Top-dressing is very nuich to be deprecated also, 

 for a somewhav similar reison — the fresh soil looks 

 dry, and water is given, saturating to a hurtful extent 

 the old soil of the ball below. It is much more 

 advisable where possible to plunge all small pots in 



