Oci'. i> Jbm.i 



tH® TR0P1CA.L AQRlCi3VtVmn% 



^39 



over, it makes the best jelhj, for which I send you 

 a recipe. If Mr. Stalkartt will trj' it, he will never 

 eat English or Scotch marmalade again. It is, in 

 addition, a fine antiscorbutic; I mean the lemon-jelly. 

 This fine lemon tree is easily propagated by cuttings 

 in the rains in the shade of trees. This is also the 

 best time for lai/crini/ it. In two months the layer's 

 roots fill the pot. The layering is done as follows : — 

 Take a lower branch fit for layering ; tie a bit of 

 twine tightly below a joint, so as to cut slightly into 

 ttie bark, and knot the string. Then bend the part 

 tied, U-fashion into a pot of good soil well drained, 

 cover it with soil, and put a heavy brick over the 

 surface to prevent the branch from springing out. 

 In two months or less, in the rains, the pot will be 

 filled with roots. This can be easily known by lifting 

 the brick, and seeing the roots under it. Then it is 

 fit to separate from the tree, and should be kept in 

 the shade and watered, till planted out. Lime in 

 any form is a good and essential manure for all 

 Citrus trees. Anybody who has a tree of this kind 

 would do a good service by propagating it, and widely 

 disseminating it. It propagates by ,^ecd and hud also. 

 Seeds sown now will be fit to plant out next rains. 

 "Now for the jelly recipe:— Cut up the lemon 

 • very finely, removing all the seeds. To every pound 

 of lemon allow 3 pints of water, soak the lemon in 

 the water for -24 hours (in the rains perhaps less) 

 then boil in the same water in a (jlazcd vessel, till 

 ([uite tender, and let it stand another 24 hours (in 

 the raius may be less.) Then weigh ipj of Cossipore 

 crystallised sugar to each pound of the boiled lemon 

 and water. Boil sugar, lemon and water till the 

 marmalade, on trial, will *et. "When cool, eat it with 

 toast and butter. According to taste, more lemon 

 juice and less rind can be used. 



" I am glad to find you have this lemon tree well 

 established in Calcutta.'' 



Mr. Stalkartt, on being referred to as to the age 

 of his plants, stated that he has known them to 

 exist at Goosery for some fifty years; so it is prob- 

 able that the Society obtained their grafts from him. 

 Firminger, at page 226, Edition 1874, alludes to 

 lemons distributed by the Society as " the common 

 Spanish, so much used in England," though he adds : 

 " this is not altogether similar in shape to the 

 European fruit," Kama Neeho is given in Firminger 

 as the native name, and under this name the Citrus 

 medica, common lemon," is given in the Hortus 

 Bengidemis, or a catalogue of the plants growin? in 

 the H. E. 1. Co. 's Botanic Garden at Ua,lcutta (1814) 

 and the date of its introduction is given as 1796. 

 Mr. Stalkiirtt's lemons are probably grafts from these 

 plants, which may themselves exist at the Botanical 

 Garden. 



Dr. Bonavia, again writing on the subject, mentions 

 that he calls the Lucknow lemon " Malta lemon,"' 

 as he intreduced them from that island, but it is 

 indentical with those grown in Sicily, Malta Spain, 

 Portugal, kc. He adds: "In the olden times the 

 lemon was C medica, then Risso and I'oiteau called 

 it C. limoiinm vuh/aris;. Hooker and Brandis have 

 now called it C. viedica var liwoinnn." 



In a subsequent letter Dr. Bonavia asks for samples 

 of the diiferent limes and lemons obtainable in 

 Calcutta, and these will be .lent to him to assist him 

 in the preparation of his book on this useful family. 

 Mr. Sturmer, of Khaja, Ghazipore District, mentioned 

 at the meeting that he had in his garden plants of 

 lemon exactly similar to those placed on the table 

 by Mr. Stalkartt, and they had been in existence for 

 some thirty years to his knowledge. 



Ehe.v. 

 At the last Meeting of the Society a letter was 

 read from Mr. 0. S. Bayley. T^uder-Secretary to the 

 Government of India, submitting a sample of Khea 

 fibre prepared by M. Legros, an engineer attached to 

 the Public "Works at Cairo. The following reports 

 were kindly furnished by Mr. W. Stalkartt, of Goosery, 

 and Messrs. Birkmyre Bros. : — 



Report. — " Sample of Khea fibre from iM. Legros, 

 Cairo, said to be prepared by a chemical process of 

 title cost, 



" Parts of the sample are well cleaued, and th.Q 

 fibre retains its full strength, unlike other samples I 

 have seen chemically prepared ; while in other parts 

 of the sample, the gum and bark adhere to the 

 fibre ; save for this, the process appears to be efficient. 

 The important consideration is that the strength of 

 the fibre does not seem to be in the least deteriorated 

 by the process, as is unhappily so often the case 

 with chemical treatment." — W. Stalkartt. 



Report. — " In reply to yours of 1st instant, we beg 

 to report upon the sample of Rhea fibre, from Mr. 

 Legros, Cairo, said to be prepared by a chemical 

 process of little cost, as follows : — 



" The fibre retains its full strength, and does not 

 appear at all injured by the chemical used, but we 

 cannot say that the bark and gum have been effectually 

 removed. 



" AVe enclose you a sample of Khea prepared by 

 Messrs. Death and F.llwood's machine, and also return 

 you your own samples and letters appertaining 

 thereto." — Bibrjiyrk Bkos. 



BOOTS AND THEIB WOKK. 



Uses of Roots to Plants. — f^pecial Uses. — A\'e ha\ e 

 in considering the various forms of roots spoken of 

 the probable uses for which many of them would be 

 suitable — the strong root for the tall growing plan t 

 the much branched fibrous root for the grossly feeding, 

 plant, the wedge-like root fox such as need support 

 and grow in crevices, &c. Some plants require long 

 roots to reach to cou.siderable depths, as in many 

 alpine plants where a stem and leaves 1 inch above- 

 groimd may have "40 inches below." This is to 

 ensure that the plant gets a supply of water when 

 the soil and surface of the ground are deeply frozen, 

 and w! 'i'.i the sun's heat would not affect, whilst 

 the leaves of the plant would soon wither under its 

 heat, no fresh supply of water coming into the 

 tissues. A Statice iucaua measuring some 9 inches 

 to the top of its leaves actually measured Ih feet • 

 from the neck to the extreme end of the roots. 

 Six of these plants were grown round the edge of 

 a pot, their roots had coiled rovmd and round at 

 the bottom, squeezing the crocks into the " ball." 

 Here, doubtless, the length of the root might be 

 abnormal— it might have grown at the expeu-^e of 

 the plant, but evidently the root attains great lengths 

 in its natural home, perhaps enabling it to penetrate 

 among rocks to a fairly depth. 



Functions of the Roots. — But we have other than 

 mere vaiiatious in the size of loots likely to be of 

 aid in meeting special ends ; we have general uses 

 which roots fulfil, which we will briefly mention 

 here : — They support or fix the plants, as we have 

 elsewhere alluded to, and as it is so evident a fact 

 we will not further consider it here. They are the 

 means of supplying most of the [liquid] food neccs.'ary 

 to the growth of the plant. "We notice that the 

 leaves wither and dry up if they are severed from 

 the root; they may last for a considerable time if 

 placed in water; but it is evident by this that 

 roots are the means by which plants obtain the large 

 amount of water required by them. If we take a 

 leaf of Eucharis amazonica and place it between dry 

 pressing papers we find, after drying it, that ill^tead 

 of being about one-eightli of an inch in thicknes:-, 

 it will now be less than one-hundredth ot an inch. 

 This shows how large a part of most plants in 

 water alone. The solid part left after drying might 

 be burnt to an ash, and we cuuld learn what 

 chemical substance it was composed of. It is very 

 evident that these solid ashes could never travel up 

 the plant or cuter into it iu a solid form, and they 

 must have either got there [in solution] from the 

 air or froui the earth. , . ,, 



Action of Leavi-:s.— We learn that there is no), 

 enough of the substances rfquired for the plant's 

 food in the air, even were the plant cap:'.blc of taking 

 it iu Cirl.onic acid gas, however, is plentifully 

 taken up by the leaves, a very largt; amount of the 

 ash being carbou. The greater part of the othcr 

 cyustitueut matter ie disttolved iu water? aud eu 



