264 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST^ 



[Oct, It r886. 



Ml'DAE Gkm. 



CaIatropi!> c/iyantea, Robert Beown. 

 ?,'.iturai Order. — Asclejikulaceae. 

 This plant, known also uader the name of Axclepias 

 (jigantea, <'f AVilldenow, was very early describvxl by 

 R heede in hif- Malabar Plants, under the name of Ericu. 

 VKRNAf'ULAR Namks. — Gigantic swallow-wort; Yer- 

 cum ; Yfrica ; Xella-jilledoo ; Akimd ; Mudah ; Ark. 

 Geographical DisxRiBUTroN.— throughout the penin- 

 sula and 8outht^rn Pro\-iuces of India. 



This shrub is found in waste places, and grows to 

 a height of from six to teu feet. Ten average shrubs 

 are said to yield one pound of a gutta-like substance, 

 which becomes plastic in hot water, and other ways 

 behaves like gutta-percha. There is also anoth(;r 

 species said to yield the same characteristic milk, 

 viz., C. proceni. but I have not been able !•) procure, 

 specimens. 



III.— CEYLON SOURCES OF SUPPLY. 

 In Cb\-lon tliere are species of Dichopsis, Ismuindra, 

 and other allied genera belongiug to the na.tural 

 order : Sapotacece. Specimens of their inspissated juices 

 I have not seen. When I passed through Point de 

 Galle, in 1874, I wrote to the late Dr. Thwaites, the 

 talented Diiector of the Government Gardens at 

 Peradeniya, with regard to the question of gutta-percha, 

 and received a quick and courteous reply, by which 

 it appears that the natives do not collect any of the 

 gutta, even if the trees yield it in appreciable quan- 

 tities. This agrees, too, with information I have 

 received from native and other sources of information. 

 Dr. Thwaites also remarked that some years ago he 

 sent the inspissated juice of one species to Sir W. J. 

 Hooker, but that the report on it was unfavourable- 

 Certain parts of Ceylon having a climate,* so 

 similar to that of the Malayan Peninsula and 

 Archipelago, it seems probable that here would be 

 found the best localities for the acclimation and 

 cultivation of the true gutta-percha tree. I have 

 recommended the adoption of this course, and 

 sincerely trust that efforts will be made iu that 

 direction. It is also probable that the isLiud contains 

 many indigenous pseudo-guttas, which might be made 



use of. 



IV.—AFRICAN SOURCES OF SUPPLY, 



At the Cape of Good Hope there are many species 

 of Euphorbias which are said to yield a substance 

 very similar to Oattimandoo, but hitherto I have only 

 been able to see fragments, and thus have been 

 precluded from making any experiments. Like the 

 Euphorbia officinalis, the juice is .so acrid as to give 

 intense pain and irritation to any part of tlie body 

 with which it may come in contact, especially the 

 eyes and no.strils. Dr. .7. Crombie Brown, whilst 

 holding the post of Government Botanist at the Cape, 

 paid much attention to the subject, and favoured me 

 with much correspondence upon it. Our united efforts 

 bore no fruit. The substance has been well spoken 

 of as an anti-fouling dressing for ship's bottoms. 



Mr. Baxter, whilst on the Niger Expedition, collected 

 a specimen of Ckrysophi/llu'ia (Sipotacea;) yielding a 

 substance like gutta-peicha, but no specimen seems 

 to exist. Tropical Africa should indeed be rich iu 

 such substances, and doubtless such will prove to be 

 the case when careful search and enquiry is ma*le. 



"With regard to the whole question of the Pseudo- 

 Guttas, Baiata should most certainly rec-ive attention, 

 and efforts should be made by the Government to 

 introduce it into Ceylon and elsewhere. Pauchontee, 

 too. should receive attention, and the possibility of 

 the utilization of the rest of th*- group not deni'd 

 till further trial has been made. — J. C. — Indiarubhrr 

 and Guttapercha Journal. 



Squirrels at 'Work on Norway St'huck.— In Ihe 

 August American Gardenej-'s Mnnthlt/. Professor W. A 

 Buckhout attribute* the broken braiichlets found under 

 the Norway spruces in the spring, rei. rred to in the 

 previous number of the periodical, t > squirrels. These 

 branchlets u.sually lie among the clumps of tr'es near 

 where these rodents may be seen feelin^; on seeds 

 and cones. Isolated irees do not thus suff er: though 



* rirfe Thwaite's Flwa ZeylanicA. (Preface). 



native Pines {P. rii/ida] do. The editor admits that 

 the Professor's specimens sliow distnct marks of 

 gnawing; but specimens f ro n New Hampshire appear 

 broken off at a bud — disarticulated as it were — which 

 a squirrel could not to do. Sach disarticula:ion may 

 have begun by drying commencing after thi rodent 

 had cut the br&ui:h.—Joi(ina.L of Forestri/. [We in Ceylou 

 know what our "rodents" the coffee rats can do in 

 the way of branch cutting. — Ed. J 



Akabian- D.\tk Tkkk. — At the suggestion of Mr. 

 Cameron, of the Lai Bagh, the Dew.in has sanctioned 

 the introduction of the Arabian date tree, which is to 

 be cultivated as an experimental measure in the province. 

 Steps have been taken, through the British Consul 

 in the Persian Gulf, to obtain a supply of the proper 

 variety of the date palm and it is expect-.-d that 400 

 or 500 young shoots will arrive shortly. The date 

 palm which grows luxuriantly in localities that have 

 a scantly rainfall, will, it is hoped do well in the 

 Chitaldroog and Kolar Districts and part of Tumkur 

 where the rainfall is precarious and far below the 

 provincial average and should the experiments turn 

 out a success, and if the cultivation is largely ex- 

 tended, it will prove a stand by in the shape of a 

 large yield of dates, as food for the people in times 

 of scarcity. We believe that after careful enquiries 

 and an examination of all records, it was found that 

 some plants of Arabian date flourished in the Lai 

 Bagh may years ago, but being lost sight of probably 

 in the rush that set in for flowers and fallals the 

 trees were either cut down or allowed to perish from 

 neglect. B. S. — Jfadras Mail. 



China Teas m. Indiak and Ceylon Teas. — The 

 first crop from China is larger than that of last year. 

 This has now been all shipped, or very nearly fo. 

 The quality of the second and third pickings is deter- 

 mined to a great extent by the prices obtainable by 

 the growers, and when the demand is good, fourth 

 and even fifth pickings are made, so that practically 

 the supph' from China may be said to be almost 

 unlimited, or at any rate limjted only by the fact of 

 the value declining so as to render it unremunerative 

 to pluck. VTe are inclined to think that a favorable 

 spring, after and unusually hard winter, and fine 

 weather for drying the leaf, have had more to do iu 

 determining the quality of this years' crop of China 

 tea (which is undoubtedly above the average) than 

 the Government edict, though this may have brought 

 the desirability of making good tea prominently to 

 the notice of the factors. The Chinese are eminently 

 a practical people, and are shrewd enough to take 

 care of their own interests. The course of the London 

 market is not such as to induce them to make much 

 really fine tea, and as the Russians also, who used 

 to take most of their finest crops either direct or 

 through their agents in London, appear now to be 

 turning their attention largely to the medium and 

 common grades, it seems doubtful whether it will 

 pay the Chinese to expend time and labor in the 

 manufacture of cheice parcels when they can obtain 

 a good average price with less care. While, therefore, 

 we believe that the resom-ces of China in regard to 

 the production of tea are almost unlimited, aDd that 

 she possesses many advantages, not the least being an 

 abundance of cheap labor, we do not think that the 

 outlook need cause alarm to Indian or Ceylon plant- 

 ers. The question to them to a great extent is the 

 cost of production. If by the use of improved 

 machinery they can keep this sufficiently low to make 

 tea planting remunerative in the altered condition of 

 the market, and maintiin a high standard so far as 

 quality is concerncil, they will hold their own. They 

 have no native tea-drinking population to fall b«ck 

 upon like China, and the greater portion of their 

 produce must find its way to this market. The tast* 

 of the British public is what they have to cater for, 

 and that demands for the most part a good strong 

 tea at as low a price as possible. There is also an 

 outlet for the finer grade.«, if they are fine to a cer- 

 tain extent, but the bulk required mast consist of 

 Pekoes and Pekoe Souchongs, anl miiderately fiue 

 Broken Pekoes." — Oor. Local " Times " quoting London 

 Broker!. 



