Nov. t) i8S6.j 



fHHI TiOPiCAh AO^ICULtU^IST. 



353 



WATTLE CULTIVATIdN. 



We and our readers are indebted to " W. R. T.'' 

 (see page 359) for the interesting information that 

 there are wattle trees (Acacia dcciiirens) growing in 

 Nuwara Eliya, 30 feet high at 25 to 20 months from 

 the seed ! We had previously heard from Mr. Nock, 

 who showed us at Hakgalla, what he regarded as 

 the true " golden wattle," that it was rare, if it 

 existed at all, amongst the trees grown in Nuwara 

 Eliya and on estates. But we did not understand 

 Mr. Nock, to impeach the value as bark-yielding 

 plants of the species which are now so common 

 here. The truth is, that the number of acacias 

 in Australia is very large and probably the majority 

 'Of them yield yellow blossems and are popularly 

 known as " golden wattles." We shall never forget 

 the glorious golden borders of the Mitchell river 

 as we steamed up its channel to Bairnsdale eii 

 route to the Gipps Land Lakes, comparable, with 

 their surrounding mountains, to the Loch Lomond 

 district in Scotland. The varieties of acacias in 

 the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, some of them 

 exquisitely beautiful, is quite bewildering and many 

 Australians are as much puzzled as we in Ceylon 

 can be to distinguish the different varieties. This 

 is shown by the extract from the Aiititralusiaii, 

 one of the foremost papers of Australia, to which 

 our correspondent refers as appearing in the 

 Tropical Agrivultnrist of 1.S81-82. We quote the 

 note by the agricultural editor of that paper to a 

 letter making enquiries as to species and varieties ; — 



[The real black wattle, or true tanning variety, is 

 the acacia delbata. The silver wattle, which is con- 

 sidered inferior to. the black, is the acacia niollissima, 

 which can be easily distiguished by the silver ap- 

 pearance of the under part of the leaf, and the 

 glaucous appearance of the bark ; the flowers of the 

 latter are a bright yellow, that of the former a 

 dirty yellow. The silver wattle is in general found 

 on the banks of creeks the , black wattle on high dry 

 ground. The black has rough bark, the silver being 

 comparatively speaking smooth. The seed, so long as 

 it is good, may be gathered from any tree. — Ed]. 

 If ■ that information is misleading, it was given not 

 by us, but by one of the best authorities in the 

 land of the wattle, and it is not fair to warn 

 persons against " misleading statements in the 

 T. A." which are quotations, even if they were 

 misleading, which we are not prepared to admit. 

 Por a note on page 2.jl of the volume referred to 

 we are personally responsible. It runs thus : — 



[All the wattles are acacias : the black wattle is 

 ..4. uffius or iiivllistiima. It propagates only too readily 

 from the roots, spreading all around, and being diffi- 

 cult to keep within bounds : a very deep trench must 

 be cut for the purpose. It does not need topping, but 

 grows very fast and shrubby, much more so than the 

 gum. It is an excellent break-wind. — En.] 

 What is there misleading in this ? Of course, there is 

 " blackwood '" as well as " black wattle," the former a 

 tree the latter a large shrub. We did not speak of the 

 value of the black wattle for bark but as a " break- 

 wind," and what our correspondent says about the 

 rapid growth of the trees in Nuwara Eliya shews how 

 valuable tlie wattles are calculated to be as shelter 

 belts and we should say for firewood for tea fur- 

 naces. But our personal experience induces us to 

 warn planters not to plant wattles amongst tea. 

 Some were inadvertently so planted out on Abbots- 

 ford and the result has been that in the 

 cold, drizzly, windy weather which prevailed 

 some weeks ago, the wattles shed their leaves, the tea 

 bushes immediately around them following suit. The 

 wattles have not, like the symplocos, killed the tea 

 bushes but given them a shock. The wattles will, 

 of course, be removed. They and gums and almost 

 all other trees, ought to be cultivated in separate 

 Jgts and not amongst \,q?,--01 course tbg KH"] 



per ton of the Indian Afjriculturist was a gross 

 error for £8, which we ought to have corrected 

 in taking the paragrapli over. Wo scarcely think 

 it would pay in Ceylon, to grow any of the wattles 

 for the sake of the bark, but experiments in this 

 direction might well be tried on the patanas around 

 Hakgala and in Nuwara Eliya by Mr. Nock, from 

 whom a paper on the whole subject would bo 

 valuable. 



We take this opportunity of again (juoting the 

 reliable information given by Mr. Gamble in hig 

 Manual of the Timber Trees of India, regarding 

 the species of Australian acacias hitherto cul- 

 tivated in India. From the information thus 

 given, it will be seen that A. dcalbata is 

 the silver wattle ; A. melanoxijlon is the 

 Australian blackwood ; while A. decurrem, so 

 common in Ceylon 'is the black wattle. A. 

 pijrnantha is the broad leaf or golden wattle, 

 which is aaid to be the most valuable for gum 

 and tanners' bark. If this species has not been 

 supplied by Australian seedsmen, it is matter for 

 surprise. But any one specially interested in the 

 subject and desirous of trying experiments, might 

 apply direct to Mr. Brown, the head of the Forest 

 Department in South Australia, or to Mr. Wm. 

 Ferguson, Forestor of Victoria. Baron von Mueller, 

 too, and Messrs. Guillefoyle and Moore of the Mel- 

 bourne and Sydney Botanic Gardens, would readily 

 give information and aid. ;\tr. Gamble writes : — 



A. dealbata, Link,: Benth. Fl. Austr. ii. 415 : Brandis 

 180. The Silver Wattle. 



A tree f-prcadiug rapidly by numerous root-suckers 

 The wood i.s moderately hard, light brown,, but warps 

 considerably. Pores !^nlall, often in short linear groups. 

 Medullary rays short, fine and moderately broad, well 

 marked on a radial section, 



Indigenous in New South Wales, Victoria and Tar- 

 mania. Introduce! on the Nilgiris, and now natur- 

 alised siuce 1810. 



The wood is extensively used in Australia for timber, 

 and the bark for tanning. It is being tried in plant- 

 ations on the hills of the TuDJab, North- Western 

 rrovinces and Sikkim. Our .specimen was cut from 

 a tree 11 y^-ars old and -16 feet high, and was about 

 12 inches in diameter. Colonel Betldome, in bis re- 

 port on the Nilgiri plantations of April 1S78, says that 

 this Wattle grows very readily from the .stool, but 

 comes up in a dense mass of .^niall lwi--like stems 

 so that it can only be depended on for very small 

 firewood. 



A. meianoxylou, II. Br.; Benth. Fl. Austr. ii. 415.; 

 Brandis 180. Australian Blackwood. A large tree with 

 hard and durable wood ; heartvvood dark brown and 

 beautifully mottled, soft, shining, eveu-graiued ; porea 

 mostly oval, moderate-sized and divided into compart- 

 ments conspicuously marked on a vertical section. 

 Medullary rays short and fine. 



New South ^yale', Victoria, Tasmania and South 

 Australia. Introduced on the Nilgiris since 1810 and 

 no.v completely naturalised. Also being grown in 

 the hill.i of the Punjab, Kumauu and Sikkim. 



With regard to its r^to of growth, Colonel Bcddorae, 

 in his report of April 1878 on the Nilgiri plantations, 

 says tint in the ]31eakliouse plantation, Wellington, 

 the average girth of the trees in the portion which 

 is 2L to 22 years olJ, taken from the measurement 

 of 30 trees as they came, was 35 inches at 6 feet 

 from tlic ground (about 4 rings per inch of radius), the 

 girth of some of the largest trees being 50, 63, 5U, 

 40 and 41 inches. Our specimeu was cue fioma tree,. 

 20 years oM and 90 feet high ; it gave a plank 2 feet 

 broal. The wood seenls to be regarded on th? Nil- 

 giris as very inferior to that of i:ucitli/i>tiis irlafmus, 

 either for lirber or firewood; its growth is much 

 slower and it is attacks 1 by spccias of Ltrintka-'i 

 whijh uai-asites in time kill the trei!. It doei H t Cop-? 

 pice well, unless cut very yowog, 



