t)EC. I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRlCULTURISTc 



m 



calisaya type ; I should not tliink that it belongs 

 either to the josephiana or ledgeriana form, but that 

 the exact variety is perhaps not jut published. There 

 is no appearance of hybridity." The succirubra is 

 one of the finest specimens that I have tested. I 

 have found very great variety in the tests of trees 

 of this species growing alongside each other in Oeylon, 

 the quinine varying even in the proportion of three 

 to one and so it is possible that all the bark from 

 the plantations will not be found of this admirable quality. 

 Still we have here an additional proof that whether the 

 result be due to favourable circumstances or to more 

 or less permanent varieties, red bark can be grown 

 of far richer quality than what we usually receive as 

 such from the East Indian plantations. 



Amid all the discouragements of excessive fproduc- 

 tion and low prices that planters suffer from at the 

 moment it cannot be too clearly borne in mind that 

 the prospect of future profit in the cultivation of 

 cinchona turns chiefly upon the cultivation of high 

 testing bark. With favourable soil and climate the 

 richer varieties grow at least as freely as the poorer 

 and it is evident that, the cost of production being 

 approximately the same, a bark of higher quality 

 may yield a profit when an inferior quality may cause 

 a serious loss. In Bolivia and Java these most im- 

 portant requisites are found, and the analyses I have 

 given above show that the same favourable results 

 may be obtained elsewhere. In the face of such 

 competition it is evident that the profitable growing 

 of inferior bark is impossible. — Pharmaceutical Journal. 



TKOPICAL GARDENING. 



Hedges. — The best material for forming a hedge is the 

 Barbadoes cherry, Jlcdpiijida yhthra. Naturally it grows 

 into a small tree, and as it yields abundance of fruit 

 there is no difficulty in obtaining a supply of seeds 

 from which to raise young plants. "When the fruit 

 is ripe it should be picked and thrown into a tub, to 

 get the pulp removed and the seeds divided (these are 

 from one to four in each fruit), by maceration and 

 washing after which operation the seeds are ready 

 for sowing. They are generally sown thickly in boxes, 

 and require no attention beyond a little watering if 

 the weather be dry. In sowing, the seeds should 

 not be deeply buried, hut should only be covered 

 with a little more than their own thickness of soil. 

 If the seeds are covered with much soil, they will 

 probably not germinate at all, or if they do germinate 

 many of the germs will perish before arriving at 

 the surface. When the plants are a few inches 

 high they are fit for transplanting. To form a stout 

 hedge they should be planted in two rows, zigzag. 

 After the plants have grown about a foot high, the 

 hedge should be allowed to grow more than a few 

 inches before being pruned again ; by this means 

 the bottom will be kept well furnished and strong. 

 If left to grow two or three feet before being 

 pruned, (and this is generally the case, as everyone 

 is in a hurry to get the hedge up to a certain 

 height,) the result will be a weak hedge and very 

 few branches at the bottom where there should be 

 plenty to form the foundation. When proper care 

 is given to the pruuiug no other plant is so suitable 

 for this purpose. At the present time it may be 

 Been in many place.'s in Demorara, showing how 

 well it is suited for this work. This one kind of 

 plant may be used for a hedge of any height, from 

 an edging of six inohe.5, to a screen of ten or twelve 

 feet, and answers as well for one purpose as the 

 other. Of course it cannot be kept as an edging 

 all its life, as after a time with continual clipping 

 when only a few inches high it becomes scridjby ; 

 it can then be taken up and replanted in a position 

 where a medium sized hedge is required, and in 

 due course can by the same method be utilised for 

 a high hedge. Scarcely anj'' other plant will bear 

 transplanting better than this cherry, but it should 

 be done in damp weather ; with ordinary care plants 

 of several feet high can be moved successfully. 



Clerodendion acideoi^un , liommonly called wild coffee, 



OX bitter fence, is a West ludian plant. It is very 



useful for forming a good strong hedge, and on 

 account of the bitter taste in the young shT)ot ami 

 the short sharp thorns it bears at the base ot the 

 leaves, is not interfered with by goats ; a strong 

 recommendation for its use where it can be planted 

 without setting up palings, or the protection needed 

 by most plants against these animals. It is usually 

 planted by cuttings, and so easy is its cultivation, 

 that the shade and care generally afforded to cuttings 

 is not needed. The branches may be cut up into 

 pieces from six to nine inches long, and planted at 

 once into the permanent position, by being pushed 

 slantwise in the ground a few inches apart, leaving 

 just the end of each cutting e.xposed, pressing the 

 soil firmly as the planting proceeds. If the weather 

 is damp, or case of drought if the cuttings are well 

 watered, they will commence to grow at once and 

 in a few clays will have the appearance of an 

 established hedge. "W^here failures occur fresh cuttings 

 must be put in without loss of time, so that all 

 may grow on together. When left to grow in its 

 natural state, this Clerodendro/i is of a very 

 straggling habit, so that to make a decent hedge 

 it must be well and regularly chpped, and must be 

 taken in hand as soon as a little growth is made, 

 treating it in a -siiuiiar manner to that advised for 

 the Jlalpigkia. It flowers freely and gives plenty 

 of seed irom which plants can be raised, but planting 

 by cuttings is by far the quickest method of form- 

 ing a heilge of this plant. 



Civto/i variu/atuM, the commonest of the many 

 Crotons now to be seen in gardens, and the only 

 one whicli is used for the purjjose, makes a very 

 good hedge ; but it must not be clipped, in pruning 

 each branch must be cut separately with a knife. 

 It is propagated by cuttings and scarcely any other 

 plant is so easily grown. It is proof against goats, 

 the sap being extremely bitter. The stain of the 

 sap is indelible on linen. 



Aralia Goilfoilei, is another variegated plant which 

 can be used in the same manner of the Croton ; 

 it is propagated just as freely, and is as easily 

 grown. It has compound leaves growing like small 

 drooping branches, each leaf edged all round with 

 white. It grows in an erect manner sending up long 

 strait stems, which after being allowed to grow 

 between one and two feet long, must be cut back 

 to induce the plant to form a good bottom ; for 

 each stem cut several others will spring from below. 

 Both this and the Uroton are introductions to the 

 West Indies. — Indian Gardener. 



Sickly-looking plants may be taken out of their 

 old pots, the roots washed, the weaker branches 

 trimmed, and placed into as small pots as the roots 

 can - be placed into. Let such a plant remain there 

 until by good growth it shows its healthy roots 

 then it may have more earth in a little larger 

 pot. — Planter and Farmer, 



LiQuoBici:; Culture in Daji.iscus.— A considerable 

 amount of business, it seems, has recently been done 

 in Damascus and Syria generally in the expurtatioii 

 of Liquorice root to the L^nited States. Abjut four 

 years ago, one of the partners in an American firm 

 in PnilaUelphia largely concerned in the commerce of 

 this article, visited Damascus with the object of 

 ascertaining the amount and quality of the Liquorice 

 root grown in the country , and of making purchases. 

 The result of his emjuiiies having proved satisfactory, 

 he gave orders for somewhat large consignments to 

 be shipped to the United States, and appointed an 

 American gentleman in Beyrout, well acquainted with 

 the language of the people and haying a thorough 

 knowledge of the country, to act as agent of the firm, 

 The Liquorice root can be obtained in considerable 

 quantities to the mirth of Damascus, and in the 

 neighbourhood of Lattakia and Autioch, and a regular 

 business is now being carried on in this article. The 

 amount exported last yeir from Dainiscus and other 

 parts of Syria was valued at £3U,U0U. — Ganlmori 

 (Jhronicle, 



