THE TROHCAL AGRICtfLf URISf, 



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Increase of Fuxgus Diseases jx the South. — 

 rresideht Jjcrckmans in his recent address, notes 

 that the three past seasons have been more rainy 

 than usual, which he thinks may account for the 

 remarkable prevalence of parasitic fungi among fruit 

 trees. — American Gardener's Monthly. 



OocoNuis IN Florida— G. T. Field, of Monmouth 

 county, New Jersey, speaks in glowing terms of 

 the prospects for success of coconut culture along 

 the coast of Florida. All reports favor Mr. Field's 

 enthusiasm. There can be no doubt, we think, that 

 coconut culture is to be one of the profitable invest- 

 ments in this remarkable State, They bear in ten 

 years, and yield from 100 to 200 nuts annually. 

 American Gardener's Jfonthly. [They will do nothing 

 of the kind.— Ed.1 



Pl.\ntinii in Nobtiiehn Australia. — Port Darwin, 

 Oct. 10th. — The season's operations at the Shoal 

 Bay Sugar Plantation have, owing to want of rain, 

 aaltness of soil, and of other causes, not been 

 successful. The final result is about 5 tons each 

 of sugar and molasses from about 10 acres. General 

 sympathy is felt at Mr. Brandt's ill-luck. The 

 general opinion is that the plantation is on an 

 unsuitable locality. Different news has been re- 

 ceived from the Beatrice Hills Plantation on the 

 Adelaide River. Coffee and guttapercha are thriving 

 splendidly. The plant exhibited here showed over 

 300 berries and buds. — ,S'. A. llegister. 



T A Planting in the South : Galle, 10th November. 

 —The weather being very favorable, tea planting is 

 being pushed on in the new clearings. At Gordon 

 estate, near Baddegama, of which Mr. L. Christie is 

 the experienced Superintendent, 50 acres have just been 

 planted. Estate owners down South are waking to 

 the necessity of having thoroughly experienced tea- 

 makers and the latest appliances lor manufacture, in 

 order to secure good qualitj'. Citrus estate has now 

 a European Superintendent. The tea in Monrovia 

 estate, Ratgama, is said to be flushing vigorously and 

 a further large acreage is being planted. Mr. E. Kocb, 

 who was lately in charge of this place has accepted an 

 ajipointment on a coconut estate in Jaffna. I under- 

 stand that the bug has made its appearance on a tea 

 estate at ■VVallahauduwa, three miles from Galle- I hear 

 that all the plants in a two acre field have been seriously 

 injured by this pest, and that all the recognised 

 remedies have proved ineffectual in removing it." 



New Caledonia. — Coconut trees c^ist in the colony 

 in different varieties, nearly all having been jjlanted 

 by the Kanakas. INIost of the groves are on the 

 ^eastern side, where the majority of the tribes are to 

 be found. This precious tree produces yearly from 50 

 to 80 nuts. The kernels, dried in the sun, are readily 

 sold under the name of coprah, at from 300 to 350 

 francs (£12 to £14) per ton. This is the chief means 

 by which the natives obtain the goods and luxuries 

 of civilization. A few important groves are, however, 

 held by Europeans. The other principal fruit trees 

 are orange, lemon, banana, cauella apple, mango, guava, 

 Shanghai peach. In spite of indigenous valuable 

 timber, no important felling of trees exists in New 

 Caledonia. The quantity cut is not even sufficient 

 for the use of the colony since New Zeland and Cali- 

 fornia imported timber amounts to the vearly value 

 of 500,000 francs ( £'20, OQO).— Journal of Foreitry. 



The Le.mos. — Few people know the value of lemon 

 juice, A piece of lemon hound upon a coin will cure 

 it in a few days ; it should be renewed night and 

 morning. A free uae of lemon juice and sugar will 

 always relieve a cough. Most people feel poorly in 

 the spring, but if they would eat a lemon before 

 breakfast everyday for a week, with or without sugar 

 as they like, they would fiud it better than any medi- 

 cine. Lemon juice, used according to this recipe will 

 sometimes cure consumption. Put a dozen lemons into 

 cold water and slowly bring to a boil ; l)oil slowly 

 until the lemons arc soft, then s/^ueeze until all the 

 juice is exhausted ; add sugar to your taste and 

 drink. In this way use one dozen lemons a day. If 

 they cause pain or loosen the bowels too much lessen 

 the quantity and use only six a day until you ar« 





better, and then begin a dozen a day. After using 

 five or six dozei\ the patient will begin to gain flesh 

 and enjoy food. Hold on to the lemons and still 

 use thtm freely for several weeks more. Another 

 use for lemons is for refreshing drink in summer, or 

 in sickness at any time. Prepare as above directed 

 and add water and sugar. But in order to have this 

 keep well, after boiling the lemons squeeze and strain 

 carefully; then to every ^ pint of juice add 1 lb. of 

 crushed sugar; boil and stir a few minutes more until 

 the sugar is dissolved, skim carefully and bottle. You 

 will get more juice from the lemons by boiling them, 

 and the preparation keeps better. — San Francisco 

 Chronicle. 



The Artificial Manure Trade. — Of late a very 

 large trade has sprung up in Germany in artificial 

 manures, the chemical industry of this country 

 having scored various successes over foreign products. 

 In regard to Thomas ijhosphate, which is coming 

 into extensive use, it is stated that when it is 

 mixed with kainit in equal parts a manure admir- 

 ably suited to barely ground is the result. A 

 couple of years ago an agriculturist spread 1,600 

 kilog. (about 3,8()0 English lb.) of Thomas 

 phosphate tiour upon half a hectare of ground 

 (5,980 square yards) in order to see if an excessive 

 quantity acted injuriously and if the effect would 

 last over several years. In the first year three 

 excellent crops were obtained and this year a 

 similar number, the quality of the hay being 

 better than before. — KuJdoic's Gernian Trade Review 

 and Exporter. 



How wOJD is made, — la many trees the annual 

 layer is so regular, and seemed to be placed so nicely, 

 that one not a botanist might be pardoned for believ- 

 ing that the sap was changed to woody matter in 

 the leaves, and the new formed matter sent down, 

 sliding over the old layer like the sections of a tel- 

 escope ; but though the food is prepared by the 

 leaves in a great measure, the actual growth is made 

 by the germination of some of the cells along the 

 whole outside wall of last year's wood beneath the 

 inner bark. The germination of the cells takes place 

 about the middle of the June. He takes a healthy 

 cherry tree and strips it of its bark to any length 

 desired. At that season a viscid liquid will be found 

 covering the woody surface in abundance. The strip- 

 ped part is covered with a cloth to prevent evapor- 

 ation, and in a few days numerous dots like needle 

 points, will be seen about the sixteenth of an inch 

 apart all over the surface. These are the young cells 

 that have germinated from those of last year. They 

 continue germinating, one from the other, until they 

 meet, when they unite and form a complete surface. 

 In the autumn a layer of wood will be found just 

 as thick as in the part of the tree not disbarked, 

 and a single layer of liber, with its outer coat of 

 cellular matter — perfect bark — will have been formed 

 over the whole. The entire formation of wood and 

 bark can thus be seen by the ordinary observer, 

 without the necessity of any nice microscopical work. 

 Large apple trees have been seen that have had 

 their bark peeled wholly off from their trunks, at 

 the season named, make an entirely new layer ofbark 

 and wood, not only with no injury to the tree, but 

 to its manifest enjoyment. By this experiment we 

 learn that there is no difference primarily in any part 

 of the annual covering. The same cell may become 

 permanent tis.tue or generating tissue, and from the 

 generative tiasue may come before the season of growth 

 closes every form of structure known to anatomists, 

 from pure wood to the outermost cuticle of the bark. 

 How these cells become differentiated may be passed 

 over here. We know that cell-growth is not always 

 uniform in its operations. The law that changes the 

 outermost series of ncivly made cells into liber need 

 not necessarily operate so exactly as to make, them 

 perfect to this end— a few may be thown cilf into 

 the liber as generative tissue — and granting this po.s- 

 ibility wc see how the woody granules in the apple- 

 bark are formed- — Liada; 



