■JJL ^ 



fM2 fUOPlCAL AOmCUt'tUmBT. [UAmi i, mi, 



clean straw can be used. It; will well repay the culti- 

 vator if time can be spared to support the fruit witli 

 Birch branches. This is the best protection from 

 slugs, and the fruit is kept clean. 



Second Year's Treatment. — A.fter the fruit is 

 gathered and all runners taken off that are required, 

 remove the runners that are left with the old mulch- 

 ing. Well hoe and clean the plantation, and give 

 a thorough dressing of well-decayed manure. This 

 is all the treatment they will require beyoud hand- 

 weeding and cutting off any runners which may 

 appear until the fruiting period arrives, when the 

 protection of the fruit must be seen to. 



If a new plantation is made every year it will be 

 much the best system, as then there will be a one- 

 year and two-year-old plantation in full bearing ; 

 but the one-year-old plantation will produce much 

 the finer fruit. 



Varieties. — Most gardeners have their favourite 

 sorts, but I give a short list for succession : — Vicomtesse 

 Hericart de Thury, Keens' Seedling, Sir Joseph Paxton, 

 President, Sir Charles Napier, British Queen (in some 

 soils), Unser Fritz, Loxford Hall, Reedliug, Frogmore, 

 Late Pine, and Oxonian. — A. Young. — Journal of 

 Horticulture. 



In the production of Rose B'ooms for Otto of 

 Roses no less than 145 towns and villages are con- 

 cerned. Under favourable circumstances 2,000 lb. 

 of Rose leaves will yield 1 lb. of the otto, where- 

 as at other times it will take no less than 5,000 lb. 

 weight of leaves to produce the same quantity. 

 The area required to grow the Rose trees to produce 

 such innumerable quantities of flowers covers large 

 tracts of country, and in order to save loss by evapor- 

 ation after picking, small stills are erected in the open 

 fields. It is the more necessary to have the appar- 

 atus close at hand, as all the flowers for the same 

 reason are picked if possible before sunrise. — Journal 

 of Horticulture. 



■\VoHMs ON Lawns ((7. i?.).— There is no simpler re- 

 medy for expelling worms from lawns and borders 

 than clear lime water. Get some lumps of lime fresh 

 from the kiln and place them in water, stirring well, 

 then allowing the lime to settle and the water be- 

 come clear. If there is any sediment at the bottom 

 of the vessel the water will be as strong as you can 

 make it, and perfectly safe. About a pound of lime 

 will suffice for ten gallons of water. It is best to 

 apply it during mild showery weather, when the 

 worms are near the surface. If there is no sediment 

 at the bottom of the vessel the lime water will not 

 be strong enough. An ounce of corrosive sublimate 

 dissolved in a little boiling water, then mixed with 

 forty gallons of clear water and applied through a 

 rose, has also been found to expel worms from lawns. 

 —'Journal of Horticidture. 



Alleged insecticide char.^cteb of tomatoes. — A 

 curious statement, deserving the examination of 

 botanists at home, comes from C;ipe Colony, where 

 it is alleged that insects are observed to shun land 

 ou which tomatoes are grown ; and the culture of 

 the fji/coj'pr^icon egnUentum is accor.lingly recom- 

 meniied in all ••ase*? where it i.s po.''.'>ib!e to grow it— 

 under fruit trees, for instance, since the tomato 

 will thrive in the ihadc of other trees, which few 

 Other plants will do— for the aalte of the virtues at- 

 tributed to it as a prophylactic agr-inst the inroads 

 of insect pests. The popularity of the tomato as an 

 esculent is sufficiently great to repay the trouble of 

 planting ou a large scale, even if its supposed virtues 

 proved to be a myth ; and any surplus supplies might 

 easily be preserved in tins, and shipped to this country. 

 It will be interesting to know whether the tomato 

 has been ob.served to exercise any such effect on in- 

 sects elsewhere— in Canada, for instance, where the 

 fruit is 80 pjpular — or whether it is only in warmer 

 climates, like that of the Cape, that its peculiar 

 powers are brought into play. Much the same power 

 was once attributed, we believe, to the common broad 

 bean, but we are afraid this plant does not " live up 

 (O '' its character. — Colonic:! and India, 



Existence of Manganese in Plarts. — Manganese 

 is tolerably abundant in nature, large deposits of the 

 oxide occurring in Scandinavia and elsewhere, but it 

 is almost exclusively confined to the mineral kingdom. 

 It is true that traces of manganese have been long 

 known to exist in the vegetable tissues of a few plants, 

 but whether accidental, or essential for the growth 

 of certain species of plants, botanists could not tell. 

 Professor Fluckiger. of Strassburg, has during the last 

 few years brought forward additional evidence that 

 manganese is widely distributed, as it is to be found 

 in the ash of many plants belonging to different families, 

 but the quantities are comparatively minute, and any- 

 thing but uniform. From experiments made by 

 Fluckiger in 1872, it transpired that manganese per- 

 vaded nearly every plant of the zinyiberaca. This can 

 be demonstrated in the case of cardamoms by fusing 

 the ash of one seed or capsule with nitre and sodium 

 carbonate when the distinct green re-action characteris- 

 tic of manganese is observable. Recently the same 

 investigator has shown that the genus trapa contains 

 throughout many species a distinct quantity of man- 

 ganese. The fruits of these plants give evidence of 

 a liking for this metal, or at least they have peculiar 

 susceptibility for its assimilation. From this pre- 

 dilection or affinity for manganese such plants are 

 appropriately denominated many ana phatjous or more 

 simply manganophile. — Chemist and Druggist of Austra- 

 la^ia. 



Planting Experiments.— Mr. J. Aitken Middleton 

 of Tinkong, wrote as to his experiments at Tipling : — 

 '^ ya.nilla. — I think I told you that I had planted it in 

 virgin jungle with only the undergrowth cut down. It 

 came on splendidly, but I regret to say that the squirrels 

 took a liking to it and ate off the shoots as they came 

 out. I have removed it to a more open space and have 

 planted artificial shade over it, and I am glad to say it 

 is now doing very well. Of course this transplanting 

 has checked growth considerably, and will, I fear, cause 

 delay in blossoming and fruiting, but I have little fear 

 for it now. Ceara Rubber. — Last lot has germinated 

 fairly well : after it is germinated it seems to have only 

 one enemy namely, the mole-cricket. This fellow des- 

 troys them when they are 3 to 4 inches high. I had 40 

 plants destroyed in one night. The only tree that came 

 to any size here ( Tinkong ), out of the very first lot of 

 seed you sent me, has begun to flower. I regret to 

 tell you, however, that during a thunderstorm some 

 two nights ago the flowering branch was broken off. 

 This branch I have cut in pieces and planted to see if 

 they will grow. In March one of the trees planted at 

 Tipling was blown down in a gale. I had it cut in pieces 

 and planted at once, and am glad to say that all the 

 cuttings are doing well. I should now be obliged by 

 your giving me some information as to when, where, 

 and how the trees ought to be tapped. Divi-Divi. — 

 As I told you some time ago the tree grows very freely 

 here. Nearly every seed you sent me has germinated. 

 The few trees I have here have not grown much in 

 length lately, but have thicked about the roots and 

 have spread out on top. They seem to like the sun 

 as all are turned towards the south and south-west. 

 Two are specially noticeable in that way, being spread 

 out like trained plum trees facing south-west; not a 

 leaf on the other sides, There is no shade anywhere 

 near them, so I cannot account for this way of grow* 

 iug, jRhea, — I regret having forgot to watch this plant 

 at seeding time (end of April and May) as I wished 

 to send you seed. I was busy with a lot of new 

 machinery and building at the time, and the bunga- 

 low garden was rather neglected. I shall be very 

 glad to send you a lot of cuttings if you wish them, 

 and shall try and remember seed next year. Vegetable 

 Seech . — When distributing the seeds I should like you 

 to send all " Buists " (American grown seed) if possible. 

 I find they do best in Assam. For eleven years I 

 have never had a failure with them, whereas, even 

 the best English seeds have never been a gre^t success 

 either with self or neighbours. Xeem. — This tree re- 

 quires great care ; I have been able to save three trees 

 nly, and would be glad of a few more seeds if you 

 an spare them." .—Madras Moil, 



