Feb . I, 1887,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



SS7 



The different phvs'o^ogical properties of coffeft have 

 caused this food meil.cine, an. I its congeners, tea, Para- 

 guayan mat6, guarana and k'la, to be applied to the 

 treatment of a great number of affeotions. Its tonic 

 action on the circulation has led to its usb in the 

 treatment of diseases of the hear'', niid Gubl.r, Li'piue 

 and Huchard have shown us all the advauta^jes deriv- 

 able therefrom. Its diuretic properties have led to 

 its being recommended in ih-op-ias, uri lary gravel 

 and gout ; its cerebral tonic acriou has rendered io 

 useful in the treatment 01 migraine and cephalalgia. 

 Lastly, we see its utility recognized in intestinal 

 strangulations and opium poisoning. 



I have finished what 1 wished to say concerning 

 coffee, leaving aside what appertains to infusions made 

 from roasti-d acorns ami chicory, which contain 

 nitrogen, and probably h-ivc some food value, but are 

 deTi>id of Cdtfeiiie, and therefore of the tonic and 

 excitant properties of coffee. — Ph'irmaceutieal Juurnal. 



REPORTS ON INSECTS INJURIOUS TO 

 FRUIT .CROPS 



{Prepared for the Agricultardl Department, Pnvy 

 Council Office.) 



We have already notice! iwo previous issues of 

 these (roverument Reports, relaiiuij respectively to the 

 insects affecting the bop and corn crops. The new 

 publication is likely to be the one most generally 

 popular, as private persons all over the country as 

 well as fruit farmers are concerned ah lut the insects 

 which ravage Iruit-trees. The Privy Council h,ive tione 

 useful service in having this w rk prepared. In it 

 Mr. Whitehead has compiled in a fairly popular st>le 

 as much as has been ascertained concf rning the nature 

 and life histories of the weevils moths, bugs, and 

 hies which are so ruinous to our various fruit-trees. 

 The pamphlet is obtainable for so little cost that it 

 is not ueces.sary to analyse its contents at great length. 

 AVe may, however, state that about thirty of the 

 most familiar garden insf-cts a e fi.iured and discussed. 

 These include the chief devastators of the apple, pe^ir, 

 cherry, currant, raspberry, strawberry, and cooseburry 

 leaves and b os>oa38. The details given under the 

 heads, Prevention and Remedies, show that n > royal 

 means have yet been discovered for btttling with 

 these foes without a great deil of trouble. Some 

 different details of treatment are suggested for each 

 insect, but generally it is recommended that the trees 

 or bushes infected should be well syringed with a 

 mixture of soft soap (7 lb.) and quassia (6 lb.) to 

 100 gallons of water. After an attack the ground 

 round the roots is generally to h& well hood, quick- 

 limed, or sawdust with parafBne, or soot, or ast.es 

 well mixed in with the earth, and all cuttings from 

 the tree to be p'rfecty cleared away. Hellebore 

 is said to be an ' ft'ectual dressing in soma cases, but 

 its poisoiious natu'e forbids its use when any fruit, 

 however small, is forming. It is much the fashion 

 to attribute the attacks of ins cts to the east wind, 

 as if it in some mysterious manner were the actual 

 generator of sundry of the species which sp jil the 

 crops and destroy vegetation, or as if th>»y literally 

 came on the wings of the wind. Mr. Whitehead 

 notices this old-fashioned theory, and attributes it to 

 the fact th*.t after a cold aad variable sping, during 

 which there has been an unusual amount of oast 

 wifld, all plants, trees, and herbs appear to be more 

 liable to attacks from insects, in consequence of certain 

 chemical changes and the disorganisation of tissues 

 rendering tiiem m )re gratiful to the 'astes of their 

 ordinary parasites. — Chemid and Druygisi. 



THE BHEL FRUIT, OR BENGAL QUINCE. 

 Mr. E. Jamfs, Ipswifh, writes as follows :—" Raid- 

 ing in your valuable paper an account of the Exhi- 

 bition, my atenti in was aitracted to the Bael fruit 

 (misspelt Bahl), which does not seem to have any 

 attraction for joii correspondent. It gives me great 

 pleasure to diaw iho attention of Quf^enslanders to 

 this valuable fruit, from an edib e and mcdicii al point 

 of view. The fruit is obtained from the jEijUhiut- 



mdos, and belongs to the mo.st valuable natural order, 

 Legnniinosae. The fruit is about the size of a large 

 orange, with a h ird W)-)ly rind. Tt^ fruit is hi,'hly 

 valued by the natives of India, which is its natural 

 habitat, as an astringent in severe Ci-;es of dyse itery, 

 diarrhoea, &?. I have always taken it daring my five 

 years' residence in Oeylon, wher^ it grows abundantly, 

 and is considered by medical men in I idia. -to be a 

 mo>t vtluahle medicine, a pr^'paratiou of which is 

 official both in the B itish and Indian Pharmacoproia. 

 The preparation as in the B. P., is known as fluid 

 extract of Bael fruit, but it is not equal ti the fresh 

 fnnt. For further information see Fluckegar and 

 Hanbury's Pharmceographia, which ought to be la 

 the hands of every one who takes an interest in 

 fruit growing." 



Lindley gives a different spelling; to either of the 

 two abov* referred t)— n<mdy, '• Bhel." The "Dic- 

 tionary of Girdening" calls this fruit tXxa ^g e mar- 

 melos. Order Rutaceaj (not L^guminoste). It is 

 described as "an evergreen tree producing Vcjry large 

 fruit, which much resembles an orange in gen^^ral 

 appearmee, very delicious to the taste and exquisitely 

 fragrant- This genus dift'ers from Ci'rus principally 

 by its numerous disunited stamens. The pulp of the 

 fruit is an ap-rieut, and a valuab'e remedy in dysentery ; 

 the thick rind and dried unripe fruit are astringent. 

 It thrives best in a rich loamy soi', and is propag-ited 

 by lipn cuttiiiffs, which, if not deprived of any of 

 their leaves, will root in sand umler a hind glass, in 

 heat. It grows to a height of 10 ft." We have to 

 thank Mr. .Tames for calling attention to a fruit hkely 

 to suit the cl'maf.e of t lis colony, and also to be an 

 addition to oitr horticultural resources. We shall 

 also be g'ad to publish pirttculars of its growth and 

 cultivation in this colony. Mr. Bernays, in his 

 " Cultural Industries," says that a specimen at Bowen 

 Park has flovered profusely, but not yet fruited, but 

 that he has seen good fruiting specimens in the 

 Gardens on the coast from Bowen northwards. — 

 Queenslander . 



♦ 



TRVDE AND COMMERCE OF SANTTOS. 

 {From the Report by Gonnul Cowper for the Year 183 5.) 



There is no new fr-atur.- in the production of this 

 province. Goff e stil' ontinues to ba its staple and 

 only article of export. Former reports hive treated 

 exhaust vely this sibjeet, and th -re is n ithina; to ad i 

 to it, except the face tint the production of coffee 

 shows a tendency ta iuorea-<e, n itvithstindng the very 

 groat depreci-ition in its value during the last fe<v 

 years — a d p-eciatien which barely leaves a marsjin 

 for profits, and has redueeci the revenue derived from 

 it by several millions of p 'Uads. 



Coffee, as already 8rat.-;<l, is the only article of 

 exp re, and the shipments during the past year wer« * 

 larger than tnose of a ly of the previous cues, in 

 consequence 01 the extension of tti*^ crop*. Great 

 BriCiuu coiisu.nes but little of the San Paulo, or 

 "Santos" coffee, as it is commonly called, heucp the 

 shipments thither are fimall and of no great con- 

 sequence. New York, H'^rve, and Hamburg arj the 

 prnciual markets of the staple produce of this pr ivince. 



The import trade of thi- province, carried on through 

 th? port of San;.)S, still continues to be of growing 

 inip.irrance, and as l®ng a^ the province develo|js its 

 resources at the rate of past ye irs, the import trad« 

 will increase in direct ratio to the same. There has 

 been no diversion or n^-w feature in the import branch 

 of trade here. Great Brita n. as heretofore, supplies 

 the greater portion, both in bu'k and value, of the 

 imported goods, and entirely monopolises the trade in 

 railroad and tram plant, and rolliug stock, gas and 

 wat.rwork materials, agricultural implements, hardware 

 and machinery of every description, and coal. Although 

 (4 rmany endeavours to compete in cotton go )ds, 

 British inakf-s are preferred and command the market. 

 Unfortunately no stat'stical information as to tha 

 volume itnd value of the importation from different 

 c juntries can bo given, ihasmuch as the custom-house 

 has never yet published statistical matter on the 

 subject. Thera was agrsat falling off in number 



