AfWL I, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



66^ 



their esteem. Mr. Routledge has urged its use in 

 the paper trade ; but although the plant is suth- 

 ciently abundant to warrant the idea that it might 

 even pay to be thrown into the paper-makers' vat, 

 it seems to possess such merits as a possible textile 

 fibre that it is more likely to find a much higher 

 place than Mr. Routledge desinged fjr it, i'he 

 rnahi fibre may be gathered in immense lengths, for 

 the plant is one of those gigantic climbers which, 

 by means of its tendrils, extends its long arms from 

 tree to tree, binding the forest into great clumps. 

 It is, indeed, a sjurce of greatest annoyance to tbe 

 forester, for it not only injures his trees, but has 

 such a vitality that it is next to impossible to ex- 

 terminate the plant, and a few months after it has 

 been cut to ihe ground, its long elegant pendant 

 boughs ladiQ w^th its great clusters of white flowers, 

 are seen waivmg in defiance from the topmost 

 branches of the trees. A very large and practic- 

 ally inexhaastiole supply might be drawn from the 

 forests of India, bat I have no confidence in a 

 large industry depending upon a wild plant. The 

 wiae area over which it would have to be collected, 

 and the complete control which the owners of the 

 forests could exercise over the buyer, would be 

 dangerous to success; therefore a tract of country, 

 say twenty miles, of the practically useless stony 

 hill sides would have to be purchased and system- 

 atically planted. A forest is not necessary for the 

 plants to climb on ; they would trail over the ground 

 and form with each other great clumps. From such 

 a plantation a nucleus of supply could be drawn 

 and depended upon, which would have a good moral 

 effect upon the persons bringing to the piauter sup 

 plies from the wild source. In this way it is pos 

 sible to procure a constant supply, and if this can 

 but be secured, the fibre poasesiea in itself such 

 high merit that it will soon make itself known iu 

 the textile world. It is one of the few vegetable 

 fibres that will stand to be dyed, bleached, and 

 worked up along with wool, a property which speaks 

 volumes in itself. 



3. Caloptris gigantea. — The world has heard so 

 much of the niadar fiores that it may he viewed ?s. 

 presumptuous on my part to desire to go back upon 

 the unfavourable verdicts which expert.^ have passed 

 upon them. It is well known that tne stems of 

 this plant afford one of the strongest and finest of 

 vegetable fibres, and one of the most beautiful. The 

 great difficulty is to separate this fibre from the 

 stems, and, indeed, so great is this difficulty that 

 the idea has practically been abandoned. My friend 

 Mr. Cross, by nitrating madav fiore, has, however, 

 produced a substaace which can with dilficulty be 

 detected from silk. It has all the gloss and softness 

 of silk, and would seem so valuable that, in this 

 state, it could well aiford to bear an expensive pro- 

 cess of separation. 



I desire your attention not so much, however, to 

 the possibilities of niadar bark fibre as to the floss 

 found attached to the seeds. This has been pro- 

 nounced too short and too light to be worked on 

 machinery. But I have be^ua to suspect that we 

 can correct these defects to a large extent. The 

 plint is wild along country roadsides in India, luxuri- 

 ating on every bit of waste sterile land. No person, 

 as tar as I am aware, has thought of cultivating it. 

 An important Lancashire spiuuer has assured me 

 that, even lu its preaCnt state, he can use any amount 

 of the fibre; all he requires is a uniform and steady 

 supply. We have agreed that this can never be 

 secured from a wild plant which has to be collected 

 by wandering along miles of roadsides. Through 

 the kindness and co-operation of a missionary friend, 

 however, I am at present having a few acres of 

 inferior land cultivated with madar, and we are 

 hopeful of being able to prove to the poor Santals 

 of Bengal that this crop would pay them far more 

 than some of the things ihey and their forefathers 

 have been in the habit of growing. If this can be 

 done, uniformity and continuance iu supply may not 

 only be secured, but it may be conudently hoped 

 that, with careful selection of seed, after a few 

 years, we may educate the plant into becoming 

 bedient t9 man's skill. Otir cultivated madar may 



yield a floss that will have none of the defects 

 complained of. If this can be done, I am satisfied 

 my friend will do it, for I know of no more careful 

 and painstaking person in India than the gentleman 

 who has most generously undertaken to pioneer the 

 introduction of this new annual crop. 



Class IV. — The Oils and Oil-seeds. 

 But I have already trespassed too far upon your 

 time. Th^re is much that one might say about the 

 existing crops and the possible new crops of India, 

 that one scarce knows where to begin or what to 

 say first. Speaking of the oil-seeds, however, the 

 greatest possible interest was taken at the late Ex- 

 nibition m the white form of linseed sent from the 

 Central Provinces. Were it possibe to develop this 

 form to the exclusion of the red, a large trade 

 would be done in it. The greatest danger to the In- 

 dian oil-seed trade is the difficulty to induce the 

 people to discontinue their practice of adulteration, 

 or to persuade them to be more careful in rooting 

 up different crops growing in the same field. A 

 compai-atively small percentage of rape-seed mixed 

 with the linseed renders it completely useless as a 

 drying oil. Speaking of the rape-seed trade, on the 

 other hand, few persons seem to be aware that there 

 is, practically, no mustard grown in India. The so- 

 called mustard exported from India is in soma cases 

 better qualities of rape, or in others the Indian 

 mustard — the small black and pitted sejds of Bras- 

 sica juiicea. It seems desirable that this fact should 

 oe ma,de more generally known, for suould demand 

 arise for Braastca aiba or B. nigra — the true white 

 and black mustards, these might easily enough be 

 substituted for the white and black ferms of B. 

 campestris or rape seed, which seem to find a market 

 as inferior mustard.— /oit'-wa/ 0/' Me Society of Artt 



THE TESTS ON QUININE SULPHATE, 



Although some of the f^tcts to which I propose to 



efer iu coaneclioa witu this subject de not in 



themselves possess any gre-it novelty, the special 



iiteutiun they have lately received ill Virious quiruers 



gives them a new lUter.-st at the present u'Oinent. 



Ainoug all the .--aUs of cinchona alkaloi Is quinine 

 -uipliate IS an loubte.lly the m (St iinpjrcaut iu every 

 i-e.ip ct, and therefore especial aitjuiion should be 

 ^iveu to the ui :ans or asoert lining its purity. Qjite 

 lately it h^s been CJiitendel, thai in regard to this 

 cua. aster it is t:ie duty of the puarmacist to eutorce 

 upon tbe manutacturer very stringent demands, and 

 trom an ethical pviiui, of view uoihiug can be Sdid to 

 ihe contrary, especially if it shouid b^ dejided upon 

 [herapeutoal groaudi tuac it is desirable to use 

 qu.nme .■'Uipha e in a state of absoiUte chemical 

 (jii ity. But that is a punt to be determue I by 

 ineiicai autaority, a id for tan pres-iuo it will suffice 

 to cou>i ler what is to be u ider.-.tojd by the term 

 purity iu this case as a mitter of practical puarmauy. 

 lu doing so it will be iiuporta it to bear in luiud 

 hat hoAfever much we may be in a position at 

 the present lime to defiae the pirtioalars which 

 are evidence of the purity or qui. 11 le sulphate, 

 it mu't 06 a Im ttfd that la regard to t jis .sale the 

 term purity has hitherto ha I omy a raUtive appli- 

 catiou. With oui- present kao.rlelge of the vaiious 

 alkaloi Is ocourring in the material whicb is the 

 source of quinine, it may be taken for gra.ite I that 

 quiuiae sulphate is not likely to be naturally con- 

 tamiuated with ciuchonine sulphate, or, indeed, 

 with any other cinohouine salt as an accidental 

 admixture, and heuc-, for practical purpos s, this 

 imparity may be to a great exteut lett out of con- 

 sideration. For vaiious other rt-asins, true qum- 

 idine sulphate m\y a.so be disr-gar. el in this respect 

 as be ng ai uul.neiy admixtur-, a.-d, in a g neral 

 Way aticnt on may be coafiaed almost entirely 

 to ciuchoiiidine sulphate as being the impu.-ity 

 most frequi-ntly present in c immercial q liuine 

 sulphate. The iuiriusic value of the ciuchon- 

 idiue salt is very much less than that of quiuiae 

 sulphate. Omsequjutly from this point of view 

 tdone iadepeadeatly of therapeutic v*lae, it is very 



