^14 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1887. 



of these were sent to Mr. Mooyart at Nuwara Eliya 

 with directions for cultivating them. I ha J often 

 wondered what became of these, and by accident in 

 London I met the gentleman to whose care they were 

 committed, the Kev. B. F. Gopp, at that time tutor 

 to the sou of Sir A. Ohphant, Chief Justice of Ceylon. 

 He informed me that in October 1842, he received 

 the plants from Mr. Mooyart at Nnwara Bliya, about 

 thirty in number, and cleared a piece of jungle for 

 them on Sir Anthony's land there; they were doing 

 well when he left the Island a few years after. Mr. 

 Gepp thinks the ground was somewhere in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the present Queen's Cottage, and it will 

 worth a search to discover whether some of the plants 

 may not be still in existence.* 



Cinchona.— In spile of the low prices prevailing, the 

 export ot bark continues to increase, and the enormous 

 quantitj of ovt-r fifteen million pounds (15,364,1)12) was 

 sent from the Colony during the year. This is the 

 more surprising, as at present the margin of profit to 

 the producer of bark must be very sm 11, especially 

 as there are scarcely any choice varieties in cultiv- 

 ation here. As regards the future, it appears impos- 

 sible to form any trustworthy idea as to the amount 

 remaining in Ceylon, but it must be greatly lessened 

 by tbis vast export of late years, during which very 

 little has been planted. As soon as shipments from 

 Oeylon drop, as they must do, prices may be confidently 

 expected to rise. 



Cacao. — It is gratifying to see that the unnecessary 

 check to this cultivation has been of every short dura- 

 tion. The export (13,347 cwt.) for last^vear is mnre 

 than double that of the previous one (6,.578 cwt.). The 

 " Forastero " kinds (see last Report) appfar to be in- 

 creasing in favour with planters as being heavier crop- 

 pers and hardier, notwithstanding the fact that they do 

 not yield so fine a product as the old Red Caracas variety. 

 Oacao cultivation, I regret to see, has taken Httle or no 

 hold on the Sinhalese villagers. As often pointed out, it 

 is not possible to conceive a more suitable plant than 

 this for the villager's little garden, if only the owner 

 will pay it a little attention for the first two years of 

 its life. After th-.t, no further trouble is necessary, 

 and the plant takes care of itself. In past years large 

 qaar.iitit;s of seed have been distributed to t've 

 villagers in the Central and Western Provinces, and in 

 1884 I circulated printed instructions for their cultiv- 

 ation, but no results are apparent. ^ Injury from 

 Helopeltis is no longer dreaded, though it is by no 

 means infrequent. With regard to thi.'i insect, it ap- 

 pears from a paper by IMr. Waterhouse,t chieUy based 

 on specimens I gave to the British Museum, that our 

 Ceylon species, the original H. Antonii, is distinct from 

 the Java Cinchona-bug, which he names //. Bradyi, fi^ 

 well as from H. Theivom, the destrucliv Tea-bug of 

 Assam. This gives some explanation of the immunity 

 of our tea and cinchona, for it is probable that these 

 species, though so much like one another, are restricted 

 as to food to particular plants. A large consignment 

 of Forastero cacao seed was sent to the Queensland 

 Acclimatifiation Society, and it is satisfactory to learn 

 that fully 90 per cent, were raised there. 



India-Rubreb Trees.— The Para rubbers {TJcvea 

 hrasUiensis) are now over ten years old, and the largest 

 tree has a girth of 49 in. at a yard from the ground. 

 Some plants have been sent to Queensland. 



The Castilloa elnstica trees are the same age. They 

 are- not now growing so rapidly as at first ; the largest 

 is 38 in. in circumference at a yard from the ground. 

 A Wardian case with 2-50 seed of this was sent in May 

 to the Conservator of Forests, Tavoy, and fifty young 

 trees have been planted at Kaudy. The paper by Sir 

 J. D. Hooker, referred to in my last report, has been 

 published I It is illustrated by a fine coloured plate 

 of the tree cultivated here, drawn by W. De Alwis, 

 the draughtsman of the gardens. Sir Joseph points 

 out that our plant, which it will be remembered is the 



' *~Since writing the above, I find that Mr. Gepp 

 communicated these facts in a letter to the London 

 Times, dated August 19. He is, however, mistaken in 

 supposing the plants to have come f.oni China. 



t Traus. Entomolog. Soc, 1886, page 457. 



\ Trans. Linnoan Soc, ser. 2, II., page 209, 



" Caucho " tree collected by Cross in Darien in 1H75, 

 differs slightly from the original Castilloa cla.itica, Cav. 

 (the " UK' " tree of Mexico and Central America), in 

 having the leaves less hairy beneath, and the seeds of 

 a somewhat different t.hape. He does not, however, 

 apparently consider these differences sufficient to war- 

 rant another specific name, and our plant may continue 

 to be called C. elastica. 



Of the East African rubbers, the oldest plant of 

 Laudolphia Kirkii, the climbing stem of which is now 

 about 10 in. in circumference, produced fruit 

 this year for the first time. The seeds are 

 few in number, and contained in a thin-coated 

 globular berry, and each is covered with a sweet 

 orange-coloured pulp. 



GuTTA-PEECHA Trees.— The " Gutta Taban Patih" 

 (Dichopsis pustidata) have attained 12 ft. in height at 

 Peradeniya, and the " Gutta Sundek" (Paycna Leerii) , 

 which does better at Henaratgoda, are now about 16 

 feet-high at that Garden. 



New Vegetables.— The " Chocho " of the W. 

 Indies {Sechium edule) has been widely distributed, 

 and has rapidly become common in the country. It 

 is liked both by Europeans and by natives, and its 

 easy culture is especially appreciated by the latter by 

 whom it is much esteemed for curries. I have no 

 ticed it for sale in the Kandy market at Ic. and 2 

 the fruit. The tree tomato {Cy2')homandrn hetacea) 

 has also spread rapidly through the hill-country. The 

 fruit keepa well after being gathered, and as it has 

 a tough skin, and travels well, it might he largely 

 cultivated in the villages for sale in the towns. The 

 Arracacha (A. esculenta) is not generally liked by 

 Europeans (though some like it), but much enjoyed 

 by all the natives who have tasted it. Mr. Nock 

 reports a good stock at Hakgala, and I am prepared to 

 distribute, through the Government Agents, small 

 quantities to the headmen of villages at 2,000 feet 

 or more elevation, in the hope of its culture 

 being taken up by the villagers. Much interest 

 has been excited in India by the successful 

 introduction of this vegetable into Oeylon, a' d in 

 answer to applications we have sent boxes of the mots 

 to the Botanic Garden at Sabarunpore, the Agri-Hor- 

 ticultural Society of Calcutta, and the Chief Commis- 

 sioner of British liurmah. 



Ullucus tueberostjs. — As recorded in my last Re- 

 port, a few tubers of this vegetable— the "Oca-quina" 

 of Peru and Bolivia — were receiveil from Kew at the 

 end of 1885. They were sent on to Hakgala, and Mr, 

 Nock reports as follows : — 



" Planted in a nursery bed they grew rapidly, and 

 the tops did not die down till November. They were 

 then taken up, and the crop produced weighed lU 

 lb. The tubers from which these wr re produced could 

 not have weighed more than an ounce, and they were 

 all very small, the largest being scarcely the size of 

 a hazelnut, whilst the average size of the crop pro- 

 duced here was about that of walnuts. The largest 

 —shaped like a kidney potato— was o\ in. long by 

 .3f in. in circumference, or 1* in. in diameter in the 

 middle," 



These tubers are largely consumed in Peru, like 

 potatoes. .Tndging from those produced here, I think 

 them too "waxy"' to suit English taste generally. 



Fruits. — The Cherimoyer [Anona Clieyimolia) is now 

 well established at Hakgala ; there are numerous plants 

 in perfect health, and likely to do well ; the large.st 

 is as yet, however, only 4 ft. high. 



Pineapples.— During my visit home I was succesfiful 

 in interesting the authorities at Kew in an attempt to 

 obtain additional varieties of this favourite fruit, and 

 they with some difficulty secured from private sources 

 twenty-six shoots of the following wellknowi, varie- 

 ties :— " Black .lamaica," " Q'leen," " Lord (hirriugton," 

 " Smooth Cavenne " (which is already well-known in 

 Oeylon), " Black Prince," " Charlotte Rothschild," 

 " Lady Beatrice Lambton," and " Enville Queen;" The 

 plant of the last named was dead, but the rest arrived 

 in excellent order, and were planted at Peradeniya 

 at the end of September, 



