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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[April 2, 1883. 



Gonamotawa.* I would like to know if the trees on 

 Kirkleea have the same peculiarity of barrenness as 

 regards fruit ? 



How similar Mr. Dick's and my own experiences were 

 wlien trying to introduce these valuable trees and pro- 

 pagate them on the various estates under our charge in 

 1662, and a few years later ! Mr. Tottenham, one of 

 the proprietors of Monerakande estate in 1864, ordered 

 me to pull up and throw away 2,000 cinchona sucoi- 

 rurubra and officinalis plants I was putting out on 

 the roadsides and boundaries of that estate, saying 

 they were useless, aud that I was only wasting 

 labour, and that he did not paj me for ornamental 

 cultivation ! I begged to be allowed to let the 

 few hundred trees I had already planted out to 

 remain, which be reluctantly permitted, and now 

 Mr. Downall is reaping the benefit of some of them, 

 for they were neglected after that and only a few 

 remain of rnij jdayiting on that estate now. After 

 Mr. Tottenham's ukase, I sent the other plants 

 over to Mahapittia (now Broughtou). my own estate 

 then, but so little did a subsequent superintendent 

 of that estate (Mr. A. T. Geddesf) think of them 

 that he had the major part of these, when grown 

 to fine trees, uprooted and actually thrown away 

 or destroyed, because forsooth they were shading 

 the fine coffee. How truly everything " has its day," 

 vegetable or animal, all have their innings, and 

 such is also, unfortunately for some, the fate of en- 

 thusiastic pioneers, and once worthy planters, not 

 appreciated as they grow old. But wait, there is a 

 turn in the tide, and old hands like weedy estates 

 may yet, and will, be found to be the best paying 

 "spec." — Yours truly, Jno. ATWELL. 



CARBOLIC ACID: ITS CONSTITUENTS AND 

 PROPERTIES. 

 Ragalla, Udapussellawa, Feb. 26th, 1883. 

 Dear Sir, — The following from Allen's Commercial 

 Oryaiiic Analy sisraajyintere&t your correspondent "W.": 

 — "Pure carbolic acid is a colourless crystallme solid 

 melting at 42 '2° C. ( = 108° F.) to a colourless limpid 

 fluid slightly heavier than water. It boils when 

 pure at 182° C. and distils without decomposition. 

 The crystals readily absorb moisture from the air, 

 whereby their fusing point is lowered owing to the 

 formation of a hydrate of the formula Cg H^OH^O con- 

 taining 16'07 of water and melting at 17'2° C. ( = 

 63° F. ). In very moist air this hydrate absorbs still 

 more water and the product remains fluid at a still 

 lower temperature. When water is gradually added 

 to carbolic acid as long as it continues to dissolve 

 the resultant liquid contains about 27 per cent of 

 water (by weight) and thus approximates closely to 

 the composition Ct]H50.jH.2 which recpiires 27 '" per 

 cent of water. If the liquid so obtained is really 

 a compound, it is one of the weakest nature, for on 

 agitating it with four volumes of benzene, the carb- 

 olic acid is dissolved and the water wholly separated. 

 The liquid hydrous carbolic acid dissolves in about 

 11-1 times its measure of cold water. This corre- 

 sponds to a solubility of 1 part by weight in 10'7 

 for the absolute acid, the saturated solution contain- 

 ing 8 '56 of real phenol. The odour is usually strong 

 and characteristic, but both smell and taste are much 

 less marked in very pure specimens than in the 

 crude article. Phenol coagulates albumen, is a power- 

 ful antiseptic, acts as a caustic on the skin, and is 

 powerfully poisonous. " 



* We should like to know if this curious statement is 

 correct. — Ed. 



f In this instance names must be mentioned, and the 

 saddle put upon the right horse, as a very worthy planter, 

 Mr. R. E. Pineo, has been mistaken and supposed to have 

 been the person who committed this act of vandahsm. — J. A. 



The following method for the assay of crude carb- 

 olic acid is suggestive, and I again quote fiom the 

 same authority: — "1,000 grains measure of the 

 sample are placed in a retort and distilled 

 the liquid which possess over being collected in gradu- 

 ated tubes. Water first distils, and is followed by 

 an oily fluid: when 100 fluid grains of the latter have 

 been collected, the receiver is chai'ged. The volume 

 of water is then read ofl'. If the oily liquid floats 

 on the water, it contaius light oil of tar. It should 

 be heavier than water, in which case it may be 

 regarded as hydrated acid containing about 50 per 

 cent of real carbolic acid. The next portion of the 

 distillate consists of anhydrous acid, and when it 

 measures 625 grains the receiver is again charged. 

 The residue in the i-etort consists wholly of cresylic 

 acid and still higher homologues of carbolic acid. 

 The 625 grains measure of anhydrous acid contains 

 variable propertious of carbolic and cresylic acid.... 

 Cresylic acid is less soluble in water than carbolic acid. 

 Its antiseptic properties are even more strongly marked 

 than carbolic acid. " G. A. D. 



Muter has : — " The crystals of the pure acid absorb 

 moisture readily from the air, a very slight quality 

 causing their deliquescence from colourless needles to 

 a liquid similar to that formed by the application of 

 heat. Though termed an acid, it does not aftect 

 litmus like other members of the acid class. It is a 

 powerful antiseptic. It is only slightly soluble in 

 water. " 



MR. BOSANQUET'S EXPERIMENTS IN 

 MANURING COFFEE AND THE GENERAL 

 RESULTS. 

 Yoxford, Dimbula, Feb. 28th, 1883. 



Dear Sir, — From what Mr. Giles Walker has said 

 as to the remarks made upon my experiments, I find 

 that it is impossible to obtain ci'edit with all for 

 the desire to conduct impartial investigations. In 

 my desire to support my convictions that manuring 

 pays, I must admit that I somewhat jjrematurely 

 published the results of the experiments and thereby 

 laid myself open to the charge of partisanship. I 

 accept the warning, and shall not again bring these 

 experiments forward until time has put a stronger 

 stamp upon theii- value. 



I will mention, however, that, in laying out such 

 experimental plots, my first care is to select a patch 

 of co9"ee as uniform as possible in its appearance, 

 character of soil, aspect, &c. If anyone will try to 

 pick out 1.000 trees which may be divided into 10 

 absolutely uniform plots, he will find that the diffic- 

 ulties are considerable and that some plots will pre- 

 sent slightly superior conditions to the others. It is 

 my plan to leave the best of the plot unmanured, so 

 that the test may be as divided as possible when 

 comparing the actions of the various manurial com- 

 pounds used on the other plots with this standard 

 plot. 



I will close the subject for a period by placing on 

 record the views to which my experiments have so 

 far led me. Some years hence, it may be interesting 

 to see how far time has modified them. First, then, 

 I consider " cattle manure and bones " to be the 

 typical fertilizers. 2nd. — That the closer any artificial 

 mixture approximates in regard to its chemical com- 

 position to the typical fertilizer, the better. An 

 approach to it is found in J lb. castorcake with J lb. 

 bones, etc., in the mixture sometimes recommended 

 by Hughes, viz., ^Jlb. rapecake, Jib. bones and Jib. 

 superphosphate. 3rd. — That the manure should be 

 varied to suit the climate : the colder it is the less 

 nitrogen should enter into the composition of the 

 manure and vice versa. 4th. — That without a suffici- 

 ency of sun, no manui-e will put a crop on the trees, 



