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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[April 2, 1883. 



thickly they should be thinned and those taken out may 

 be i:)lanted somewhere else. They should stand one yard 

 and a half apart. For the first two years the crop does 

 not attain its full development, but in the third year the 

 full yield of foliage is obtained, and continues thereafter. 

 The plants may be cut twice a year. Tagasaste has the 

 advantage of containing a large quantity of nitrogenous 

 matter. It is estimated to contain I'LSG of nitrogen against 

 liys yielde.l by the finest Clover hay. Each 100 lb of fodder 

 is calcidated to produce 2'()0 lb. of meat. Animals fed on 

 Tagasa.ste come into condition more rapidly and to a greater 

 degree than with any other food except corn. The fodder 

 is usually prejiared by mixing 351b. weight of fresh Tagasaste 

 with 20tb. of chopped strow. The amount is sufficient for 

 the daily nourishment of a horse or cow. It is said the 

 animals so fed fatten more rapidly with Tagasaste than with 

 hay, which is thought to be due to the presence in the 

 plant of an essential oil which is thought may retard the 

 waste of tissue and thus cause fattening. On this account 

 Tagasaste is recommended for feeding stock not intended 

 for working." I have a quantity of seed and will be happy 

 to give some to any one wilhng to gave it a trial. 



Jilack Wattle (Acacia decurrens). — In consequence of 

 scarcity of good Oak bark for tanning purposes the attention 

 of land-owners in the Colonies and India has lately been 

 directed to the cultivation of Black "Wattle as a remunerative 

 investment. This Acacia is a native of the eastern part of 

 South Australia and is a middle-sized trees of rapid growth. 

 Its wood can be used for staves and other piu-poses, and 

 it supplies an excellent firewood. According to Baron 

 Muller good ^Vattle bark is three times as rich as Oak bark 

 in tanning principles and is much quicker produced. Some 

 tree of this Acacia have been gro^vn in the Ootacamimd 

 Gardens for some years and thrive quite as well as the 

 Silver Wattle {Acacia dealhala). A writer in a recent num- 

 ber of the Australasian states that in three years an acre 

 of ground will yield 2i tons of Wattle bark. The bark is 

 said to be worth from £S to £11 per ton in the English 

 market. Seeing that there are immense tracts of at present 

 unproductis'e land on the Nilgiris, I would call the attention 

 of such as contemplate planting Blue Gums for fire-wood, 

 to this tree. Blue Gum, at all events in its green state, 

 makes but inferior fire-wood, whereas the Black Wattle not 

 only yields a valuable bark, but would, in the same period, 

 give as much fire-wood as the Blue gum, and of a superior 

 quality. If this tree were systematically planted on the 

 Hills itwoidd doubtless prove a profitable investment. The 

 cultivation of the Wattle is simple and easy, the seeds be- 

 ing sown either broadcaster in rows. 



Jalap (Exgouium Piu-ga). — The cultivation of this plant 

 has passed beyon<l the experimental stage, and it is now 

 an estalisheil fact that Jalap can be grown successfully 

 in Ootacamunil and will pay a fair retiurn on the outlay 

 even at the price allowed by the Medical Stores. The out- 

 tiu-u of rh-y root was not so large as I anticipated or what 

 it would have been had the tubers planted been allowed 

 to come to maturity. But so long as I have to lift them 

 to supply the public (ride G. O., No. 1637, dated lith December 

 18JS0), it will be some years before I have a sufficient area 

 brought under cultivation to meet the demand of even the 

 local Medical Department, the annual requirements of which 

 Siu'geon-General Cornish puts at 1,200 lb. — Nouth of India 

 Ohserver. 



NILGIRI BOTANICAL GARDENS. 



The report on the progress and condition of the Go- 

 vernment Botanical Garden and Pai'ks on the Nilgiris for 

 the year l.s.Sl-82, which was submitted by Mr. A. Jamieson, 

 the Superintendent, in July 1882, has been published, with 

 the remarks of Government thereon. The latter include the 

 following: — "The delay in the submission of this report, 

 which was due on the 10th July, is noted with disapproval. 

 In future the Collector should forward the Superintendent's 

 report at once with any remarks he may have to make. An 

 elaborate covering letter on a technical suliject is wholly 

 uncalled for." ^^'e read that "dm-ing tlio year under report, 

 377 fruit trees, 2,348 timber trees, 7,B50 ornamental trees, 

 shruV)S and herbaceous plants, 2,317 packets of vegetable and 

 tliAver seeds, 85 bouquets, and 141 baskets of cut-flowei-s 

 were sold by the Gardens. The gross income from the sale 



of seeds, plants, &c., from the several gardens was 

 Hs. 3,026-10-4, and the expenditure Rs. 16,426." The growth 

 of potatoes during the year has not been satisfactory, but 

 the Supenntendent has obtained some new and approved 

 kinds from England which promise to do very well. He 

 again calls the attention of planters and owners of cattle on 

 the hills to prickly comfrey and Brome grass as fodder- 

 producers. These fodder plants, he states, undoubtedly hold 

 the first rank both as regards quantity and quality of their 

 yield, and the ease with which they can be cultivated. 

 A new fodder plant, tagasaste {Cytisus proliferiis) hai 

 attracted Mr. Jamieson's attention, and he says that of all the 

 plants with which he is acquainted none seem to have 

 taken more kindly to the soil and climate of the Nilgiris 

 than this shrub. The plant would, he feels sm-e, be especially 

 valuable in localities such as Kartary and Kalhatti, where 

 grazing is year by year becoming scarcer. He has a quantity 

 of seed and \rill be happy to give some to any one willing to 

 give it a trial. Some interesting experiments with cinchona 

 were tried. Cinchona Cai-thagena tlirived very well, and the 

 propagation of this valuable species has been so successful 

 that a number of wellgrown plants and cuttings were handed 

 to the Overseer of the Dodabetta Plantation. At Sim'e 

 Park Led(jtriana did not succeed, owing to the soil being 

 imfavourable. Here some foresight and a little thought 

 might have prevented what proved a useless experiment. 

 It is well known — or should be — what soil Ledyeriana will 

 grow in, and surely the Superintendent knew what soil 

 he had to deal with in Sim's Park? There is no lack of 

 literature deahug with cinchona cultivation. Owen's Manual 

 is one of the best works yet pubUshed, and besides that 

 one there are King's Manual, Markham's "Peruvian Bark," 

 Mr. J. Ferguson's essay, and others, ^\'hat Mr. Jamieson 

 prized most of the new plants introduced were the Gastilloa 

 Elastica plants obtained from Ceylon, and which he has no 

 doubt will find a suitable home in Wynaad, where it will 

 probably yield a profitable return to the cultivator. The 

 black wattle appears to thi-ive very well in Ootacamund 

 and as the bark is valuable for tanning purposes while 

 the timber is of a superior quaUty, the Superintendent 

 of the Botanical Gardens caUs the attention of all who 

 contemplate planting to this valuable tree. The cultivation 

 of the wattle is simple and easy. Perhaps we may soon 

 read what the Conservator of Forests says about wattle, his 

 opinion has been sought. Mr. Jamieson says of Liberian 

 coffee: — 



This excellent coffee continues to grow luxuriantly and 

 yields annually more abundant crops than the ordinary coffee 

 growing alongside of it. The Native estate proprietors in 

 and around Barliyar are now, I am glad to say, beginning 

 to recognise its superiority over the Coffea Arabica and are 

 now planting it pretty extensively on their estates. There 

 can be no question than in a climate like that of Barliyar 

 heavier and more regular crops may be calculated upon 

 from this species of cofl'ee. Nearly half of last year's crop 

 was stripped from the branches before ripening by the high 

 winds in November. However, sufficient was saved to raise, 

 nur.series and meet the demand for seeds. 



Ipecacuanha has made fair progress, but has not increased 

 in size and \-igour, or made root growth sufficient to 

 encourage a hope that it can ever be grown atBarhyar 

 as an article of commerce. At His Excellency the Governor's 

 request some plants are being tried in Ooty. Ceara Rubber 

 ti-ees have done very well, and there is a considerable 

 demand for plants. The cultivation of Jalap has pa,ssed 

 beyond the experimental stage, and it is now an established 

 fact that Jalap can be grown successfuly in Ootacamund, and 

 will pay a fair retm-n on the outlay, even at the price allowed 

 by the Medical Stores. On the wliole, the gardens have been 

 usefid to the Presidency, but there seems to be something 

 wanting; Rs. 13,000 per annum should produce better results. 

 The experiments are generally on such a small scale that a 

 sUght accident may at any time destroy all the Super- 

 intendent has got of any new plant, and thus delay the 

 publication of information which may be of vast importance 

 to the agricidtiu-ists of the country. Profes.sor Lawson's 

 advent will probably give a stimulus to effort in this 

 department, and we understand he will spend several weeks 

 at the Peradeniya Gardens, Ceylon, before arriring here. 

 There a much larger sum is expended on experiments, and 

 the receipts for plants and seed sold are much hio-her 

 —Madras Mail. 



