October i, 1882,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULIURIST. 



361 



OLIVE GROWING IN AUSTRALIA. 



Since the impost of a potcctive duty of 6d. per 

 gallon on olive oil, the Austniliau Oil Factory in Mel- 

 boiu*ue, Victoria, offers 10s. per cwt. for olives. An 

 ordinary yield from an olive tree in bearing' is from 4 

 to ^ 6 cwt. An olive field is not too tbiclcly planted 

 which contains 100 trees ; and 100 trees per acre, yield- 

 ing even 4 cwt. or £2 per tree, gives the handsome 

 gross return of £200 per acre. In South Australia the 

 growing of olives and the pressing of the oil have become 

 firmly established, and the plantjitions are increasing 

 annually. Those who are engaged in olive culture assert 

 that nothing they have yet tried pays them so well, A 

 South Australian olive grower, Mr. Barnard, in a recent 

 paper read before the Adelaide branch of the Farmers' 

 Association, pointed out that the olive claimed attention 

 at the hands of the farmer as one of the most remu- 

 nerative products that he could possibly adopt as an 

 adjunct t^ his other agricultural oioerations. His paper, 

 summarised, showed — 1st. That the olive is a ti'ee that 

 does not take up much room. 2nd. That it is a great 

 protection from the hot and blighting winds, and affords 

 a grateful shade in summer, and shelter in winter to 

 cattle. 3rd. That it does not require a great deal of 

 pruning and attention. 4th. That the wood is hard and 

 close-grained, and very useful for all sorts of purposes. 

 5th. That it can be put in the form of small, six-inch 

 rooted seedlings, only costing a mere trifle per hundred, 

 by running a common plough twice or thrice along the 

 same furrow in order to get sufficient depth, and placing 

 them at intervals before turning a fresh furrow. fJth. 

 That the oilcake, which by arrangement, can be returned 

 by the oil manufacturer for a tritie, is most fattening 

 food for pigs and poultry. 7th. That it is comparatively 

 more profitable to the farmer than to those who arf en- 

 tirely confined to and dependent upon plantations, from 

 the notable fact that they bear much more heavily in 

 the single rows, as round the fence of a wheat paddock, 

 where the light and sun can get round tliem, than in 

 the close olive groves. 



A special reporter, while on a tour in South Australia, 

 inspected various olive plantations in that colony. At Mr. 

 Davenport's place, near Adelaide, he found that 150 

 gallons of oil had been made from the. year's crop, which 

 amounted to 75 cwt. of olives. One cwt. of fruit pro- 

 duced 2 gallons of oil. Tlie yield of Mr. Davenport's olive 

 trees varied, according to age and size, from one to 20 

 gallons, but one very old and celeljrated tree had been 

 known to give up to 55 gallons. The heaviest expense 

 connected with the industry was the picking, which cost 

 from 2s. to 38. per cwt. This was done by women and 

 children. — Jldhonrne Leader. 



[Amongst the special attractions of the Melbourne Ex- 

 hibition were the beautiful olive oil trophies shewn by 

 Mr. Davenport. — Ed .] 



CINCHONA. 



Some rather disjointed and fragmentary notes upon 

 certain points in the culture and preparation of Oinchuna 

 Bark to which our attention has been specially directed, 

 and for these we are chiefly indebted to Mr. Charles G. 

 Waruford Lock, F.L.S., editor of Spon's new Encyclopaedia. 

 Propagation by " Layering," a method by which a far 

 greater number and more rapid succession of Cinchona 

 plants may be propagated than by the ordinary system of 

 cutting, is that known as "layering" This operation con- 

 sists in bending the branches of the plants into the soil, 

 and cutting them half through at the bend ; the object 

 of this is to cause roots to spring from the cut portion of 

 the branch, which is placed in the soil for that purpose. 

 The juice of the plant escapes so rapidly from the cut 

 as to induce decay, unless at once absorbed ; this end is 

 attaiueil by placing a piece of thoroughly dried brick in 

 the slit formed by detaching the tongue. The latter is 

 then kept down, if necessary, by means of the peg. "When 

 it would be inconvenient to bring the branch dowu to 

 the soil, the latter may be raised in boxes. The best 

 season for layering is during the rains. "VYht^n well rooted, 

 say in 3 — 4 months, the layers are separated from the 

 parent plant, and removed to glazed frames, where they 

 are placed about 6 iu. apart in good soil. Here they 



become established as '* stock plants," and yield a con- 

 stant succession of cuttings. In taking these, whole shoots 

 must not be removed, but a few buds must be left to 

 provide new shoots. Cuttings from stock plants are treated 

 in the same way as any others. [AVhat we saw of layer- 

 ing on the Nilgiris and in liritish Sikkim produced the 

 impression that this is about the most diflScult mode of 

 propagating (Jinchonas. — Ed.] 



Dri/inij. — In our last we gave some particulars of an 

 apparatus manufactured by Messrs. J. Gordon k Co., for 

 artificially drying the bark. Since then we learn that Mr. 

 Kinmond has patented a machine for the purj^ose which 

 answers well in practice both for tea and cinchona, and 

 one of them has been supplied to the Neilgherry Tea and 

 Cinchona Co., of which Mr. Teare is the resident manager. 

 These machines are manufactured for the patentee, by 

 Messrs. Robey & Co , of Lincoln. Experts are of opinion 

 that the bark should not be subjected to artificial heat 

 more than 12 to 15 degrees above that of the outer air 

 or its chemical qualities will be prejudicially effected. 



Colifiaf/a Verde. — Mr. Holmes' article iu our February 

 number, describing the cultivated Bolivian variety, has 

 induced a very active demand for the seeds, and we may 

 mention that Messrs. T Christy & Co. are expecting a fresh 

 supply iu a month or sLx weeks. From an estate in the 

 AVyuaad, to which a small quantitj' of the seed was sent 

 iu February last, we learn that it germinated most success- 

 fully in about 10 days after being sown. The manager 

 calculated that there were about 6(J,000 seeds to the oz. — 

 Pla n ters^ < lazette. 



THE SAGO PALM IN BORNEO. 



Amongst the papers issued by the gentlemen connected 

 with the Charter for North Borneo is an interesting cue 

 on Sago x'lauting. 



It is stated therein that the Sago Palm is indigenous 

 in Borneo, and grows to perfection there, nearly seven- 

 eighths of the Sago brought into the European markets 

 being j^roduced in the island. 



The Palm appears to be a most prolific plant, three 

 trees yielding more food than an acre of. wheat, and six 

 trees more than an acre of potatoes. A single tree will 

 give 600 lb. of food, sufficient to support a grown up 

 person for a year. 



The cultivation at present is entirely in the hands of 

 the natives. But Jlr. AV. M. Crocter, a gentleman of long 

 local experience, reconmiends that in British North Borneo 

 an experiment should be made by the Directors of the 

 Company of planting this Palm on a large scale. 



As a preliminary he gives an estimate of the probable 

 cost of and profits from a plantation of 2,000 acres of 

 wJaich the following is a summary : — 



On the 2,000 acres 100,000 trees would be planted. The 

 total cost at the end of ten years from the first start 

 including interest is put at £17,280. 



The plantation would then be ready to produce 30,000 

 trees annually. And it is calculated that for a yearly out- 

 lay of £t),U50 there would be a net return of £22 500. 

 leaving a yearly profit of £15,550. 



Nothing is charged for the land, as the Directors of 

 the North Borneo Company have it at theii" own disposal. 



There can be no doubt that the statements ma^le by 

 Mr. Crocker, which, it may be added, are said by the 

 Sarawak Gazette to be well within the ascertained facts 

 will receive the close attention of those who are under- 

 taking the responsibility of acting as pioneers of plantino- 

 in North Borneo. And it may well be that in the cultivation 

 of the Sigo Palm there may be found a most useful and 

 lucrative atljunct to the growing of other products. But 

 it is clear that the length of time required for a return 

 would quite prevent it being made a staple, at least by 

 the earii.-r planters. Man must live, and he cannot live 

 on future i)rofits, especially if those profits be based solely 

 on eativiates, as in this case. 



In writing tlius we must not be supposed to be casting 

 any — the least — reflection ou Mr. Crocker's figures. These 

 are, doubtless, fairly and moderately deduced fx-om facts 

 well within bis knowledge. But to i. ustrate our moauiuo- 

 we may mention the case of the ear,;. Cocoa Nut p:;infei? 

 in Ceylou. '1 he cultivation of that Tulm some forty years 

 ago, as of the Sago Palm now in Borneo, was entirely 



