January i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



S4S 



say: — "The following is a late analysis of the Ash of 

 Assam Tea. The leaves yield GOl per cent of Ash, anil 

 3'75 por cent of Nitrogen : — 



Chloride of Sodium 3-21 



Soda 3-52 



Potash 3o-34 



Magnesia IISS 



Lime ... 11'75 



Oxides of Iron and Manganese ... (i'DS 



Phosphoric Acid l(i*01 



Sulphuric Acid 11-02 



Silica 212 



ANALYSES OF ASSAM SOILS, 



Water 



*Organic matter 



Silica 



Soda 



Potash 



Magnesia 



Lime 



Oxide of Iron and Manganese 



Alumina ... 



Phsphocic Acid 



Sulphuric Acid 



Chlorine ... 



Carbonic Acid 



*Nitrogen ... ..., 0-44 0-13 



" From the foregoing it will be seen that, although one 

 is of so-called old soil, the land has scarcely been long 

 enough iu cultivation to become exhau.sted. It can there- 

 fore hardly be wondered at that JIanures have not yet 

 come generally into use. Moreover, the distance that they 

 require to be sent up-country, and consequent expense, 

 has beeD much against their being employed. We can, 

 with confidence, recommend our Special Tea Manure, which 

 has been used for some years, and which has materially 

 mcreased the yield of Tea, &c. Before long Manures must 

 be more extensively used than they are now. We guar- 

 antee it to contain 



20 Soluble Phosphate 



5 Insoluble Phosphate 



5 .(\jumouia, Nitrogen equal to 



9 Sulphate of Potash. 

 It should be applied at the rate of about 4 cwt. per acre, 

 mixed as in other cultures with rather more than its own 

 weight of wood ash. — Flaitters^ Gazette. 



COCHINEAL CULTUKE IN SOUTHERN INDIA. 



The following is a letter from Surge on- IMajor G. Bidie, 

 ■ji.B., SupL-riuteudent, Goverumeiit Central Museum, to the 

 Chiff Secretary to Governmeut, Financial Department: — 



"With reference to your Memorandum No. 291, of 28th 

 February, 1S82, I liave the honor to state that, so far as 

 I know, no recent attempts have been made to introduce 

 cochineal cultm-e into Southern India. The efforts made 

 about the beginning of the present century to establish 

 the industry failed, owing to the introduction of an in- 

 ferior variety of the cochineal insect. Originally a native 

 of l\Iesico, it has been introduced into the Canary Is- 

 lands, Spain and Algiers, and there would be no great 

 difficulty iu translating it from the last-named place to 

 Madras. One of the species of. cactus on, which the in- 

 sect feeds in Brazil having been introduced with it in 

 1795 by Capt. Neilson of Her Majesty's 7th Regiment, it 

 has become naturalised, and there are besides various 

 other species here oil which the insect will feed. Rox- 

 burgh iu describing the common prickli/-pea)' says : " Upon 

 this plant the cochineal insects lately brought from Ame- 

 rica thrive and multiply abundantly'*; and in the notice 

 of the p)-ickfy-pe<ii' iu Hooker's " Flora of British India," 

 the following remarks occur; — "An American plant is 

 naturalised in India, and is nearly or quite the same spe- 

 cies as that on which cochineal is tended in Teneriffe." 

 It does not appear, therefore, that there would he any 

 practical difticulty iu rearing the cochineal iuscct in South- 

 ern India, and I would suggest that efforts be made in 



the cold season to introduce it into Madras from Algiers- 

 Should the experiment bo decided on, it would be neces- 

 sary to have a small garden prepared for the reception 

 of the insect. The following is a brief de.scription of a 

 Mexican Nopalry : — " Au open piece of laud is chosen pro- 

 tected against the west wiud, and of about one or two 

 acres in extent. This is surrounded with a hedge of reeds, 

 planted iu lines distant from each other about a yard, 

 with cuttings of cactus, at most about two feet apart. 

 The cactus gai'den made, the next thing is to estabhsh iu it 

 cochineals." The Agri-Hortieukural Society would, no 

 doubt, be able to spare a portion of their experimental 

 garden behind the Cathedral for this purpose, and might 

 fairly be asked to undertake the exijeriment in rearing 

 the insects on their arrival. 



The Government fully approve of Dr. Bidie's sugges- 

 tion in regard to the introduction of cochineal culture into 

 Madras. The Honorary Secretary to the Agri-Horticultural 

 Society will be requ sted to report whether a portion of 

 the Agricultural Garden can be spared for the purpose, and 

 whether he would be willing to undertake the experiment 

 of reai-ing the insects if they are obtained. — Madra6 Faper. 



GAi-tDENS IN INDIA. 



There are few things iu India which disappoint a stranger 

 more than an Indian (native) garden. The native garden 

 the Lai Bagh (red gardenj, Dilkhoosha ("heart's deiight",) 

 or some such fantastic name — has, however, a beauty of 

 its own. In a country where the sun beats so hercely 

 on the dusty parched earth. Nature's two great boons, shade 

 and water, arc paramount to effects of culuui' or anything 

 else; and a patch of jungle is sometimes a garden iu itself. 

 The Convolvulus haugs iu purple or whitu clusters from 

 the lofty shade trees; the Bamboos, like gTeat bunches of 

 feathers, quiver in the breeze; the brilliant crimson tlowers, 

 vulgarly called the "bloody tingtrs,'' tower high above the 

 green and tangled uudergrowth, ana there is probably some 

 long creeper bearing lovely liowers of yellow or blue trail- 

 ing over the ground like a great \anegated snake. But 

 the whole effect is uiliVrent fruiu that produced by au 

 English wood, which is ofttu iu spring itself a garden. 



There are gardens aud gardens in lutlia. Some are bimply 

 groves of Cocoa-uut trees designated by the Indians of 

 untutored mind gardens. Pat, too, sometimes calls a 

 Potato field, " an ihigautgyarden." Otiiei Bare gardens where 

 native vegetables, such as \ams aud Egg-fruit, Betul and 

 Sugar-cane, are grown — places chiedy remarkable for weeds 

 and uutidiness. Some are the fantastic conceits of rajahs 

 and wealthy natives, full of fountains, conduits, sunflowers, 

 and the native iesthetic craze generally. 



There are Government gardens iu mauy parts of India 

 which aim at a combination of the native aud the English 

 horticultural styles. In the English portiou of the grounds 

 the tlowers are, of course, superb. The Lai Bagh at 

 Bangalore usevl to be famous for its Roses, and the Govern- 

 ment- gardens at Ootacamund on the Nilgiri Hills are very 

 delightful. Here the natural juugle of the hillside serves 

 as au effective background to the terraced parterres of tlie 

 brightest hued English tlowers and the gaudiest Indian 

 shrubs; but the hiil gardens of India are of course ex- 

 ceptional, aud the climate at an elevation of 8,UU0 feet 

 enables one to lie on the grass under the spreading Oaks 

 and evergreens as one might sprawl and smoke on a clean 

 shaved lawu at home. C^uite different are the Govern- 

 ment gardens of the hot and steaming plains of India. 

 There the air is that of a Kew raim-house, and there is 

 no escape from it. Stagnant ponds of water are covered 

 with the Victoria regia aud the common Indian Lotus. 

 Indigenous Cocoa-nut and foreign Jlahogany trees, Indian 

 Teak, and Ceylon Traveller's Jfalms* ]ostle oue another for 

 space; but everywhere are well kept lawns, aud, as far 

 as they go, flower-beds evincing the natural desire of 

 Euglishmen to can-y their gardens with them wherever 

 they go. In this commendable practice they are only ex- 

 ceeded by the Dutch, who had Dutch gardens actually 

 growing on their East ludiameu at sea. The Orchitis in 

 some of tliese Indian Government gardens, especially those 

 from the Burmau and Malayan forests, would make a 

 duchess' mouth water. Nor is there any expense in rear- 

 ing them. A simple conservatory, often open at the sides, 



*For Ceylon read Madagascar. — Ed. 



