448 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[November i, 1882. 



Granite in a Tree. — Upon splitting a white Oak tree 

 cut down in Nevada county, California, there was found 

 embedded in the heart of the trunk, 60 ft. above the roots, 

 a piece of granite weighing about two pounds. A probal>le 

 explanation is that the stone had been put in the fork 

 of the tree when it was young, and that the tissue had 

 gradually closed upon it after the manner of the Oak 

 tissue around the egg of the gall fly. — Journal of Forestry. 

 Stumps. — The following receipt has proved very successful 

 in the back-woods of America for removing the stumps of 

 trees. In the autumn, bore a hole of one or two inches in 

 diameter about eighteen inches deep, put in one and a 

 half ounce of saltpetre, fill with water, and plug up close. 

 In the following spring, put in the same hole half a gill 

 of kerosine oil, and then light. The stump will smoulder 

 away without blazing, and the fire will go to every part 

 uf the roots, lea\dug nothing but ashes. — Indian Agricul- 

 ti'vhl. 



DiiTKTJENT KINDS OF TREES attain maturity at' diflterent 

 ages, and the same kind of tree will more quickly ripen 

 in one situation than in another. Tluis, it is calculated 

 that a teak tree seven years old in Malabar, where the 

 soil and climate are favourable to its growth, will be of 

 the same dimensions as one fifteen years old in Bombay, 

 where the moisture is greatly less. Then, again, the age 

 of a tree is not so easily guessed at as some people appear to 

 think, and the rate of growth as observed in Europe is 

 no criterion of the age of a tree in other countries. The 

 age of ihe gigantic Eucalyptus trees of Tasmania, put 

 down in a haphazai-d sort of way at from 200 to 300 

 years, was proved to range from 50 to 75 years only. 

 The usual calculations of age in this instance were entirely 

 upset by the fact that most of these trees shed their 

 bark twine a year, and the sap moving up the tree twice 

 forms two rings in the wood of the stem, instead of one 

 only in each year of their growth. — Journal of Fm'estri/. 

 The Trembling Tree. — There is a tree, says the Chicaf/o 

 Lumherma<i, which is a species of acacia, that is most 

 peculiar ia its habit, and that seems more animal than 

 plant. Some of these trees have been raised in this country 

 as curiosities, and the owners have had strange experiences 

 with them. On one occasion a tree of the kind was grown 

 from a seed brought from Australia, and before very long 

 had come to be a sapling some eight feet in height, when 

 it was in full foliage, and growing rapidly. It is leguminous, 

 and very distinctly shows the characteristics of the- mimosa, 

 or sensitive plant. Kegularly every evening, when the 

 chickens " go to roost,'' the tree performs very much the 

 same duty. The leaves fold together, and the ends of the 

 tender twigs coil themselves up like the tail of a well- 

 conditioned pig. After one of the twigs has been stroked 

 or handled, the leaves move uneasily, and are in a sort of 

 mild commotion for a minute or more. AVhile these pe- 

 uliarities iu the tree were understood by these who pos- 

 essed the one that has been mentioned, it was soon 

 discovered that it had in it much more of life and feel- 

 ing than it had ever before been credited with. The tree 

 being in a comparatively small [pot, which it was 

 fast outgrowing, it was deemed best to give it one of 

 much larger size, but when the tree was removed to its 

 new quarters, it resented the operation to the best of its 

 ability, ^yhen it had been fairly transplanted it acted as 

 if furiously enraged, and in a way that suggested that 

 the very demon must be in it. The leaves began to stand 

 up in all directions, like the hair on the tail of an angry 

 cat, or the quills upon the fretful prooupine, and .soon 

 the whole plant was in a feverish quiver. This could 

 have been endured, but at the same time it gave out an 

 odour most sickening and pungent — just such a smell 

 as is given off by rattlesnakes and many other kinds of 

 venomous serpents, when disturbed. The odour so filled the 

 house, and was so nauseating that it was found necessary 

 to open the doors and windows. It was fully an hour 

 before the plant calmed down and folded its leaves in 

 peace, and it appeared that it had given up the battle 

 only because the hour for its pecuhar manner of " retiring" 

 had arrived. It is probably needless to say that the children, 

 and, in fact, the whole household, now stand in abject 

 ;iwe of the strange tree, as being a thing vastly more reptile 

 than vegetable. Many similar experiences, and some even 

 more remarkable, have been had with the different forms 

 of highly sensitivQ plant life, — Joiirrud of Forestry. 



Mahogany in San Domingo. — In consequence of the 

 demand for mahogany of late, it has been feared lest the 

 supplies should fall short ; we are assured, however, in a 

 report of the Vice-Consul at Puerto Plata, San Domingo, 

 that the diminution in the exports of mahogany is by 

 no means to be attributed to a scarcity of the wood, for 

 the forests are apparently inexhaustible, but it is to be 

 accounted for through the absence of suitable tonnage for 

 charter in the neighbotn-ing colony of St. Thomas through- 

 out the year. — Ganhners' Chronicle. 



Ginseng. — The follo\ving account of the cultivation of 

 ginseng and the wild plant iu Corea is from the report 

 of the Commissioner of Customs, at Newchwang: — The 

 chief item which the Coreans bring across the border is 

 ginseng, and this is the most valuable. "Wild giuseng is 

 fouud amongst the hills, and takes more than 30 years 

 to arrive at perfection. The root can be used when it 

 has been iu the ground aljout 12 years, but it is not so 

 valuable as that of mature age. The other kinds of gin- 

 seng, known as first and second quality Corean, are a 

 special branch of culture. Only well-to-do people can 

 afford to set apart the grouud for its cultivation, and to 

 devote to it the time which it requires. The usual period 

 allowed for the root to attain its full growth is from five 

 to six years ; it is then dug up, washed, and dried in a 

 pan over a fire, and, after the skin has been scraped 

 away, it is ready for the market. Once every year a small 

 red flower is put forth, seed from which is carefully pre- 

 served and sown the following year. — N. C. Herald. 



An Unwholesome Tree. — Among the enterprises in which 

 a Sanitary Society of Brooklyn is said to be now engaged 

 is a crusade against the ailantus trees which shade many 

 of the streets of that city, as well as of New York. The 

 tree was introduced from China into this country some 

 forty years ago, heralded by extravagant praises, which led 

 to its extensive use for street planting. For a time its 

 hardiness and extremely rapid growth kept it in favom-, 

 but the blossoms which cover it for a few weeks in spring 

 have a peculiarly unpleasant odour, and of late years it 

 has gradually been disappearing. Now, however, it is re 

 ported that the perfume of the flowers is unwholesome 

 as well as diagreeable, and that " prostration of the nervous 

 system,'' an" oppressive feeling in the throat," " swollen 

 joints," and other afiictions are causerl by inhaling it. 

 Under these circumstances it is not surprising that twenty-two 

 " eminent medical men," and over fifty householders, should 

 have signed petitions against the trees; the only woflder 

 is that they should not, as soon as their pernicious character 

 was disclosed, have armed themselves with axes and incon- 

 tinently extirpated the species from the town. However, 

 the citizens of Brooklyn usually act with a commendable 

 deliberation in such matters, and it is gratifying to learn 

 that the Sanitary Society is " collecting data from physicians 

 and others" before giving the signal for the general de- 

 struction of the trees. — American Architect. 



Banyan Trees. — A Mexican traveller, says the JVorth- 

 Western Liimbcntian, makes the statement that the much- 

 exagagerated banyan tree, of tropical Mexico, in no way 

 resembles its brother of the Pacific archipelagos, for in the 

 Society Islands he has seen banyan trees whose main trunk 

 measured 30 ft. in girth, while some old patriarchs or giants 

 of their species boasted of over 300 minor trunks or branches, 

 which had dropped to the grouud, had taken root, and 

 in turn shot out branches that also fell downward and 

 rooted. The Banyan tree of Guerrero is but a pigmy in 

 comparison. Its main trunk will seldom measure more than 

 from 10 to 12 ft. in girth, and it reaches an altitiude of 

 30 ft. before it branches, while the limbs may extend 30 

 to 40 ft. from the parent stem before they incline to the 

 ground and root. It ;s diflicnlt to find a specimen that 

 possesses more than 20 branch trunks. These trees are 

 quite numerous in the valleys and " barrancas " among the 

 mountains of Guerrero. They are generally found near run- 

 ning water, while, strange to say, their presence iu any 

 locality denotes the existence of "placer " gold iliggings ; at 

 least so aflirm the Indians of the vicinity. Yet it is none 

 the less true that all the gold dust that has been gathered 

 in this region was fcind in close proximity to trees of 

 this species, from whi'_-h fact it is fair to presume that this 

 theory was originated by the seekers after mineral wealth 

 in that section. — Joiimal of Forestry. 



