?S4 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [August i, i8U- 



A native collector has supplied me with the following 

 out turn : — 



31 per cent kapok. 



47 „ seed. 



22 „ refuse. 

 These figures canot be guaranteed as regards the per- 

 centage of refuse and seed, but the outturn of clean 

 kapok may be correct. 



For export, the cotton is packed in bales of different 

 sizes, containing from 112 lb. to 224 lb. The expense of 

 embaling, as well as high freights, in addition to the 

 great wastage in preparation, have not rendered the trade 

 a very profitable one. The cultivation is .by seed. Cut- 

 tings of the stem also grow freely. The latter are 

 generally employed as hedges for native gardens. 



NOTES ON WARRAS. 



BY W. F. 



For the benefit of our South Indian readers, we 

 here give Mr. J. G. Baker's abbreviated description 

 from Flora Brit. Ind. 2, p. 228, No. 5, of Wight and 

 Arnott's plant, and, in addition to what is mentioned 

 by Mr. Baker about the "pods being finely pubescent, 

 and often covered with red viscous glands," we add 

 the following from W. & A.'s description : — " Legumes 

 pubescent, villous on the ventral suture, densely 

 covered with clammy red glands," showing, in fact, 

 that the terms " viscous" and " clammy" mean the same 

 thing. Of course, the Fkmiiigia rhodocarpa, Baker, 

 ot the Flora of Tropical Africa (meaning the red- 

 podded F. and the real source hitherto of the famous 

 Waras) will take its place as a synonym of the 

 Indian plant. 



We have not the Flora of Tropical Africa to refer 

 to, to enable us to compare the climate in which 

 tlie VVaras plant grows with that of the Nilgiris 

 ■where Wight, Gardner aud others found the Indian 

 plant, to enable us to venture an opinion whether 

 the Nilgiris plants will be found to produce the clammy 

 red glands on the pods which form the Waras, in 

 the same proportion as the African ones do ; but we 

 trust these notes will enable Professor Lauson or some 

 other person in the Madras Presidency to test aud 

 prove whether Madras can supply Waras as w£ll as 

 Africa. 



To those who may be inclined to cry "cut bono" 

 respecting such establishments as Kew, we reply that 

 the science and experience gained to enable Professor 

 Thistleton Dyer and his confreres to clear up such 

 mysteries as those connected with the origin of 

 Wara«, the medicinal rhubarb of commerce, the rice- 

 paper plant of China, the medicinal gum Eupliorbinm 

 and other valuable drugs, the source and origin of 

 which have been a mystery for several hundred years, 

 aud which have been lately traced to their true 

 source through the staff of the Royal Gardens at 

 Kew, are worth all the money spent, apart from 

 other considerations. 



We now give the full account of the Indian plant 

 which produces the Waras of Tropical Africa : — 



6. F.Grahamiana, TV. $■ A. Prodr. 242;— F. rhodocarpa, 

 Baker, branches subterete, leaflets obovate obtuse or sub- 

 acute thinly silky below, bracts linear firm small, calyx 

 shaggy. F. pycuantha, Benth. in Rohm. PI. E.vsic. No. 

 1211 ; PI. Jungh. 245. 



Nilghiris, Wight, Gardner, &c. 



A low erect shrub, with tomentose young shoots. Sti- 

 pules lanceolate, ^ — J in., caducous ; petiole \ — 1 in., erecto- 

 patent, not winged ; leaflets subcoriaceous, 2-3 in. long 

 plicate, glabrous above, grey-silky especially on the ribs be- 

 neath many of the veinlets raised. Spikes dense, oblong, 

 1-2 in. long, often fascicled ; bracts under h in. long, erccto- 

 i -a tent, subrigid, subpersisteut. Calyx % in.; teeth plumose, 

 linearsetaceous, subeqaal: Corolla'tiot exserted. Pod ob- 

 long, | in. long, finely pubescent, and often covered with red 

 viscous glands. 



TEA CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE. 

 Since writing on the above subject, another 

 issue of the Indigo and Tea Planters' Gazette 

 has reached us, and we see that the subject dealt 

 with this week is " Tea Rolling." Although this 

 article, like the previous one on "withering," is sens- 

 ibly and well written, the internal evidence seems 

 to point to the writer not beiog a practical planter 

 himself, for he commences by saying that " as soon 

 as the leaf is sufficiently withered it is put into the 

 rolling table and knocked about and gradually com- 

 pressed, etc," Of course what is meant is that the 

 withered leaf is put into the box of the roller, where 

 it is tossed or worked about and at the same time 

 gradually compressed against the subjacent table. No 

 roller that ' knocked the leaf about ' would be toler- 

 ated for a moment. It is rightly asserted that the 

 question of hard or light rolling depends chiefly upon 

 the state of the withered leaf, and that the object 

 of rolling is not to express as much juice as possible, 

 but simply to insure the thorough breaking up of all 

 the sap-containing cells. However, as any juice that 

 is squeezed out can easily be caught and restored to 

 the roll, its expression is but a minor consideration. 

 The main argument for hard-rolling is that it 

 turns out stronger tea ; and against it, that the fine 

 pekoe tips are blackened by the process. 



This laiter objection, however, can be largely ob- 

 viated by siftiug out the tips and rolling separately. 

 In days which are now rapidly being consigned to the 

 period of antiquity, three, four, and even more roll- 

 ings were considered absolutely essential to ensure a 

 good twist; but now the almost universal opinion is 

 that it is best to have one thorough rolling aud be 

 done with it. 



Our Indian contemporary says:— "One great thing 

 to be looked to is to keep the rolling mass of leaf 

 in as cool a condition as possible, aud it is, we think, 

 a few marks in favour of whatever table does this. 

 To keep a mass of say 1G0 or ISO lb. of withered 

 leaf tossed about in a perfectly cool state is, of 

 course, impossible, but we consider it an advantage 

 in any table that can keep it as nearly in its normal 

 heat as possible, and some of the tables advertized . 

 profess to do that. The sudden exposure, whilst the 

 leaf is lying fermenting, to a cooler atmosphere than 

 that in which it has been, causes the leaf to assume 

 a dull leaden colour instead of a bright copper one." 

 Now we can testify from personal experience that 

 Jackson's Universal not only professes to, but actually 

 does, keep the leaf as nearly as poseible in its 

 normal heat, or coolness. We have heard of some 

 rollers into which the hand could not be put without 

 discomfort, consequent upon the intense heat of the 

 roll. Such a condition of things is not the right one 

 and ought to be remedied as speedily as possible. 



Before leaving the Indigo Gazette, we make the follow- 

 ing extracts from it, showing that this peculiar mon- 

 soon is proving no more beneficial to Indian garden? 

 than it is to some of our Ceylon tea estates : — 



Tea is backward in Lakhimpur. The weather is hot, and 

 cholera prevails. 



The prospects of tea in Nowgong are reported not good. 

 The weather has been too cold and deficient in rain. Every 

 garden is behind last year. 



The general remarks on the state of the season aud pros- 

 pects of the crops in Assam for the week ending lf)th 

 June are: — AVcather warmer aud rain slightly heavier than 

 last week. Tea over the whole province is backward. 



The weather has been very warm in Cachar, and there- 



