59<5 



rfBE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February 2, 1885. 



be given. It refers to plants grown in the Old World, 

 ami columu A represents species cultivated for more than 

 400(1 years, according to ancient historians, the monuments 

 of Ancient Egyyt, Chinese works, and botanical and philo- 

 logical indications ; column B contains the names of plants 

 cultivated for less than 4000 years, as indicated iu Theo- 

 phrastus, found among lacustrine remains, or presenting 

 various signs, such as possessing Hebrew or Sanskrit 

 names; while column O contains plants cultivated for less 

 than -000 years, i.e., mentioned by Dioscorides and not 

 by Theophrastus, seen in the frescoes at Pompeii, or in- 

 troduced at a known date: — 



A. B. C. 



Turnip. Radish. Tarsnip. 



Onion. Carrot. Shallot. 



Cabbage. Beet. Sea Kale. 



Tea. Celery. Parsley. 



Flax. Lettuce. Artichoke. 



Hemp. Asparagus. Spinach. 



Mulberry. Leek. Clover. 



Vine. Pea. Jute. 



Mango. Indigo. Hop. 



Apricot. Sugar Cane. Raspberry. 



Almond. Orange. Strawberry. 



Peach. Cherry. Gooseberry. 



Pear. Plum. Red Currant. 



Apple. Rye. Black do. 



Pomegranate. Oats. Coffee. 



Water Melon. Poppy, 



Cucumber. Mustard. 



Olive. Cotton. 



Fig. Pepper. 



Date Palm. 



Bean. 



Lentil. 



Wheat. 



Barley. 



Millet. 



Rice. 

 The discovery of the American continent brought a new 

 set of plants within the reach of the Old World, but it 

 did not add so largely to the list of cultivated plants as 

 might have been expected. The following is a table of 

 the principal cultivated plants introduced from America, 

 and column D represents species cultivated in very ancient 

 times ; column E species cultivated before the discovery 

 of A merica, but without showing signs of a great antiquity 

 of culture ; and column F species only cultivated since the 

 discovery of America:— 



D. E. F. 



Sweet Potato. Jerusalem Artichoke. Quillia. 

 Coca. Potato. Crown Bark 



Tobacco. Guana. Cinchona Bark. 



Maize. Pumpkin. VirgiuianStraw- 



Mushroom. Sgrash. berry. 



Prickly Pear. Chili do. 



Capsicum. 

 Tomato. 

 Pineapple. 

 Tliis list of new plants brought from America is very 

 small, especially of those brought into cultivation since 

 the discovery of America. The intelligence of tin- uativ. - 

 was sufficient to detect the good qualities of most of the 

 plants growing in that continent. It is noteworthy that 

 maize is the only substantial vegetable America has given 

 us. Maize came originally from South America, ami the 

 northern portion of the continent has only supplied tin' 

 Jerusalem artichoke and gourds as nutritious plants worthy 

 of cultivation. Australia and New Zealand have been 

 similarly scanty of additions to the vegetarian bill of fare. 

 They have furnished only one tree of consequence— r the 

 Eucalyptus c/lobulus — and only one vegetable, not of much 

 value, the Tetragonia. This work goes far to prove that 

 as regards obtaining bodily comforts from the vegetable 

 world our ancestors were as clever as ourselves. The 

 columns A and D include all the more valuable of the 

 vegetable products, and no doubt many of the other ai tides 

 might be added to these columns were additional cm lenee 

 forthcoming. The author looks forward to a time when 

 manufactories will take the place of cornfields, sugarcane 

 plantations, and palm oil groves; but new plants will have 

 to be cultivated to meet the wants of these new manu- 



factures. On the present lines the vegetable kingdom is 

 no doubt tolerably well exhausted, since the only additions 

 that have been made in the Old World to our cultivated 

 plants during the last four centuries are spinach, sinfoiu, 

 clover, and strawberries. — Dundee Advertiser. 



BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. 



13 \ CEYLON PLANTEE. 



Chinese labor is very different, but one must not sup- 

 pose that a Chinaman, even with the sweetest of natter- 

 ing terms, will do for you what he will for himself. If 

 be is to be paid by the day, a hour's work can be spread, 

 manipulated, aud eased out till a week is gone through ; 

 but if, on the other hand, John Chinaman is paid by the 

 job, 5 in the morning will see him hard at work, and 

 mui* t will likewise find him still laboring, as if he had 

 only just started. No praise is too great for the frugality 

 of the Chinese. They waste nothing, and, where any 

 other creature would starve, there they can make a living. 

 As gardeners they are perfect. Every scrap of rubbish, 

 offal, dirty water, and house sweeping, will find its way 

 into a Chinaman's garden. If the weather has been too 

 dry, long before sunrise will the Chinaman be up, water- 

 ing each plant with the utmost care, and even at night 

 I have found them working, while his more Iu .urious 

 neighbor the Malay will be lounging iu his room, while 

 his wife plays with brutal force on an accordion some v. ild 

 and fitful air that has an unmistakeable English sound 

 in it, such as " We won't go home," or " Ring the bell, 

 Watchman," all of which are blended with a Malay tune, 

 and worked at, with unceasing variation for hours, and at, 

 double, express speed. On one occasion I had four of these 

 entertainments going on at once, all working with the 

 most praiseworthy zeal to eclipse the next, as regards, I 

 may say. brutality of exeution. I complained to the Police 

 next day! But to continue my subject, Chinese gardens 

 not only are very wonderful, as regards works of labor, 

 but the wonder becomes greater seeing the disadvantage 

 in point of soil they have to contend with. Of course I 

 am speaking with regard to the soil about Elopura itself, 

 which is exceptionally poor. Clay is the chief characteristic, 

 with a thin top soil that very soon washes away, as, mingled 

 with it, is a fine sand. 



The rocks about the place are all sandstone, of extreme 

 softness; so much so that, in the beds of streams, one 

 frequently finds scars made by the chafing to and fro of 

 a branch that has been caught by the water. By way 

 of compensation for poverty of soil, the climate is extremely 

 forcing, being steamy as well as hot. The rainfall for the 

 year is about 136 inches divided thus: January 22 inches; 

 February, 14 inches; March, 6 inches; April, May, June, 

 July, August, September, and October average s. inches, the 

 lowest being 5h in April followed by a rapid increase — in 

 November to 20 inches, and 22 in December — falling on 

 about 190 days. The temperature too is very warm, the 

 lowest iu the shade being about 69°, and the highest a 

 little over 90. The heat, however, is very different to 

 what, we are accustomed to, as, to use au illustration of 

 my own, one is boiled, and not baked. The coolest time 

 in the 24 hours is a little before sunrise, when one feels 

 exceedingly chilly, but unfortunately this does not last 

 long. 



Up to the time I left North Borneo but little land was 

 in cultivation; and, what there was, I might say, was of 

 an experimental nature, and making, perhaps, a total of 

 200 acres, not counting what had been abandoned. Tobacco 

 appears to be doing the best of anything I saw in the 

 Sandakan district, and, this being in the charge of ex- 

 perienced men, will doubtless go far to show what is to 

 be the future of North Borneo. 



Since the above was written a friend of mine writes from 

 Borneo as follows, on the subject of tobacco: — "Tobacco 

 is turning out much b-tter than was expected, and the 



quality G says (and A agrees) at least is as good as 



best Delhi We are getting up locally a com- 

 pany to start tobacco, aud of which offi, 

 already takeu up 1S5 shares 100 dols. each, and we will 

 have at least 350 shares of the 1,000 required taken 

 up here. The row in Darvel Pay is all settled, the Com- 

 pany having taken over the bird's nesl caves tin- 10 3 000 

 dols. a year aud immediately, sub-let for 10,000 dols. per 



