792 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[April i , 1885. 



and figures ; 2nd to experiment at its own expend 

 iture of time, trouble and money ; 3rd, to buy the 

 technical detailed experience of others. 



A. G. K. BORRON- 



IMPROVED COFFEE CULTIVATION. 

 Kirimetia, Kadugannawa, 17th Feb. 1885. 



Dear Sir,— The first outlay to carry out my plan 

 of cultivating the coffee bush would be from £\ to 

 £1 10s per acre according to lay of land and struct- 

 ure of soil and ever after one-third less than the 

 present cost. 



It would require a short treatise on horticulture 

 to point out the how's and why's of the system: it 

 cost me 1SO.00O minutes of time to mature it. — Yours 

 faithfully, J. HAWKES. 



PRODUCTS OF EUCALYPTUS LEAVES. 

 Colombo, 12th March 1885. 



Dear Sir, — I asked you some little while ago if you 

 had any information about the oil which is distilled 

 from the leaves of the eucalypti. Not having heard 

 anything in reply, I think the following may be of 

 interest to you and your readers. It is a long extract 

 sent me by my London correspondent taken from the 

 extra Pharmacopeia 1884. In addition to the uses to 

 which it is there said to be applicable, I may add that 

 it is also a febrifuge, and the leaves are also employed 

 as a healing application to wounds, as a tincture in 

 intermittent fever, also in diphtheria. The oil is more 

 than three times as strong as carbolic acid in preventing 

 development of bacteria and not so poisonous. As 

 regards the still.. I should think any good copper one 

 would do, such as are probably used in Ceylon for 

 making essential oils. 



Eucalypti folia, eucalyptus leaves. 



Dose 5 grains or more in powder. 



The dried leaves of the Eucalyptus globulus, or blue gum 

 tree of Australia, have been employed medicinally in the 

 treatment of ague and bronchitis, and are now much used 

 in Italy for Roman aud malarial fevers ; also, when coarsely 

 powdered are employed for smoking in cigarettes, in 

 cardiac, and aneurismal asthma. The narrow leaves, mostly 

 scimitar-shaped, are more active medicinally than the 

 broad leaves of herbaceous shoots. Noalkaloidal principle 

 has been discovered in them, or in the bark of the tree 

 which also has boen used in surgery. The medical pro- 

 perties are principally due to a volatile oil which is now 

 largely imported. 



Oleum eucalypti. 



Dose 1 to 5 minims emulsified or mixed with olive oil. 



Is principally distilled from the leaves of the Eucafptus 

 amygadalina as well as Eucalyptus globulus, and probably 

 other species. It is to this oil, and partially to the great 

 avidity the tree has for water when growing, that the 

 latter owes its anti-malarial influence. The oil is a power- 

 ful antiseptic and has an ozonizing influence on the 

 atmosphere while it oxidises. It has a pale yellow colour, 

 a penetrating camphoraoeous odour, sp. gr. about O'OOO 

 and boils between 338° and 392' F. It is not caustic, like- 

 carbolic acid, nor does it produce much irritation, although 

 it is very destructive to low organic growths. It is sol- 

 uble in oils, fats, paraffins, and alcohol, but only a (rare 

 dissolves in water. An emulsion may be made by putting 

 equal quantities of powdered gum arable and the oil into 

 a dry bottle, and forty parts of water, more or less, and 

 shaking well. This is useful as a urethral injection or 

 lotion, and may be given internally in one to four drachm 

 doses. The oil is useful mixed with an equal quantity of 

 olive oil as a rubefacient for rheumatism. A large per- 

 centage of eucalyptus oil consists of eucalyptol which is 

 also met with in commerce, and is that portion of the 

 above oil which passes over between 336 and 352 F. II 

 is obtained by treating tho latter with caustic potash, 

 then with chloride of calcium and subsequent distillation. 

 Later researches have proved that it is a mixture of Ter- 

 peuo and Oymene. 



The foregoing is an extract from the extra Pharmaco- 

 poeia published in 18S4. — Yours faithfully, H. 



P. S. — I learn from another correspondent that the 

 oil is worth about 3s per gallon ! 



[We have frequently published similar information; 

 and, if our correspondent wants to know all about the 

 products of the eucalyptus, he ought to address Mr, 

 J. Bosisto, M. P., Melbourne.— Ed.] 



INDIGENOUS TEA SEED AND TEA. 



Agrapatna, March 1885. 



Dear Sir, — I am very anxious to have the opinion 

 of some of my brother-planters as to the elevation 

 at which indigenous tea will flush to pay in Ceylon. 



My estate runs from 4,500 to 5,500. I wrote to 

 a friend in Assam to send me the very best seed he 

 could obtain for this elevation, and he sent me 

 pure Assam seed from the oldest Assamese gardens. 



I have planted about 25 maunds of this seed in 

 nurseries, which is coming up well, but there appears 

 to be doubts as to the pure Assam tea flushing to 

 pay at this elevation. 



I should be very much obliged if anyone of practical 

 experience would give me information on the subject. 

 I think I read in one of your recent issues that pure 

 Assam tea flushed very well at a much higher elevation 

 and in a much colder climate on the Indian hills. I 

 am naturally very anxious about this seed as it has 

 cost me a lot of money I cannot afford to lose, but, 

 if there is no chance of the tea coming on to pay, 

 I should not plant it out. The tea seed I received from 

 Assam was as a rule very small and ran about 30,000 

 to 32,000 seeds to the mauud. — Your obedient 

 servant, HARD TIMES. 



[Our own experience, as stated a short time ago, is 

 that between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, seed got as best 

 hybrid jat has flourshed, while " indigenous " has hung 

 back. — Ed.] 



MR. C. S. ARMSTRONG ON TEA "DRYING" 

 AND "PLUCKING": VALUABLE PRACTICAL 

 . RESULTS :— THE NO. 1 SIROCCO Al. 



Rookwood, Deltota, 13th March 1885. 

 Deag. Sir,— I beg to give you the results of two 

 trials with my Siroccos No. 1. I have stated the 

 Sirocco No. 1 would work off 45 lb. made tea per 

 hour, and the result of these trials proves this to 

 be correct. My usual charge per tray is 9 lb. of 

 roll. For the sake of experiment, I loaded the trays 

 with all they would hold to allow of their being 

 run into the Sirocco ; result, as will be seen, is in 

 favor of the smaller charge 9 lb. per tray. 



1st trial 100 lb. of roll or 2nd trial 117 1b. of roll or 



12i lb. per tray — Sirocco lb. per tray — Sirocco 



worked at 275°. worked at 275°. 



1 Tray fired off in 15"] -g a 1 Tray fired off in 10"] 



',! 20" 



„ 24" I -a 



27" | 3 * 

 32" I is 2 

 36"^ 

 40" x~ 



41" 

 4S" 

 54" 

 5S" 

 02" 



t- > 

 .-< a 



r-l M 



Willi regard to Pinching, the cost of this at the lower 

 eleva'ious and at the higher is about 3 cents in favor 

 of the latter. At the lower elevations I find the 

 cost to be from 'J\ to I0J cents; this tallies with Mr. 

 Rutherford's experience. In the one case, the llnsheM 

 form more rapidly, and are not so large, the fields 



