38 



THE TROPICAL AGRlCULi UKlST. 



[July 1, i88<f. 



at the thick end of the stem, so as to loosen it from 

 the woody pipe -which runs up the centre, the whole can 

 be stripped oft' by the hand with the greatest ease, pro- 

 vided this is dono vei'y soon .ifter the stems have been 

 cut, and when there hMS not been a long-contiuued drought. 

 Tlie " ribbons " thus stripped oil', and containing the outer 

 bark and the fibre embedded in the gums lying beneath it, are 

 paid to be much more amenable to subsequent treatment, 

 than if steam had been applied, because they are iu a 

 perfectly natural state. They can be easily dried in the 

 sun, and baled for export. If tliis bo true, and I have 

 been shown some " ribbons " said to have been obtained 

 in this way in Egyjit, it would surely be possible to start 

 the industry at once, by employing men to go into the 

 jungle and operate there and then ujion such stems as 

 they might find sufficiently matured. But more important 

 than this is the discovery of a more simple, economical 

 and efficacious method of subsequent treatment. A French 

 chemist claims to have found a chemical, a solution of 

 which in boiling water will dissolve all the gums sur- 

 rounding the fibre and attaching it to the bark, and will 

 leave the fibre itself perfectly clean and ready for the 

 spinner. The ribbons need not be boiled under pressure 

 as in the Fremy process, but, as I understand it, they are 

 simply steeped for a short time in the boiling solution, 

 and the fibre which then comes away need only be 

 washed in cold water and dried . The chemical is not 

 costly as you may judge from the fact that the whole 

 process will, it is estimated, be completed in quantity for 

 less than a halfpenny per lb. I have seen the cleaned 

 fibre and have heard the opinion of experts to the effect 

 that it is even better for the spinners' and dyers' purposes 

 than that prepared by M. Fremy. No machinery or 

 elaborate plant is necessary, nothing but an ordinary 

 cauldron or boiler, and a supply of the chemical, so that 

 it would be easy enough to carry out the process on any 

 estate or even native garden, and ship home stuff which 

 would bo worth at least Is per lb. making a liberal re- 

 duction for the influence of increased supplies. You will at 

 once appreciate the immense importance of such a discovery, 

 if the brief description I have given of it bo accurate, 

 but I wish you to understand that I am only re- 

 peating what has been told me by the London agents 

 of the French chemist alluded to, who is engaged in 

 negotiations for a sale of the secret. — London Cor. 



THE SOIL SUITED TO THE ORANGE. 



Analysis of some soil taken from Mr. Pye's celebrated 

 Rocky Hall orangery. Paramatta, New South Wales, ;as 

 published in Orange Ctdtvre in Aurl-Iand, shows that 

 silica is its principal component. Mr. Pye was one of those 

 who believe that the orange does not want much manure, 

 hut well-worked soil, and plenty of beat and moisture. 

 The analysis belows shows that he was right : — 

 X.— Soil. 

 Water ... ... ... 1-21 



Organic matter ... ... ... 141 



Substances soluble in dilute acid (a) ... O'fil 



Olay ... ... ... 0-22 



Fine sand (/■) ... ... ... 21-09 



Coarse sand ... ... ... 78-83 



' 100-00 

 (a). Composition of part solablo in acid. 



Silica ... ... ... 0154 



Iron sesquioxide ... .«■ 0'298 



Alumina ... ■.■ ... 0114 



Lime ... .. ... 0024 



Magnesia ... ... ... 0010 



I'hosphoric acid ... ... traces 



Alkalies ... - ... 0-011 



OCll 

 (/>.) Tho sand is principally qnartz. 

 II. — SncsoiL. 

 Is very similar to tho soil, except that it is a little coarser. 



W. Skky, 

 N, Z. Geological Survey Laboratory. 

 11th December, ISSi.—Queenilander. 



CINCHONA LEDGEEIANA. 



Mr. E. M. Holmes states that the name Cinchona 

 Ledgeriajia was first used in the East Indies to distinguish 

 tho trees grown from seed collected in tho northern portion 

 of Bolivia by au Indian servant ot Mr. Ledger, and which 

 was subsequently distributed to Java, variou.s j>lantations 

 in India and Ceylon. Mr. J. E. Howard figured three 

 forms he had received from Java as the produce of Ledger's 

 seedlings, under the name of " Cinchona Calisaya," variety 

 Ledgeriaua. Doubts, notwithstanding have existed among 

 planters as to the exact characters of recognition. Mr. 

 Holmes is of opinion, finding marked differences in the ex- 

 ternal characteristics of specimens submitted to his notice, 

 that seveial different varieties or forms, one or more of which 

 arc probably hybrids, are now grown iu plantations under 

 the name of " Cinchona Ledguriana " ; and that there is 

 not sufficient evidence to support the conclusion of Dr. 

 Trimen that he had determined the typical plant, which, 

 having figured and described, he had erected into a species. 



Mr. Holmes suggests, therefore, to planters that herb, 

 arium specimens, gathered when in fully-formed fruit, and 

 accompanied by a char.icteristic portion of bark, should 

 be kept for reference of all forms that present a recog- 

 nizable difference in habit of growth, appearance of bark, 

 typical form of leaf, size and structure of ilower, and shape 

 and size of fruit. In this way only can tho tangle be un- 

 ravelled into which a mixture of a variety of seeds supplied 

 by Mr. Ledger has led botanists. — Chemist ami Druggist, 

 [Dr. Trimen will, doubtless, have something to say to this, 

 but why does Mr. Holmes ignore the portraits and de- 

 scriptions of Ledgeriana varieties by Moens ? Equally with 

 Dr. Trimen, the eminent Dutch l)otanist separates Ledgeriana 

 ,rom the Calisaya. — Ed.] 



4 



"CRYPTOMEEIA JAPONICA " AS A TIMBER 

 FOR TEA BOXES. 



Some eight years ago, Mr. Gammie sent us, from 

 Darjiling, a quantity of seeds of this tree, but they 

 did not succeed at Abbotsford, probably from loss of % 

 vitality in the long carriage and perhaps from want ," 

 of knowledge how best to germinate the seeds. As 

 the tree has been naturalized in the Darjiling hills, 

 growing readily at elevations of 5,.50O to 7,000 feet, 

 we cannot doubt that it would succeed on the mountains 

 of Ceylon. Provided the seeds are iu good condition, 

 they seem to be easily germinated. Our authority is 

 Mr. Gamble, in whoso valuable Manual the tree is 

 ranked with the conifers and specifically with the 

 cypresses. Such being the case, the terebiuthine 

 odour so strong in many of the true pines is prob- 

 ably absent from the timber. In any case, whatever 

 odour there may be is dispelled by the artificial sea- 

 soning to which the wood is subjected by the saw- 

 ing and box-making establishment in Japan. When 

 we come to think of it, surely a prominent place iu 

 the romance ot commerce must be found for the con- 

 nection wliich Mr. Dcane of Kintyre estate, Maskeliya 

 has been the means of establishing between the enter- 

 prize of tho tea planters of Ceylon and tho forest 

 wealth of tho Far East of the globe as utilized by 

 the ingenuity and scientific appliances of men from 

 that Far West which has been defined as "a little on 

 this .side of sunset." Tho Japanese call their country 

 again, " tho land of tho rising sun." Ceylon 

 lies merely midway between the regions of 

 sunrise and sunset, profiting by the resour- 

 ces of each. And let us uot forget that, but 

 for the wonderful progress of steam navigation 

 and tho competition which has so largely cheapened 

 frajght, we could uot possibly be rfceiving tea iioxcs 

 manufactured by American machinery -from timber 

 grown in Japan, at prices below those at which the 

 locally-manufactured articles can be supplied. While 

 not only timber suitable for tea boxes and building 

 purposes but even firewood is becoming scarce in 

 Coylon, lot us bo thankful that so largo a proportion 

 o£ the Japanese archipelago is clothed with lu.\uriant 



