i^ 



tuE fMOPiCAU AGmcvuTvmsr, 



[Aifstfs'j' s, M51 



M^iBBpaM 



at the roots aiul oh the tops of the highest trees, at an 

 elevation not uinler 1000 feet, may readily be cultivated 

 in woodland and moist places to any extent. The part 

 of the plant made use of is the petiole, or foot-stalk of 

 the leaf, wliich grows from 18 inches to 2 feet lonjii, and 

 iH readily divided into strips of any dimensions, and con- 

 t^aius a strong fibre not existing in the common plat of 

 the Fan-Palm. It has a durable colour." 



Remarkable and valuable, however, as the fibre yielded 

 by these plants may be in a rural sense, they are not 

 likely, at least at present, to be rendered of commercial 

 value ; and I refer to them only for the purpose of 

 supplying a general review of plants capable at all of 

 yielding fibre and for the purpose of bringing into notic*-- 

 what may be termed the possible ultimate resources uf the 

 West Indies as regards fibre-plants. — From a lecture hi/ 

 I). Morrts^ M. A.y Director nf Public Gfivdens and J'lant- 

 atioHs, Jamaica. — Gardeners* Chronicle. 



TREES ESPECIALLY SUITED FOR AVENUES 



Mr. J. S. Gamble, Conservator of Forests, Northern 

 Circle, has reported to the Board of Revenue as follows : — 

 The question of what is the best tree to plant for 

 avenues is entirely one of (I) climate and (3) soil. The 

 same trees which would form magnificent avenues along 

 the roads in Malabar would most of them fail altogether 

 along those of Bcllary or Vizagapatam. 80 far as the 

 Northern Circle is concerned, omitting Nilgiris, the 

 climate is dry, with the few exceptions of the hill tracts 

 of the Circars or the Nallamalai hills. Scarcely any- 

 where does the rainfall exceed 50 inches. On the otht-r 

 baud, the Boil varies extremely trom the alluvial plains 

 of the Godavari delta to the nearly bare metamorphie 

 plateaux of Cuddapah and Bellary. Roughly speaking, 

 however, we may classify the soils as follows: — il) Rice 

 lauds on alluvium. (2) Laterite and the red soil which 

 is produced by its decomposition. (3) Decomposed meta- 

 morphie soils — sand, gravel or saud and boulders. (4) 

 Black cotton soil. (5> Riversand. Along roads passing 

 tiirouyh tltti gical iicr country liki- the coast from the 

 Godavari delta rlown to Pulicat, probably no better trees 

 can be formeil than the figs, viz, the Banyan (Ficus 

 bengalensis), the Pipal (Ficus religiosa^, and the Pekar 

 (Ficus infectoria), with its allies (Ficus benjamina and 

 Ficus tsiela). Ot these, the first is the best, though to 

 avoid the daniage referred to in the Board's paraffrapli 

 2 it might be kept away from bridges or culverts. 

 There is probably no tree which so quickly reaches a 

 size fit i-o give shade as the banyan, and it is easily 

 propagated by cuttings consistiug of stout poles. i)erhai)s 

 even 6 to 12 inches in girth and 10 to 12 feet high. 

 They nmst, of course, be planted during the rainy season 

 ftiid* fcnued, and if the rains fail afterwards, they may 

 rfMpure watering. In such places also the mango does 

 well on grouwd slightly raised above the level of rice 

 fields, and the Kargosft (Melia azadirachta) and Jaman 

 (Eugenia Jambolana) wil) ^U* thi'ive. Another good tree 

 tor such places fs the 'Kadam' (Authopepbalus Oadamba) 

 which is very fast grown and eaMly raised. Near tl^e 

 ioot of the hills, Pterocarups mo-rsupium might perhaps 

 Ibc ^lown With advantage. On lateate and lateritic soils 

 the umtigo generally thrives well, and the jaman will 

 ajso grow; but the figs should be avoideil. T^ak niay 

 be grown, l>ut (s h very bad avenue tree as it is le«lless 

 when shade is most wanted, and the shedthng of its 

 large leaves is prol-^ibly hfu] fuV the roads. But whiit- 

 fver is planted, care must be ^-aktttj Ut dig the holes 

 deeply and to proviile good soil to fill Uif})} wheij the 

 planting takes place. On high level s;indy soils, thi; 

 result oi d('Coinii<Kst;d gneiss and sebists, figs may be 

 },TOwn if th*' NJti is fairly good and the holes are well 

 dug. So may tb*' ijjango. but the best trees are the 

 taniarind. the margosa wnd the saukesula (Telugn) Poin- 

 ciaiiu elulit, Guod avenues of these may he seen in vari- 

 O IS parts i»r tb'' Uudilapah plateau, in Kurnool, JJellary 

 wm! Anrtntapur. Altoth^r vi ry good tree is the Kanng;t 

 (PougiMuia glabra), which gives a good shade, aud hits 

 a fruit which is valuable for its ojl. The Diii«aua (Al- 

 liizzia leWieii) is much grown in such places, but is 

 cntidy and by »o WP/i"^ "O useful as the margosa, which 

 pM the valiia)>lft property of boing in fidl flower an4 



young leaf in the hot season when its shade is most 

 necessary. On black cotton soil there are only a few 

 trees which thrive. The tauiariud and margosa . are- 

 perhaps the best, but a good plan is to grow the Babulf 

 (Acacia arabica) rather thickly by sowing in large patches 

 protectetl by thorns and then thinning out to one or two 

 good stems. Other, but smaller, trees which will grow 

 are the Parkinsonia aculeata, Albizzia lebbek and Balan- 

 ites jegyptiaca. "When river sanil has to be planted — 

 which occasionally happens — probably the best tree is the 

 palmyra palm (Borassus flabelliformis), but the iaman, 

 margosa aud babul may also bo grown, while near the 

 sea there are few kinds so useful as Calophyllum ino- 

 phyllum and Terminalia catappa. In some places the 

 casuarina may be grown, but it is often untidy and 

 does not give a gond shade in avenues. There are 

 many other trees which are occasionally planted m this 

 Presidency. There is the Cassia siamia to which His 

 Excellency the Governor referred as being so common 

 round IMadanapalle, though, as remarked by him, it rarely 

 makes a good avenue tree. There is tiie Deodom or 

 Asoka (Polyalthia longifolia), which makes a beautiful 

 avenue tree when it thrives, as it does in places along 

 the coast. The Cork-tree (Millintonia hortensis) is often 

 planted and is very pretty and sweet-scented but brittle, 

 and so is the gold mohur tree, the brilliant Poinciana 

 regia. Near canals wher the soil is not salt, Sissu 

 (Dalbergia sisso) is useful, aud as along the Kendrapara 

 canal, in Orissa, the cocoanut and Calophyllum may use- 

 fully be grown where there is some salt in the soil. 

 To sum up, for general purposes, the best trees are 

 the banyan, mango and uuirgosa, but where special circ- 

 umstance make others necessary, some of those 1 have 

 mentioned will probably be best to use. On the subject 

 of avenue planting, I would recommend the consultation 

 of Ribbentrop's ' Arboricidture in the Punjab' and Sincair's 

 ' Notes on Arboriculture in the Bombay Presidency,' 

 a little book lately published by the Bombay Agricultural 

 Department. Before concluding, I would beg to otfer a 

 few remarks regarding roads on the Nilgiri plateau, 

 where tlie presence of avenue trees or an avenue belt 

 is so valuable as a protection against the cold bleak winds 

 of eitlicr monsoon. The value of the belt of Blue gum 

 ( Eucalyptus globulus) and AVattle (Acacia melanoxylon 

 aud Dealbata) along the road fn. m Ooonoor to Oota- 

 camuud is obvious to all who travel along it in bad 

 weather, and this belt should be continued along all 

 public roads. The best tree to use is undoubtedly the 

 Acacia melanokylon, whjch is stronger and more shady 

 than the others, and not troublesomo liUe the silver 

 wattle; but some conifers aud specially (Oupre.ssus maoro- 

 carpa^ should also be grown, AVhere such roads cross 

 swampy laud, AVillow (Salix tetrasperma) which grows 

 most readily from cuttings should be planted. — JIadras alail 



THE CULTIVATION OF THE ERI SILKVTORM.. 



The following letter has been forwarded from the 

 Director of Agriculture, Assam, to the Hon. R. D. Ross, 

 51. P.: — 



*■ Camp Kangia, December 4, 1884. Sir — In reply to 

 your letter dj^tiul July Iff to the address of Mr. Stack, 

 late Director of Agriculture in Af^sam, I have tlje honoiir 

 to state that Mes.srs. C. H. B. Forbes & Co., Bombay, 

 have informed me of the arrival of a case of wheat and 

 other seeds intended for this department. I beg to thank 

 you for forwarding the seeds, and to enquire whether 

 you wish for any rt port as to the result of an experimental 

 trial with it in this country. If quite convenient to you 

 I .*;hoi]ld be glad to be favoured with an account of any 

 experiment ma^le wjjh tho saipple of rice forw;ir*b'd last 

 June. A statement ni the Adelaide Observer M'as brqugbt 

 under my notice a short time ago, in which the castor- 

 oil plitnt wa^ stated to grow luxuriantly in South Australia. 

 If Xh\'< be the case, it might perhai)s be worth while to 

 tiy if the Kri silkworm will not Hourish there. This worm, 

 i^s ytni wjll sfe by the accompanying note on tlie subject 

 by Mr. Stack, is largely produced in A^sam. It is exceed- 

 ingly prolific, and if its cultivation were carried on upon 

 commercial principles it might prove a source of considerable 

 profit. But the Assamese peasant cares for ease aud 

 |>ersonal rofijfort mncl^ more than for wealth, and ^ 



