144 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[AtfousT I, 1885, 



temperature is never below 80°, so that this must be 

 the great flush season, the rains and the hot 

 weather being nearly 1 coincident. The extremes of 

 temperature are about the suuie a? those obtained at 

 4,600 feet in Dimbula, Ceylou, only Mr. Heelis observed 

 cold once below 45" and no beat higher than 89°. The 

 mcdn temperature of the estate in Chittasong must 

 however, be at least 5° higher than the 05° obtained 

 at 4,600 in Dimbula. The difference between the two 

 districts we have mentioned {the one in Northern India, 

 the other in Ceylon) may be imagined from the 

 fact that Mr. Dowling quotes a tide table as useful 

 to planters iu Chittagong. A Bengalee table of 

 divisions of time is also given, from which we gather 

 that a week is hopla, a month maliina, and a year hulsur 

 or sal. We now come to the notices of forest trees, the 

 greater part of which, according to the introduction, 

 were mainly supplied by Mr. A. F. Bruce. In connection 

 with Mimosa stipidacca (Alhizzia stipulata or Assam 

 sau) it is stated : — 



I have not been able to identify with any native of 

 Chittagong the tree recently described by LIr. Bucking- 

 ham in bis paper regarding " The Sau Tree, and its remark- 

 able influence on the tea bush." I thought at first that 

 this tree (Albizzia stipulata) was our kcrai (Albizzia pro- 

 cera), but the leaf is entirely different, nor is it our 

 Chuokwa (Anogeissus Acuminata), the latter being a soft, 

 while the Sau (or Sow) * of Assam is described as a hard 

 wood. There is a Sau iu the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta 

 (Roxburgh Flora Indica 419) which it would be worth 

 the while of visitors from Chittagong to examine 

 to see if we have the tree here. It may possibly be the 

 Tettooya which is a scarce Albizzia seldom found in the 

 gardens. At any rate there will be no difficulty in identify- 

 ing it iu a year or two, as there is a good show of young 

 seedlings at Kodala and Agonca raised from seed supplied 

 from Assam, and I may mention that they are growing 

 up remarkably like the Dividivi seedlings grown from seed 

 supplied to me by Mr. T. G. Burnell of Oodaleah about 

 the same time. From close observation it would seem that 

 tea geuerally is better (at any rate greener) under the shade 

 of the Acacias. At Agonea there is some very good tea 

 near Korais, while at "Waga Surrah the best tea in the 

 garden is shaded by an unusually large Ohukwa. The pecu- 

 liarity of the Sau, as I uuderstaud it, is that it has a 

 beneficial effect on the soil, and I C8u well imagine this 

 chemical action is possible, for in Chittagong we know to 

 our cost what a baneful influence some trees have on the 

 soil. The Assur injures tea near its base. The banian, 

 though innocuous to plant round the stem, yellows the 

 bushes many yards off. The Gurjon, Hoojia, Obamlash and 

 Mango weaken the soil. The Badhi Peeala exudes an odour 

 from its roots which poisons the plant fur some distance 

 round, while the Doomir( fortunately rare)kills the plant out- 

 right at the time when it bears figs on the bark of its 

 stem in February-March, It is only reasonable to suppose 

 then that some of the Albizzias, apart from any benefit 

 derived from their light shade, have the capa'ihiy of im- 

 proving the soil. If there are trees which deteriorate the 

 land, we may naturally look for others which better it, and 

 the thanks of the planting community are certainly duo 

 to Jlr. Buckingham for making generally known the ad- 

 vantages and beneficial influences of Albizzia Stipulata. 



Then comti a long list from which wo gather 

 that a tree called " Assur " injures tea bushes ; that 

 " Poeala" has poisonous roots ; that the banyan, 

 although soft and useless and injurious to tea, makes 

 good aah for manure. Toon timber is, of course 

 ranked as good for tea boxes, but FicM ylomnata, 

 while it cau bo converted into charcoal, is bad for tea ; 

 another lig is simply dismissed as useless. Some trees 

 yield sweet berries, otiiers dyes it tannin, and " fibii- 

 fuge bark " is against a number. Hoojia, like the 

 banyan, maUes charcoal but injnies tea. The name " Oa»- 

 eia fistula " is, in this list, applied to a rcd-bloseomed 

 tree as well as to the yellow-flowered. Layerstramia 

 regina is described as good for " ships and piles." 



* A wretched punster insists that the value of the sow 

 ttee is due (0 its litter^—Ep, 



It is an important forest tree in Northern India. 

 Gliditschia sinensis ia haTi\, makes planks .and charcoal, 

 and is "good for engine firewood. " Opposite <S'<ercH?ia 

 villosa is the warning " avoid for charcoal," but 

 rope is made from the bark. Amoora rohiiika (?) 

 must be a marvel of a tree, yielding posts, phinks, 

 canoes, boxes, and illuminating oil. It is new to us 

 to learn that the leaves and bark of Ficus religioaa 

 (the bo-tree) are medicinal. The palmyra is " used for 

 dnain pipes," not a word about rafters or reepers 

 We learn that the wood of a guttapercha tree Dkliopais 

 poJi/aniha, (?) is "appreciated in England." 'the 

 cotton tree, LSomhaj- JUalahariciim, is soft but makes 

 planks and tea boxes. "Avoid for charcoal " is oppos- 

 ite wild mango, but the berries are eaten by deer. 

 There is actually a gigantic mango-creeper. 



The peculiarities of the Chittagong vernacular, a dialect 

 of Bengalee, are eet forth, and a vocabulary by Mr. 

 Watson follows, from which we gather that " You 

 will start the tea-house work " runs : " Tu'i cha 

 gbarer khas doro." "When the dak wallah comts, 

 tell him to leave the newspapers at the bungalow, 

 and bring all the letters to me wherever I maybe": 

 " Dak wallah aile khahbarer (news) kaghus buoglat 

 raikte rho, aur beg chitti a'r kaei an ja jaibo." 

 Children are " fooaall," while a good English etjui- 

 valent for bones is given in the word "hardi." 

 There seems to be no objection to mention a 

 mother-in-law, for we get " How is your wife's 

 mother?" in the shape of "Tur sasuri keman 

 asi?" Mouth is " mukh," the original of the 

 slang "ugly mug," A maternal uncle is "mama"! 

 wife is "bo" ! and grandmother is " dadi " ! 

 There is an elaborate table of wages for a month of 

 28, 29, 30, and 31 days in rupees and their parts 

 in Indian money. At Chittagong, we are told under 

 "Waste Land Lots," the "Pioneer" garden under 

 the auspices of Government was opened in 1840, but 

 Mr. D. Fuller is held to have really started the tea 

 enterprize in the district in July 1864. Tea planting 

 in Chittagong is, therefore, just of age. It is com- 

 plained that planters are excluded from the hill tracts. 

 English and Indian weights and measures ore given, 

 and it is stated that ''galvanized wire-netting No. 12, 

 of 33 inches, has proved the be>t for iiring trays, 

 brass wire being too expensive and bamboo work 

 being rapidly charred." Firing over charcoal iu choolas 

 is, of course, referred to. So ends the printed in- 

 formation of the " Notes," some fifty leavis of good 

 blank paper being added for each planter to enter 

 his own notes as they occur to him, a good idea, as 

 is the book altogether, which planters would do well to 

 have on their shelves or table. 



Insect Destroyees. — A correspondent to the San 

 Francisco Call, quoted in the Oil and Drug Rtporier, 

 says, that " after a long series of experiments, I 

 have at last practically confined myself to the one 

 ■ heap article that seems to be absolutely efiVctual," 

 Concentrated lye is efficacious, but too expensive j 

 whale-oil soap has also good effect, but a dfcocticn 

 of tobacco is simple, inexpensive, and, if properly 

 applied, an etfrctual remedy for every class of iBsei;t. 

 pests. Forty pounds of good strong leaf tobacco, 

 thoroughly boiled in water, will make about eighty 

 gallons. This can be thiown ujjuu the trets with a 

 powerful garden syringe. It should be kept at the 

 uniform temperature of 130° to 140° F., while it is 

 being used; hotter than this would be injurious lo the 

 plants. The cost, however, of this insecticide here, 

 prepared fiom the duty-paid tobacco, wonli be much 

 greater than in countries wheie the tobacco 'S grown. 

 The same writer observes that eveiy keeper of an orch- 

 ard must grow his own tobacco, whifh he can do, in a 

 small way, at a cost of two cents per pound, One 

 acre will produce 4,000 lb., if properly Attended to, 



