Nov. 2, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



359 



ANNUAL REPORT ON THE BOTANIC 



GARDENS, SINGAPORE, FOR THE YEAR ISsl. 



OE the plants introduced in pi-evious years, the 

 following show signs of aceonioilating themselves to 

 the soil ami climate of the country, viz.; -"Coca" 

 {En/thii>.ryl,i>n coal) which has flowered ami fruited 

 h'eely during the yi^ar. From this plant is produced 

 an alkaloid called " C'oeaino, "' used in tlie troatment 

 of asthma, &c., and at present attracting much 

 attention amnng medical men. I think it might he 

 grown in the Colony with profit. 



The plant which produces the so-called Mvuritius 

 hemp is a native of South America, and is well 

 adapted for cultivation here. Sonic planters who 

 have tried it have sent large orders for a further 

 supply, and have, I believe, ordered nuchinery from 

 England for its manufacture. 



The plants of C'utnamomiun cassia, which produces 

 the Cassia Bark of commerce, grow very freely in 

 the experimental nursery, and will probably become 

 one of the Colonial products in course of time. 



One of two varieties of C.irdamTm, introduceil 

 during the year frO'n Java, has flowered and fruited 

 very freely, and would no doubt pay cultivation well. 

 Liberian cotfee has now been carried by cultivators 

 beyond the limit of experiment, and I refer to it 

 only as among the plants introduced into the Colony 

 by tins Bitablishment. The Panama rubbers, so 

 admirably cultivated by Sir Hugh Low, were also 

 fir.'it introduced by the Botanic Gardens. 



Plants of the African " Kola uut " planted in the 

 experimental nursery, have grown well in the alluvial 

 soil there. The plants of " Avocada i)ear, " planted 

 out in the Economic Garden some years ago, where 

 their growth stood almost stationary, have been 

 removed to the nursery just named, and have grown 

 with extraordinary rapidity. 



Plants from seed of the Lima Beau of Brazil have 

 been grown in the nursery with great success, and 

 form a desirable addition to our vegetable supply. 

 The names of other vegetables which have succeeded 

 in the nursery were given in last year's report .and 

 need not be repeated here. 



A quantity of nutmegs and cloves have b^en 

 introduced from their native habitat as fresh stock 

 for experimental purposes. Plants of Peach, Apricot, 

 Grape Vine, Olives, and Figs in variety have been 

 ordered from Sydney, but the season of the year 

 there when the order arrived not admitting of the 

 despatch of the p!aats. they were not received within 

 the ye.ar, and therefore fall to the share cf next 

 year's report. I may be permitted to mention in this 

 connexion that, although there are some good speci- 

 men plants in the gardens, a point is not being 

 made of growing such plants to the exclusion of 

 propagation, the object of the gardens being to 

 introduce desirable plants into the < olony and cultivate 

 them for such length of time only as will demonstrate 

 their adaptability or otherwi.^e for cultivation in the 

 soil anil climate of the settlements, and to propa- 

 gate such as appear suitable, for distribution to 

 cultivators and specimen growers. — Straits Times. 



ate cultivation through the coffee zone from Matale to 

 Madulsima has been abandoned, and the planter 

 now looks to tea, .and to tea almost alone, to help him 

 over the style. There are, however, certain favored 

 spots in which ciuehouas appear to thrive as they 

 do in their native habit it far away on the steep 

 slopes of the Ailes, wh^re cinker is ahmst unknown, 

 and all is prolilic growth. E/eu at pr.is!nt prices the 

 cultivation in sudi plioes is mire remuierative than 

 either tei is or coffee wis, but with one exception 

 wo do not hear of any neir cinchona clearings being 

 opflned this year, and that one is in one of the 

 favored lo^i'itie, refered to by ui. We hear that 

 Mr. Jas. M :Laren, of Nuwara Eliya, is so satisfied 

 with thj retu.-ns from the acreage already under 

 cinchoai in the Park estate, that he is putting 40 

 acres m )re of jungle under that product. That the 

 vicinity of Nuwara Eliya is the home of oficimilis 

 in Oeylon does not admit of doubt. No where else 

 does that delicite variety of cinchona grow with 

 anything like the luxuriance and vigor which it 

 exhibits there in certain aspects. Hfr. McLaren has 

 shavad so:ue of his OJi^inalis as many as four times, 

 an then coppiced the trees, which have thrown out 

 strong, hsalthy suckers as vigorous as the origi lal 

 shoot. No wonder, considering the high profit obtain- 

 ed per acre from his cinchona, that Mr McLaren 

 should prefer to put his remaining 4(1 acres of jungle 

 into cinchona rather than tea. which, thonsh even 

 at that altitude yielding handsome returns cannot 

 hope to equal cinchona. We hope th.at what will 

 pro'^ably prove one of the last large new clearings 

 of officinalis in Ceylon ra,ay be as successful as the 

 earlier ones in that localitj', where the product seems 

 to grow like white weed. 



It is useless to attempt to cultivate cinchona where 

 it will not grow, and as the area in Oeylon where 

 it J"/// grow is not large, we look forward to its 

 careful and permanent cultivatioii in those spots where 

 experience has taught us it thrives luxuriantly, the 

 most noted of which being the vicinity of Nuwara 

 Kliya and Ma_dnlsiraa — ^Local "Times." 



THE POSITION OF THE CINCHONA ENTER. 

 PRIZE IN CEYLON. 

 It is really astonishing how little interest is now 

 taken in, or attention paid to, the cultivation of 

 cinchona, it we are to judge of the matter by the 

 reference made to it in the public press. The once 

 all-absorbing topic has completely died out as if such 

 a thin? as cinchona never grew in the island. One 

 would hard y think that as much as 10,OOi>,OOl) lb. 

 of cinchona bark had been shipped from the colony 

 to date since the commencement of the fiscal year. 

 much more than equal in value to the quantity of 

 tea exported fr'>m the island during the same period ; 

 yet so it is. The cause for this ai>athy, however, is 

 not far to seek. ^Vith the exception of certain local- 

 ities, restricted in area, cinchona has not been 

 found to be a profitable cultivation. Its indiserimin- 



PitYr.i.oxEHA IS Greeor.— The following official 

 i communication has been forwarded to us for public- 

 I ation : — "Considerable alarm is felt here about the 

 possible .spread to this country of the Phylloxera, 

 ! whicli is said to have appeared in the neighbour- 

 1 hood of Constantinople. Stringent measures will be 

 adopteil to prevent its introduction, the importation 

 of all trees, plants, fruit, grass and hay from 

 eastern countries, including Candia and Kgypt, being 

 1 prohibited under very severe penalties. Things are 

 i)ail enough in (Greece as it is, anfl the scourge, 

 should it reach this country, would almost consum- 

 mate its ruin from an economic and financial point 

 of view. — I have the honour, &c., (Signed) Horai'E 

 KuMbOLD. The Eaid Gkakville, K.G." — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle. 



M.4NUI!IN(! Te.\. — In the extracts from Blr. .T. MeL. 



Carter's paper on this subject on pages 312-14, there 



are a number of misprints, the corrections of 



I which, in a later issue of the Indian T>'.i Oazettr, 



did not reach us until after the above pages were 



I printed off. On p. 312, eol. 2, line 2(! from below, 



for fro«\ read frnm, and in line 30 from below, for 



polls, read plots. On p, 313, col., 1, line 16, for f/arrlm 



read f/oiloira. and after at add As. H-; line 2^>, for 



tiardrti re til f/o>loi'-n ; in the estimate of cost per acre 



on plot No. 2, the figures under P. shoidd be, (i, 0, 



and 6 ; for Hcsiilt per acre read Eesnlls. On the same 



page, col. 2, last line but one, after 914 read Ih. 



On page 314, col. 1, line 4, after anv read eijnal, 



and add, between lines 4 and 5, or 16'3 °/„. On the 



I same page, line 2fi, read R8T2 ; line 27, for n/:st read 



' nft ; after line 28 read Jlic first year e.rartli/ ; line 



I 32, after 8 J read as.; line 37, after p/'o/?/, read <y/H(7/s ; 



I line 39, read estimation. 



