412 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. i, 1885. 



contains most of the important botanical books and 

 lourunls. 



The laboratory, which, thanks to the energy ot 

 Vr. Treub, the ilircctor, is now completed, is a large, 

 lofty and, for these climes, particu>,..ly cool room, and 

 i« well fitted out with reagents and apparatus for 

 carrying on botanical research. Tlie generous invit- 

 ation which Dr. Treub has issued to natur.ilists, and 

 to which the attention of the readers of jVature 

 has already been directed !.xs attracted several 

 scientific men of different nationalities, and uome 

 excellent research has already been made in this 

 hdioratory. 



When I arrived in Buitenzorg, Dr. Treub was at 

 Tsi-Bodas; so, after spending a few days in study 

 in the gardens, I made the jom-ney across the niount- 

 aius to pay him a visit. The road from ]iuiteuzoi-g 

 to Tsi-Bodas crosses the roeiichuck Pass and is full 

 of interest and beauty. On the way the traveller 

 p:\sses quite close to the Talaga Werner, the crater 

 ot an extinct volcano which is now filled with water, 

 and forms a most beautiful little lake hidden in 

 the dense foliage of tlie mountain slopes. The path 

 from the road to the lake is through a dense wood 

 of fine forest trees, and amongst the undergrowth 

 is found many fine shrubs and plants which are not 

 found in the low-lying country beneath. 



The gardens at Tsi-Bodas are situated on the 

 slopes ot the Gedeh Mountains, at an altitude of 

 5,(100 feet, and here I found Dr. Treub at work in 

 the comfortable little house which is attached to 

 the g.ardens. 



From this spot a very wide range of vegetation 

 may be studied, from the rich and varied vegetation 

 ot the plains to the interesting vegetation of the 

 Predeh and Pangeranso peaks, at an elevation of 

 JO.OOO feet. In the gardens themselves a very fine 

 collection of Ooniferas from America, China, Aus- 

 tralia and other parts of the world has been got to- 

 gether, and spaces have been cleared for the growth 

 of the various species of Eucalyptus, Cinchona, 

 .•uid otlier plants. Year by year the surroundmg 

 forest is being encroached upon by these gardens 

 to make room for new importations. I was ex- 

 tremely sorry that I could not prolong roy stay at 

 Tsi-Bodas, but I had to return to Batavia to catch 

 the Molucca boat. I saw, however, enough to con- 

 vience me of the great importance of these gardens 

 for tlie advaucerneut ot our botanical knowledge 

 and the great opportunities they afford for research 

 into all branches of the science. 



1 uei:d hardly say that the climate in this region 

 is extremely pleasant and invigoratuig, and the neigh- 

 bouring village of Sindanlaya is much resorted to 

 by Europeans and others whose health has suffered 

 i.n the coasts or low-lying districts of the Archi- 

 pelago. At Buitenzorg the climate is by no moans 

 mnjleasant or unhejUtliy, but as it lies a few thou- 

 sand feet lower than "Tsi-Bodas, it is naturally a 

 good deal wai-mer ; but I am assured that several 

 Europeans liave worked there for several years 

 witliout feeling their healtli the least bit affected. 

 It is hardly necessary to add that every O'ie who 

 has come over to Java to work in these gardens 

 has been amply repaid for the time spent in the 

 long journey over the sea, for the insiglit which 

 can he gained here hito what tropical botany really 

 is is one whicli can be gaineil nowhere else in the 

 world so well, and leaves an impression which is not 

 likely to be forgotten in a lifetime.— Sydnev J. 

 IlciKSOK. — JVatiire. 



♦ 



Utilisation op Iron Sl.vg.— An ingenious application 

 ot a material hitherto regarded as worthless has 

 been made in the utilisation of iron slag as an 

 ingredient iu the manufacture of foot pavement 

 cement. The powdered slag being harder than the 

 cement with which it is mixed, wears down less 

 slowly, always presenting a rough surface, which is 

 not slippery, and apjiarently of great durabiUty. The 

 pavement has been laid down iu front of the Gaiety 

 Theatre in the litrand. — Fidil. 



KICE CULTIVATION IN THE CENTRAL PRO- 

 VINCE OF CEYLON. 

 Sir, — The Central Province is a good large territory and 

 it's not given to everyone of your readers to know the 

 boundaries, but, when we have distinct reference to Uva, 

 including Udakinle aud M''ilson's Bungalow, we know 

 where we are, aud probably the writer of this glowing 

 description could not have hit upon a worse exem- 

 plification of his theory. The people of Udakiude are 

 some of the poorest in the Central Province, and 

 liave lately been actually fed at the expense of Gov- 

 ernment, aud, pcrh.ips, it would be as well if the 

 reason of this poverty were explained, and I may by 

 and bye state what my experience has taught me. In 

 the meantime the great reason why Udakinde, and 

 the rest of Uva cannot grow more rice lies iu the fact 

 that all the irrigable lands have already been occupied : 

 this of coarse as a general rule. There are doubtless small 

 pieces of land here aud there that with great labor 

 might be irrigated, but after all the total of them is 

 insignificant. That this is the fact is plain enough to 

 anyone who passes through the country aud keeps an 

 eye open for tlie purpose. The miles upon miles of 

 elas, from the Totajiella aud Nuwara Bliya r.anges, con- 

 vey the water an immense distance, and all available 

 lands connected with them are already cultivated, and 

 the only way to bring into cultivation any other por- 

 tions of appreciable extent is the construction of re- 

 servoirs and ch;mnels at great expense aud mill little 

 result. I am perfectly well aware that the idea pre- 

 vails, amongst Europeans especially, that the villagers 

 could cultivate rice to a much greater extent than the.y 

 do. But if careful consideration is given to the sub- 

 ject, and something more than mere casual observ- 

 ation when travelling through the country, it will bo 

 foimd that whenever water cau be got amongst the 

 hills, advantage of it has been taken to asswedamise 

 the land ; even the smallest portion is not neglected. 

 Then again I presume the writer in your contempor- 

 ary suggests that with more care and trouble the 

 villager could get a greater return for his labor ; and 

 here again there is a good deal of supposition that is 

 in error. The surface of the soil is * scratched ' as 

 deep on the hills as it is in Jaffna, aud with double 

 the amount of labor, from the j nature of the small 

 terraces on the steep hillsides, aud the expenditure 

 of time and trouble on the paddy fields of the hill 

 country exceeds in an immense degree that on the 

 same cultivation in the lowcountry, where so much 

 baud labour is unnecessary. Then the hill fields are 

 weeded, aud left clean by gangs of women, with no 

 small amount of trouble. There is little or no man- 

 uring; where are the villagers to get the manure from, 

 aud what appreciable benefit woulil they get from the 

 return? The whole system ot terrace cultivation, 

 where the water flows over the laud, precludes any- 

 tliing but careful, expensive manuring operations, and 

 after all the resulting benefit would be very small. 

 As for neglect of attending to the w^ator-supply, 

 there maybe such in fever-striken and poverty-striekeu 

 villages, where disease and despair render the people 

 callous and inditt'erent, but such is not the rule. Of 

 course, as the writer puts it, on cold, wet nights a 

 warm bed under cover is preferred to a tramp in 

 the diu-k up and down steep slippery paths, but we 

 must recollect that on such occasions the falling r.ain 

 obviates any necessity for water to be turned im the 

 fields. Laying all these aside, suppose for the sake 

 of argument, each field in ITva could he. made to 

 double its present yield, the result wouldn't feed the 

 villagers, the coohcs, and the gener.il inhabitants of 

 the province itself, much less "stop the import of 

 rice." Aud what is true of Uva holds good in respect 

 to all the hillcountry of the Central Province. You 

 see a tract ot land apparently capable ot cultivation, 

 and you will find it is Crown land, or in the bauds 

 ot Europeans, or there is no water-supply, or some- 

 thing which ihas prevented its being availed of for 

 the purpose. 



In one respect, the Jaffna " Patriot " is right, though 

 lie evidently doesn't mean it. The Central Proviiic 

 is not altogether confined to the hills, and in on 



