Dec. I, 2885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



415 



Dr. Watt* states that Sir, Leotard publishes, iu 

 his memorandum on the materials in ludia suitable 

 for the uiauufacture of paper, the opiuion of Pro- 

 fessor Iveihvood upon m:Klar- gutta. "The Professor 

 considers it possesses many properties in common 

 with gutta-percha of commerce. The specimen so 

 reported upon was collected by Captain O. B. 

 HoUings, Deputy Commissioner, Shahpur (in the 

 Punjaub), iu the year 18-53, little more than one year 

 after the date of the original discovery of the gutta. 

 We have learned nothing further iu thirty years, 

 and uncountable riches of fibre and gum have all 

 the while been wasting along every roadside and 

 over every rubbish heap." 



."Mr. W. S. Strettell, of the Forest Department, m . 

 his 'New Source of Kevenue for India,' states that 

 the mudilar must "afford a material for paper as ' 

 good as, and cheaper than esparto." In this opiuion I 

 he is strongly supported by the Curator of the 

 Victoria and Albert Museum, Bombay, who pronounces | 

 this as one of the finest of Indian fibres, its extended 

 use being restricted only by the difficulty of extraction. 

 In the Kew Report for 18S1, howerer, an opinion is 

 i-xpressed by Mr. Itoutledge quite opposed to this; 

 he believes that "neither it (rauddar) nor any other 

 exogenous plants of similar cliaracters can ever com- 

 pete with esparto, nor be produced at a sufficiently 

 low cost to admit of its being employed as paper- 

 making material." Paper is prepared in the following 

 districts: — Bellary, Madras, Furruckabad and Meerut, 

 in North-Western Provinces. The plant is abundant 

 in the Puujaub, and, together with *he next species, is 

 to a small extent made into paper. The cotton or crown 

 of hairs from the seeds, .as also tlie fibre from the bark, 

 or both, is capable of being used for paper (Watt).t 

 Two otlicr economic uses of muddar may be inen- 

 tioncd. The fibre knowii as iotcstrini/ hemp is obtained 

 from the stems, and is perhaps the most valualile, 

 as it is the strongest, of Indian fibres. While this 

 has been well known for many years and the fibres 

 repeatedly brought to the notice of Europe, it has 

 up to the present day not attracted the attention 

 which it deserves (Watt).{ The milky sap is well 

 known in tanning. It if made into a paste with the 

 flour of the small millet {rcMciUaria spicata) and 

 is used previously to colouring the skin with lac 

 dye. Alone it imparts a yellow colour to the skin 

 (Watt).S The juice is also stated by Dr. Watt to 

 be employed to remove the offensive smell of fresh 

 leather. » • ♦ « * . .* 



The fact that the sap of the madar plant contains in 

 addition to caoutchouc two principles analogous to 

 the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha is a point of 

 some interest, especially as madar gutta-percha has 

 been recommended as a substitute for the ordinary 

 commercial article. Whether or not the madar plant 

 can be employed as a commercial source of gutta- 

 percha is a question which can only be solved by 

 actual experiment. The supply is unlimited, and, as 

 already mentioned, the plant will flourish on sandy 

 plains, where other vegetation cannot grow. 



We are well aware that our examination of madar 

 is by no means exhaustive, but we trust at a 

 future period to be able to resume our investigations. 

 In conclusion it only remains for us to acknow- 

 ledge tho kindness of Professor Dr. Sell, of the 

 Gesundheits Amt, Berlin, for permitting certain of 

 our experiments to be performed in the chemicid 

 laboratiiry of the institution, and for his ready 

 advice in the conduct of our experiments. — Pharm- 

 tictutlcal Journal. 



♦ 



Macassar Oh,. — Sunflower oil, 100 grammes ; goose 

 grease and " kamfett", of each 1-5 grammes ; liquid 

 atorax, oil of eggs, oil of thyme, cacao butter, of 

 each 8 grammes; neroli, -I grammes; Peruvian 

 balsam, 06 gramme; otto of roses, 005 gram. — 

 Jwl.iun Mercnrj/. 



* ' Economic Products of India.' 

 t /*. Part III., p. 12. 

 i /*. Part III., p. 12. 

 I /*. Part II., p. la. 



Part I. 



The DBOiGur in Enu land. — Mr. G. J. Symons writes 

 to the j!Vj«c.s" (xVug 1885) as follows; — " Rainfall oliserv- 

 ations have now been made uninterruptedly in this 

 country for 100 years, not, alas ! at any one place, but 

 by careful calculation I have obtained values which 

 are, I beli* \ .-, very near the truth, for every year 

 from 1721) to 1SS5. During the whole of this long 

 ) ' r'od there is no instinee of more than five con- 

 .scLiitive years being wet until we come to recent years, 

 and then we have the uni)recedented fact of nine con- 

 secutive years ( 1S75 to 18S3), each wetter than the 

 average ; in short, the quantity in those nine years 

 was as great as usually falls iu ten years and a quart-er. 

 In ISSl (ju.st as in 1834, 1844, 185"4, 1804, and 1874) 

 the fall was below the average, and complaints of 

 drought and of deficient water supply immediately 

 arose. I have not had time to thoroughly examine 

 the records of the early months of 1885, but my im- 

 pression is that up to the middle of June the fall 

 did not differ materially from the average, but the 

 letter half of June was very dry. I now come to|JuIy, 

 which has been so remarkably dry. — Gardcners'ChroiticU 

 Fungoid Disf^ASEs in Fruit Thkes: Peach Buoht. — 

 A coniiuunication was received, through Sir J. D. 

 Hooker, from Mr. T. Kirk, Wellington, New Zealand, 

 asking for advice as to remedial measures. In some 

 districts the fruit trees are being destroyed by the 

 mycelium of a ground fungus— a small I^uffball- — 

 though the author suspects that several Agarics 

 affects thcni. When the ravages are most serious 

 the reproductive state is but rarely developed. It 

 first appears as a circular patch, in which all vegetation 

 (as iu fruit trees, Oaks, Walnuts, grass, Sorrel, Straw- 

 berries, &c.) is more or less " blighted," tlie plants 

 exhibiting a withered appearance, the leaves becom- 

 ing slightly curled, droop and fall long before their 

 time, and the plant dies. The roots are more or less 

 covered with mycelium. The effects extend in a most 

 singular fashion, travelling half-way across a garden 

 or orchard from one side only, at others extending 

 in all directions. It is most fatal to fruit trees. It 

 is almost exclusively confined to hght soils, on which 

 Fern (Pteris aquilina) has grown. Damp or dry 

 soils have no attractions for it. It occurs abundantly 

 in the decaying rhizomes of Fern, transferring its 

 attention to fruit trees whenever the opportunity 

 is afforded. The first parts on which the alfection 

 shows itself is the juncture of root and stem. The 

 bark becomes absolutely rotten whtrn permeated by 

 the mycelium, and emits a nauseous odour. Plum 

 trees usually show but little mycelium as compared 

 with Apples, but the trunk is more obviously affected, 

 and exudes gum freely. Experiments are being carried 

 out in the folliiwing directions : — (1) Soaking the soil 

 with tar-water and dressiug the effected ]iarts with 

 the same; (2j dressing the soil with soot: (3) with 

 sulphur; (4) with ini'd brine washes, both for trees 

 and soil. So far the tar-water seemed the most 

 effective, but the author was inclined to think tliat 

 sulphur will have the most pernruu'iit effect. Tlio 

 author adds, that in all parts of the country the Peach 

 is dying wholesale, but the cause is most obscure. 

 The trees appear to flower with their accustomed 

 luxuriance, and the fruit to set as usual. If a 

 sudden change of temperature, or a severe frost 

 has been experienced during the flowering time, 

 the fruit does not swell, the leaves make their 

 appearance readily and fall qidckly — minute orange- 

 coloured blotches are seen on the twigs, These 

 become confluent and black, and then the buds decay. 

 At this stage the jilant may die, or if the season 

 prove favoiuable, a weak autumn growth may be 

 made, ami new leaves developed, tassel-like, at the 

 tips of the branches ; but a renewed attack the 

 fcillnwing spring proves fata!, anrl the plant dies. 

 Plants one year from the seed are attacked as read- 

 ily as the oldest. Occasionally a free partially 

 sheltered has suffered less than its neighbour or lias 

 escaped entirely ; while two kinds lappear to roist 

 the disease more tlian others, viz. Cornet and Salway, 

 but they are certainly not blight-proof by any means, 

 — Uardencrs' ChroiiicU. 



