Dec. I, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



445 



To the FA'tlor of the " Ceifhm OhstTver." 



EUCALYPTUS OIL IN BOILEKS; ALL ABOUT 

 COCAINE. 

 London. E.C.. Oct. 2<)th, l.s.'^,5. 



De.u-. Sir.,— I learn that you have published 

 some information respecting the emplo^-ment of 

 eucalyptus oil in boilers. 



For fear of its leading to disappointment, owing 

 to the large quantity of oil used for this pur- 

 pose, I thought it "was advisable to apply to my 

 friend Mr. Hawkslcy, who has obtained a reput- 

 ation in England for making tirst-class boilers. 

 He informed me that many boilers arc entirely 

 spoiled by the use of grease and oil for removing 

 shale, so much so that he is now frequently 

 called to examine boilers which are said to be 

 leaking, and he almost invariably finds out that 

 oil has been employed where lime has been found 

 troublesome and to be predominating in the water. 

 He gave me a drawing (which I enclose you) 

 which has been published by his firm. Messrs. 

 Hawksley. Wild * Co. of Shcflicld, showing how 

 they get rid of the gi-ease where water is scarce 

 and «lear, by using the waste steam which has 

 passed through the cylinder. 



CalUng his attention to the remarks on eucalypt- 

 us oil. he said: " Without having an intimate 

 knowledge of this special oil I should certainly con- 

 demn the employment of any sort of oil in boilers." 



Changing now to entirely another subject I may 

 report to you that cocaine is being manufactured 

 in very large quantities, so much so that the price 

 of leaves of first quality has risen to 2s and 3s 

 fid per lb. when fully matured and strong. It is 

 this class of leaf which yields a large percentage, 

 up to -8 ptr cent of cocaine, but at the same 

 time there is no doubt that these leaves also 

 require very careful treatment, because in several 

 samples of cocaine that I have had lately before 

 me I find they have a strong smell and a tinge 

 of yellow colouring whicli is objected to by 

 many surgeons where cocaine is required for delic- 

 ate operations. It is said that the yellow colour- 

 ing matter, which comes, I believe, from the 

 chlorophyll contained in the leaves, produces 

 irritation in the eye, or in the bladder, or in 

 the urethra. Cocaine has not yet responded to 

 the rise in the price of the leaves, but there is 

 no doubt that it is beuig well used now that it is 

 sold as low as 2s (id to 3s (id per gramme which is 1.5^ 

 grains. Lozenges and pastilles are being supplied 

 largely containing J grain of cocaine, and with 

 these passengers by the steamers report that they 

 have an immunity from sca-sickncss. To sift this 

 question thoroughly, as one of the American line 

 of packets would not entertain any proposition 

 direct of purchasing, I supplied some of their 

 surgeons with tubes of cocoainc. asking tliem to 

 bring me back a report of their experience. 

 AiiA'onc having made long voyages knows how 

 quickly anyone prostrated by sea-sickuess can 

 recover: Cocaine has a most singular action not 

 only upon the brain but upon the stomach, 

 and paralysing the action of the nerves of the tongue 

 and throat, also greatly assists the action. — Yours 

 faithfully, XHOS. CHKISTY. 



JAPAN WOOD TEA BOXES. 



Kintyre. Maskeliya, llth Nov. I.SH".. 

 Dkak Sin, — As there hain been rather a doubt about 

 the smell of the cedar wood of .Japan tea boxes, owing 

 lo souit of the Cvloiubo buyers U^hliug shy of them, 



will you kindly publish the enclosed copy of tele- 

 gram received from Messrs. Wilson A Siuithett (of 

 London) today? and you will oblige myself and many 

 of your readers, no doubt. — Y'ours faithfully, 



H. DliUMMOND 1)]',ANE. 

 /J..S'._Of \:i from this factory some 20,000 1b. 

 had arrived in London packed in JS-incli Japan boxes 

 hi ' ;■(! this message was received. 



Copy of telegram translated from code:— "Japan 

 boxes are a success : smell does not intcrfci c with 

 tea. Would, however, advise half-inch wood being 

 used." True copy. H. De\.ne. 



ORANGES SUCCESSFULLY SENT FROM 

 UVA TO ENGLAND. 



Koslanda, l(Jth Nov. 188,5. 



Dor Sik.— It maybe of some interest to you and 

 your readers to know that a box of oranges I 

 forwarded to Norwich from Haputale (through the 

 London and Colombo Forwarding Agency) reached 

 that distant locality in capital condition, my friends 

 observing that they looked so tempting and were 

 getting very sweet. When fresh from the tree they 

 are of a very refreshing sweetness with a dash of 

 acidity which gives zest to their Havor, particularly 

 on a hot day. Is this the first shipment of oranges 

 from Ceylon ? S. B. 



[We are very much interested in experiments 

 of this kind, and congratulate our correspondent 

 on being the first, so far as we know, to send a 

 considerable iiuantity of oranges from Ceylon to 

 England to arrive in good condition. Being pulled 

 before they are ripe, while still the acid predom- 

 inates, is part of the secret ; but wc snppose 

 besides that our friend packed them in sawdust 

 and had each orange wrapped separately in tissus 

 or other thin paper? Although the distance is 

 too great for Ceylon oranges to compete with 

 those from Spain, the Azores and Florida in 

 England, still something might be done in send- 

 j ing shipments to friends, while peaches in Ceylon 

 ought to be more freely preserved. — Ed.] 



Mr. Clement L. Wr,.iGGE, late of Ben Nevis 

 Obseiwatory, has been authorised by the (Queens- 

 laud Government to report " as to the best means 

 of establishing meteorological stations in Queensland, 

 including Cape York Peninsula and Torres Straits." 

 Mr. Wragge commenced this important work early 

 in September. — Aihciucum. 



Canakv Bhkeding in Cevlon. — "Enquirer " writes i — 

 *■ I have to tliaiik two of your corref*pondents for so 

 kindly coming lorwartl in reply to my wish for in- 

 turiiiution as to tlic best method of breeding canaries. 

 Tbo information supplied ha.s beeu useful, but I cau't 

 uiider-tund »vliy the removid of the cock-bird should 

 be iusisted ou after the hen has laid. I have been 

 so far successful that 1 have the htii-bird sitting on 

 ihrco eggs uow ; this is the 12th day. This raoru- 

 iug after perusal of your lust night's issue 1 took your 

 corrtepuudeut's advice and removed the cock-bird, but 

 the poor little hen was 30 much distressed that I was 

 obliged to remove some part of the covering of the upper 

 portion of the brLodiug cige, and place the othi r caye 

 with the cock-bird alougside, after which the hcii-biid 

 settled down to her nest. There 15 no doubt ibat 

 hard-boiled egg (the yellow) will do ; but I find 

 that whenever I do feed my birds on it ants find 

 thiir way into the rage somehow or other, whethir the 

 cage is fixi d to a wall or liuug ou ii whv, ice. Can 

 any of your coirispondiMits inform me the best way 

 of preventing ants from getting into the cage; if tluy 

 do, after the young arc hatchid, woe he to the hirdiis, 

 their tenure of life will not be long. lu how many 

 days cau I expect the eggs to hatch ? " 



