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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Janoarv r, 1886. 



tpke. It enables Planters to make first-class tea 

 (luriug any kind of weather, be it rain, fog or sun- 

 fhine, as air of any degree of heat can be used 

 ueciiriiingly, and they can time t!ic withering to the 

 vuUing and, save all chalouies, lofts, large sheds, their 

 aniHiid repairs, labor, and worry infinite. It is a rapid 

 D.'.vlng M;ichiue one minute, and a splendid ^yitbe^- 

 ing Machine the next. Any degree of withering can 

 be given ti) prevent frothing and loss of watery 

 juice, particulary at the first of the Assam season ; 

 concentrates the mucilageuous matter in the leaf, 

 and holds the roll; rolls up quicker, gives bright 

 llowery or orange nibs, enhances the price of the tea. 

 I apologize for this long letter, but your corre- 

 spondent's exclamation — " AVho will come to the front 

 wilh agood Witherer," has prompted it ; and as a duty 

 to ourselves and the Tea Industry, and but for that 

 I would have remained quiescent until the i)romi6ed 

 still more surprising results, with the staff in thorough 

 trim and practice in Ceylon, where my system of 

 fri'sh leaf equalizing (making first-rate etjualized 

 I'ekoe Souchong, or all the classes, without sitting 

 or" otherwise, and without broken tea and dust) is 

 being carried out by my several inventions, and by 

 instructions given during 12 mouths in our "Works to 

 a young Engineer who is now there. 



THE AVEST INDIAN CEDAE (OEDBELA 



ODORATA). 

 This tree is a native of Jamaica, Ouba, Antigua, 

 Mexico, &c., and grows to a height of 80 feet or 

 more, with a diameter of from 3 to 5 feet. It is a 

 near ally to the Mahogany, to which the wood has 

 some resemblance, though it is softer, rather more 

 open-grained, aud not so durable; nevertheless, when 

 properly S'asoned it is a valuable wood, and has an 

 agreeable fragrance, very uulike that of the fresh 

 plant. It is used for wainscoting, cabinet work, 

 drawers, &c., a.s it is stated that no insects will attack 

 it, on account of its scent. Singles made of it are 

 reported to be very durable, and they, moreover, have 

 the advantage of lightness. L\uian, in his Horlus 

 Jamaicensis, says, " The trunks of the trees often .so 

 large as to be hollowed out into canoes and periaguas, 

 for which purpose it is extremely well adapted, as, 

 from the softness of the wood it is hollowed out with 

 great facility, and being light it carries great weight 

 on the water. Canoes have been made of it 40 teet 

 long aiul G feet broad." It is from this wood that 

 the C!uba cigar boxes are made, aud the wood is also 

 imported iuto Hamburg in logs for the purpose Of 

 making boxes for holding German-made Havauas ; 

 these boxes are made in exact imitation of those which 

 come direct from Ouba. The wood reconmiends itself 

 for this purpose on account of its even grain, freedom 

 from knots, aud its non-liabihty to split or crack, and 

 also on account of the ease with which it can be cut 

 into thin planks, suitable for box-making. Three re- 

 markable Icjgs of "West Indian Cedar were recently 

 landed at the West India Docks from Ouba, our at- 

 tention having been drawn to them liy Messrs. 

 Churchill k Sim, of Olemeut's Lane, to whom they 

 were consigned. These logs were from the bases of 

 three separate trees, and were each of pretty nearly 

 similar bulk, measuring about 7 feet high, and S feet 

 or more in diameter. They all had their bark re- 

 moved, and tiieir pecvdiarity was that instead of tiie 

 grain running up and down or perpendicularly it ran 

 round the trunks in a spiral manner. So distinctly 

 defined was the course of the grain th.at the logs 

 atracted the attention of the habitual workers on 

 the timber wharf, and one of the attendants who cut 

 off a few chips for us from what in an ordinary 

 trunk would have been the transverse section remarked, 

 tliat in order to obtain a section showing a lougit- 

 udinal grain it was necessary to cut it across the 

 trunk. The three logs were sold by Messrs. ('hurch- 

 ill & Sim to Messrs. W. Olivir & Sons, of Bnnhill 

 Kow, who obligingly cut for the Kew Mu.-souiu a large 

 sUce from one of the trunks. From this it would 

 seem that the arrangement of the woody fibres of 

 the trunk was in their younger state quite normal, 

 but after they had attained about half their fidl dia- 



meter, the course of the graia changed from a per- 

 pendicular to a sprial direction, so that in planning 

 what must for convenience be called a longitudinal - 

 section, the course of the grain was out through at 

 three different angles. A section cut across the trunk 

 showed 111 decided rings, but a continuatiun of a 

 longitudinal grain running round the trunk. These 

 logs, though curious, would bo almost useless for 

 working, in consequence of the eontiuued crossing of 

 the graiu. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



"lISE AND COMrOSITION OF (HLOAKE. 

 In purchasing small quantities of cake, when 

 a scientific analysis is not thought necessary, it may 

 be roughly tested by grating (not pounding) a small 

 portion of it. A kitchen grater will do, .and will 

 leave the bran and extraneous seeds unaltered. Mix 

 hiilf an ounce of cake with five ounces of water, and 

 if the article is good it will produce a stiff jolly, 

 agreeable to smell and taste. If it has a disagreeable 

 odour, like that of a stale canary-birdcage, you may 

 be sure there is a large mixture of camelina seeds 

 in the cake. A microscope will enable you to detect 

 the seeds, which are not those of flax ; and after 

 diluting the paste with water and stirring it, you may 

 recognize both the sand and the bran, one of which will 

 sink, the other float. You may test rape cake for 

 mustard by placing six ounces of cold water aud half 

 an ounce of powdered cake in a stoppered bottle, kept 

 in a warm room, when the pungent smell of mustard, 

 if there be any, will be developed within twenty-four 

 hours. You may test by tasting too, since rape seed, 

 thoUj^h pungent in taste is not so strong as mustard 

 seed, and does not bite the tongue hke the latter. 

 In the foUowing remarks on cotton seed cake, I 

 must acknowledge my indebtedness to a useful hroclmre 

 on " Artificial Feeding Stuffs," published last year 

 and written by Mr K. W. Jones, the mau.ager of 

 the Pboinix Oil Mill Company, Liverpool. The best 

 cotton cake is made of Egyptian seed, which is 

 more free of cotton fibre than any other. Tea Island 

 cotton seed rauks next in that respect, and those who 

 have lost stock from the effect of balls of refuse 

 cotton, in the stomach are aware of the importance 

 of purchasing cakes made of superior seed, instead of 

 a low kind of seed which is covered with dense, coarse 

 wooily fibre, which cannot be separated from it. Only 

 high-class cake should be used for stock. Its colour 

 should be bright green; the LiUl or husk, which is 

 not removed, as in the case of decorticated cotton 

 cake, should be ground by powerful machinery that 

 it may be well pulverized, aud it should be used 

 fresh, as cotton cake, even of the best quality, 

 moulds easily, and then becomes unpalatable. 



Decorticated cotton cake is now exported from the 

 ITnited States ground iuto meal, which must be put 

 into new bags, and therefore costs about 12s. 6d, per 

 ton more than the cake itself. In regard to an article 

 that varies so greatly as decorticated cotton cake, 

 and which has destroyed a great deal of live stock 

 through its having been too hard pressed, or from a 

 mixture of unwholesome iiigreilients. the u^otto Vuv- 

 eut ewjutor should be kept in mind. Decorticated cakes 

 of variable value contain from 10 to 22 per cent of 

 oil, 42 to 49 of albuminoids (rendering them most 

 valuable for manure), and from 3 to 11 per cent of 

 iiidigestible woody fibre. The buyer may well beware 

 of tlie Texas cake, which contains the last-named 

 substance iu excess. 



Dr. Voelcker gives the following excellent advice: 

 "If yon want to improve your gra.ss land. ... I do 

 not know any fooil more calculated to give an econ- 

 omical result than decorticated cotton cake, if you 

 can get it of really fine quality." The nutritious 

 qualities of the cake, which arc contained iu the 

 kernel of the seed, aro far greater than those 

 of the common cotton seed cake, which has the 

 coarse husk of the seed mixed with it. Nevertheless, 

 the latter may be recommended iu preference to the 

 other for feeding on pastures iu had weather, or during 

 the flush of grass in spring, or when the grass is 

 watery, ou account of the astringent ijuality of the 



