January i, 1886,] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



4gi 



per cent on all bulbs imported, it is a source of re- 

 veuue to the couutry also; aud, while I have no 

 actual data to make a close estimate of the value 

 imported last season, it is safe to say tliat uot less 

 than :;00,(ii)0 dollars' worth were actually imported 

 in the last twelve mouths— the bulk of these being 

 Hyacinths aud Tulips, more than one-half being used 

 to force for cut flowers: tliis does not include more 

 than r),oa),000 of Lilies of the Valley, which are uot 

 dutiabit?. 



Thus far I have not said anythiug about a very 

 imi)Ort.ant branch of the business, or those engaged 

 in it. 1 refer to that brauch kuowu as the florists' 

 supplies aiul requisites, which has grown to be a most 

 important factor in the trade. The number engaged 

 is estimated at 700. The most important articles 

 are shapes for floral designs, such as oru.imeutal 

 baskets, vases in glass and porce'aiu, aud other w.aros ; 

 wire work, holders for bouquets, tinfoil, wire for 

 stemming, diffeient papers for packing aud wrapping 

 flowers, aud other articles used iu the business. The 

 actual amount of capital invested in this branch of 

 our business is in the aggregate many hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars, employing more labour in pro- 

 portion than does the florist proper, paying iu many 

 cases enormous routs for their accouwuoditiou. J\Iost 

 of those engaged in this brauch have other business 

 relations, either a,s seedsmeu or de.^lers in bnlbs or 

 cut-flowers. Then we have the army of cut-flower 

 men, those who are not producers, but make a busi- 

 ne.ss entirely of selling flowers, either made into shapes 

 or loosely. This is a growing branch, and today there 

 are not less than 2,0U0 employed in it. 



Tne laml occupied with iloweriug plants and bulbs 

 of all kiuils scattered over tha couutry must aggreg- 

 ate at least 12,0(10 acres, in addition to seveial 

 thousand acres used tor g.-owiug fiower-seeds. This is 

 accounting only for Land so occupied iu Ami.rioa. It 

 would not be too much to siy that fully half as much 

 land ill Europe is also used in tlie same manner for 

 the .-Vmerioan tra le. In addition to this there is 

 nearly as nuich area of laud, aud as much glass , aud 

 more than half as much labour devoted to the cultiv- 

 atiou of flowers by gentlemen who can make a plea- 

 sure of .so doing; yet, with all this, the florists" and 

 gentlemen gioners of America have been unrepresented 

 by any organisation, until the .Society of American 

 Florists w.is established. Just think of an industry of 

 such magnitude without a voice or a word in its 

 own interest I — Gardenei-s' Ulironicle. 



NOTES ON SOME JAPANESE OILS.* 



BV E. M. HOLMES, r.t.s., 



Curator of the Museum of the Pharmuceuticnl Societi/. 



At the close of the International HeaUh Exhib- 

 ition at South 3Cen.eington, some specimens of the 

 fixed oils used iu Japan were presented by the 

 Japanese Commissioner to this Society. These seemed 

 to he of sufhcient interest to demand a short notice 

 iu the columns of our Journal. This I had intended 

 to have given later on, but my attention liaving 

 been called by Jlr. R. H. Davies to some oils im- 

 ported from China, very similar in character to some 

 of these Japanese oils, the present moment seemed 

 to be the fitiing one to notice such of the latter 

 as appeared to resemble the Chinese oils, reserving 

 a notice of the rcmaimler to a future date. 



BfiAssiCA Oh.. — Two cjualifies of this oil were ex- 

 hibited at the Interualional Health Exhibition, one 

 of a yellow colour aud of "superior quality' and 

 closely resembling European colza oil in appearance 

 and odour, and without any pungent taste; the 

 other .'imilar in colour to linseed oil. The former is 

 probably obtained from the seeds of the Almraiui 

 of the Japanese {brasiica campestris, L.), of which 

 threes varieties,— early, common and late,— appear to 

 be cultivated to a considerable extent in Japan. The 

 oil is used for culinary and lighting purposes. Accord- 



* Uead at an Evening Meeting of the Pharmaceutical 

 Society of Great Britain, February 4, 1885. 



iug to Dr. E. Meiie it is also used in tobacco inauu- 

 facture to prevent the leaves falling to powder after 

 rapid drying. Lampblack tor use iu making Chinese 

 I ink is also made by buruing the oil under conical 

 receptacles pierced with holes iu tho upper part. 

 The residue after the exiiression of the oil is used 

 for uLxnuriug plantations of Camellia Japonica and 

 other plants. 



Tlie dark coloured oil is probably obtained from 

 the seeds of the Pttsui (Briis.ficu t^inf/nis) aud is 

 used for similar purposes. It is also employed in 

 medicine as a purg.ative, and as an external applic- 

 ation iu certain diseases of the skin. Bi-asxica sincisia 

 is also grown iu immen.se ijuantities iu China 

 especially iu the Yangtse-kiang and Haukiang valleys, 

 iu the province of Hupeh aud to some extent also 

 iu tlie provinces of Kiaugtsu an<l Chikyang. The 

 seed is ripe iu May. It it probably this Itind of oil 

 that has reeer.tly been sent to the Loiulon market, 

 and which Mr. Davies has now examined and reported 

 upon. 



Oamei.li.v Oil. — The specimen exhibited at the 

 International Health E.ikhibition was labelled oil of 

 OameHia japoniia. It is of the colour and consistence 

 of ol've oil, aud in consequence of its containing 

 very little solid fat, and uot yielding a deposit when 

 exposed to CGUSiderablo cold, it is employed by 

 watcli'aakers in Japan, according to Mr. Murai. In 

 Siebuld aurl Zuccarini's 'Flora Japouica' (p. 157) it 

 is stated that the oil obtained from the seed is 

 mixed with Japanese wax {Hhiis sncccdarw am) and 

 perfumed with oil of cloves and other essential oils 

 to form a pomade which is in common use in .Japan. 

 A similar oil is obtained iu China from C. olrifera, 

 according to Mr. C. Ford,* who observed the shrub 

 iu cultivation in the ueighbourhood of tho West 

 Kiver. 



In that district it is used to supply tho growers 

 with oil for culinary purposes and for anointing their 

 hi-ads, but is uot gi-oivn iu sufficient quantities for 

 export. It must, however, be largely cultivated in 

 other parts of China, .since I find, from a statement 

 in Spou's Eucyclopredia (p. 411), it forms an import- 

 ant article of trade, having been exported from 

 Hankow to the extent of 3,G40!, piculs (of 133.1; jb.) 

 in 1ST3, and 5,82(1 piculs in iMrt); Shanghai "also 

 imported 5,792j piculs in 1871) and exported 2,99U. 

 The oil is obtained by crushing the seed to a coarse 

 powder, boiling, and then prossiug. The .seeds of 

 CmiirUid japouica are ripe in September. It may 

 be mentioned hero that the seeds of 'I'kea sinm-sis 

 i Camellia Tliea) were recently offered in the London 

 market under the name of " tanne" seeds (" tanne" 

 meaning seeds according to Mr. Murai). The seeds 

 are capable of yielding one-third of their weight of 

 oiljt and according to a recent examination by Peckolt 

 yield also 13'8 per cent of starch and 1 per cent 

 of theiue.J 



The "camellia oil is non-drying, very fluid, of pale 

 colour and free from unpleasant odour, anil doubt- 

 less if prepared by cold pressure would compare very 

 favourably with the best olive oil, and judging from 

 the price in t!hina (about 4d. to 6iJ. per lb ) could 

 certainly compete witli almond oil for many uses in 

 thin couutry, if not with olive oil. 



"Woou Oir.. — Tho Japanese oil exhibited under this 

 name is stated on the label to be the product of 

 lilii-ococca conlatu.^ It must not be confounded 

 with the oleoresin known as wood oil or gurjum 

 balsam, obtained in India and Jlalaya from liiptevo- 

 carpui tnrbinatiis aud other species. The Japanese 

 wood oil is a fatty oil, obtained from a eupliorbiaceous 

 tree called "abura giri" i.e., oil tree, and " yani 

 kiri," i.e., niouut.ain or wild kiri, — '■ kiri" being the 

 Japanese name for /'r(»;«ii'/(i« imperi'ilis, whose leaves 

 are very similar in appearance. The tree grows wild 



« Journ. f!oc. Arts. 1833, p. 513^ ' 



t Spon's Encyclopnnlia, p. 1411. 



X Phuim. Jiinrit., [3J, XV., SOS. 



§ I am reminded by Mr. W. T. T. Dyer that tho 

 genus Eheococca has been sunk by IJentham in Alouritcs, 

 The name should therefore be Ahuritc$ coidata. 



