6^2 



THE THOPICAL AGSlCULTURlSf , rAfsa i, i8S6. 



Oastoh-oil Plants.— It is siugular that the oil ex- 

 pressed from the seeds of the castor-oil plant should 

 have been used by the ancients, including tlie Jews, 

 as one of their pleasantest oils for lj\iriiiug, and 

 for several domestic uses, though its medicinal virtues 

 were unknown. The modern .Jews use this oil by 

 the name of oil of kiki for their Sabbath lamps, 

 it being one of the five kinds of oil their trailitions. 

 allow them to burn on such occasions. — Indian 

 Gardener. 



Adulterated Quinine.— Some little excitement 

 seems to have been aroused among the druggists of 

 New York in consequence of three of their number 

 having been charged by the public analyst with selling 

 defective sulphate of quiuine. It apjiears that tlie 

 public analyst hiul reported that one of the impugned 

 samples contained 86'14 per cent of anhydrous quinine 

 sulphate ; but as the United States Pharmacopieia 

 only requires that the yield of anhy<lrous salt shall 

 amount to 838 per cent, there was in this case an 

 exci'ss of anhydrous quiuine sulphate amounting to 

 2-34 per cent. The other portion of the sample, 

 however, instead of consisting entirely of water of 

 crystalhz.itiou was rei;orte.l to have inciude.l l.etweeu 

 i .md 5 per cent of other cinchona alkaloids, and on 

 this account a prosecution of the seller was ordered 

 by the Board of Health. Another druggist in reported 

 to have had his name published as selling two grain 

 pills which were deficient in quinine sulphate by one- 

 hundredth of a grain, though in this case no other 

 steps were taken, — Pharnuicnttical Jonriial, 



Thk "Yopon" (/le.v Casniiie, L.) Is a shrub met 

 with in the Southern States of America, where its 

 leaves are occasionally used as a " tea." Formerly it 

 was employed by the ludians in the preparation of a 

 "black drink,' and, according to Hale, at a certain 

 time of the year they used to come down in droves 

 from great distances to the coast south of S-'irginia 

 tor the purpose of drinking it. Large quantities of 

 the leaves were thrown into a great kettle of water 

 suspended over a fire, and the Indians sitting r.aind 

 h.-lped themselves to large draughts, which after a 

 short time induced free and easy vomiting. Tliis 

 treatment was continued during two or three days, 

 until it was considered that a sutticieut cleansing 

 had been effected. Some of these leaves have been 

 Bubmitted to a chemical examination by Dr. \'enable , 

 who reports (Jom-n. Amer. Chem. ,Soc., April, p. 100) 

 that he obtained from them a small quantity of 

 caffeine, equalling '27 per cent of the weight of leaves 

 used. It will be rememi^ered that caffeine has also 

 been found in "mate" (Hex Pai-aijij.ayensis), used in 

 South America as a beverage. — PharmaceiUiral Jonnwl. 



Figs. — This is a favourite an 1 generally dislributed 

 fruit in the Ai-gcntiue liLpublic, and it is in- 

 digenous.- It thrives everywhere, and gives the best 

 results, especially in the regions bordering on the 

 Parana River. The tree e.xhibifs a wonderful deve- 

 lopment, reaching to a height of twenty to forty 

 feet, with a massive trunk sometimes two feet in 

 diameter. In the provinces of San Juan, Kioja, and 

 Calaraarc^ the crop attains to large proportions and 

 considerable quantities are dried, producing the figs 

 of commerce {pasas de liijas), which find a ready 

 sale all through the interior of the country. While 

 the provinces bordering on the Parana produce the 

 fruit abundantly, no movement has ever been made 

 to dry it, the people being content to consume the 

 figs while fresh, though it is an industry which must 

 sooner or later be developed. There are two kinds 

 of figa grown in the Republic — the white, which are 

 properly called figs ; and the violet or purple coloured, 

 which are called hrevax. Thi' first ripen in January, 

 and are of a large size and better flavour than the 

 latter. This second kmds produces two crops per 

 annum — one in December, and the other in March 

 or April. Being thus much more prolific, they arc 

 more generally grown, though they are not so suitable 

 for drying. The fig is not cultivated at all, but, 

 in spite of the escelleut climate, it is left entirely 

 to nature, AVitb so luucb iu its favour tbe crop 



might be made a most valuable one, and a most 

 lucrative branch of foreign commerce, though at pre- 

 sent. Instead of being exported, nearly two-thirds of- 

 the dried figs used iu the country are still imported 

 from Europe.— /?i(/ia« Planters' Gazette. 



Yams.— A correspondent wrote ri few days ago .— 

 " I am directed by Mr. Geo. Poulier, the lessee of 

 Nai valla estate, Veynngoda (belonging to the late Mr. 

 .Jas. Alwis),to send you the accompanying parcel of 

 yams whicli within the last 2 years ' he has com- 

 menced cultivating, finding same very easily grown and 

 aprolitable experiment if once introduced into the 

 market. Tliey are called ' cush-cush, ' and his original 

 stock of bulbs, bought at 'W^hyte's store, Kaudy, cost 

 him K5. He has a good many cwt. to spare for sale, 

 this crop, I am given to uuder.stand, and if he could 

 realize Oc per lb. weight, he toU.s uifi it will bo a 

 profitable speculation. I have eaten them myself, 

 and have sent them to a few European acquaintances, 

 and all who have tasteil them have pronounced them 

 really fine. Mr. Lamont lias seen .some (out of 

 Veyangoda stock) grown close to Kilandhu at Hena- 

 ratgoda and means to cultivate them hini.self: I have 

 promised him some bulbs. I would suggest your 

 steaming them and not boiling (after peelingi ",iud 

 will be glad to know what you think of them. I 

 have tasted a good many varieties of Ceylon yarns 

 in my day but have never seen these excelled. I 

 believe they iire an importation from the West Indies, 

 and I have heard it stated that Sir .Jas. J.ongden 

 was instrumental in getting tl-.cm out. The speci- 

 men yams sent to us arc about the size of potatoes 

 and of the same purple colour as the large yams we 

 remember as being so highly prized in Jaffna." We 

 had some of them cooked as indicated, and we can 

 bear cordial testimony to their excellence, as sub- 

 stitutes for potatoes. They are less glutinous than 

 breadfruits and less saccharine than sweet potatoes, 

 more farinaceous than either, very palatable eaten 

 like potatoes, and delicious with a little butter added 

 to them. 



BiUTisii BritMAH AND RicE.— The last Administration 

 Report of British Burmah tells us that nearly ninety 

 per cent (88) of the cultivated area in the province, 

 is under paddy, the cultivation iiicrr-asin.T steadily by 

 more than 100,000 acres a year. Out of the 4,000,000 acres 

 under tillage, 232,428 acres are fruit and vegetable 

 gardens. " This kind of agriculture pays well, and that 

 a ready market exists for all orchard and garden pro- 

 duce go>-s to support the view th.itthe p"opIe of British 

 Burmah are well off, and live comfortably." We have 

 frequently pointed out that the calculations of our 

 settlement officers are constantly vitiated by their 

 uniform failure to take any account of the garden, fruit, 

 and dairy produce of the ryot's holding, ^^'henever 

 these holdings are in the neighbourhood of the cities 

 which are growing up all over India, these items form a 

 ihost valuable part of the produce, as we here read 

 they do in Burmah. The report tells us that iu most 

 parts of the province, the laud revenue amounts " to 

 from one-twelfth to one-tenth of the value of the gross 

 produce, and good markets are available directly the 

 rice crop is harvested." The exports from the province 

 are about £9,000,000 sterling a year, the chief items 

 being ; — 



£ 



Uice (paddy) 5,500,000 



Outch and Gambler 3T0,0t)O 



Hides mo.tK.iO 



Timber 1,000,000 



Cotton 200,000 



The gross hind revenue is about £070,000 a year, but 

 the addition thereto of a capitation tax of £300,000 a 

 year, brings the assessments up to nearly £1,000,000 

 sterling. The general result is that the laud bears an 

 assessment of about two rupees and a-half per acre, the 

 .State thus exacting a larger payment from the-cultivator, 

 than the so-called rack-rent levied by the i:eniiiuiar iu 

 these provinces under thu I'erniauout Settleuient,— 

 Iniian Agriculturist. 



