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TflEJ TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1886. 



Wiesuer'a interpretatiou is that light thus absorbed 

 by chlorophyll is converted into licat, and then it 

 raises the temperature of the tissues, and so causes 

 the formation of aqueous vapour. If this be true it 

 would seem to account for Deht'raiu's discovery that 

 plants can transpire in a saturated atmosphere, and 

 as a coiToboration Wicsner found that light which 

 had been first transmitted through a solution of chloro- 

 phyll was almost powerless to cause transpiration. 

 A fact which Mr. ITenslow could not account for 

 was that while the red glass which admitted no other 

 rays gave a maximum, the yellow glass which trans- 

 mitted red and green rays besides yellow, gave a 

 mininmm. It would seen as if yellow had actually a 

 retarding effect upon the other rays. 



The method adopted by Mr. Henslow was to grow 

 small Ijettuces and other plants in miniature pots and 

 by wrapping them up in a gutta-percha sheeting tied 

 round the base of the stems all loss of moisture from 

 the earth was prevented. Then he weighed the whole 

 day by day after its having been under each coloured 

 glass for twenty-four hours in succession. He thus 

 ascertained the percentages of the losses, the means of 

 which gave the results mentioned above. 



Mr. Henslow also drew attention to the importance 

 of distinguishing between transpiration and evapor- 

 ation, the former being a vital action, the latter purely 

 physical, and will take place from dead and living 

 substances, but is modified or held in check to some 

 extent by the latter. Thus if a leaf be cut in two, and 

 one half suddenly killed by scalding it will be found 

 that this one rapidly dries up, while the other loses 

 water much more slowly. Again, thick leaves and 

 older ones absorb more heat than thin ones and 

 younger ones respectively, yet the transpiration is 

 greater from young leaves and deciduous, contrary to 

 what one would expect if transpiration depended .solely 

 upon heat. — roiinml of' Jforticnl/iirr, mh Dec. 188;'). 



■ : — ♦ 



New PHODrt'Ts. — Among the various sampU'S of 

 Borneo produce which ('aptain K. D. Deeston has 

 sent to Melbourne per the bartini' "I'jllen"' is one of 

 the vegetable tallow or vegotabie wax (ininyuk tungka- 

 waw) which is stated on gipod authority to be tht; 

 best lubricant for machinery that can be procured, 

 and which combines economy with efficiency. There 

 is no doubt but that this product if properly attended 

 to will comniaud a higii price and be ^received with 

 high favour in the Australian cokuiies, as while it is 

 as good as palm oil, its price will never run to auy- 

 tliiug like so high as that cummodit}'. Captain Keeston 

 thinks very highly of it, and has particularly reipiest- 

 ed his Melbourne friends to have it thoroghly tesled. 

 We shall be hapi>y to hear the result of the experi- 

 ment. — J>i'iti.-'h Xofth lionn'o lici-ahl, 



Amerrwn Tea.-*. — The Commissioner of Agriculture 

 in his annual report .states that the tea plants at 

 the Government station near ISuinmerville, is reported 

 by the superintendent as being perfectly satisfactory. 

 Ae plants are now large enough to afford during the 

 early summer of this year leaves in sufficient quantities 

 to warrant nn effort at tea manufacture, if such 

 till operation i« necesBary, That the Chinese tea 

 plaut.i cMi be grown over a large area of the United 

 fitiltes, mid tliat good ti;3.i can be produced of standard 

 (lualitie-f from them i."! an entalili.sfjed fact, but whether 

 left c^ii be produi'.'d tf .luit the wnnt.i "ud reijuire- 

 hienln of the trade at a price that will be remunerative, in 

 Very doithtful. The Cooimissioner dor.i not rccommeltd 

 Mny attempt tn eultivate tea upon and extended scale 

 'Inlil this lact has bei'u ilcnion.str.-ited beyond doubt. 

 Crftaiuly the low prireB which have been ruling for 

 some liiiio p"-St gives very little hope that this country 

 will be able to nnpjily to any cou.siderable extent the 

 wants of the Qnwmmer.—Ameiicai' (Iriiccr. 



Naiai. I'liiMiorrs,— As tn Natal coffee I have fre- 

 quently drunk it, aud about a month ago ^nw at the 

 <^ueensbridge coffee works a couple of lumdred b:igs 

 of Natal-grown berries. It is not, however, very much 

 cultivated, as experience has pro\ed the climate is 

 not altogether suitable, and, as Mr. Litton says, a 

 ilisea.se attacked the trees a few years ago and played 

 ;»d liacyc with tbvir growth, Cofffc Joet got fijure 



among the exports, as what little is grown is con- 

 sumed locally, in addition to large quantities imported 

 from Brazil. Nothing can be said against the "luality 

 of Natal coffee. Cotton is not grown except in small 

 quantities experimentally. Nutmegs, mace, cloves, aud 

 ciDuamon are not grown here, the climate not being 

 sufhciently tropical, (jayenne pepper to tlie value of 

 over £5flO, aud arrowroot lo the value of £.3,aiJ0, th* 

 produce of Natal, were exported during 188^. ^\'ool 

 (the produce chieHy of the neighhouringj Dutch re- 

 publics, the Orange Free State aud Traasvaal) to the 

 value of X51!(,U)1 was exported from Natal during 

 I.S83, and other articlis of colonial produce as 

 follows:— Hides, £53,00(1; ostrich feathers, £14,000; 

 maize, 10,0013; ivory, £.'i.O0O; aud Sugar (the chief in- 

 dustry on the coast kinds) to the value uf £122,(XK1. 

 Although the upland districts of the interior of Natal 

 are well siuted for dairy farming aud for wheat-grow- 

 ing. It is a strange anomaly that nearly all the butter, 

 milg, and cheese consumed in Natal are imported 

 from foreign countries. Fresh milk retails at about 

 Od. )ier quart, and it is estimated that 2,000 one 

 poniul tins of condensed milk are used daily in |l)ur- 

 ban alone. All our Hour is imported from .South 

 Australia. Our meat stipplies in the form of beef 

 aud mutton are very ))Oor as regards quality, and 

 compare very unfavourably with that jirodueed iu 

 Australia, aud instead of Natal exp()rting preserved 

 or salted meat, as stated by " V. L.," our butchers a 

 couple of years ago were importing cattle from 

 Madagascar. Fruit, such as pine-apples, oranges, bana- 

 nas, mangoes, and granadillas, do well on the coast 

 lands, and are grown largely. Pineapples last month 

 were retailing in the streets here at Od. per dozen. 

 In the more elevated districts of the interior, apples, 

 pears, peaches, aud other English fruits do well, but 

 the grape vine, which is cultivated so extensively in the 

 I Cape Colony, is not a success in Natal. — Avstralasiati. 

 A Kehort on- Cultiv.vtion, JIanures, &c., at Oawn- 

 I PORE has been sent to us by the Government of the N, 

 I W. Provinces of India, the main results being thus 

 \ stated: — The manure experiments show that for kharif 

 crops as for rabi cow-dung is perhaps after all the 

 I cheajiest and most profitable fertilizer, as it is most 

 certainly the manure most readily procurable by the 

 Indi;ui cultivators. In this kharif as in the last rabi 

 I a thorough inversion of the soil has proved decidedly 

 I advantageous compared with the mere piercing of 

 the land with the native implement. It is in the 

 end cheaper and gives a larger outturn for the labour 

 worked. lu the experiment Kidge-sowiug vtrsvs 

 Kroadcast-sowiug of cotton the country method comes 

 off best. Hut a further testing must be applied before 

 a final verdict can safely be given. It appears plain 

 that, under existing conditions of Indian cultivation, 

 It is a distinct ilisadvautage to take two crops of 

 cotton from the same pkiut. It is better to take the 

 one crop and then plough up the land in the spring 

 either for another khariff crop or a cereal in the fol- 

 lowing spring. New Orlean« dtton failed. But there 

 arc other varieties which reuioiu yet to be tried, and 

 the si'cessful iutroduction of an exotic cotton of a 

 more unirkotable kind than the indigeuous variety 

 is not to be despRire<l of. In regard to maize, which 

 i.s a Very important crop, It i.i proposed to attempt, 

 in Ihe coming khcirif, the American method of sow 

 lug in "hills" or ''.squares," The secret of the sUC" 

 cess of thin pioce.is lien In the free Ventilation and 

 suulight .secured to tlio plaiit.s. The .success of the 

 " hlir' or " .S((\inre " culllvation in America has been 

 remarkable. 'Ifie ensilage experiment is still on its 

 tiial. If tin- fodder proves really serviceable to working 

 cattle, there seems every reason to hope that e.isllago 

 m.ay yet become an institution in Indian farming. 

 The whole cost of the silo up to packing and closing 

 it Is less thou the cost of digging aud lining au ot- 

 dliuu-y kutch:i well, so that on the scare of expense 

 the cultivator cannot well conqjlain. The matter of 

 ploughs is not an ea.sy one. The same fashion of 

 )>lough does not suit all soils and all sorts of cultivation. 

 Experience, however, is being gained, and the Duplex 

 plough will eljortly be put to a prattieal test cbewb«r(i, 



