630 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1886. 



when trees are transplanted from fungus-infested 

 positions to positions free from root-fungi they 

 recover. Dr. Frank says ho fcjunj the fungus 

 present ''in every root nxamiueil, belonging totheCupuli- 

 fera;, also occasionally oa .Salicicfju and Ooniferie, 

 but not on woody plants belonging to other natural 

 orders." It will be seen from this that the Oupulifera; 

 are exceptional in the possession of root-fungi. Tlic 

 facts mentioned by the French and German botanists 

 in reference to the vital cohesion of root fungi and the 

 roots of trees are no doubt quite correct, but the idea 

 of the tree-roots and their fungi deriving mutual sup- 

 port from each other I consider fallacious. That the 

 roots of Cupulifer:e show a partiality for a soil ricli in 

 humus, as stated by Dr. Frank, I also consider a 

 fallacy. Do the roots of the Conifene. too, show this 

 partiality, or do they show the contrary y I have long 

 kept up a M.S. list of fungi as observed in liritain 

 peculiar to certain natviral orders of plants, and in this 

 list theC'upuliferre is quite exceptional and phenomenal 

 as regards the number of species of fungi by which 

 the members are attacked. Next after the Cupulifer.'e, 

 as regards large numbers of fungi, comes the Coni- 

 ferje. Some natural onlers of plants are not attacked 

 at all, they have neitlier leaf- fungi nor root-fuugi. 

 The common number of fungi peculiar to any natural 

 order is about twelve or twenty, some have only one 

 or two, but when the Cupuliferse are studied there 

 are more than 400 fungi found only on the members 

 of this uautral order. In the Coniferpe I have 239 

 fungi on my list. Some live on the living leaves, others 

 on the dead leaves, many on the living wood, others 

 on the dead wood and roots. As the members of the 

 OupuliferK are i)lagued with more than 400 fungi 

 peculiar to themselves it follows that the ground 

 beneath the trees and the roots in the ground are 

 liable to be infested with the innumerable spores and 

 abundant fungus mycelium of 400 different fungi. The 

 Ooniferaj, as I have said, have their complement of at 

 least 239. If we turn to the Tiliaceje or Limes, we 

 seldom find root-fungi, the trunks, branches, and leaves 

 are also comparatively free, for, when all the fungi 

 are told belonging to this natural order, they do not 

 amount to twenty. When the spores of the 400 fungi 

 peculiar to the Cupuliferai, and the spores of the 23.0 

 fungi peculiar to the Ooniferaj, fall to the ground and 

 germinate, they in many instances necessarily attack 

 the roots and rootlets, for the material of the tree, 

 living or dead, is the natural pahvl/mi of the fungi. 

 Many root-fuugi are well known in their perfect con- 

 dition as destructive parasites, and a printed list 

 could easily be given of them. Dr. Worooin comes 

 to the startling conclusiou that the root-fungi probably 

 belong to the genus Boletus, as if the mycelium of 

 only one fungus attacked tree roots. His guess could 

 not have been more unfortunate, for if there is any 

 one genus of fungi more purely non-parasitic than 

 another it is the genus B )letus. There is, however, 

 as in this case, no rule (or genus) without an exception. 

 There are several other astonishing delusions in the 

 account as published in the Uerichte dcr Dcntscli hot. 

 UesdUchnft^ as the idea that " root hairs are not 

 formed" in trees affected with root-fungi. To '* settle" 

 the fact that the trees above mentioned do not form 

 root hairs would be quite as difficult as, or even more 

 difficult than, th(i task i\Ir. .JeTisen set himself when 

 he set about counting the fungus spores in the dirty 

 water which trickled out of the bottom of a flower 

 pot. That the •* <liscovery " "la comparable in all 

 essential points to that of lichens " (referring, as the 

 authors do, to the Schwendenerian hypothesis), the 

 root-fuugi "corresponding with the fungal element, 

 the tree itself (!) to the algal goiddia (!)," I quite 

 agree, for there is an equal amount of bad interpret- 

 ation of facts in both " discoveries. — Worticinoton 

 G, Smith, Dunstable. — (itii'di^ni'i:^' Chronicle. 



CATARRH OF THE BLADDER. 



Stinging irritation, iuflamation, all Kidney and simi' 

 lar Complaints, cured by '' liuohu-paiba." 



W. K. Smith & Co., Madras. Sole Agents. 



GUTTAPEHCHA: ITS HISTORY, COMMERCE 

 AND SUPPLY. 

 Whilst in Singapore, ray heart often ached when 

 I have fallen across clearings for pepper, gambler, 

 and the like, to see with what recklessness mighty 

 monarchs of the forests are cut, or rather burnt 

 down in all directions, unused and unutihsed trunks 

 rotting on the ground. But tliis is not the worst, for 

 as soon as such a spot has borne two or three crops, 

 a fresh location is chosen and cleared iu like man- 

 ner. The neglected and abandoned spots are speedily 

 covered with secondary jungle, often covered and 

 choked wtth lalang {.liitlrojioi/oii curicosnt:)* to the 

 exclusion of all else, a pKa'nt whose roots are so 

 stout as to defy a "chankol" or hoe, and prove a 

 constant pest to planters from the rapidity with which 

 it spreads. Thus it is that localities where products 

 formerly were in plenty, now are altogether devoid 

 of them, and the products have to be sought far 

 away. With regard to guttapercha, the number of 

 trees yielding it which have been destroyed is almost 

 incredible. 



Dr. Oxley calculated that to supply the 6,018 piculs 

 (1 picul=lb3;i lb.) exported from Singapore, from the 

 1st of January, 1H45, to lS47, the enormous number 

 of 69,180 trees had to be destroyed, and the state- . 

 ment is by no means overdrawn. A writer in the 

 Sarairuk Gazette says, that from 1854 to 1875 over 

 90,000 piculs of guttapercha have been e.xported from 

 that di,strict alone, a quantity which means the death 

 of at least 3,000,000 trees. And these are only two 

 instances, the first .shewing the trade in its infancy, 

 and the second that of a limited and comparatively 

 small producing locahty. In fact, the guttapercha 

 troe has only been saved from utter annihilation 

 because youiuj trees do not yield a sufficiency of gutta 

 to repay the cost of extraction. In some districts, 

 indeed, the forests have been so denuded as to ne- 

 cessitate waiting for a period of ten or twelve years 

 before any fresh gutta can be collected. It seems 

 clear, however, that the growth of young trees of the 

 best varieties has not been able to keep pace with 

 the destruction, as they have and are still becoming 

 scarcer, so that recourse now, more than ever, has 

 to be had to the products of very inferior varieties. 

 At the present time there is a great ditfiulty in 

 obtaining supplies of the best varieties, and manufact- 

 urers require them in much larger quautities than are 

 now obtaiuable. Especially is this the fact with 

 regard to guttapercha for telegraphic purposes, to meet 

 the deniaud for the construction of new lines, and 

 the maintenance of existing ones, and no substance 

 has yet been found to be used as a complete sub- 

 stitute, or a supplementary one to fine guttapercha. 

 Now it will be granted, I trust, that the necessary 

 supplies to meet this constant and increasing demand 

 will not be forthcoming if sjjeedy means be not taken 

 to assure it, and this can only be met by having re- 

 course sooner or later to conservation, acclimation, 

 and cultivation of the trees yielding the best varieties. 

 In the Straits' Settlements a splendid opportunity 

 now presents itself to take this matter in liand. 

 We are now iu the possession of more power and 

 influence in the Malayan States of the Peninsula than 

 ever we were before, and by means of Her Britannic 

 Majesty's Residents and other officials in tliese various 

 states, can do much in taking charge of the forests, 

 conserving them and introducing the cultivation of 

 these trees for the benefit of the community at large. 

 This wouM be far better than leaving such valuable 

 state property to the tender mercies of rajahs and 



* In one article I wrote, iu a foot note I recom- 

 mended this pl.ant as a "sand binding plant." The 

 W^ar Office and the Suez Canal Company have taken 

 notice of tlie matter; I trust they will try the e.x- 

 perinient. Thusi' who have been through the Canal 

 know well the clouds of sand that greet them, and 

 if the banks were well bound down the verdure 

 would be a pleasant sight, save much dredging and 

 many stoppages. 



