696 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Afrjl i, 1886. 



hhare and the covered ones will cling closely together 

 in their pristine and unmitigated wetness. 



To rectify these dilticullies 1 should construct (on 

 the same principle as the dryers), very large an<l 

 cheap octagons ot" wood and canvas with air-ducts 

 of wood and canvas, and with shelves, louores, air- 

 vents and gear. With a coil of steam-pipe in the 

 air-duct and a very slow rotation of the cylinder, 

 these could be used in conjunction with Mr. Main's 

 desiccator, or with a plain blast fan blowing through 

 an absorbent or through pipes in a (ire, — whichever 

 was found best for the end in view. Such a con- 

 struction as this could lie fitted together iu England, 

 marked and taken to pieces, aud folded up for 

 shipment, like a tent, and put together again iu a day 

 or two. (.Quantity for quantity, it would be cheaper 

 than any withering house, take up much less space, 

 and enable planters to wither tuiiformly and thoroughly 

 in all weathers. Mothing could be simpler aud loss 

 costl.v than this, and as it woidd act autoinaticall}', 

 like the dryers, it would, like them, save a great deal 

 of tiuK.', labour, and anxiety. As an indication of liow 

 nmch laboiu- may be saved by this form of machine, 

 Mr. llobiuson, of Messaignc, advises us that one dryer 

 enabled two men to do the work of forty or fifty. 

 Hence, if iu the withering process it only saved half 

 that amount of labour, it would still soon pay for its 

 first cost, besides contributing its share to the more 

 " Scientific Manufacture of Tea." — Voura very truly, 

 Wm. a. Gibus, Gillwell Park, Ohingford, Essex. 



BiiA/.iL.— All the reports from the iutorior unite iu 

 describing the heat of the last two weeks of Dec- 

 ember as something almost beyond precedent. Con- 

 siderable injury was done to the plantati^jus. — 

 Hio .Y,-'-.v. 



AViNK 1-ii.OM OnANOES. — AVe learn from the Qneriis- 

 la/tdcr, some time ago, iu the querists' column of 

 that paper the subject of making wine from Oranges 

 was mooted. " In response to our retjuost for practical 

 information a Vine grower and wine-maker, who has 

 withlu the last few years visited many of the European 

 continental vineyards, called upon us. He informs us, 

 and wishes the fact to be made widely known, that 

 B most excellent wine can be made from the juice 

 of the Orange, aud that since the troul.tles caused by 

 the ])by!loxera a large proportion of the ' sherry ' of 

 commerce is Orange wine. Moreover, when properly 

 prepared, he says, this (.)range sherry is a most pleasant 

 and heiiltbfnl wine; indeed in his opinion it is only 

 a matter of a few yfars and the greater part of the 

 wine iu the world will be made from Oranges, for tli« 

 product is equal to that made from the juice of the 

 Grape, aud the yield per acre considerably more. His 

 argument is, that in eimsequeuce of this discovery, tbe 

 |)lanting of Orange groves in suitable localities in 

 t^ueeuslaml eonuot be overdone. As endorsing these 

 conclusions in the iVfelbonrue Leader we find the 

 following paragrajih : — 'It is stated the manufacture 

 of Orange wine is develo])ii'g into a very extensive 

 business in Florida, where a magnificent Anu'ricau wine 

 is being made in large quantities from the juice of the 

 sweet Oranges, sur^jassing iu purity any of tbe 

 European wines. * It is said to be the best tonic, medi- 

 cinsl or othtrwise, that 'jan be taken iu the hum.in 

 system. It is nourishing, of agreeable flavour, and, 

 what is more, a perfectly pure native wine,' No part 

 of the fruit is usied in the maiuifacturo of the wine 

 but the pulp of the perfectly rii>e Oranges, and none 

 of the wine Imtfleil from the casks tmtil it is at 

 least three years old. fn taste it is marvellou.sly palat- 

 able, and contains but 8'iil per cent, of absolute alcohol, 

 .■md slightly over ,") per cent of sugar. Floriila, filled 

 with Orange presses, says tbe I'hiladeliihia Timrs, 

 will outrival the famous vineyards of France and Italy 

 in lime, for the maruifactiu-ers of this sjilendid wine 

 are pushing ahead with new and improved machinery, 

 are setting out countless (u-chards of the precious frnit. 

 and investing timusands of dollars in the enterprise. 

 which they are .satisfied will soon become one of tin- 

 greatest industries. 'J'ho supply now is not at all 

 equal to the demand."— Onrdefiere' Chrnnidt. 



SutiAU IN Beeteoot.— Aime Girard's exporiments, 

 reported m \,h.R Comptea Btmliis, November 18SI,show 

 that the leaves of the Beet contain nuiuli Tnore .--'ugar 

 in the evening than in the morning. It is hence con- 

 cluded that the sugar is formed iu the daytime in the 

 leaf, and passes into the rootstoek at uight.—Gciihiiers' 

 Clii-ciiicle. 



Unhe,u.tiiv Tea Lea\es.— A corrcspoudenl wrote 

 some time ago : — " Can you kindly give me any e.\- 

 planation of the roughness of enclo.scd tea leaves ?" The 

 back ot the leaf is reddish, rusty-looking, and pitied 

 as it were with smallpox. The front of tlie leaf in 

 crinkly with a ' rhinooeros-hidc' appearance. 

 Such leaf is useless for tea-making, however young 

 it is taken, as it is hard and will not wiilicr. Some 

 bushes arc entirely like this. Others liave the 

 normal leaves with one or two of these hard shoots." 

 The gentleman to whom we submitted the leaves 

 writes:— "I have carefully examined the tea leaves 

 under the microscope, but cannot say from what 

 disease they have suffered. It may have been caused 

 by drought, wind or sun scorch." 



Action of Fkost on Leaves.— At the Hcieutific 

 Committee, on Tuesday last, Mr. Boscawcu showed 

 some bunches of Camellias grown out-of-doors, tbe 

 older of which were as if they had been parboiled, being 

 of a brown colour, while the younger leaves were 

 unhurt. Other examples of youug foliage, uninjured 

 by frost, were cited during tbe discussiou. Tbe <|ues- 

 tion, for which r.O'One f(nnul more than a i-onji-ctural 

 answer, was as to the reason for this differiiice. For 

 our own parts, we are disposed to consider the injury a8 

 due to the influence of the sun on the wet surface of 

 the older leaves, which, being of a darker colour, would 

 be more injured than tbe lighter ones. Mureiver, the 

 older leaves are more horizontal iu position than the 

 youuger ones. — Gardowrs' Chronicle. 



Forests in France. — From a recently published 

 report of the Ailrainistration of Forests, it appears 

 that the area covered by woods and forests in France 

 is S,:j9i),131 hectares; of which 1,0)2,088 hectares 

 belong to the Governnunt ; I,i)t!7,84G hectares arc 

 communal; and the remaining 5,415,5ur hectares are 

 private property ; an hectare being eipial to 2 acres, 

 I rood, 35 poles. Between the years lS2(i and ^HSl, 

 105,038 hectares were cut down, aud 37,207 hectares 

 replanted with trees. The value of the Go\ernmeut 

 forests is estimated at 1,300,000 ,1100 francs, and the 

 annual revenue derived from them between 30,000,000 

 francs and 35,0iiO,0OO francs. For the present j'car 

 the sum of 3-'.."i83,(iOO francs figures iu tbe budget as 

 the revenue from this source. The cost of administra- 

 tion nnd maintennnce, however, is very great, aud 

 for the i)rcsent year will be 17,772,000 francs, or ue.arly 

 half the gross revenue, and leaves barely I!), 000,000 

 francs of net revenue, which only represents about IJ 

 per cent on the capital, or II) francs per hectare, 

 whilst woods and forests belonging to private persons 

 yield from 2S francs to 30 francs. It must be men- 

 tioned that these figures include the amounts paid 

 for right of shooting, which in many cases is leased 

 at high prices. — Journal of the Societii of Arts. 



MANooEtS budded this month take very freely ; the 

 sap is well up, aud the hark parts freely from the 

 old wood. Previous to budding a lean, young shoot 

 should be cliosen from the variety to bo budded ; 

 pinch out the top of the shoot while the young 

 leaves are red, so as to throw all the strength into 

 th(! wished-for buds. By the time the bark and 

 the leaves of the young shoot begin to assume a 

 green colour, plump buds have formed, wliieh should 

 tlien be inserted iu the ordinary way of T budding 

 upon the stock intended for them. In a nionth or 

 live weeks the hud will begin to push ; the tying 

 should be slackened, to keep it from cutting through 

 the baik and preventing the How of the sap. A 

 spleiulid lot ot mangoes from this district weie re- 

 cently sent to the Diamond Fields, and readied 

 their destmation in good condition. The most 

 pleasing part of the venture was the handsome prioca 

 realised for the irmi.— Natal Mercury. 



