Feb, I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



581 



on the soath-west coast, ami notably in the districts 

 of Elema and Motu-Motu, whence it is exported in 

 Urge quantities to Kubadi and Port Iforeshy and 'ho 

 districts on the sooth-east co-ist. This pahn grown 

 best on tho swampy lands that Ijorder the coast line 

 in the districts of Elema and Mota-!\Iotu between 

 Cape Possession and tho Fly river. The al)i>ve list 

 comprehends all the plants I noticed as being eoltiv- 

 ated, the nutmeg being the only exception it affonis. 

 The country in the vicinity of Port Moresby is hilly, 

 and owing to the dryness of the coast lino, little 

 adapted for atjricultnre. 



But the immense area on the lower ami vipper 

 Lulbliki River is eminently adapted for scentific till- 

 age Du an ext<mded scale. The river rises in tho vol- 

 canic formation of the Astrolabe Itanges, and has for 

 ages past been bringing down the rich volcanic and 

 vegetable moulds of the jungle-covered mountains, and 

 depositing them on the ilat country which borders 

 the river along nearly the whole extent of its 

 lower course. These plains and open forest patches 

 are admirably suited to the growth of sugar-cane, 

 nutmeg, rice, in the swamps, tobacco, and a variety 

 of tropical fruits of eveiT description. The clove and 

 cinnamon will thrive here in years to come, and assist 

 in swelling tl\e list of valuable products that must 

 tigure among the New Guinea exports. 



Scalin,' the heights of the Astrolabe I found the 

 whole country composed of a rich chocolate soil suited 

 to sugar-cane, coffee, cinchona, cocoa. All these will 

 amply repay capitalists who may invest their money 

 in land in this portion of the island. Cotton I found 

 growing luxuriantly in the village gardens throughout 

 the upper valley. There is a constant, and I think 

 reliable, rainfall which leaves nothing to be desired 

 in this respect. The soil is everywhere of considerable 

 depth, even on the open forest ridges, and can be 

 easily tilled. By far the greater portion is covered 

 with jungle, in which fine oak ' and other useful trees 

 abound, ilaize antl arrowroot would, I am positive, 

 yield prodigious crops anywhere on these rich alluvial 

 lands, and their introduction would prove an incalcul- 

 able boon to the natives. 



The question of labor, that bug-bear of Queensland 

 planters, would here be solved by the judicious em- 

 ployment of the native inhabitants, who, I do not 

 hesitate to afiirm .so far as the inland tribes are con- 

 cerned, will willingly labor in the field if kindly and 

 justly treated. Any attempt at coercion, or the im- 

 portation of foreign colored labor cannot but result in 

 the most lamentable failure, and will give rise to 

 serious complications. By dealing entirely with the 

 native chit is, their co-operation would be secured, and 

 at the same time it would increase their influence 

 and power over the tribes under their rule. Tiiese 

 men are keenly alive to anything effecting their in- 

 terests, and will greedily avail themselves of any pre- 

 text to ensure the one and enchance tho other. Any 

 attempt to deal with individuals will make these chiefs 

 hoatile and suspicious, and they will endavour by every 

 means in their power to defeat the objects such specul- 

 ators may have in view. The above remarks refer 

 to the dealings of Government with the chiefs, not 

 to individual speculators. These must content to secure 

 laud through the Protectorate estalilished by the Eng- 

 lish Government. This course must recomni'-nd itself 

 to all right thicking men, who will readily umlerstand 

 the a^lvantages accuring to them from a secure title 

 and the friendship of the native chiefs and their subjects. 



The importance of New Guin<'a as a coffee proHnc- 

 ing country cannot be over-estimated, now that Oi-ylon 

 has been nearly ruined by the coffee le^f disease. 

 Those who avir that it will be pos^ble to obtain 

 Papuan labor for Queensland plantations know vry 

 little about the people. The presence ol white men — 

 bona ftJe planters — amonp the people wdl assnvedly 

 put a .stt'p to the constant wars they carry on. Su])e- 

 rior cultivation means more food, more leisure, and 

 consequently more opportunity for mental im]>rove- 

 ment. In this manner we may confidently hope to 

 pierce the veil of darkness in which these people 

 are at present enveloped. — Honykong Daily I'less. 



ROSE OIL, OB OTTO OF BOSES. 



BY CHARLES O. W.iUSFORD LOCK. 



This celebrati'd perfume is the volatile essential oil 

 distilled from i.he flowers of some varieties of rose. 

 The botany of roses appears to bo in a transition and 

 s >mewh:»t uisatisfactory s>ate. T'lus tlie otr.o-yieldin» 

 rise is variously styled Rom <lamisre,ia. R. i miierviriins, 

 R. )HO-r/(.T<„, R. gul/ini, R. cmtifoUa, R. provincialul 

 It is pretty generally ag.-oed th it the kind grown 

 for its utto in Bulgari:i in the damask rose (A'. 

 diimascena^, a v,^^iety induced by long cultivation, 

 as it is not to be fouud wild. It forms a bush usually 

 ?. to 4 feel, l)ut sometimes (i feet high; its flowers 

 are of moderite siz.', semi-double, aud arranged several 

 on a branch, though not in clusters or bunches. In 

 colour, they are mostly light-red ; .some few are white, 

 and .said to he less productive of otto. 



The utilisation of the delicious perfume of the rose 

 was attempted with more or less success, long prior 

 to the comparatively modern process of distilling its 

 essential oil. The early methods chieffy in vogue were 

 the distilliftion of rose-water, and the infusion of 

 roses in olive oil, the latter flourishing in Europe 

 generally down to the last century, and surviving at 

 the pre.sent day in the South of France. Tho hutyr- 

 aceous oil produced by tho distillation of roses for 

 making rose-water in this country is valueless as a 

 perfume ; and the real otto was scarcely known in 

 British commerce before the present century. 



The profitable cultivation of roses for the prepar- 

 ation of otto is limited chiefly by climatic conditions. 

 The odoriferous constituent of the otto is a liquid 

 containing oxygen, the solid hydrocarbon or stearoptene, 

 with which it is combined, being absolutely ilevoid of 

 perfume. The proportion which this inodorous solid 

 constituent bears to the liquid perfume increases 

 with the unsuitability of the climate, varying from 

 about l.S per cent in Bulgarian oil, to US and oven 

 (3S per cent in rose oils distilled in France and 

 England. This increase in the proportinn of stearoptene 

 is .also shown by the progressively heightened fusing- 

 point of rose oils from diHFerent" sources : thus, while 

 Hulgrai.an oil fuses at about fil" to Qi" l''ahr., an 

 Indian sample required (iS" Fahr. ; one from the .South 

 of France, 70" to TS" Fahr.; one from Paris, 84" 

 Fahr. ; and one obtained in making rose-water in 

 Loudon, Ae^ to S'Jl* Fahr. Even in the Bulgarian 

 oil, a notable difference is observed between that 

 produced on the hills, and that from the lowlands. 



It is. therefore, not surprising that the culture of 

 roses, and extraction of their perfume, should have 

 originated in the E.ast. Persia pro.luced rose-water 

 at an early date, and the town of Nisibiu, north-west 

 of JIosul, was famous for it in the 14th century. 

 Shiraz, in the 17th century, prepared both rose-water 

 and otto, for export to other parts" of Persia, as well 

 as all over India. The Perso-Indian trade in rose oil. 

 which continued to possess considerable importance in 

 the third quarter of the I8ih centm-y, is declining, 

 and has nearly disappeared; but the shipments of 

 rose-water still maintain a respectable figure. The 

 value, in rupees, of the exports of rose-water from 

 Hushire in 1870. were — 1,000 to India, 1,,500 to .Java, 

 200 to Aden and the Rod Sea, 1,000 to iMuscat and 

 Dependencies, 200 to Arab coast of Persian Gulf, 

 and Bahrein, 200 to Persian coast and Mekran, and 

 1,000 to Zanzibar. Similar statistics rekiting to Lingah, 

 in the same year, show— Otto : -100 to Arab roast of 

 Persian Golf, and Bahrein; and 250 to Persian coast 

 and Mekran. And Bahrein— Persian Otto: 2,2110 to 

 Koweit, Eusrah. and Bagdad; rose-water: 200 to 

 Arab coast of Persian Gulf, and 1,000 to Koweit, 

 Busrah, and Engdad. 



India itself has » lonsirlerable area devoted to rosc- 

 gardrns. ss ?t Oha^ipnr, Lahore, Amritzor, and ether 

 places, the kind of ro^e Leinj; R. rfamasei.n, arctrding 

 to Brandis. Both inse-waier and otto arc pro<luccd. 

 The flowers are distilled with double their weight of 

 water in claj stills; ilio rose-w,-iter (aooliihi pmii) 

 thns obtained is jdaced in shallow vessels, covered 

 with moist muslin to keep out dust and flies and 



