776 



THE TR0#rCAt AQniCVLiumSt. 



{May I, iS86. 



Progress or Indian Tfa. — The trade in tea with 

 China, the Straits Settlements, and other countries, 

 has fallen off 67^ per cent which is attributed by 

 the Collector of Customs to the low iirices of the 

 common kinds of ludiaa tea, which euabled the buy- 

 ers of cheap tea to supply their wants from the local 

 market. — Indian Tea Gazette. 



LiNNEAN Society, February 4, — Brigade-Surgeon 

 E. Bonavio, in a paper read, asserts that the 

 wild Citrus kt/strixj D. 0., is the grandparent of 

 Lima iuhetosui*. L, aytestrisy Lhnonis Fcri, Limonefli's 

 auriai'iasj and others, while also more distantly the 

 grandparent of the cultivated true limes of India, 

 Oeylon, he. The reason why the lime has so persist- 

 ently a winged petiole, according to him, is that this 

 is derivative from the immense winged petiole of its 

 progenitor i^itnis hi/.^tri.r. — yature. 



The Cuscus Yam. — Through an oversight we omitted 

 to refer earlier to Mr. ("i. E. Poulier's successful 

 cultivation of this delicious yam in the lowcountry. 

 Mr. A. Whyte of Kandy, now of Nuwara Elija, first 

 introduced it into the Island from theAVest ludies some 

 years ago, and it soon became a favourite owing to its 

 flaTour and mealiness when boiled. Many, we know, 

 prefer it to potatoes, an<l those who wish to try it may 

 not be too late if they apply to Mr. G. E. Poulier, Nai 

 Valla Estate, Veyangoda. — Local *' Examiner." 



Tka in thk Anuamans. — The extent of land under 

 tea in the Andaman Islands under charge of Mr. A. J. 

 King, now amouuts to 186 acres under plant, all of which 

 is Assam hybrid. Forty-two acres of new laud have 

 also been pitted rea(^ for planting out this year. The 

 outturn last year was 9,801 lb, which realized K5".'i30 ; 

 1,988 lb. of the tea was sold locally, 3,5^7 lb. to the 

 Commissariat, 3,827 lb. by auction in Calcutta, and the 

 balance is in hand. The tea which was sold in C'alcutta 

 does not appear to have been of a very good description, 

 as it only realized Rl,412. Exclusive of the charge for 

 convict labor, the expenditure came to 1\2,920. the 

 receipts thus exceeding it by upwards of R2,4iJ0. The 

 manager estimates that in 1886-87 at least 20,(_H_tO lb. 

 of tea will be produced, and he purposes to undertake 

 the contract of the supply of tea to the troops in 

 Burmah for that year. — Pioneer. 



Brazilian Rosewood has formed the subject of an 

 interesting communication by Mr. A. Galletly, the 

 Curator of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, 

 read before the Edinburgh Botanical Society at the 

 meeting on February 11. This rosewood has proliably 

 been used in Europe for three hundred years, jet its 

 botanical source is still unknown, although generally 

 referred to one or more species of />(j/?)r;;^/'a ; neverthe- 

 less the trees are said to be abundant in all the eastern 

 provinces from PernambucO to Rio de Janeiro and the 

 exports from Brazil have reached the value of £lOi>,000 

 per annum. An attempt has been made to throw some 

 light on its origin by examining the resins and resinous 

 colouring matters contained in the Brazilian nnd 

 Honduras rosewoods, as well as those of the Indiau 

 woods of the genus DaJbcrgia, which resemble rosewood, 

 viz., -P. latifolia and I>. Sissoc. From the experiments 

 made, it appears that the extracts obtained by means of 

 ether, naphtha and alcohol are nearly the same in all, both 

 in character and quantity, naphtha extracting about H 

 per cent of matter from the wood, ether .ibout 4 and 

 alcohol about 14 per cent. The alcoholic extract has 

 a strong tinctorial power, one part in lf»(»,(iO() showing a 

 distinct colour in a test-tube. Other woods gave different 

 results, ehony yielding hardly any colour to alcohol or 

 ether, and mahogany a tincture of far less colorific 

 power. {Gai'd. (■hroli.j Feb. 20, p. 297). — Pharmaceutical 

 Journal. 



Peat Moss as a Mamuk. — Having had some ex- 

 perience in using peat as a manure after it had been 

 employed as bedding for horses, the particulars re- 

 specting it may be of service to " W. M. B." (See 

 *' Enquiry," p- 216.) For three seasons it took the 

 place of straw in tlie hunters' stables here, and we 

 made use of it. during that timr for various kitchen 

 garilen crops, such as Teas, Beans, Onions, those 

 belonging tu the BraBsica family, &c. For Peas, Beans, 



and such crops, for which the ground was trenched 

 in the autumn, it was used very liberally, and was 

 incorporated with the soil as the work proceeded, and 

 of course lost its rankness before the crops were 

 sowu ; in other cases it was dug in ami the ground 

 cropped while it was in a raw state, and the results 

 were iu each case similar to those derived from the 

 use of straw manure. AVe had misgivings as to its 

 value as a fertiliser, and closely observed its effects, 

 and the Celery crop was the only oue that appeared 

 to suffer from its use; but as we used it for oue year 

 for this crop, and then under rather unfavourable 

 circumstances, I should not be justified in attributing 

 the deficiency wholly to the manure. The Potato 

 was the only vegt-tablc that we considered was im- 

 proved from its use. I ought to mention our soil is a 

 retentive clay, naturally cold and wet, upon which 

 the peat wrought some improvement in the way of 

 lightening and causing it to break more freely when 

 subsequently worked. A light soil would not be im- 

 proved in the same way by its use. We discontinued 

 it here in the stables because straw was prefeiTed on 

 account of cleanliness. — Thos. Coomber. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle. 



How TO Dry Plants. — The materials recommen<l- 

 ed for this purpose by the Rev. George Henslow 

 are common cartridge-paper, thick white blotting paper, 

 cotton wadding, and miP-board, all cut to the same 

 size. The plants should be gathered in dry weather, 

 and soon after the flowers open, when their colours 

 are brightest. Succulent plants (such as Daffodils, 

 Orchises, or Stonecrops) should be put into scalding 

 water, with the excejition of the flowers, for a minute 

 or two, then laid on a cloth to dry. Arrange the 

 specimens and papers in the following order: — ^lill- 

 board, cartridge-paper, wadding (split open, and the 

 glazed said laid next to the cartridge-paper), blotting 

 paper; the specimens having small pieces of wadding 

 placed within and around flowers, to draw off all 

 the moisture as quickly as possible, blotting-paper, 

 wadding as before, cartridge-paper, mill-board. When 

 the specimens, &.c,, are thus arranged, heavy weights 

 should be put on them : about 30 lb. the first day, 

 60 lb. afterwards. Remove them from under press- 

 ure in a day or two ; carefully take away the papers, 

 &c., except the blotting-papers between which the 

 specimens are placed ; put these in a warm air to dry, 

 whilst the removed papers, kc, are dried in the sim 

 or by the fire. When dry (but not warm) place them 

 iu the same order as before ; put all under the heavier 

 pre.ssure for a few days, when (if not succulent) they 

 will be dry. Flowers of different colours require 

 different treatment to preserve their colours. Blue 

 flowers must be dried with heat either under a case 

 of hot sand before a fire, with a lot iron, or in a 

 cool oven. Red flowers are injured bv heat; they 

 require to be washed with muriatic acid, diluted in 

 spiritsof wine,tofix the colour. One partof ai^id to three 

 parts of spirits is about the proportion. The best brush 

 with which to apply this mixture is the head of a thistle 

 when in seed, as the acid destroys a hair pencil, 

 and injures wherever it touches, except glass or china ; 

 therefore it should be used with great care. Many 

 yellow flowers turn green even after they have re- 

 mained some weeks; they must, therefore, bu dried 

 repeatedly before the fire, and again after they are 

 mounted on paper, and kept in a dry place. Purple 

 flowers require as much care, or they soon turn a 

 light brown. White flowers will turn brown if hanilled 

 or bruiseil before they are dried. Daisies, Pan.sies, 

 and some other flowers nuist not be removed from 

 under pressure for two or thrt-e days, or the petals 

 will curl up. As all dried plants (Ferns excepted) 

 are liable to be infested by n.inute insects, a small 

 quantity of the poison, corrosive sublimate, dissolved 

 in spirits of wine, should b*; added to the paste, 

 which it will also preserve from mould. The best 

 cement for fixing the specimens on to the paper or 

 cardboard is gum paste. It is composed of thick 

 gum-\Mitcr and Hour mixed in warnt w.-iti-r, by a. Ming 

 tho two together warm, ami of a (•(insi.>lency that 

 will run off the hair brush." — Indian Gardemr, 



