864 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1886. 



as fuUows, taking the se.isou as from June 1 to May 

 31 : — 



IMPORTS, IN MILLIONS OF POt'XDS. 



1876-7 1S77-S 1S78-9 1870-0 1880-1 



20 37 36 40 45 



1881-2 1S82-3 1883-4 i884-5 



50 57 G3 64 



Dklivkries, in Millions of Pounds. 



1870-7 1877-8 lS78-f) 1879-0 1880-1 



26 34 ;IG 36 47 



1881-2 1882-3 li^83-4 1884-[> 



47 57 61 71 



Of the whole cousumptiou of toa in the United 

 Kingdom only 3 per cent, was Indian in the year 

 18G4, whereas the proportion of Indian and Ceylon 

 tea in 1885 was nearly 40 per cent. 



/iunudli and A.-isai/i. — The recent estension of the 

 empire by the annexation of Upper 15unnah to the 

 dominions of the Crown will probably lead, at no 

 distant date, to the construction of a railway between 

 Uhanio, Gachar, Sylhet, and Assam, by which it is 

 confidently hoped that the prosperity of the latter 

 provinces will be promoted. 



The members of the general committee as usual 

 offer themselves for re-election, and it is proposed by 

 Mr. J. B. White, and seconded by Mr. J. M. Hull, 

 that the name of Mr. Henry Earnshaw be adeed to 

 the general conmiittit-e.— Ermest Tve, Secretary, Lon- 

 don, March 30, 1886. — Home and Calo^rit} Afail. 



CoATiNc KOK Woodwork. — Good lime salked with 

 sour miik, and diluted with water till it is of about the 

 consistency of ordinary whitewash, is rtjcomme-nded by 

 the Landivirth. as an excellent coating for woodwork. 

 Fences, rafters, partitions, etc., are, it .says, eJfectually 

 protected against the weatiier for at least ten years by 

 this application. The casein of the milk in combination 

 with the lime forms a permanent film, which dries so 

 quickly in warm weather that heavy rains falling 

 directly after it has been laid on will scarcely effect the 

 work. — Indian Uanlt tier. 



Natal To»ac'co. — A considerable amount of the 

 tobacco consumed in Natal is grown in the Colony, and 

 no doubt, a contemporary says, the increasing demand 

 for the leaf grown on the Iliet A'alley Estate atUmhlali 

 is evidence that Natal tobaccos should have a place on 

 the London market, and do away with the necessity for 

 importing leaf from America. The Kiet Valley tobacco, 

 which has received much favourable notice at the hands 

 of e.xhibition judges, was sliown largely in sample at the 

 recent Agricultural Show and received tirst and second 

 jirize for leaf, first and second for cut, aud also a " highly 

 recommended " for the former. It will thus be noticed, 

 on comparison with other descriptions of tobacco grown 

 in the Colony, that the Kiet Valley brand fully sustains 

 that excuUenee for which it is already so widely known. 

 — Colonies and India.. 



iMpRovRo IMetiiod o1'' PnEsFitviNG WooD. — The im- 

 proved Krench method of preserving wood by the 

 application of lime is found to work well. The pL'in is to 

 pile the ()lanks in a tank, and to put over all a layer of 

 finicklime, which is gradually slaked with water. Timber 

 for mines requires about a week to be thoroughlj' im- 

 (iregiiatt'd, and other wood more or less time according 

 to its thickness. The material acquires remarkable 

 consi.stence ami hardness, it is stated, on being subjected 

 to this simple process, and the assertion is made that it 

 will never rot. Beech-wood prepared in this w;iy for 

 Itammers, and other tools for ironwork, is fouml to 

 acquire tlie liardness of oak, without parting with any 

 of its well-known elasticity or toughness, and it also 

 lasts longer. — /n'i'ian Fnrf.st>-y, 



TiiK TuiiR IN Printiny; Housk Square. — The au- 

 cient tree whirh Mr. John AValter, M.P , preserved 

 with much care in the square of the Timrs oiiice, 

 fell on the same day that Mr. Clandstone, the eminent 

 tree-fidler, resigned. Is this *' an omen'? The tree 

 was a mystery to most people. Its foliage was un- 

 like any other met with in London Some South 



Americans visiting the office are said to have recog- 

 nised it at once as a specimen of the striped maple. 

 Some one has suggested that it may have been a 

 specimen of the Hecu— a South American aud South 

 African drug. One authority on arboriculture chris- 

 tened it a Sophora from Brazil. But it was really 

 a specimen of bush Ptelia trifoliaia, allied to the 

 elm, a native of North America. — Jour na/ of Forest ly. 

 The Landolphia Plant.— Major I. Campbell Walker, 

 Conservator ol Forests, in charge of Southern Division, 

 wrote to the Secretary to (I .jinment, on the 5th 

 ultimo: — ''In reply to the Un ler Secretary's official 

 memorandum of 13th ultimo. No. 267, I liave toe honor 

 to state that of Mr. Ferguson's plants of Landofphia at 

 Calicut, ouly two remain alive, and thej' show no 

 growth or vigor. So far as is known, all the plants 

 distributed by Mr. Ferguson in the Wynaad and else- 

 wliere are dead. The twelve plants planted by Mr. 

 Morgan in the experimental garden at Madantoddj all 

 died within eighteen months, but the plant received 

 from Cej'lon Botanical Gardens and planted at Nilambur 

 in August 1882 has grown 2 feet 9 inches since the last 

 annual report, and is now 6 feet 6 inches in height, 

 healthy aud robust. Mr. Ferguson gave one plant to 

 Mr, Lawson last January, which is healthy under glass 

 in the Covernment gardens here.'' The Government 

 order thereon is as follows. — "The result of these 

 experiments is poor, but the Government are neverthe- 

 less of opinion that of the ludia rubbers lately intro- 

 duced the Landolphias are probably the best suited for 

 cultivation in this Presidency." — Jladras Mali. 



Ceduela Sinensis is the only member of a genus 

 of large trees which is hardy in this country. Jamaica 

 or AVest Indian Cedar is furnished by C. odorata, 

 which is cultivated in stoves or green-houses in this 

 country ; and the timber of C. Toona, largely used in 

 Australia and India for furniture and general orna- 

 mental work, is also grown in England under similar 

 conditions. At Kew, however, C. sinensis seems as 

 hardy as the Ailantus glandulosus, which it much 

 resembles in general aspect. It was introduced f com 

 China to the Jardin des Planters, at Paris, rather more 

 than a score of years ago, and for a long time was 

 known in nurseries under the name of Ailantus tltves- 

 cens. It. however, does not possess the strongly dis- 

 agree.ible odor of the foliage of the Ailantus, and the 

 wKole plant has a yellower hue. The roots, too, are 

 red and not white, as in the Ailantus. Like that, it is 

 readily propagated by means of root cuttings, and, in 

 rapidity of growth and general adaptability for decor- 

 ative purposes, it seems likelj' to rival the Ailantus. — 

 Garden. 



Planting in the West Indies. — At the same time 

 cocoa, coffee, and what are commonly called the 

 " minor" products, ought to be cultivated as much as 

 possible. Trinidad aud Grenada have practicjdly ac- 

 knowledged this, and their cocoa is a considerable 

 element of prosperity. Jamaica, with its coffee and its 

 fruits, deserves to succeed, for there is plenty of room 

 for these products side by side with sugar. The 

 Jamaica population, too, is especially adapted for the 

 kind of occupation made available by these industries. 

 Jamaica has also a special reputation for its rum, and it 

 is satisfactory to see that, while the production will 

 this year be lessened by the drought, compensation will 

 be obtained in a better market, which has already 

 shown signs of strengthening. The cotfee market is 

 quiet, and Trini<lad cocoa is selling at firm rates. Tho 

 moral of all these remarks is that for .sugar, with 

 strictly economical production in cane countries, there 

 is a prospect of remunerative rates. For Jamaica rum 

 (and to some e.Ktent for Demerara) there is also a fair 

 prospect, especially considering the large use made of 

 the best qualities of Jamaica rum for various purposes 

 on the continent of Europ'\ Aud that for cotfee, 

 cocoa, cinchona and spices, with a moderate increase of 

 production, to suit the consumption, and with the best 

 and most carefvd preparation (for Jamaica colfee is 

 sometimes spoiled in price by the careless way in which 

 it is prepared and forwarded), such a market may be 

 obtained as would justify the tropical <.'olonies in 

 jilaciug some confidence in those products as well as in 

 sugar. — CahnUs and India. 



