December 31, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



593 



namia Gymnospermia. — It is a native of New Grenada. 

 Flowers scarlet. Leaves variegated. — {Ihid., t. (il3(i.) 



BoDCEROsiA MiROcciNA. Nat. ord. , AsclepiadeiB. Litin., 

 Pentandria Digynia. — Native of Marocco. flowers purple. — 

 (Ibid. t. 6137.) 



Oncidium ZEDRiNUM. Nat. ord., Orchidacere. Linn , Gy- 

 nandria Monandria. — " A very attractive plant fr omthe pure 

 white of the perianth, with its red purple bars, and the fine 

 gamboge yellow of the bars of the lip ; at least such are the 

 attractions of the variety figured here. But Reichenbach de- 

 scribes a form in which the whole disk of the sepals is violet, 

 and with only one violet spot at the base of each petal. In 

 the length of the panicle it exceeds all other species I have 

 seen growing ; in the specimen here figured it was 12 feet long. 



" Oncidium zebrinum has been sent home, living or dried, 

 by various collectors, and was first flowered, according to Pro- 

 fessor Reichenbach, by Mr. Bull in 1872."— (/6uf. (. 0138.) 



Fuchsia PROCDMBENS. Nat. ord., OnagTaeeai. Linn.,Octan- 

 dria Monogynia.— Flowers yellow and purple. " This curious 

 little plant, so unUke a Fuchsia, in habit and colour of the 

 flower, was discovered in 1834 by Richard Cunningham in the 

 northern island of New Zealand, on the shores «f the east 

 coast, opposite the Cavalhos Islands, growing on the sandv 

 beach, where it has since been gathered by Colenso. It has 

 also been found on the Great Barrier Islands by Mr. Kirk, in 

 two localities, both near the sea." — [Ibid., t. 6139.) 



Pldm.— Prince Englebert. — " It is now extensively grown 

 around London for market purposes, and is one of the best 

 sorts where annual and remunerative crops are a consideration. 

 Its bearing qualities are something remarkable, and its quality 

 by no means to be despised, even for dessert, while in the 

 culinary department it has very few superiors. Dr. Hogg 

 describes it as having ' Fruit very large, oval, and marked 

 with a shallow suture. Skin of a uniform deep purple, covered 

 with minute russet dots, the whole thickly covered with a 

 pale grey bloom. Stalk half an inch long, inserted in a rather 

 deep cavity. Flesh yellow, rather firm, sweet, juicy, with a 

 brisk and rich flavour, and adhering to the stone. Shoots 

 smooth.' To this he adds the remark, which we can fully 

 endorse, that it is ' an excellent Plnm, either for the dessert 

 or for culinary purposes, and delicious when preserved. Kipe 

 in September. The tree is a great bearer, and in this respect 

 is one of the most valuable for large culture.' " — {Florist and 

 Pomologist, 3 s., vii., 277.) 



SOME OF THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF 

 CEYLON.— No. r,. 



Manilla Hemp, and China Grass or Nettle (the latter being 

 employed in the manufacture of clothing material), are being 

 cultivated in the Royal Botanical Gardens, and plants are 

 being applied for by persons desirous of extending their culti- 

 vation in Ceylon. 



Silk. — The present Governor has addressed the Secretary of 

 State in reference to the production of silk in Ceylon. His 

 Excellency is of opinion that with due care and attention silk 

 might be produced in Ceylon in any quantity. The Mulberry 

 tree grows luxuriantly in the island, and the worms are both 

 hardy and appear to thrive weU. Careful manipulation by 

 patient and experienced persons is at present wanting, and 

 untU such be forthcoming the silk grown in the island must be 

 sent in the dried cocoons to Europe to be spun, and this latter 

 procedure is followed from various parts of the East. Japanese 

 or Chinese settlers in Ceylon would overcome all such difficulty, 

 and the production of silk may ere long be added to the ex- 

 ports from Ceylon. 



Ginger, Pepper, Cloves, Arrowroot, and Tapioca are culti- 

 vated, but only Arrowroot and Pepper are exported, and that 

 in but trifling quantities. The great rise in the price of Cloves, 

 and the immunity from hurricanes which Ceylon possesses, 

 render the question of their extended cultivation in the island 

 well worthy the consideration of its inhabitants. The hurricane 

 that swept over Zanzibar in 1872 is reported to have laid waste 

 and swept away entire crops of Cloves. There is a movement. 

 Dr. Thwaites mentions, among European planters as well as 

 Cingalese, to take up seriously the cultivation of Cardamoms, 

 and he is preparing by adding to the Botanical Gardens own 

 plantings to meet the increased demand. 



Cocoa. — It is stated in a late number of the Agricultural 

 Economist that the culture of Cocoa is Ukely to have a future 

 for commercial purposes in Ceylon. It seems that, like To- 



bacco manufacture, the great art has laid more in the curing 

 than the growing, and that this involves a sweating and fer- 

 menting operation termed " terrage." That brings out the 

 full flavour of the nut. The samples that have been lately 

 received in England from the Ceylon Botanic Gardens are 

 considered good, only more attention wiU have to be paid to 

 its preparation after being removed from the tree. 



Edible Funoi. — These are found in Ceylon, and a volume 

 of drawings of the same were laid before the Woolhope Club 

 at the great Fungus festival held at Hereford in October 

 last. 



The Plantain. — There are seventeen kinds of this excellent 

 fruit found in Ceylon. The Soewendel, the Holekoolto, the 

 Kadely, and some others are sweet and luscious. The Aloo- 

 kehel is given to invalids to provoke appetite. The Kanera- 

 rooroo makes a good curry. The Etikehel is not cultivated, 

 but grows wild in the hilly jungles. It is said to possess medi- 

 cinal virtues, and is prescribed by native doctors. 



It would, I think, be well if some enterprising person in 

 Ceylon would send to England in some quantity, a consign- 

 ment of dried Plantains, and when it is considered that some 

 30,000 ewt. of dried Figs are annually imported into England, 

 the speculation would, I am ioclined to think, be a successful 

 one in a pecuniary point of view. The taste for the dried 

 Plantain, if properly prepared, would be soon aequired in Eng- 

 land, and doubtless lead to a brisk demand. The following 

 is the mode of drying the Plantain followed in Mexico, as 

 stated by Capt. Colquhoun of the Royal Artillery ;— 



The fruit is gathered when fuUy ripe, and is laid on light 

 cane frames exposed to the sun. When it begins to shrivel 

 the outer skin is stripped off, and then the drying is completed. 

 During this process it becomes covered with a white mealy 

 efflorescence of the sugar, as the Fig does under similar cir- 

 cumstances. For convenience of transport it is pressed into 

 masses of about 75 lbs. each, and is wrapped in plantation leaves. 

 It is evident that the fruit in this state bears precisely the 

 same relation to the fresh Plantain that the raisin and dried 

 Fig do to the fruits from which they are prepared, and may 

 be expected to keep good aa long as either of them. Indeed, 

 samples have been sent to England from Mexico which had 

 been prepared for two years, and they continued to be suffi- 

 ciently moist and of a consistence and flavour between the 

 Date and the Fig. without acidity, and indeed sweet. 



As the " Food Journal," I am aware, finds its way to Ceylon, 

 the above information may be of use, and it is to be hoped 

 we may yet see importation on a large scale of the dried 

 Plantains into England. If Chinese obtain a footing in 

 the land of Cinnamon and pearls this will doubtless be the 

 case. 



Oranges, Pines, and other Tropical Fruits are most pro- 

 lific. The Vine yields largely in portions of the northern and 

 north-western provinces. It formerly was cultivated at Kindy, 

 in the central province, but at present it ripens there but 

 rarely, and there is a theory that this is occasioned by the 

 change of climate consequent upon the cutting-down of the 

 large trees in and about Kandy, trees which both sheltered the 

 Vine and occasioned a sort of artificial winter. 



The Dutch Admiral Spelberg, who was in Ceylon in 1602, 

 mentions (in his narrative of his voyage to India), and highly 

 praises the wine made from Grapes grown at Kmdy. Much 

 discussion has taken place on the alleged injurious effects on 

 climate and soil by the destruction of forest trees. An able 

 planter of long residence in Ceylon, in the course of a valuable 

 paper he placed at my disposal when I was holding the post of 

 government agent in the central province, laid it dowu as his 

 opinion, that although the forests of Ceylon, India, and 

 Abyssinia were rooted from the ground, the great circulation 

 of moisture would go on the same, and the land thus bared 

 would soon reelothe itself, the vegetation being the resulting 

 effect of the rain and not its cause." 



Humboldt was, however, of opinion, that by the great 

 evaporation from leaves an amount of moisture is diffused 

 through the atmosphere, which, wafted by winds, waters wide 

 districts of country. Moreover, woods shelter the ground 

 beneath, and materially retard the evaporation of the water 

 that falls as rain. Consequently, springs are kept flowing, 

 rivers do not dry-up, and the lowland cultivators can always 

 depend on the distant hills for the means of irrigating their 

 crops. I officially drew the attention of the Ceylon Govern- 

 ment some years ago to the desirableness of reserving belts of 

 forest land growing round the source of streams, and adverted 

 to the precautions that were taken by the Mauritius Govern- 



