524 



NA TURE 



{March 29, 1888 



in their fissures, but principally Asan {Terminalia tomentosa, W. 

 and A.), Swarm {Zizyphus rugosa. Lam.), Sissu (Dalbergia sissu, 

 Roxb.), and Abnus {Diospyros melanoxylon, Roxb.). 



In 1880, Mr. V. Ball, in making a geological survey in the 

 Central Provinces, met writh this concretion, and thus alludes to 

 it in his "Jungle Life in India" : — " Some white marks on the 

 cut stumps of an Asan tree caught my eye, and these on exam- 

 ination proved to be sections or laminae of calcareous matter 

 which alternated with the ordinary rings of woody growth. 

 The rocks about were gneisses and schists, and I could discover 

 nothing in the soil to account for the peculiarity. In some cases 

 irregularly shaped pieces seven inches long by two inches thick 

 were met in the trunks at a height of about six feet from the 

 ground. By the natives the lime is burnt and used for chewing 

 with pan. On examination it was found there was no structure 

 in these masses which would justify a conclusion that they had 

 been formed by insects. Some included portions of decayed 

 wood seemed to be cemented together by the lime." 



Major-General Morgan, late Deputy Conservator of Forests, 

 Madras, speaks of it in the following terms in his " Forestry of 

 Southern India" : — "It is a curious fact that in the Wynaad, 

 though there is no free lime in the soil, yet Teak ( Tectona grandis) 

 and Blackwood {Dalbergia latifolia), if wounded near the ground, 

 contrive to absorb large quantities of lime. It may be seen, 

 incrusting the tree on the surface as far as four feet in height, 

 from three inches to a foot in width, and two or three inches in 

 thickness. The lime is so hard that it destroys circular saws, and 

 the Carumburs use it for chewing with betel." 



Abel, in 1854, thus described it : "The wood of teak, which 

 grows in the South of India and other tropical countries, fre- 

 quently exhibits cracks and cavities of considerable extent lined 

 with a white crystalline deposit consisting chiefly of hydrocalcic 

 orthophosphate, CaHP04,H20, with about 11 '4 per cent, 

 ammonio-magnesium phosphate" (Chem. Soc. Q.J. xv. 91.) 



This white deposit in the wood of teak has also been examined 

 by Thoms, who found it to consist of monocalcic orthophosphate, 

 CaHFOj ("Landw. Versuchs. St." xxii. 68, xxiii. 413). More 

 recently still Prof. Judd has found in teak a specimen of crystal- 

 line apatite, a well-known mineral containing a large proportion 

 of calcium phosphate. 



" The formation of this deposit indicates that the wood itself 

 must contain a considerable quantity of phosphoric acid, and the 

 analysis shows this is really the case, as the ash of teak wood is 

 composed as follows : — 



CaO MgO FeO KjO NaaO SiOj SO3 P2O5 CO2 CI 

 3i'35 9'74 o'8o 1*47 0*04 24'98 2'22 29*69 o'oi 001 



The percentages of carbon and hydrogen are higher than in mos*^ 

 woods, and this together with the richness in calcium phosphate 

 and silica may perhaps account for the great hardness of teak " 

 (Watts' "Diet. Chemistry," 3rd Supp. p. 1894). 



The sample from Nilambiir was in the form of a rounded 

 flattened cake about ten inches in diameter and two or three 

 inches in thickness ; dirty white in colour, with a rough gritty 

 surface. A sample was made for analysis by breaking off 

 portions from different parts of the cake and reducing the 

 whole to a fine powder. The powder examined under the 

 microscope was mainly in an amorphous condition similar to 

 prepared chalk, with a dark-coloured gummy matter, and a small 

 quantity of crystalline quartz sand. The following is the com- 

 position : — 



Calcium carbonate ... ... ... ... 70*05 



Tricalcic orthophosphate 

 Quartz sand 

 Organic matter ... 

 Moisture 



The analysis shows that the principal compound is calcium 

 carbonate, and the concretion approaches nearer the chalk or 

 limestone formation than that of the apatite or phosphatic 

 found by other investigators. An examination of deposits from 

 other trees might show greater differences than these, but it seems 

 enough has been done to prove that the calcium element forms 

 the base. 



The sand, probably blown up as dust and made to adhere by 

 the organic matter, is a mechanical ingredient. The deposit 

 contained no salts of sodium or calcium soluble in water, nor any 

 ammoniacal compounds ; this would stand to reason,' as the 



heavy rain to which this district is subjected would scarcely leave 

 anything soluble on the trees. 



A sample of the soil from the Teak Plantations, the same as 

 that in which the ipecacuanha is being cultivated, has also been 

 examined. It is a light reddish brown sandy loam with quartz. 

 In a dry state it contains 79 per cent, of silica and silicates, about 

 5 per cent, of organic matter, the same of iron oxide and alumina, 

 and o"2i7 per cent, lime as oxide. 



The scanty amount of lime present in the soil, and the large 

 amount found in the tree, show what an enormous quantity must 

 have been taken up by the sap. I have shown elsewhere that a 

 full-sized cinchona tree contains about ten ounces of lime (as 

 slaked lime), not concentrated by abnormal development in one 

 place, but distributed in all its parts. A teak tree from its size 

 and ash contents would have a much larger supply than a cinchona, 

 and yet, it seems, is able to excrete it in some abundance. In 

 what manner this takes place is not easy to determine. The 

 calcium enters the plant in a soluble form as sulphate. The 

 calcium unites with oxalic and other acids and is precipitated, 

 while the sulphuric acid parts with its sulphur to form organic 

 compounds. A wound in the tree is liable to render these pro- 

 cesses abnormal by causing the vegetable acids to ferment by 

 exposure to the air and to yield carbonic acid as one of the pro- 

 ducts, and this meeting with the calcium in the ascending sap 

 exuding from the wound might convert it into an insoluble 

 calcium carbonate which would harden in the cavity of the tree 

 and form the deposit. 



THE NEW YORK AGRICULTURAL STATION} 



'T^HE special report of the Director, Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, 

 -•- extends over the first fifty-seven of a volume of 480 pages, 

 and within their limits are to be found the general conclusions 

 arrived at during the past year. The remainder of the brochure 

 consists of the detailed reports of the horticulturist, the botanist, 

 and the chemist. After an analysis of the rainfall and tempera- 

 ture of 1887, which appear in general climatic conditions to 

 have borne a great resemblance to what we ourselves experienced, 

 the Director calls special attention to the importance of soil 

 moisture, and surface cultivation as a means of conserving it. He 

 shows the vast importance of checking evaporation from the 

 surface by preserving a finely pulverized condition of the 

 top soil. This he calls a "soil mulch," and states that " it 

 protects the capillary outlets from surface exposure." 



"The extent of the conservation of water through the preven- 

 tion of evaporation by cultivation, as measured by the lysimeters 

 in 1885 from May to September inclusive, with a rainfall of I4'42 

 inches, as between bare soil and cultivated soil, was about I '4 inch, 

 and as between cultivated land and sod-land about 2-5 inches. 

 The rational direction, therefore, to the farmer for carrying 

 out intercultural tillages must be to use an implement as a means 

 to an end, i.e. the maintaining of a mulch of loose soil upon the 

 field. . . . The intercultural tillage should be applied whenever 

 the upper soil has regained, through the effect of rains, its con- 

 nection with the lower soil, and the capillary tubes become 

 extended to the surface. Following the same line of argument, 

 the evil effects of weeds are attributed to their appropriation and 

 transpiration of moisture from the soil rather than to their 

 robbing the plant of food constituents. This conclusion will be 

 brought home to anyone who notices the dry condition of the 

 soil in near proximity to tree roots. " 



The remarks upon feeding cattle with a view to milk and to 

 beef production are interesting, but the system of experimenting 

 upon single animals is not to be commended. The conclusion 

 forced upon the Director, that "individuality is sufficient to 

 mask the influence' of food," is patent to anyone, and should 

 demonstrate the absolute need of carrying out any feeding 

 experiments upon a large number of cattle simultaneously. 

 Average results may then be expected upon which practice may 

 be based. 



The Director pours a flood of cold water upon the system of 

 plot experiments in the field. Under the head of "Conclusions" 

 he says :—" These field trials indicate the utter unreliability of field 

 experiments, and should convince the public of the lack of certainty 

 which attends all general conclusions gained by this process. I 

 trust the time may arrive when this plat work, instead of being 

 forced upon experiment stations, will be condemned." Certainly 



' Sixth Annual Report of the Board of Control of the New York Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station (Geneva, Ontario Co.) for the year 1887. 



