SHADE. Q3 



manure ; its foliage is sufficiently thick to keep out 

 much of the sunlight, but not dense enough to pre- 

 vent a pleasant circulation of air ; its presence is . 

 wholesome ; and, lastly but not leastly, the Jack fruit 

 is a substantial pumpkin-shaped mass, weighing 

 from twenty-five to thirty-five pounds, and full of 

 nutritious seeds, which, roasted or boiled, are a 

 favourite dish with the frugal natives. Thus the 

 Jack is a good tree to grow for all these reasons. 

 One drawback there is : it is said not to stand 

 transplanting well. Our own method of propagation 

 was to grow young bushes in prepared beds, remove 

 them when twelve inches high into baskets, and 

 plant out along sides of roads, or here and there 

 amongst lines of Coffee in the same manner and at 

 the same time as those plants. If the seedlings 

 are put at distances of twenty-five or thirty feet 

 or so, a few " failures " will not matter. Of slow 

 growth, some planters supplement them for the first 

 few years by castor-oil plants or bananas, both of 

 which spring up in a few months, the former pro- 

 ducing the first year a crop of some value, while the 

 broad leaves of the latter are greatly valued by 

 coolies, who prepare from them platters, dishes for 

 rice and curry, and even drinking cups. 



Dr. Shortt remarks in a lengthy report on the 

 castor-oil tree : 



"Of several varieties the two first known as the small 

 and large seeded are in general cultivation all over the warm 

 countries of the world, in South of Europe and the East and 



