204 



THE GARDENERS 1 CHRONICLE 



colonist* in Australia, the weds have been 



uiamla in thin fountrv. under 



sent 



Victoria 



wana 



good a botanist to have done so 



r. niDwiLL is 



Be that as it 



deem it a matter of duty now to lay a 



descript 



un 



of the 



»l 



may, we 



figure anc 



the public, and even a coiourea ugurc , iul ^ uy««- 



ti/ul &xe the specimens dried by our valued friend 

 correspondent, that we think we cannot err 

 ranch on that point. And sure we are that, even 

 should all the seeds above alluded to fail to ger- 

 minate, or prove to be those of another plant, our 

 Xyxphaa gioantea will, ere long, find its way into 

 our tropical tanks, and adorn them with a Water 

 Lily little inferior to the Royal Victoria in the size 

 or beauty of its flowers, and with leaves equally 

 remarkable in size, for a true Nyraphaea, being 

 18 inches to 2 feet across. A tuber which we have 

 lately received from Mr. Bidwill for cultivation, but 

 unfortunately dry and dead, is about the size of an 

 ordinary Apricot, and nearly as gl 

 numerous depressions or eyes, like the % eyes 

 Potato, with a scale at each depressior 



As Sir William Hooker foresaw, this Australian 

 Nymph has found her way to Europe, and now 

 exists in a living state in several continental collec- 

 tions It has even flowered and seeded with Mr. 

 Van Hocttr, of Ghent, with whom it produced 

 delicate blue blossoms nearly 8 inches across. It 

 appears, however, that there is some difficulty in 

 managing the plant, for tubers sent to Mr. Edward 

 Otto, of Hamburgh, and others, obstinately refused 

 to move, or only produced a few scale-like leaves 

 xvhich soon died off again, and would not root at all. 

 Upon this subject Mr. Ortgfes, the skilful plant 

 manager in Mr. Van Houttk's nursery, has remarked 

 to the following effect [Rev. I fort., 1805, p. 92):— 

 u 1 have had similar complaints before, and I have 

 myself met with the same difficulty ; and although 

 the intractable lady is now in full flower and has 

 continually five or six flowers open at a time, I am 

 far from being satisfied with the result ; the plant is 

 in fact a puzzle. However, don't fancy your tubers 

 lost ; I have had them for 12 months with 

 little undeveloped leaves, and nevertheless they 

 have ultimately started. Once set a-growing they 

 push with surprising rapidity. I am of opinion that 

 the plant requires to be very deep in the water, and 

 ft v. we have been all wTong in putting the tubers 

 near the surface ; and for the following reason 

 Last spring all the tubers, after having been kept 

 dry during winter, were replanted and placed in 

 •hallow water. A few days after they began to 

 move ; but the young leaves made no progress, and 

 never reached the surface. It was, therefore, obvious 

 that no roots could be formed ; for in this, as in 

 Nymphaeas, the roots appear after not before the 

 leaves. I »ne day L found that some little leaves had 

 reached the surface of the water, and upon inquiring 

 into the cause, I found that a pot had been upset 





prise has found in Great Britain nothing for general 

 employment except Flax and Hemp (straw is hardly 

 worth notice), and in all the world only Flax, Hemp, 

 Cotton, Jute, and New Zealand Flax and Bowstring 

 Hemp— just half a dozen out of the thousands of 

 articles which the vegetable kingdom is ready to 

 yield up. To these may indeed be added Coir for 

 mats and cables and the coarsest uses. 



In the review of what India is known to offer we 

 find mention made of various Grasses, Sedges, Screw 

 Pines, Palms, Liliaceous plants, Plantains, Malva- 

 ceous plants, Leguminous plants, Dogbanes, Daphnes, 

 Nettles and their allies, with a host of ^ other pro- 

 ducts, cheap and abundant, which India is able to 

 supply if our manufacturers will take them. And 

 that which is thus bounteously furnished in the 

 East is as lavishly offered by the West. Never- 

 theless, Flax, Hemp, and Cotton remain the manu- 

 facturers' great reliance, just as they were in the 



1 " Why is this ? Is it because 



and 



[March 31 



**£ 



that their own routine is as inexorable 

 way. It is for this reason that Dr. Roy.** 

 to declare that great as the value of W U °$W 

 undoubtedly is, they will not find their** *S 

 the home markets without some little ****• 



ment. 



The encouragement deemed necess-m! 

 however, Government or other --' -^ 



place the raw produce 



shall 



assistance 



in an u 



*3 



natts* 



days of Sennacherib. 



of the wonderful excellence of these fibres, 

 of the inferiority of all similar products? 

 hear what Dr. Royle has to say upon 



Let 

 that 



and 



us 



point : — 



" It is now well known that India possesses, 



indeed exports, various fibres which are produced 

 by several fast-growing plants. Of these fibres, 

 some, though long and fine in texture, are deficient 

 in strength ; others appear coarse in texture, or are 

 harsh in feel, and yet not remarkable for tenacity. 

 It has therefore been inferred by some very intelli- 

 gent men, that the heat and moisture of the climates 

 where these grow are favourable to rapid growth, 

 which of itself is sufficient to account for the want 

 of strength ; and that therefore we cannot expect to 

 find them suited to the production of good fibres. 

 But here the conclusion come to is equally hasty, 

 for no distinction is made between what is due to 

 the nature of the plant itself, and what to its mode 

 of cultivation, or to the preparation of its fibre, and 

 what to the effects of soil and of climate. We do 

 not in this country expect the Willow to have the 

 strength of the Oak, nor that a rope of Rushes will 

 have the tenacity of even a cord of Hemp. Yet 

 all may he seen growing in the vicinity of each 

 other. There is as little reason for expecting that 

 the soft and silky Jute of India is to have the 

 strength of either Flax or of Hemp ; and because 

 it does not have it, for inferring that there cannot 

 be produced in its vicinity other fibres possessed of 

 greater strength. But, if we were to judge from 

 the density and strength of some of the woods pro- 

 duced in the hottest and moistest, as well as in 

 some of the driest climates, we might expect to find 

 plants in the same localities which are equally con- 

 spicuous for tenacity of fibre. Instead, however, 

 of inference, I hope to be able to prove, to the satis- 

 faction of even the most sceptical, that India grows 

 plants in some of its dry and barren plains, yielding 

 fibres which are as strong and touch as any pro 





and had lulled to the bottom of the tank, which diiced S ^ f Z Z^X^^lTe 

 was 2 feet deep. As soon as the tnber was thus equalled in such qualities bv other I!" n 

 earned beyond the action of light, its leaves began ! some of its mok J f» f ^ZlfTH 1°, 



carried 



to lengthen and spread over the water ; larger leaves 

 soon succeeded, and in a short time the plant was 

 in fall growth. Acting upon this hint, I placed the 

 tubers 2 feet deep in water, and now they grow 

 vigorously.'' 



M. Ortgies deserves honourable mention for this 

 very useful discovery ; of which growers will know 

 how to profit in other cases besides that of the 

 Great Bute Australian Water Nymph. 



Titk scarcity of textile materials, that is to say 

 of vegetable fibres capable of being manufactured 

 into lmen cordage, or paper, still continues, and 

 appears likely to increase. Whatever importance 

 the subject possessed when we last drew the atten- 

 tion of growers to it (see Gardeners" Chronicle 

 1864, pp. 300 and .3 W) is now considerably aug-' 

 merited. We are, therefore, sure that the public 

 will receive with much satisfaction Dr. Royle's 

 new work on the " Fibrous Plants of India * in 

 which the learned author gives a full and pirticular 

 account of all the known textile species found in 

 our Asiatic possessions. 



As we have formerly observed, all countries that 

 £kif& P % vigorous vegetation abound in vege- 

 table fibres of greater or less value ; the tropics Ire 



fSL W* u rich in snch dances, partly 



SHiSd i?nf ° bwl ? t growth 0f P lants ™ d « r th * 

 temnerat e Z? ° \ m ° Ut atmo3 P h «re and high 

 temperature and partly because of the creat varietv 



every step. K^L^n^^ZfZ * 



* The Fibrous Plants of India, fitted 

 and *ap*r; with an aeconnt of the preparation "XTS." VIOtnin & 



Wmith and Elder. 12*. VIW »*ojr , ie, M.D. 8yo. Pp. <03. 



rtest and hottest valleys. Some of 

 these, while possessed of the greatest strength, are 

 also divisible to any extent of fineness. Most of 

 them exist in sufficient quantities, or are so easily 

 cultivated, as to be of great commercial and manu- 

 facturing value ; because it has been ascertained 

 that they can be brought to the markets of Europe 

 even from these distant fields, so as to contend in 

 price, even m ordinary times, with the favoured 

 products of the nearest countries." 



It is, therefore, clear that colonial fibres are not 

 neglected because of their quality, especially when 

 the more usual materials are dear, but for some 

 other reason. 





given in the shape of bounties or protecti** a 

 or in any other of those ways which are qukZj** 

 the principles of political economy, Th* 

 encouragement advocated by the author con^.^ 

 little patience on the part of the home jxmaI? 

 and a little trouble on the part of the product 

 broker. As it is, the merchant is ignorant of 

 existence of the raw material, of its excelled k 

 the purposes of manufacture, of the facility !l 

 cheapness with which it can be brought iiLk 

 market. On the other hand, the producer h^ 

 not that his fibre is suited to supply the dema^? 

 more cordage, more clothing, more paper, and 

 sends some of his material to this country in 

 hope that somebody may find a use for it, heigtak 

 by the broker that the commodity is unknowi 

 the market, and no one will buy an untried article 

 the broker himself knowing nothing of what ig coil 

 signed to him, except that he has never seen 

 before. The removal of these sources of discooiaiK 

 ment is the encouragement declared neceituX 

 the author. Let the merchant take the trouble t» 

 inquire into the means of production and thenait» 

 of the material — let the broker acquire such J^i 

 ledge as will enable him to make those ktwwa 

 whom he stands better acquainted with eackoQurf 

 wants — let the producer see that if he will Imi 

 a steady supply, that supply will be taken off k 

 hands, and there seems no reason to doubt that India 

 Fibres will, from their abundance and che&pneg, 

 hold their own against all competition. X 

 other encouragement, at all events, is sought k 

 them. We should not have dwelt upon ft 

 point had not a writer in the Economist m 

 some remarks upon the same subject, wto 

 would lead the reader to infer that Dr. Royle acta 

 cated encouragement in some other mode, '! 

 writer in question appears to us wholly to kit 

 mistaken the sense in which the author has used 

 the word encouragement, and such is the deserted 

 repute of the opinions of the Economist on ; 

 matters relating to political economy, that 

 becomes no less just to the author than importr 

 to the mercantile community, to show that no pro- 

 tection, no bounties, no favouritism of any W * 

 sought for the producers of the materials in que 

 tion. A fair trial is all that is recommended 

 once made, the rest will take care of itself. 



No doubt one reason why manufacturers are aft 

 to throw cold water upon new raw products is that 

 their machinery must be altered to work them i?. 

 That is inconvenient and to be avoided. Justaa 

 a public office the officers cling to old row* 

 Although it can be made clear that it is detnmr 

 to the public service, because it is troublesome 

 change official habits. The machinery of a gp 

 ment department is its clerks and books and cm 

 and foolscap paper. The machinery of a flia 

 facturer is his steam-engines, looms, printing^ 

 spinning-jennies, and carding machines. | vil « 

 the difference except that one is fed with be* * 

 bread, the other with coals and oil? ^ t ^ 



We once askfid a manufacturer 



the frig' 



vogue 



Why 



T , , . — 7 — — —^ j I alter my patterns, ugly as they are, so long » 



That reason is commercial indiffer- 1 "" ' " ' " *-"-*■ 



lot 



sell them as fast and as' profitably as better tbup- 



manner if another is asked why be coitt^ 



ence, as Dr. Royle well explains : _ __ 



mort fU2«S2? i 2iSi? l ? C hi6t0ry ° f manyof ^e I to n'se VnTxpVnsivTInstead ofTcheap des 

 most important articles of commerce, we shall find " " 



that they were at first either neglected or abused 



t* i l r 



el !eW 



¥ 



Urge sums were expended, and much money was 

 lost, before they came to be established as regular 



nlw ?M ° f ? mmerce ' a Th « difficulty in making 

 new things known and appreciated as articles of 



commerce, anses chiefly from the habitual neglect 



fnnr^t T^ ""? ** ^T froD > abroad, 

 in order to have their value ascertained at home." 



Indeed, I am informed, that the novelty of the 



oFtfn a ?K nCe ' °v th f 8t / an S eness of the name y i s more 

 often the subject of est, than the article is one of 



serious inquiry At all events, the result usuallv 

 feft? * 6 "^ is , so l d at » P^e which do s nol 





expenses and the planter is deterred from 



senaing any fresh quantities. Further progress T 



in that quarter at least, thus stopped even Z X 

 rnmmon^m^t » ' °">FF eu > e^ en at its 



I 



commencement. 





Lvidence like this shows that our much vaunted 

 commercial enterprise move* in a much narrower 

 t nek than is supposed ; and that while gendemen 

 at Manchester are clamorous, with very good 

 about inexorable official «,„«... - Xg a ' 



eason 



they qnite forget 



of raw material of equal or greater * xce] , # 

 would probably say, " Why should 1 »««J 

 machinery for this novelty, when the oW j| 

 notwithstanding its dearness to the consul 

 just as profitable to me?" . , .-^ 



We are persuaded that this is the true nis 

 the indifference with which new kinds J f 

 materials are received in the produce P^fV > 

 only cure for it is competition ; and that i ^ 

 hoped that we shall speedily witness. . 

 indeed but the state of the law has pi«" f 

 being already established ; for it apP ea Jr * g 0t- 

 ceedings in the House of Lords that i>Jr. tf 

 who has most honourably distinguished n ^ 

 his attempts to introduce a cheaper ana ^ 

 of textile materials, when he applied to . 

 Council for a charter of incorporation, , w ^ 

 limit the liability of those ready to find J" 

 was met by the objection that a c ™"~ r f \% 

 be wanted, because the whole question Q ^ 

 liability was under the consideration* 

 ment ; and then when months after w» ^ 



made into the intentions of Ciovem 





* v 





