24 



the remainder to a medical man in England, who was the first 

 applicant, and for whom I had already promised to procure it. 

 From the War Office I have heard nothing, but the person to 

 whom I also sent some of the plant says : — 



11 1 duly received the box of Moschosma riparia you so kindly 

 sent; me. It contained nearly 71bs. of the plant. I sent a 

 pound to each of the fever hopitals (6), with a copy of your 

 remarks, and asked that they would use it in some cases of 

 dysentery or enteric, and let me know results. They acknow- 

 ledged receipt of the parcels, but I have not heard any further. 

 I have seldom cases of this fever. I have made a fluid extract, 

 and in two cases was successful in staying the diarrhoea and 

 abdominal tenderness. If I get any further reports from the 

 hospitals I will write to you." 



This letter is dated April 28th, and since then I have heard 

 no more of the matter. Of the other plants mentioned in the 

 Report I have received no further information. 



Tobacco. — I have several times imported small quantities of 

 seed of different varieties of this plant at the request of growers, 

 and some of the varieties seem to have done well. A year or 

 two ago I was specially asked to import seed of the " Latakia," 

 and since that time I have been again asked to do so. I wrote 

 to the Director of Kew Gardens on the matter, and he replied 

 that the excellence of this tobacco did not depend on the variety 

 grown, but on the mode of cultivation and of manufacture, and 

 as I have met with an article extracted from the Agricultural 

 Gazette of N.8. Wales, I take over a part of it as it will no 

 doubt be interesting to some of our tobacco growers : — 



" The cultivation of ' Abou-Riha ' tobacco is the same as 

 that of other qualities of tobacco in this country, only that the 

 young plants are taken from the nursery ground and planted 

 very close to one another — four or five inches are left between 

 each two plants — and they are not watered, except at the time 

 of planting and once or twice afterwards, according to the dry- 

 ness and strength of the soil, so. that the stalk remains thin 

 and the leaf small but thick. After picking, the green tobacco 

 is taken to rooms without ventilation or sunlight, where it is 

 hung from the roof by thread. After thus hanging in rows at 

 some distance from each other, the smoking is begun. The 

 smoking is done by burning in the middle of the room the wood 

 called ' Elozr,' a resinous and scented wood only found in the 

 Ausaruje Mountains. The doois are shut to let the leaves 

 absorb the smoke and acquire the black or blackish colour and 

 the scent of the ' Elozr ' This smoking continues till the month 

 of May. When the tobacco is ready it is taken down, lightly 

 sprinkled with water, and heaped up to undergo a first and in- 



