Carya oUvaeformis. " Peccan Nut." 



Plants of this tree were receiyed from Dr. Addison, Senr., 

 and are growing fairlj well ; they are about 18 inches high, 

 but grow very slowly; we have some seedlings also, which are 

 perhaps likely to make better trees. Any reliable report on 

 this plant must be reserved for the present. 



JRumex liymenosepahis. " Canaigre." 



I have nothing to add to previous reports on this plant? 

 except that fair sized roots have been raised in the Mooi River 

 district from the seed supplied by us ; and that our plants 

 have seeded freely. The head gardener, Mr. Wylie, is of opinion 

 that better plants are produced from seed than from cuttings 

 from the roots ; and it will give a crop in less than a year from 

 the time of sowing the seed, but it requires a moist situation, 

 and would not I think succeed well in very dry soils. The 

 roots are used for tanning leather, and as a crop it would 

 probably pay as well as " Wattle Bark," or perhaps better. 

 Since writing the above a number of the " Pharmaceutical 

 Magazine " has come to hand from which I extract the 

 following : — 



"The subject of new tanning materials has from time to 

 time cropped up as one possessing considerable importance. As 

 a proof of this we need but point to the interest which centred 

 a few years ago around the canaigre, the root of the Humex 

 hymenosepalus, and in connection with which a Foreign Office 

 Report on the trade and Agriculture of California issued during 

 the past year states that the value of canaigre as a tanning 

 agent, either alone or in connection with other tannins, has been 

 proved beyond question. Foi light leathers it gives great 

 tensile strength, and is far better for split leather than 

 Gambler, oak, or hemlock. It is a quick tanner, and the 

 yellow colour absorbed by the hide in the process of tanning is 

 considered highly desirable for certain leathers. The sliced and 

 dried tubers, containing an average of 30 per cent of tannic acid, 

 are worth from £8 to £9 a ton. A yield of from 7 to 10 tons 

 per acre Avould give 2\ to 3| tons of the dried product, for which 

 there is a. constant demand in Europe and America. In 

 consequence of the rapidity of the growth of this plant in 

 countries suited to its cultivation it has been recommended to 

 the notice of farmers of small means." 



Theohroma cacao. Cocoa plant. 



Fruits were received from Grenada, and some plants from 

 Mauritius, and thanks to the new forcing house, a number of 

 the plants have been raised, and will soon be ready for 

 distribution. I doubt, however, whether it will be a com- 



