3io 



distributed and recent tests made by the Chemical Laboratory at 

 Saigon seem to show that it is a valuable product. 



[The Gutta from D. Krantziana, of which specimens are in the 

 Museum of the Botanic Gardens, and young plants in the Economic 

 Gardens is a very inferior white Gutta not unlike that of D. obovata, 

 which also the young plants much resemble. It is useless for deep- 

 sea cables, the most important use of Gutta percha. — Editor?^ 



CITRONELLA OIL. 



There seems to be an opening for trade in Citronella Oil in 

 Australia at present. Messrs. PHIPPS, TURNBULL & Co. of Mel- 

 bourne, write to. the Director of the Botanic Gardens stating that 

 they wish to represent an exporter or firm interested in this pro- 

 duct. They are accustomed to dealing in it and can handle it to 

 advantage. A fair export trade could be established with Austra- 

 lia, if local agents co-operated. 



[Messrs. Phipps, TURNBULL & Co. is a very old firm in Austra- 

 lia, having been established in 1840. — Editor.] 



HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 



Crinum northianum, Baker. — This fine Crinum was originally 

 described by Mr. Baker of Kew from a drawing by Miss Mari- 

 anne NORTH, in the beautiful collection of drawings made in 

 various parts of the tropics and now preserved at Kew. The plant, 

 however, seems never to have been brought into cultivation though 

 common in muddy ditches near Kuching, Sarawak, where I found 

 it in flower a year ago. Through the kindness of Bishop HOSE, we 

 have received a number of plants, of which one has come into 

 flower. The plant resembles the common seashore Crinum asiati- 

 cunty but seems quite distinct. The root produces long subterranean 

 suckers and is in fact stoloniferous throwing up shoots from these 

 long underground shoots. I have never seen anything like this in 

 C. asiaticum which seldom if ever produces side shoots. The 

 leaves are very long linear and about five or more feet long and 

 three inches wide forming a large tuft. The inflorescence is shorter 

 than the leaves, the stout peduncles being 18 inches long and half 

 an inch thick, pale green. It is produced from the lower axils of 

 the stem. The flowers 12 in the plant now in flower, but said to 

 be 30 or 40 in number in fully developed plants, are crowded into a 

 terminal head and at the base are three lanceolate reflexed bracts, 

 the biggest three inches long. The flower tube is six inches long, 

 pale olive green. Petals and sepals linear white tinted and tipped 

 on the back with pink, recurved linear four inches long three-eighth 

 inch wide. The stamens an inch shorter are deep crimson with 

 black anthers (not yellow as in C. asiaticum). The style also deep 

 pink is shorter. 



[This handsome and apparently easily grown plant is a welcome 

 addition to our ornamental bulbs. — Editor.'] 



