April, 1910.1 



359 



Miscellaneous. 



move and more of the inter-relation of 

 all things, our dependence upon the life 

 about us, and our need of studying the 

 laws underlying all, that we may bring 

 under control those forces which aid in 

 our better living, 



In a word, then, I would characterize 

 the school garden as a laboratory in 



which can be worked out many pro- 

 blems, under control, and in a compara- 

 tively short time, the answers to which 

 are necessary to an intelligent compre- 

 hension of the great world about us ; 

 and the child's desire to make plants 

 grow furnishes a keen incentive to such 

 experimentation. 



Correspondence. 



TAPPING OF LANDOLPHIA. 



Loudon, E.O., 6th October, 1909. 

 Dear Sir,— I am greatly interested in 

 a Landolphia Plantation, and I am ad- 

 vised, in view of labour difficulties, that 

 the best means of handling same is to 

 cut it three feet from the ground, re- 

 move the bark from the cut portion, 

 and by means of a Decorticating machine 

 obtain the rubber, which I am told is 

 better and cleaner than tapped rubber. 



1 am informed that the cut portion 

 will grow again, and that Hevea and 

 other trees can be grafted on to the 

 stumps. Is that so ? 

 Are there any plantations where Landol- 

 phia is being cut and is growing again, 

 or where other trees have been grafted 

 on to the stumps, or where the decorti- 

 cation of Landolphia has been a com- 

 mercial success ? 



I shall be glad to have a copy of 

 your paper containing your reply, to- 

 gether with particulars of subscription. 



Thanking you in anticipation, 



I am, yours faithfully, 



for S. G., 



W. A. H. 



[1. I have never heard of Landolphia 

 being cut down as stated and the rubber 

 extracted with a decorticating machine, 



2. Experiments in this direction have 

 so far been failures, except perhaps for 

 Guayule extraction and Gutta from 

 Gutta Percha leaves. 



3. The stumps might grow again, but 

 the barked stems would certainly not. 



4. The idea of grafting Hevea or 

 other rubber trees on to the stumps 

 is absurd. 



t 5. There are no plantations of Landol- 

 phia, which is essentially a forest pro- 

 duct and requires large forest trees to 

 grow upon — M. K. B amber, Govern- 

 ment Chemist.] 



SESAMUM CULTIVATION. 



Melbourne, 24th February, 1910. 

 Dear Sir,— Having a Plantation in 

 Papua, and being anxious to experiment 

 with the growing of Sesame Seed, I am 

 writing to ask you if you can furnish 

 any information regarding this. I have 

 no idea how it is grown or harvested, 

 aud can find no books dealing with the 

 question. Perhaps, if you would kiudly 

 publish this, some of your readers would 

 be able to supply the information. 



I might state that I am a regular 

 subscribe!' to your Journal, and am 

 able to glean much valuable informa- 

 tion from it. 



Yours, &c, 

 PAPUAN PLANTER. 

 [Full information can be found in 

 Watt's Dictionary of Economic Products 

 of India, and articles on Indian Se- 

 samura in "Indian Agriculturist" for 

 February, 1907, and on Sesamum in 

 Burma in same Journal for January, 1908. 

 In Ceylon it is generally a dry-season 

 crop, grown with the April rains in the 

 dry country, The ground is scratched 

 over and sown. There is no rain from 

 May to September and the crop is 

 reaped before the next rains come, — 

 Editor T.A.] 



