64 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July l, Iff* 
orders of plants left little to be desired, such can 
hardly be said of the collection of plants represent- 
ing the flora of Australia, New Zeland, and Tasmania. 
But the fault does not lie with the officials of Kew, 
but rather with the nature of the English climate 
and the almost insuperable difficulty of growing so 
many specimens of plants and trees, many of which 
grow to an immense size in pots, with any hope 
of maintaining or developing their true character. 
Take the Eucalyptus family for instance : true, we 
have the various species represented but few are in 
true character, and give but a very faint idea of 
what the trees are in their native country. It is 
quite different with most of the palms and other 
plants to be found in the palm house; these thrive 
and grow to their full natural size in comparatively 
confined and cramped root spaces ; but to exhibit, 
the family of Eucalyptus in anything approaching 
their natural conditions would, of course, be a hope- 
less task in England, and while looking over the 
collection at Kew I could not help thinking how 
differently examples of nearly all the Australian flora 
could be grown and exhibited at Ootacamund, and 
what a splendid Botanical Garden could be established 
and upheld at a comparatively small cost in such a 
climate. Thousands of plants from such countries 
as China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, &c, which 
in England require the protection of glass could be 
brought to their fullest development in such a climate 
as Ooty, without any such protection, and thousands 
of others from warmer climes could be equally well 
grown with simply glass protection wilhout the 
addition of fire heat which is such a heavy item of 
expenditure in England. 
Kew gardens are not open to the public till twelve 
noon on week days and 1 o'clock on Sundays; and 
no bag or parcel of any kind is allowed to be taken 
beyond the lodge gates, so that there is notjthe slight- 
est chance of any one desirous of taking an early 
summer morning walk in the extensive grounds or 
enjoying anything resembling a picnic having his or 
her wishes gratified. These restrictions, to my mind, 
are very absurd. I would not of course have cricket 
nor such ' like games played on the velvety lawns of 
Kew gardens, but as matters stand now visitors are 
allowed to walk on these lawns and to rest under 
the grateful shade of the many wide spreading trees 
to be found all over the grounds, and what harm 
could possibly result from the public, if they chose 
partaking of tiffin while so resting, it is difficult to 
conceive ; true, there might be a few bare bones 
and pieces of paper left behind at first, but this 
difficulty might be overcome by adopting certain 
rules and rigidly enforcing them, and the comfort 
and pleasure to the tens of thousands of people who 
annually visit the grounds would be very greatly 
enhanced by some such concession. As matters stand 
now, no one can have any refreshment within the 
grounds, save and except what he can smuggle it 
in his pockets, and it is quite impossible for anyone 
to inspect the gardens to any purpose under a good 
many hours, so that the rules of the garden as they 
at present stand are undoubtedly productive of much 
discomfort to the public. Another rule is that no 
one shall enter the gardens unless " decently dressed." 
I wonder who are our judges in such matters, and 
on what grounds their decisions are based ? Dear 
old Ooty, "with all thy faults I love thee still"! 
Well do I remember thy charming gardens free to 
every one, from earliest dawn till dark night; where 
one could enter either in the garb of a West-End 
exquisite or dressed in shikaree garb of rubicund 
jail cloth and bettered helmet or mushroom hat and 
be welcome all the same, and where no fault was 
found if a following of coolies accompanied his steps 
to thy picnic ground on the hillside, laden with heavy 
baskets of various requisites for the inner man. But 
in Komc, I suppose we must do as Borne does and put 
up with these discomforts at Kew, of carefully 
dressing before entering the gates and refraining from 
.ringing with us anything in the shape of refresh- 
ents till such time as an agitator or two with equal 
m ility and energy to Messrs. l'ainell and Co., bring 
about the repeal of these rules in the House of 
Commons. 
The institution was started in the first place and 
subsequently maintained by large Government grants 
mainly for the purpose, as I imagine, of instructing 
the public, and that being so, every inducement should 
be held out for the largest number of people visiting 
and inspecting the gardens, instead of such rigid 
restrictions as at present obtain. Visitors from a dis- 
tance anxious to make the most of their time cannot 
be expected to leave the gardens in the midst of 
their ramble, and just perhaps when their interest in 
all they see is becoming greater and greater, for the 
sake of adjourning to a refreshment house for a dinner 
or a much needed cup of tea. Kew gardens are of 
great extent, and it takes a long time to see every, 
thing, so that is absolutely necessary that these re- 
strictions should be reversed if anything like a com- 
fortable holiday is to be spent there. The Londoners 
too, who do so much to make up the annual total 
of visitors feel the effect of these rules perhaps more 
than anybody else, for a Londoner bent on holiday 
making is nothing without his tiffin basket, and one 
effect of these rules is undoubtedly to keep away 
many thousands that would be otherwise glad to spend 
a day at Kew gardens occasionally very greatly to 
their benefit. 
Kew is doubtless a glorious place, a garden of 
beauty aud of wonders, but many months in the year 
one can only find enjoyment under the shelter of the 
glass roofs owing to this fickle climate of ours. Imagin- 
ation can picture what kind of garden could be 
brought into existence in a climate like Ootacamund 
if equal encouragement and support were accorded 
it as .at Kew. 
India with all its wealth and great advantages can 
boast of nothing like Kew, her so-called Botanical 
gardens are many of them, unworthy of the name 
and of a great and mighty— empire. Let us hope that the 
Madras Presidency will soon take the initiative in 
striving to transform by every means in its power, 
the Government Botanical Gardens at Ooty, from 
their present embryo state to a condition worthy of 
their name and the magnificent district in which they 
are situated. — Hohtds. — Nilgiri Express. 
♦ 
Quininh. — We learn from the Indische Afercuur that 
the quiuine factory in Amsterdam, which stopped 
working some months ago, has been purchased by one 
of the late Board of Directors with a view to reorganiz- 
ation of the business, in the carrying out of which 
Messrs. Bdhringer and Son, of Mannheim, will take 
an active part. — Pharmaceutical Journal. 
Caffeine and Theine.— Considered chemically, the 
base obtained from coffee and from tea has hitherto 
been regarded as one and the same substance, though 
the names of caffeine and theiue have been applied 
to it according to the source from which it is obtained. 
It is, moreover, probable that as a commercial article 
it is chiefly, if not entirely, produced from tea. There 
have been statements that the base obtained from 
coffee has a physiological action different from that 
of the base obtained from tea, but they have not 
met with much acceptance, though it is a common 
opinion that there is a decided difference between 
the effects of tea and coffee when used as beverages. 
This question has recently been studied by Dr. Lauder 
Brunton and Dr. Cash, and in a paper read before 
the Royal Society they have described a difference in 
the action of caffeine and theine upon the voluntary 
muscles which is sometimes exceedingly well marked, 
though variable. According to these authorities theine 
seems to be more powerful in its action than caffeine, 
aud there is a qualitative difference between them, 
inasmuch as theine tends to produce rhythmical con- 
tractions in the muscle. The study of such differences 
in the physiological action of substances differing in 
composition has already given a number of interesting 
facts, aud it appears likely to be a means of throwing 
still further light upon the constitution of substances 
which appear to be chemically indentical. — Phar- 
maceutical Journal, 
