jvtv i, lSfyj f HE "PkOPicAL AGRiCtJLTU£l£f, 
CULTIVATION OF EAMIE, OR CHINA 
GRASS IN SPAIN. 
Ia a recently issued Consular report ou the trade 
and industry of the district of Barcelona during the 
year 1886, it is stated that agriculturists in the 
Gerona district have lately been turning their atten- 
tion seriously to the euliivation of the Ramie, or 
China grass plant ( Boehmeria uivea, H. and A. ). 
For some years past, in consequence of the destruct- 
ive inroads of the Phylloxera and other pests among 
the vineyards, and of the iucreasing importations of 
cereals from America and elsewhere, the cultivation 
of the Vine and cereals has ceased to be as profitable 
as formerly in that part of Gerona, and finding that 
the climate and soil are in every way suited to the cultiv- 
ation of this plant, and that the few essays that 
have been made have resulted in success, a factory for 
decortication has b"en erected near the plantation, its 
inauguration, although created and carried out under 
foreign ( French ) auspices, having been attended by 
the notables of Oataluna. Hitherto the roads from 
the above district have been dry beds of torrents, 
which prevented conveyance of produce to any distant 
market; now it appears the roads are to be levelled 
and made passable. It is said that this plant is 
destined to replace, not only the Hemp and Flax 
which are imported from France for the manufacture 
of textiles in Barcelona, but even that of Cotton. 
The plant grows to a height of 60 to 90 inches. It 
is essentially a textile plant, and two cuttings may 
be made in the year, and cultivated under good con- 
ditions a hectare would grow from 3,000 to 10,000 
kilos, of stalks. At present there are few or no reap- 
ing machines in that part of Spain, but as labour is 
cheap, the loading and pulling of the crop is done 
without much expense. The plantations at Torroella 
de Montgui. the district of Gerona in question, have 
an extent of 130 hectares, but there is land dispos- 
able for the cuiture exten ling over 3,000 hectares. 
The present price of Eamie is 10 pesetas (8s.) the 
100 kilos. There are three decorticating machines at 
work, moved by a steam-engine of 15-horse power. 
They decorticate 215 kilos, of stems in twelve hours, 
from which are obtained 43 kilos, of thread, requiring 
but two workmen to manage each machine — one to 
introduce the stalks and the other to recieve the 
fibre ; and the expense is 12 pesetas 50 c. per 150 
kilos, of thread per diem. The society to whom the 
plantations and factories belong is the Societe de la 
Ramie C. Franfaise, founded in 1882, with a capita! of 
3,3fi0,000 francs. 
The advantage of the Kamie over other textiles 
rests in its great resistance to wear, three times 
greater than that of Hemp, and from its greater 
length is more flexible, and has the property of colour, 
assimilating itself to silk. 
The thread produce can be manufactured into blinds, 
white cloth, mixed cloths for curtains and hau^ings, 
the panto cloth, the finest blankets and flauuels equ il 
to those manufactured from Sariss wool. — J. R, J.— 
Gardeners' 1 Chronicle . 
♦- 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AGRICULTURAL AND 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF INDIA. 
FOR MAY 1887. 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
Cans in fistula. — From G. F. Checcacci, Esq., Calcutta, 
making iNome enquiries regarding Cassia fistula seeds 
for an experiment which a correspondent of his in 
Italy wishes to make. At present only the pulp in 
the seod-pod is commercially utilized, the soed itself 
being thrown away, Mr. Checcacci's correspondent 
wishes to utilize this waste seed by extracting the 
Mine product from them. The information required 
wan supplied. 
'/'.// ; Brai/rottis abysainiea. — Sonic of the sued of this 
Abyssinian cereal, received from Kew, and noticed in the 
last proceedings, was scut to Oera Ghezi Khan for 
trial nt Foit Muuro ; this has been received by Mr. 
Lowis iu tho absence of Dr. Jukes and sent on to 
Fort Muuro for trial, 
9 
Some of the seed was also sent to Mr. C. 0. Stevens, 
Commissioner of Ranchi, who has sent it on to the 
Raja of Jushpore for a careful trail. A third portion 
was sent to Mr. Flamsteed of Syook Tea Estate, Dar- 
jeeling, who will sow in June at the season the millets 
are sown there. In reference to this grain the follow- 
ing remarks of Dr. Schomburgk, Director of the 
Adelaide Botanic Garden, in a letter addressed to the 
National Agricultural Society of "Victoria, will be read 
with interest : " I do not believe that Teff fi iur 
" would be used in South Australia, but the grass 
" may turn out excellent hay. The plant is only au 
"annual." Even should Teff not produce grain to 
compete with the different millets cultivated in India 
or with wheat, should it make a really good bay it 
would probably find a place in Indian Farming, partic- 
ularly if it can be cultivated at a season to follow 
tobacco or precede paddy. 
Araucaria Cookii. — Babu Pratapa Chandra Ghosha 
presented a small section of the stem, taken at 25 feet 
from the ground, of an Araucar a Cookii 59 feet nigh, 
which grew in his garden at Belgharria, and which 
was blown down in a >torm du ing the early part of May. 
He says: — " Ou exam.ning its trunk I observed that 
" about four feet ol it had been severely attacked 
" by white ants which had almost perforated it. 
"It is remarkable that a tree, with resin resembling 
" turpentine should, while alive and in a healthy 
" condition, be so seriously attacked by these insects." 
It seems probable the stem had been injured before 
the white ants attacked the dying wood. 
FUNGI ON TEA ROOTS. 
The following letter from Mr. Grant, Manager 
New Ciunatolliah Tea Co., Limited, North Lakhim- 
pore, Assam, in reference to a notice which appeared 
in the Proceedings of the Society for March, will be 
read with interest by Tea planters : — I have noted 
in the Proceedings of the Agri. and Horticultural 
Society of 23rd March last, some remarks about fungi 
on roots of tea-bushes. Finding no allusion to certain 
kinds of tree roots killing the tea-bushes rouud them , 
I take the liberty to inform you for the benefit of 
others that the roots of the Soom (on the leaves 
of which the Assam Mooga Si.k-worni is fed) aud 
Boolcain, a kind of pariah Neem unless removed when 
a clearance is made for planting tea, always destroys 
the tea planted round the stumps, and unless the root 
\sentirchj (including laterals) removed, it will be difficult 
to get tea to grow near it for years. I myself have 
seen numbers of instances ; in some places the tea- 
bushes were destroyed within a radius of 15 feet from 
the stump. Though there are other tree roots that 
have the same effect, the above two hardly ever fail 
when the tree is cut and the root left in the ground 
to decay, otherwise if left growing, they do not seem 
to effect the tea-bushes. The only way is to remove 
the stump entirely and replant the spot, sacrificing 
even a few bushes, as they will invariably die in time 
if the roots are not entirely dug out. 
The subject being of some importance to Tea planters, 
Dr. King was consulted, and the following is his 
reply: — An analysis of the two trees you mention 
would not, in my opinion, be of any use. If ex- 
perience shows that the wood of these is especially 
affected by this dangerous fungus, all stumps of these 
species should be up-rooted. But I do not think that 
by an analysis of their wood, we should learn the 
cause why the fungus prefers them. If the dead 
stump cannot be actually dug out from gardens where 
they have been left, they might be isolated by digging 
a trench rouud them, so as to prevent the spread of 
the fungus from them to the surrounding tea-bushes. 
TOBACCO, 
A paper was submitted from Mr. Reinhold, together 
with his correspondence with Government on the 
subject. 
iii his paper Mr. Keiuhold advooates the fostering 
by Government of the cultivation and manufacture of 
a superior class of Tobacco in India, as a ninn* ol 
restoring the balance, and largely Increasing thua 
port trade of India. Mr. Reinhold thinks ibat the 
pr<-ont depicsjion in the rato* "f exchnngi give »U 
