544 TfcOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1888. 
FRUIT DIRECT FROM THE FLORIDA 
GROVES. 
A new undertaking in the fruit line, says an 
American contemporary, is the shipment of Florida 
oranges to Europe. The first lots >vere sent over 
on fast steamers last week, and others are being 
sent on every sailing day. During the months of 
November and December, the markets throughout 
England and Scotland have no supply of oranges 
except immature and consequently very sour fruit 
JErom Spain and Italy. Florida oranges ripen early, 
and "will have practically no competition in foreign 
markets for two months. The transportation costs 
about fifty cents a box, which is less than the 
advance of English prices over our own. Orange 
tree planting has been carriod to such an extreme 
in Florida that nearly all of the suitable land has been 
utilized, and groves have been planted even where 
the soil is not of a proper nature for this fruit. 
— P. M. Budget. 
4> 
The Cultivation of cinchona as a private enter- 
prise is rapidly extending in the Darjeeling district. 
There are now four private plantations there poss- 
essing between them 2,098,580 plants, or nearly 
half as many as the Government plantation. The 
gross yield of the former in 1886-87 was 30,000 lb. 
of bark against only 1,760 lb. in the preceding 
year. — Indian Engineer. 
The Oko-cho creeper introduced by Mr. Nock of 
the Hakgala gardens about four or five years ago at 
about the same time as the tree tomato has become 
so common now that they sell for about 12c. per 
dozen in the Kandy market. Tlie original creeper at 
the Hakgala gardens is said to bave cleared over 
R300 by the sale of its fruits. It was doubted whether 
the creeper would fruit in Colombo, but I am glad to 
say it does. 1 have just seen two fruits on a somewhat 
neglected creeper in the railway avenue, Maradana. 
—Gor. 
Me. E. E. Gbeen's Report on Coffee Bus. 
■ — Our "coffee" planters will be pleased to learn 
that at our instance, the Government have sanc- 
tioned the issue of some twelve copies of Mr. 
Green's able Report with coloured plates, to be 
sent to various scientific authorities in England 
and elsewhere who are likely to be interested and, 
in return, to give an opinion on the same, which 
may be of some use. 
The Uses of Plaster are, we believe, very little 
understood in this country ; at any rate we do not 
remember seeing it ever tried as a manure or as a 
disinfectant. The following note from an esteemed 
exchange ought to convince all sceptics as to the value 
of common plaster: — "There seems to be an opinion 
prevalent with many that as plaster or sulphate of 
Jime does not enter largely into the composition of 
plants, it can be but little use as a fertilizer. They 
do not consider that there are subtauces which, while 
they do not contribute directly to the growth of 
plants, have chemical or mechanical properties that 
play a very important part in vegetation. Piaster 
has both of these properties. As a disinfectant and 
deodorizer it is one of the best, as well as cheapest 
substauces at our command. Any one who has kept 
stock of any kind stabled during the warm summer 
months, knows what a hard task it is to keep their 
apartments clean and odourless. Now, if they will 
keep a barrel of fresh-ground plaster in a convenient 
corner, and every day, on sweeping the floor clean, 
sprinkle it freely with the plaster, it will absorb all 
disagreeable, noxious odours, rendering the air sweet 
and pure, while the value of the manure will be 
greatly enhanced by the retention of the ammonia. 
Poultry-house should also be swept clean at least twice a 
week in summer, and once a week in winter, and the 
doors sprinkled with plaster ; it will add greatly to 
the value of the manure, and the satisfaction of 
having clean, sweet, odourless coops and healthy 
flocks, will abundantly pay expenses. Try it and be 
convinced." — Indian Agriculturist. 
Fobmation of Stauch by Plants. — Experiments have 
recently been conducted at the school of Agriculture, 
Canterbury, New Zealand, by Professors W. E. Ivey 
and G. Gray, with a view to determine the formation 
of starch 'oy plants. It has loug been known that 
starch is formed either in chlorophyll granules or in 
starch-forming corpuscles, which ultimately become 
converted into chlorophyll granules, but up to the 
present, little has been done towards ascertaining the 
rate of formation and dispersion. Accordingly a series 
of experiments were made to determine the rate at 
which starch is formed in the leaves of Peas, Beans, 
and Wheat, and up to date the following results have 
been obtained: — Starch is least plentiful in leaves col- 
lected in early morning, more plentiful in tnose collect- 
ed late iu the afternoon, but beiore evening. Trie de- 
gree of sunshine has a direct effect on the rate of 
starch — formation ; in continuou cloudy weather starch 
is farmed by plants but very slowly. This result was 
brought out in a striking manner. During tome very 
cloudy weather, plant leaves collected before 9 o'clock 
a.m. exhibited but small quantities of starch, except on 
two occasions, when they had been under the action of 
direct sunshine ; in those instances starch was proved 
to exist in large quantities. Determinations have 
not yet been made in leaves collected during absolute 
darkness. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
A Very Important Principle in Culture by 
Irrigation is thus stated in the " Science Gossip " 
of the Melbourne Leader : — In some experimental 
researches on drainage carried on at Meudon by 
M. Berthelot it was ascertained that the drainage 
of rainwater carries off a much larger quantity of 
nitrogen than that supplied to the soil by the 
atmosphere. The obvious conclusion to be arrived 
at in respect to a locality wherein the rainfall is 
less than the evaporation is that the whole of the 
water which flows from the soil should be returned 
to it, so that no nitrogen may be lost. In a climate 
where the rainfall is in excess some of the water 
must, of course, be allowed to flow away. The beau 
ideal of irrigation should, therefore, be to provide 
every field with a reservoir sufficient to store its 
own rainfall, and to return the water to the upper 
end of the field by pumping. This is what it will 
come to, although it may not at present he con 
sidered practicable. 
The Banana Trade, Trinidad — Mr. Hart, Super- 
intendent of the Royal Botanic GardeBS, Trinidad, has 
published a pamphlet advocating the culture of Bananas 
in that island for the New York market. Mr. Hart 
shows that the scheme is quite feasible, and that the 
variety to be grown is that known as Gros Michel. 
Jamaica in 1885 exported Bananas to the araouut of 
£130,000, an amount still increasing; and there is no 
reason, according to Mr. Hart, why Trinidad should 
not share in the spoil. Mr. Hart looks to the United 
States to take as many Bananas as can be grown, and 
reads his fellow-countrymen a lesson in the following 
terms : — " Throughout the American continent we find 
a readiness to adopt to certain uses whatever comes 
to hand, which we do not find in older countries with 
more lengthy traditions. The Englishman, whether 
he calls himself Conservative, Liberal, Radical, or 
even Home-Ruler, is, and cannot help being, when at 
home, in most of his actions nothing else but a Con- 
servative, and hence his general unwillingness to 
adopt new ideas and take up food-sources as quickly 
as the American. For these reasons it is doubtful, 
even if the difficulty of transit were overcome, 
whether the trade would prosper to the same ex- 
tent and with the same rapidity as it has done iu 
America." While in the main we agree with Mr. Hart, 
nevertheless we believe, that, if the Trinidad planters 
could supply our markets with some of the finest 
flavoured varieties in place of the mawkish things we 
get now, there would spring up a demand even in con- 
servative Britain. Many people also are unaware how 
greatly even ordinary Bananas are improved by stewing 
with syrup.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
