548 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, t888. 
if quinine at all ; that such a dose would probably 
make him as deaf as a post or "lift the crown 
of his head" if it did not actually kill him. But 
the result actually was that this large dose had 
not the slightest bad effect, and I heard nothing more 
of the feverish headache which had previously 
troubled him. The doctor kindly showed me in 
one of his German medical works that from two 
to three grammes was now the recognized dose of 
quinine, that is in Germany, I suppose, — Yours truly. 
JAMES WESTLAND. 
ESSENTIAL OIL IN TEA. 
Colombo, 21st Jan. 1888. 
Dear Sir, — As I see you are interested in the 
subject of the essential oil in tea, you are free to 
make use of the following remarks by Dr. Hassall, 
the well-known food analyst : — " The volatile oil 
is not present in fresh tea ; but is developed in the 
course of drying and roasting. It is of a lemon 
colour, readily solidifies, and becomes resinous on 
exposure to the air. It is to it that the aroma is 
mainly due. The amount present in tea is stated to be 
about 1 per cent, a statement we consider to be open to 
much doubt. For the estimation of the volatile 
oil, a considerable quantity of tea must be operated 
upon. This must be distilled with water, and the dis- 
tillate received into a cool receiver. The oil should be 
found floating upon the water. We may state, however, 
that, in certain attempts we have made, we have 
failed to obtain any weighable amount of the oil. 
The distillate had the odour of tea, but no oil drops 
were visible." 
I might add, that, according to Mulder's frequently 
quoted analysis, green tea contains - 79 per cent, and 
black tea -GO per cent of essential oil. — Yours very 
ruly, M. COCHRAN. 
Coffek in the Hull. — Our blessed " Centro de 
Lavoura e Commercio" on the 18th ultimo writes 
a powerful despatch to the minister of agriculture 
anent the export of coffee in the hull. It will ruin 
those interested in coffee cleaning ; it will serve as 
a substitute, these coffee hulls, for the bean and 
altogether the export of coffee in tha hull had 
better to shut down on. — Rio News. 
Coffee in Southern India. — Mr. Jas. Mac- 
farlane of Maske'iya left today for Tuticorin on 
a trip through Southern India as far as the Nil- 
giris and Mysore, his main object being to see 
the fine coffee plantations at Coonoor and Coor'g, 
which are still yielding their 8 to 10 cwt. per acre. 
In one case of a Coonoor property, the absent pro- 
prietor gets some £5,000 profit annually, through 
crops at the rate we mention, neither leaf disease 
nor bug affecting his trees ; and he attributes all 
to cultivation — that is to a. plentiful supply to 
the soil of " old bones " 1 We trust Mr. Macfar- 
lane will have a pleasant and interesting trip. 
Coffee Reviving. — It is cheering to hear 
pleasant accounts of poor old coffee coming to 
the front again in several directions. Those who 
still hold some acreage in the cisalpine districts 
are getting encouraging pickings and good prices— 
for instance 2,500 bushels from a Maskeliya pro- 
perty and a sale at la rupees all round— must be satis- 
factory, while the appearance of the bushes is all 
that could be desired. Old hands think it hard 
if -with tea, and some of them cinchona, as well, — 
the throe strings should fail them, even although there 
may be a chance of tea coming down toSd.alb. 
until the people of the American States andEuropean 
Continent wake up to the advantage of drinking 
good tea and plenty of it. 
THE ACTION OF SULPHUROUS VAPOUKS 
ON PLANTS. 
The following conclusions were arrived at as the 
result of the elaborate serias of experiment-! per- 
formed by the late Professor E. Morren, and pub- 
lished in the Belgique Horiicole after the death of the 
author : — 
Leaves are more sensitive to the action of sul- 
phurous acid than flowers. A proportion of sulphur- 
ous acid gas, sufficient to affect the leaves, has no 
appreciable effect on the flowers. A proportion of 
1-80,000 to 1-90,000 part of sulphurous acid gas is 
sufficient to cause great pathological alterations ou 
the leaves of fruit trees ; 1-80,000 of sulphurous acid 
in the air will effect the Apple ; but one part of gas 
in 10,000 of air produces no result, The changes 
produced by sulphurous acid gas on leaves seems to 
spread after the gas has directly ceased to act. The 
prejudicial effect of sulphurous acid gas on the leaves 
is shown by the appearance of yellowish-brown and 
irregular specks. These are particularly noticeable 
at the tips aud edges of the leaves, and extend over 
the cellular part of the leaf. The nerves are least 
affected, and usually remain green. Adult leaves 
are usually more sensitive to the action of sulphur- 
ous acid than are young leaves that have not attained 
their complete development. The alteration begins by 
the formation of dull greenish- while spots, situated 
between the nerves and on the edge of leaves; these 
pots, which spread a little, turn green, then rusty- 
brown. At length the dead tissues are destroyed, 
aud the leaves are perforated aud torn. The action 
of sulphurous acid gas (a proportion of 1-80,000) is 
evident in a very short time, usually in three to 
five hours. 
Sulphurous acid gas dissolved in water, and plaoed 
on either of the surfaces of the leaf, is almost with- 
out effect on the upper; while on the lower surface, 
each little drop causes the formation of a spot of 
greenish-brown discoloration visible on both surfaces. 
It is proved from experiments concerning the com- 
parative effect of sulphuric acid and sulphurous 
acid dissolved in water, that this gas by its contact 
with the vapour of water and the oxygen of the air is 
not changed, at least not rapidly into sulphuric acid. 
Each of these two acids has a distinctly different 
effect. The action of sulphurous acid, as a solution 
or in a gaseous state, is as potent by night as by day. 
All the sources of sulphurous acid — and these are 
numerous— affect the vegetation in the neighbour- 
hood. Near certain industrial establishments which 
use sulphur, or which consume pyretic fuel, the 
vapours spread death around them. The action is 
unvarying : wherever a furnace is used and a chimney 
is raised, this result is noticeable. We speak of 
Belgium, where coal of more or less pyretic character 
is usually burnt. The smallest chimney isolated in 
the country, influences the foliage near it, and with 
a little experience we can easily pick the leaves showing 
the effects of sulphurous acid. — La Belyique 
Horticole, p. 324. 
COCONUT BEETLES. 
The Acting Principal Civil Medical Officer of the 
Straits Settlements has just sent in to Government a 
Report on the beetles which have wrought such 
fearful havoc among coconut trees here. The Report 
is well worth the attention of coconut growers who 
will find in it information and smggestions, both 
valuable and practical. Investigations brought to bear 
upon the subject have resulted in demonstrating the 
fact, that these destructive insects belong to two 
species known respectively by the mime of Oryctes 
nasicorni* a d Calaridrd Palmarum. The former turns 
out to be I he so called elephant or rhinoeeros beetle ; 
large in siz ', black or dark browu in colour, with a 
long curved horn on its head. Beetles of this kind 
do "most mischief to cocoanut trees when full grown, 
by feeding upon the soft woody fibre in the crown 
of the trees. Beginning operations under the sheath 
of one of the leaves, the beetle in question bores 
a hole into the head of the tree. Within four or 
five days, it generally succeeds in reaching the centre 
