616 THE TROPICAL 
Moistube-Phoof Glue is made by dissolving 1G 
oz of glue in 3 pints of skim milk. If a still 
stronger glue be wanted, add powdered lime.— Elec- 
trical Trades Journal. 
A Curious Discoveby. — In the tartar of teeth from 
skeletons of the stone age, Mr. Charles White, of the 
Odontological Society of Great Britain, has found 
specimens of the food eaten by our prehistoric ances- 
tors 3000 years or more ago. The fragments identified 
nclude portions of corn husks, spiral vessels from 
vegetables, starch husks, fruit cells, the point of a 
fish's tooth, and bits of wool feathers and cartilage.— 
Gardener* Chronicle. 
The Alleged Italian Quinine Bounty.— Some 
time ago the statement was made that the Italian 
Government allow an export bounty on all quinine 
made in Italy and shipped to foreign countries. At 
the time this statement was contradicted in our 
columns by the London agent of the Fabbrica Lom- 
barda at Milan. Now it is revived by Messrs. Powers 
<ft Weightman, the American quinine manufacturers, 
who privately state in a recent trade circular that the 
Italian Government does allow such a bounty. — 
Chemist d) Druggist. 
Gbowing Obanges. — I noticed in the Gardeners' 
Chronicle of December 31 a correspondent writing about 
an Orange tree bearing fifty-six fruits. I send you as 
a sample four Oranges gathered six weeks ago from a 
tree, which is carrying seventy-nine good-sized ripe 
fruits; in a green state upwards of eighty. The fruit 
was exhibited in the Oxford market at Christmas, and 
attracted much attention. Insects do not attack the 
tree. — J. Mayo, St. Mary's Road Nursery, Oxford. 
[The fruits were large and showy, and being the Seville 
variety, or else a wilding, were very suitable for the 
making of marmalade. Perfectly good edible lands 
Rre as easily grown as the worst, but, to ripen them 
properly, an intermediate temperature is required. 
E D -J — Gardeners' Chronicle ■ 
Lemon Decoction in Malaria. — This remedy has 
besides its antimalarial efficacy distinct value as a 
tonic to the stomach. Its preparation is thus given 
by Tommasi-Orudeli who first introduced it to the pro- 
fession. Take a fresh lemon (or limes) cut it into thin 
slices, rind and all ; boil it in three tumblerf uls of water 
in an earthen pot which had not been previously used 
for culinary purposes ; prolong the boiling till the 
liquid contents of the pot have been reduced to one- 
third, that is to the volume of one tumbler. Pass 
the decoctiou through muslin, squeezing out the residue 
of the lemon, and let it cool for several hours. Let 
the whole be taken in the early morning fasting. 
''The drink," adds Tommasi-Crudeli, "is rather bitter, 
but not distastefully so ; it is easily taken by delicate 
women and children, and when it has reached the 
stomach it induces the pleasant sensation peculiar 
to tonic remedies. Its use is especially indicated in the 
Tropics." — [Com.'] — Ceylon Medical Journal. 
Insect Enemies. — It is evident that at Rodriguez, 
a small dependency of Mauritius, the indigenous plants 
are threatened with extinction from an enemy of a 
peculiar character. In the Annual Report of the 
Acting Civil Commisioner on Crown Lands and Forests, 
it is stated :— " In my report for the year 1884, 1 
pointed out the existence of a kind of white lice, 
commonly called here ' cochenille,' which had in a 
very short time multiplied enormously, and threatened 
)o destroy the forests of Rodriguez. During the year 
IBS:"), matters looked more alarming still. It was re- 
ported to me that these insecis had begun to attack 
the maize, manioc, and bean plantations : I myself 
while visiting the mountain, ascertained the correctness 
of the report. However, the bean harvest had not been 
bad, and the inhabitants had not to suffer from any 
scarcity of food. As regards the citron, lemon, and 
orange trees, for which this island has long been 
1 anions, hundreds of them have been killed by these, 
insects. The mango and coconut trees felt their baneful 
6, and yielded sour and unsavoury fruits. One 
(<f the best forest trees which grow here, the ' Bois 
pliant' (luttidia mauritiana), seems unable to resist 
their attack, and I am afraid that there will not bo 
AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1888 
one of these trees left within a twelvemonth, unless, 
by tome happy circumstance, these insects were to 
disappear altogether." We learn from K-tw, that the 
interesting indigenous tree, whose complete extinction 
within twelve months is here anticipated, is very rare 
in Mauritius, and unless steps are taken to preserve 
it at Rodriguez, it will probably disappear altogether 
as a forest tree, from the flora of these islands. — 
Nature, 
Australian Oranges. — We have received from the 
purser of the P. and 0. steamer " Thames," a 
small case of oranges which has been consigned 
to us under his care by Dr. Storer, of Sydney, 
N. S. W., the inventor of a new process of shipping 
fresh fruit for exportation by packing it in sawdust 
or paper dipped in an antiseptic preparation ; 
this, Dr. Storer claims, has the property of pre- 
serving fruit if packed in sound condition, and 
moreover has the advantage of not necessitating 
any special stowage, but enabling the fruit to be 
carried as ordinary cargo. The purser writes : — 
" The oranges were seat on board at Sydney on 
the 11th November, and after being stowed in 
the hold have received no further attention ; conse- 
quently, if not inconvenient to you, I should be 
glad to receive a report as to their condition. I 
may add that should this process succeed it will 
be possible to obtain Australian oranges in Eng- 
land in prime condition during our summer 
months." The oranges were delivered at North- 
umberland-street the other morning. They were 
packed without paper in what appeared to be very 
coarse sawdust. There were sixty-four altogether. 
Of these nine had decayed almost out of recogni- 
tion as oranges, and twelve were unsound not 
mouldy, but of a livid colour. The rest were in 
first-class condition, and were far and away the best 
oranges we have tasted this season. They were sweet, 
juicy, and of a fine flavour. — Pall Hall Budget. 
The Study op Vegetable Physiology. — The fact 
is, that vegetable physiology, apart from the in- 
vestigation of the microscopic structure of plants 
has become chiefly a matter for students of physics 
and of chemistry, and students of these sciences 
have preferred to study the abstract sciences in 
their laboratories rather than follow up their ap- 
plications in the living plant. Chemists, indeed, 
have told us a good deal concerning the chemical 
constitution of dead plants. They cremate them 
and then study their ashes — an odd method, it 
would seem, of studying the life-action of plants. 
Combined, however, with practical observations 
and well devised experiments in the laboratory 
and in the field or garden, such a method renders 
invaluable assistance. We earnestly hope, there- 
fore, that the younger school of botanists now 
coming forward will see the great need there is of 
their services, and actively take upon themselves 
the task of unravelling . the problems of plant 
life. As a precious aid in this direction we may 
call attention to Professor Marshall Ward's lately 
published translation of Sachs' Lectures on the 
Physiology of Plants.* Those who are familiar with 
the Experimental Physiology of the celebrated 
German author and with his Lectures, as here 
translated, will know how greatly superior those 
works are in grasp and lucidity to his Textbook, 
and hence students will feel specially grateful to 
Professor Ward for this translation of the Vorlesuny- 
en, and for the admirable way in which he has 
accomplished it. — Gardeners' Chronicle, Dec. 3rd. 
* Lectures on the Physiology of Plants. By Julius 
von Sachs, translated by H. Marshall Ward, Professor 
of Botany in the Forestry School, R. I. E, College, 
Cooper's Hill, Oxford; Clarendon Press. 
