March i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
633 
CLIMATE OF MANIPUK. 
In connection with Major Macgregor's paper on bis 
journey from Upper Assam to the Irrawadi, read at 
a recent meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, 
and printed in the new number of tho Proceedings, 
Dr. G! Watt made some valuable remarks on his own 
observations in the Manipur district. Manipur is a 
small valley surrounded by mountain ranges, and in 
this valley the. rainfall was found to bo only about 39 
inches, but seventeen miles off, in the mountains which 
formed the north-east ranges, the rainfall was as much 
as 120 inches, ami towards the Nnga country to the 
north it became greater and greater in certain limited 
tracts. In the Kliasia Hills (iOO inches might fall in 
one placo, and twenty miles off only 50 inches. Nothing 
in Mainpur struck Dr. Watt so much, as a botanist, 
as the remarkable transitions of vegetation in that small 
region. Dr. Watt gathered twelve or more species 
of oaks, many of which were new to science, and ten 
or twelve species of rhododendrons in Manipur alone. 
The Hhododfiiih-oii Falooneri, found in the Naga Ilills 
by Sir Joseph Hooker, is now here met with in the 
immense tract between the Naga Hills and Sikkim. 
This and the epiphytio R. Dalhousitt, which grows on 
a hill thirty miles north of Darjeeling, Dr. Watt found 
in the Naga Hills at an altitude of 0,000 to 8,000 feel, 
and these rhododendrons never occur in Sikkim below 
10,000 to 13,000 feet. There were many instancesof 
plants falling in their altitudo as the traveller passed 
to the east and south-east from Sikkim, until at 
Moulmeiu a rhododendron was found growing near the 
sea, a circumstance which was not met with in any 
other part of Asia. There is something in that region 
which, apart from pure geography, is of vital interest. 
Sarumeti, which is under 13,00(3 feet high, the natives 
said, had now all the year round, wnereas on the 
lli'nalayas the lowest point at which snow occurs is 
17,000 feet. In Munipur, the whole valley, 3,000 feet 
high, was covered with hoar-frosi in December. Dr. 
Watt thought this was a point that should be thoroughly 
investigated : what is tho cause of this falling in altitude 
in the vegetation:' General Strachey, who was in the 
chair, considered that the peculiarities of the vegeta- 
tion of Manipur compared with Assam were connected 
with tho evident lowering of temperature indicated by 
the low snow-line. There could be no doubt that tho 
warm currents of air coming up the valleys of the 
Irrawadi and the Salween and meeting the snowy 
mountains to "the north produced an enormous preci- 
pitation of rain, which during winter fell as snow. 
The consequence seemed to be that there was snow 
thereat u very much lower level than in the moun- 
tains further to the north. That an immense quantity 
of rain fell in the upper portions of the valley of tho 
Irrawadi there could bo no question- Such a rainfall 
seemed in itself quite sufficient to account for the 
large volume of water that was drained otf by the 
lower portions of the Irrawadi ; and anybody who 
knew what Tibet was, General Strachey statvd, must 
lie aware that, oven with a courso of several hundred 
miles, the river would pick up but a small quantity of 
water in comparison with the enormous volumes which 
were Collected from (he ruin which fell in Upper Kurma. 
Secern) strachey had roughly calculated that a monthly 
fall of rain of 18 inohes over a square degree would 
mean 65,000 cubic feet per second for the wtiole 
mouth — Naihtre< 
WATTLE. FARMING. 
As the supplies of wattle-hark hitherto obtained 
from tho natural forest nre rapidly falling-ofT, and 
as the demand is steadily increasing Imth in the 
colonial and European markets, wo propose laving 
before such of our readers as may wish to euter 
into the cultivation of wattles ns a crop tho fullest 
information obt tillable on the subject Hitherto the 
cultivation of the wattle for commercial purposes 
has not received much attention. The Victorian IV 
pnrtmeiit of Auriculture ha<, however, set a good ex- 
ample to the farmers of the col. my by slewing them 
that wattUs can be easily cultivated, uearly 1 (Kjo 
80 
acres of Crown lands having been cultivated, and we 
understand that it is intended to plant an additional 
200 acres every year. Several plantations have been 
made in reserves aloug some of the lines of railway, 
and more especially between Melbourne and Oolac, 
and all are reported to be in a flourishing condition, 
and some sufficiently advanced in growth to be 
ready for stripping. In future tho demand for wattle 
bark will have to be met in a great measure by the 
regular cultivation of wattle trees, aud although a 
remunerative undertaking, there are doubtless many 
persons who may be without the information neces- 
sary to enable them to engage in its systematic 
cultivation. 
Upon the important subject of the profits to be 
derived from wattle cultivation, Mr. J, E. Brown, the 
couservator of forests under the South Australian 
Government, in a valuable report to the South Aus- 
tralian Legislature furnishes the following tabulated 
statement of tho probable revenue and expenditure 
during a period of seven years, in connection with a 
wattle plantation formed upon 100 acres of land 
specially purchased for the purpose, and upon which 
wattles had not previously grown. 
REVENUE. 
To value of property increased aud im- £ s d 
provemects, say ... - 400 0 0 
To value of 500 tons of bark, at £5 per ton 2,500 0 0 
Total 
EXPENDITURE. 
2,900 0 0 
300 0 0 
75 0 0 
40 0 0 
1 10 0 
25 0 0 
20 0 0 
100 0 0 
25 0 0 
50 0 0 
280 0 0 
625 0 0 
250 0 0 
1,108 0 0 
By purchase of 100 acres, at £3 per acre 
By cost of substantial fence all round, 
say one mile and a half, at £50 per mile 
By ploughing 100 acres, at 8s. per acre ... 
By cost of 30 lb. of feed, at Is. per lb. ... 
By labour sowing the seed in rows, say at 
5s. per acre 
By scarifying between the rows twice, at 
4s. per acre ... ••• 
By thinning and pruning for two years, 
at 10s. per acre per annum 
By forming firebreaks during the third 
to seventh year, say £5 per annum ... 
By sundries 
By interest on money expended during 
the seven years, say 
By cost of shipping 500 tons of bark, at 
25s. per ton 
By cost of carting fame to market, at 10s. 
per ton ... 
Balance, being clear profit 
Total £2,900 10 0 
This shows a return of seven per cent upon the 
purchaso of, and improvements upon, the property, 
as well as a clear profit of £1,108, over aud above 
that amount. Iu the above estimate the probablo 
yield is given as fivo tons per acre, which may be 
regarded as a low estimate , as it only allows 10 lb. 
of bark to be taken from each tree. The valuo 
per ton is set down at £5, which at the rates 
now ruling is quite within the market quotations. 
An important point in connection with the cultivation 
of wattles is that both ordinary farming and grazing 
can bo combined satisfactorily with the growth of 
wattles. After the first year, when the young trees 
in the plantation have reached the height of from 
three to four feet, sheep can be turned into the 
plantation without injury lo tho young treos. 
Before proceeding to describe the different varieties 
of wattles and their relative tannic values ami a I no 
tin- methods of cultivation suggested, the information 
collected by tho board appointed by the Victoriau 
Government to deal with the wattle-bark question 
merits attention. That report is of great value, a* 
particular caro was taken to elicit a general ex- 
pression of opinion on the subject, and numbers 
of witnesses from all puts of the colony were examined, 
First, as to consumption. The quantity required 
fur consumption in Victoria alone was estimated at 
from 12,u0 j to 15,000 lous per auuuiu, eiclusivo ol 
