April 2 , i888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
691 
coarse letter.',! Plaids, and under neath in smaller 
letters your own name and address: Wrap tins 
around tho parcel turn over tho ends closely, and, 
tie securely with florists' twine or carpet;, wrap Well 
waxed. Duriug the liot , dry weather I pack them 
in the same way, only leaving the ends of both 
waxed paper and inner wrappii g-paper open at the 
top end of the plants, and inst'-ad of the paper out 
side wrapper, I use coarse strong cheesecloth, and 
sew it around the parcel with stout thread. Write 
the address directly on the cloth, or paste a strip 
of papur around it to write upon." 
Sphagnum moss is the kinl that is used by nursery- 
men and florists generally. It is also found in this 
State growing in cypress ponds and bay heads. The 
great advantage of this moss is that it retains mois- 
ture a long time and does not heat readily. What- 
ever moss is used, be careful it is not too wet. 
Oiled paper is better than waxed paraffine paper: Get 
light, but strong tough manila wrapping paper and 
give it a coat of raw linseed oil. When dried, this 
will be air and waterproof, though still pliable and 
not sticky. 
Doubtless many readers of tho Dispatch would 
like to send plants or cuttings to friends in the 
North or in other parts of Florida. By following 
in th*se directions, they ought to do so successfully. 
In sending cutting* always remove all the leaves 
with a sharp knife before packing. If the ends of 
the cuttings are dipped in rosin softened with enough 
grease to make it sticky, they will not dry out so 
quickly. — Florida Dispatch. 
the Government quinine plantations. 
The following are extracts from the highly interest- 
ing report of Surgeon-Major George King, M; n., 
LL. D., Superintendent, Royal liotanic Garden, Calcutta, 
and of Cinchona Cultivation in Peugal, anil officiating 
Government Quinologist, which has ju-t boon issued: — 
" The year under report was rather a disastrous 
one for the cinchom plantation. Hailstorms which 
passe. I over Kungjo valley at the beginning of the hot 
season destroyed fiue young hybrid cinchona seedlings 
to tho number of about 2O,0U(>. And on the 2'th of 
June there occurred a storm of wiud and rain of extra- 
ordinary severity. During this storm there fell, within 
the space of seven hours, no less than twelve inches 
of rain. This stidden rainfall produced landslips by 
which more than three hundred thousand youutr trees, 
some of them among the finest on the plantation, were 
utterly destroyed. Considerable damage was also done 
to roads, am) two of our longest bridges were carried 
away. .No storm of equal severity has visited the plant- 
ation since it was first begun. During the yeir, 
300,000 plants were uprooted, either on account of their 
sickly condition or for the sake of their bark. Against 
these lo'sns, amounting to 624,218 plants, 389,008 soed- 
lings were planted out. . . . The nett diminution 
since the date of Inst report is 286,216 trees, and the 
plantation now consists of 4,s02,;i;)ij trees of various 
ages. . . . During the current year I anticipate 
that a crop of 250,000 pounds of bark will he required 
for tho factory, and arrangements shall bo made ac- 
cordingly. Mr. ( fammie has heon in executive charge 
of both plantation and factory during the year. As I 
hnve nlrendy mentioned, Mr. Oammio has spent much 
timo nnd energy in experiments directed towards the 
discovery of nn effirh nt and cheap mode of manufactur- 
ing quinine. He has conducted his factory ami planta- 
tion work in bis usual efficient manner. Mr. Pant ling 
nnd M*. (iammie, jun., have both worked excellently ; 
■nd to Mr. l'arkes my acknowledgments arc also duo 
for hi* management of the Rungjung division." The 
report of Mr. Colman Macanley, Secretary to the Co. 
vernment of B-ngil, on the cinchona plntat'orn and 
pinchnni factory is added to the report of Dr. King, 
and in hi.* report Mr. Marauley says : — *' Tho low price 
of quinine is mo«t •atisfart >ry, lor the cheapening of 
this invaluable drug cannot fail to be an advantage 
to the Indian population, and i* inch ed (be very result 
which (Jovernmeut proposed to itself in originally 
introducing cinchona cultivation into tho country. 
The present low price of ciuchona bark, nnd, therefore, 
at quinine, can hardly be expected to continue. . , 
The favourable report given by Dr. King of the good 
work done by Mr. Gammie and bis s-m, and a' 0 by 
Mr. Pantlinp, is noted with satisfaction. Th'j th inks 
of the Government are due to Dr. King for his ad- 
ministration of the plantations and the factory dining 
the year." The Mr. Pantling so highly spoken of in 
the above reports is the son of Mr. R. Pantling of 
Alnwick. — Indian Paper. 
COFFEE JEREMIADS. 
We noticed a short time since in the columns of 
a contemporary, a letter severely assailing coffee cul- 
tivation. The correspondent appears to possess shares 
in a coffee company ; but his letter conveys no mean- 
ing to the public ear, nor indeed is any point in it 
apparent, except that a man svith money to spare, 
who has left the safe bank of Government securities, 
to try his fortune in tho current of speculation, has 
found his investment an unprofitable one, and straight- 
way commences to bewail his mistake in public. He 
would have been wiser in his generation had he 
got rid of his shares before attempting to do his 
company an injury by publishing their woes : but, 
perhaps he has sold them. 
A letter liko this is calculated to do considerable 
harm, even though the cry be uncalled for. We 
are quito awaro that many estates in Wynaad have 
suffered from tho leaf disease; iu fact, we believe 
that very few are entirely free from it. It is a 
disease to which all plants are liable ; and we have 
the authority of a learned gentleman, who has paid 
much attention, not only to botany generally, but 
to the coffee tree in particular, for stating that it 
is unlikely to do any material damage to the frees. 
Practical planters also, who sometimes (too seldom 
wo are sorry to say) favor us with their views, 
assert that though some necessary Joss of wood, 
and, perhaps, even a diminution of next year's crop 
may ensue, the trees themselves will not suffer a 
bit more from this disease than they would from a 
rather heavy pruning, A few young estates, whore 
it has been worst, may have tho shape of the "rusty " 
trees spoilt; but, on the other hand, many places, 
that have had it mildly, will not suiter at all. 
Practical men aro quito content to wait till tho 
effects of tho leaf disease, or any other ailment to 
which coffee, like all other plants, is liable, have 
passed away, secure that iu tho long run, steady 
cultivation, conducted liberally, though not waslefully 
will bring iu a good return. They do not expect 
bumper crops every year, nor do th-y cousider 
their properties as ruined — as our cotemporary's 
corrospondeut does — if for one year the produce hardly 
covers the expenditure. Had the corrospondeut 
alluded to look beforo he leaped ; had he taken tin: 
advice of his friends as to " the cheerful trio of 
U's — bug, borer and blight," he/ore investing, iustead 
of after, as he ingenuously admits ; or had he ex- 
orcised sufficient commousense to remember that 
not even tho wisest directors of companies cm 
prevent accident or disease; and that if an invest- 
ment were absolutely safe it would not come into 
the market on terms to pay a higher percentage 
than the bank rates, he might have had even now 
tho purchase mouoy of his shares paying him its 
modest four per oeut in Governmeut piper. He, 
and people like him, wdio thirst tor large profits, 
yet cry out at any adversity, hud better refrain from 
dabbling in shares at all in any enterprise where 
courage is required; not only may they peril its 
success by clamour and interference, but when bard 
times come, they may, by persistently cryiug 
" stinking fish," prevent thoir uulortnuate co-share- 
holders from realiziug the true value of their pro- 
perty or. re-establishing it as a bona Jid* invest- 
ni' nt — JVilfftH Exprfis. 
AG I5ICU LTU UAL HANKS. 
The printing and publication, as a parliamentary 
paper, or of the correspondence that took placo a 
lew years ago at Homo and in India on Sir William 
Weddurburn '» project for the eiUbllshnjeat of. Agri- 
