May i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL 
for sige3 continue to respond to this treatment. 
The strongest advocate of forking up tea lands that 
I havo mot was an old Indian who had been 
connected with tho ontorprizo in Assam and 
Darjoeling from its beginning through all its 
vicissitudes. He also deprecated manuring, because 
of its excessive cost and its forcing effect. Spade 
husbandry, all the world over, is proverbial, and its 
specialty is tho breaking up of the soil. In fact 
all modern mechanical cultivators are adapted for 
pulverizing tho soil, On our old coffee lands this 
operation is made more necessary, than on lands 
in general by the incessant tramping of the coolies 
over it, and tho battering eil'ect of our tropical 
rains. 
Tho specialties of tea cultivation in Ceylon con- 
sist in the steepness of our lands, tho weight of 
our rains, the mineral character of our soils, 
and the continual trampling of their surface; 
all of which are in greatest force on old lands, 
and need the special attention of those who 
are cultivating tea on the old coffee estates, 
llenco it is that draining and forking attain 
their utmost importance and value on these lands. 
Even the trampling of their surfaces by weekly 
pluckings and monthly weedings is more injurious 
on old than on newly opened lands, as the small 
quantity of organic matter they originally possessed 
has been almost ontirely consumod. As a rule, 
they have lost all their surface mould, and the large 
roots of tho virgin forest have long since been 
assimilated by tho coffee roots, or lost by decay. 
Hence tho porosity they had whilst new, by 
virtue of the vegetable matter they possessed, no 
longer exists, and they arc therefore caked and made 
impervious to air and moisture in a greater degrco 
than new lands by tho trampling of the coolies and 
the battering effect of the rains. The failure of 
Alpha's forking must, I think, be due to some local 
circumstance, or to some peculiarity of his method ; 
for, in its nature and effect, the opening up and 
pulverizing of tho soil are found to be universally 
efficacious. Thoy are mere particularly applicable 
and necessary in the special circumstunces of tea 
cultivation on old lands. 
♦ 
Ll'cknow Horticultural Garohns. — The manage- 
ment of thi 80 gardens under Mr. Kidley was, as 
usual, Successful and economical. Fruit crops wero 
on the whole good, and largo numbers of trees 
and plants were added of now varieties. Interesting 
experiment with fodder grasses were carried out — 
Himiu new. A variety of cotton was obtained from 
MadrM, not hithurto tried at Lueknow, which seems 
likoly to do well. The frosts, severe as they were 
all over tho country, were particularly so in their 
1 Meet on tho arboricultural and exotic plantations 
and ilid considerable damage. — Agricultural Jieports 
N. IK Provinces and Oud/t, September 1887. 
Saiiaranpur Botanical Gardens.— The monsoon 
Reason was favourable, but severe frosts later on 
damaged both trees and crops. Nevertheless there 
was 11 very considerable increase in income, as the 
fruit crop was good and thero was a good demand 
for young trees. Work in all departments was 
actively and scientifically carried on. Some interest- 
ing notes wero made on a number of new varieties 
of vegetables from Florida and from Singapore. 
A large quantity of drugs was supplied to the 
Medical Department, representing a saving to Govern- 
ment over r.uinh.iy prices oi Ks. 1? i" ■">'.'. 'I'll.' Arni- 
gadh glffdeba are now yielding an increasing income. 
.More gardeners woro ncnt out than in any previous 
year. From tho 1st April nominally, but actually 
from tho beginning of August, tho scheme of 
establishment fur the gardens was remodelled on a 
more economical hisis. Ilie Superintendent, Mr. Duthic, 
wott appointed Director of tlu Botanical Department, 
n 
AGRICULTURIST. 
Northern India, and Mr. Gollan, Head Gardener, 
was appointed Superintendent on a much lower 
salary than that drawn by his predecessor. Air. 
Duthie, however, continues to reside in the gardens, 
where his office and herbarium are kept as before, 
and the gardens are still open to him for botsmical 
purposes. — Agricultural Jieports JY. IV. Provinces and 
Oudfi, September 1.S87. 
Doting Flowers in their Natural Colours. — 
Dr. Scbonland gives the details of his system of drying 
flowers : — " Tako two pints of a saturated solution of 
sulphurous acid in water' (which can be had at auy 
chemists, and is very cheap if bought in large qututi- 
ties,) ; add to this 1 pint of methylated spirit. Keep 
this mixture in a wide-mouthed bottle, wbieb should 
be so tightly closed that the contents do not evaporate 
when not in use. Leave ordinary (lowers in this mix- 
ture for about ten to twenty minutes ; inflorescences 
of Bromclieeio and Aroldeaceic must be left in it 
about 0110 hour. In most cases, the colour will com- 
pletely disappear, but it will gradually return during 
the process of drying, or even after the plants have 
become apparently quite dry. Having treated the 
specimens with the mixture for a short time as stated 
above, t ike them out and shake of the adhering drops 
of fluid. Leave tho plants in a dry warm place, in 
order to dry them superficially (they must not be 
allowed to shrivel), and then dry them in the usual 
way between blotting paper. If artificial beat is used 
in the latter part of the process, excellent results are 
obtained, and it is not even necessary to change the 
drying paper. If hot water pipes are available it is 
very convenient to placo on them the bundle contain- 
ing the plant to be dried, which need not be subjected 
to very great pressure. As it is sometimes difficult to 
prevent flowers from collapsing when using this method 
of preservation, and as often it is almost impossible to 
spread out those (lowers when they have collapsed, I 
often put them loosely between sheets of vegetable 
parchment before immersing them in the fluid.— Indian, 
Agriculturist. 
Opium Cultivation in Persia. — Mr. Pratt, the 
United States Minister at Teheran, in a receut report 
states that opium occupies the most direct cash return 
to the producer, and, as a natural consequence, the 
area uuder cultivation is increasing greatly. The two 
principal markets are Hoag Kong and London. In 
1886, 4,993 chests, worth 374475^., wore exported from 
tho ports in tho Persian Gulf, exclusive of what was 
sent away by land routes or was consumed in tho 
country itself. The quantity of morphia cou*aiued in 
Persian opium is 11 \ to 12 per cent., while in other 
opium-producing countries it rarely exceeds 9'. per ceut 
The Papaver somniftrum, or white poppy, if which 
opium is tho inspissated juice, is growu principally in 
and about Ispahan, Yezd, and Shiraz, that of Ispahan 
being superior both in quality and quantity. Tho 
preparation of tho land begins about September 6. and 
consists in ploughing, harrowing, fertilising abundantly 
with ashes and detritus, and laying, off into squares 
to facilitato irrigation. After sowing tho fie\ds aro 
irrigated three times at intervals of fifteen days. 
After that thero is only one more irrigation — about 
the middle of tho winter. In the spring irrigation 
takes placo on March 20, after which the land is 
repeatedly harrowed and hoed in order to extirpate 
all parasitic weeds. The plants are tbiunod and 
thinned and then watered every ten days until 
flowering begins, when all work must cease. "When 
tho heads have formed aud have fully ripened a 
last flooding is given. Then six slight incisions aro 
mido at about the junctlou of the stem with tho 
head. This should be done at noon. The juico that 
exudes is collected the next morning aud tho 
morning following at daybreak. When lhc->- ! r-'. in- 
cisions bavr ceased discharging others are made lower 
down, and tho operation nuiy be thus thrice repeated, 
the opium obtained aft- r each Successive incision 
being proportionately inferior in quality. Next tho 
plants themselves are cut down ami the beads sold, 
tho natives usiu« tho HSjd en broad at a luMtUae for 
bailor. Tho eud of May it tlw scas.u (or harvesting, 
