73° 
f ME TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [5Iav i, 1888. 
TINCTURA EUCALYPTI, B. P. C. 
Sir, — Re the Unofficial Formula published in the 
CheiAist and Druggist of September 3rd, Tincture of 
edoalyptus being one of the tinctures, the formula is 
given for " eucalyptus leaves," 4 oz.; rectified spirit, 
a sufficient quantity, &o., to one pint of tincture. 
We have in Australia perhaps one hundred species 
of eucalyptus, the leaves of some of which contain 
much more bitter extract, and are, I believe better 
febrifuges than those of E. Globulus, the species 
adopted by the Formulary Committee. Why is the 
tincture directed to be made with rectifted spirit? 
The leaves contain a large quantity of resin, which 
I believe to be inert. Rectified spirit dissolves all the 
resin and keeps it in solution, When water is added, 
it is at once precipitated, and a very unsightly mixture 
is the result. If proof spirit is used, only a very small 
portion of the resin is dissolved, and an equally good, 
but a much more sightly tincture is obtained. I have 
made tinctures with rectified spirit, and then preci- 
pitated the resin with sufficient water and filtered. I 
prefer spirit not stronger than proof for eucalyptus 
tincture. I would like to know the experience of 
others on this subject. — Very truly yours, 
David Clarke, 
Maryborough, Queensland, November 30th. 
—Chemist and Druggist. 
-♦■ 
BRITISH GUIANA. 
Great Opening fob some Minor Industries. 
In a recent report, the United States Consul at 
Demerara urges bis countrymen to establish a steamer 
line and fruit-growing company in British Guiana, of 
tvhich he says "the profits must, in view of the 
magnitude of the trade, be necessarily large." As 
the opportunity is equally favourable for British mer- 
chants and investors, it may be well to summarise 
the Consul's statements on the subject. The soil of 
the colony along the coasts is extremely rich ; cocoa- 
nuts grow near the shore, and large quantities of 
bananas may be grown within three or four miles 
from the sea. The long yellow bananas are in every 
way superior to those grown in the West Indian Is- 
lands, a\id equal to those of Port Limon and Aspinwall, 
which are so deservedly popular in the American 
markets. The first cost of planting an acre with 
bananas is from £10 to £12, the production being 
from 600 to 800 bunches a year. The plants mature 
in nine months, and the fruit can be gathered every 
week in the year after it is well started. In Guiana 
all carriage is by water; hence bananas can be de- 
livered at the steamer in better condition than in 
any other part of the West Indies, where they are 
carried by springless carts, on negroes' heads, &c. 
Hurricanes which decimate the plantations elsewhere 
do not prevail in Guiana. Demerara is 2,200 miles 
from New York ; the course crosses the Gulf Stream, 
whioh is said by shippers " to cook the fruit " in a 
much shorter time than that from any other West 
Indian port; Bermuda and Barbados might be made 
ports of call to the greatly-increased profit of the 
voyage. Vessels drawing 18ft. 6 in. can enter the De- 
merara river at high water. In 1885 bananas to the 
value of £400,000 were imported into the United States, 
mainly at New York, New Orleans, Boston, and 
Baltimore. The cargoes realised from 4s. to 12s. per 
bunch for the best quality, and it is, Mr. Bunker 
thinks, highly probable that contracts could be made 
in Guiana for their delivery alongside at lOd. to Is. 
per bunch. A vesspl of 1,000 tons dead weight could 
carry a cargo of 20,000 bunches; the loss on the 
voyage rarely exceeds 15 per cent., and, if the balance 
wero sold at the low price of ($1 per bunch, the esti- 
mated profit on the trip would be not less than 
£1,400 after payment of all oharges. This does not 
include profit from general freight, passengers, or 
mails. Cocoa might be cultivated at the same time 
as the banana, the letter giving the best shade for 
the young cocoa plants. Banana plants yield an excel- 
lent fibre, and the papaw, lime, orange, mango, guava, 
and pineapple might be added to the cultivation. 
Guiana being a sugar-producing colony, a trade in 
canned fruits might be developed. 
The climate, the Consul thinks, is much maligned ; 
Guiana is not, as is commonly supposed, a hot-bed of 
fever; there is little variation in the temperature, and 
the thermometer giving an almost uniform reading of 
84 degrees Fahrenheit. Sea breezes prevail for tho 
greater part of the year ; cases of yellow fever are 
comparitively rare, and may be generally traced to 
dissipation or indiscretion. — Sugar Cane. 
NATAL: TEA AND TOBACCO. 
Natal has been called in scorn, with just enough 
truth perhaps to sustain the epigram, "a country 
of samples." We produce a little sugar, a little 
tea, a little coffee, a little of everything in fact, 
but nothing in large quantities ; so say our detractors. 
Not till recently at any rate could Natalians meet 
this somewhat serious charge with a direct negative ; 
for did not some ugly facts stare us in the face ? 
Was it not true that on one celebrated occasion 
a man-of-war which put in with orders to 
ship Natal coal, bad to be sent empty away as 
far as the colonial product was concerned ? Natal's 
best defence was that her industries are in their 
infancy ; that every beginning is difficult, as the 
German innkeeper said ; Natal's beginning doubly 
so, on account of the wars on her frontier, which 
enriching her in one way have greatly impeded her 
in another, by taking away her young men, and gener- 
ally disturbing the repose so necessary for the in- 
ternal progress of every country. At length, how- 
ever, a brighter day seems to have dawned. With 
some reason we may claim to have changed all that, 
for lately Nafal's coal has been sold in Durban at 
two shillings and sixpence a hundredweight. Natal 
coal is being used throughout the railway, and travel- 
lers from up-country state that a really large transport 
business is going on between Dundee, Newcast e, and 
Ladysmith; and all this points to a hope that in the 
near future, talking of carrying coals to Natal may 
sound as ridiculous as carrying coals to Newcastle 
in England. Take next the cultivation of tea, which, 
according to the great authority of Mr. Hullett, 
has been proved to be an industry capable of a 
large development in this colony; so far, tea has 
been produced of most excellent quality ; but not in 
such quantities as to have much effect in keeping 
down the importation of the same. This year, ac- 
cording to Mr. Hullett, the yield may be estimated 
at 150,000 lb., something over 4 lb. a head of our 
white population. Tnis is not a very large amount, 
inclining as we do to take a somewhat more hope- 
ful prospect than Mr. Hullett, of thee xpectations of 
the Natal Tea' Company's gardens at Isipingo, whose 
Managing Director is known to be a gentleman of 
capacity and experience, acquired in another great 
tea-producing country. We cannot but hope that 
this estimate will turn out to be rather under than 
over the actual yield of Natal tea for the current 
year. At any rate, 150,000 lb. cannot be called a 
sample, especially when we remember that it has 
grown from a yield of 2,0001b. in 1881. While on 
the subject of tea, it will be interesting to examine 
the returns of another country with far greater facil- 
ities certainly than Natal possesses in the matter of 
labour as well as other things, but not more than 
five years her elder as a tea-producing country. We 
refer to Ceylon. In 1877 the amount of tea exported 
from that country was also some two thousand pounds 
in ten years the amount has grown to nine million 
pounds, while there are some hundred thousand acres 
under cultivation. By a calculation based upon those 
figures the yield per acre would appear to be far 
greater in Natal than Ceylon ; but allowance must 
bo made for the amount grown for home consump- 
tion in the latter country, which it is not easy to 
estimate with any certainty in the absence of inform- 
ation ; yet it is unlikely that it would amount to a 
very large proportion. In quality we certainly need 
not fear comparison, and assuming Mr. Hullett to 
