May r, 1888.J THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
787 
fuel purposes tho eucalypti can be grown close 
together and on very poor soil, oven. 
Dr. Trimen's re-marks on cinchona here and in Java 
ought to he qu alilied by iho statement that the Ceylon 
planti is were unable nr. til the enterprise was well- 
adva 1 ced to obtain seeds of Ledycriaua, and that 
while the Foil of Java, if not the elnnal ', sei-ni.; 
eminently suitable for that superior kind, it has 
been found to flourish only in a few places in 
Ceylon. We wish we had baek all the money 
we spent on it. l'lanters in Ceylon cultivated what 
would grow and the result, though not profitable 
to them has resulted in enormous good to suffering 
humanity. With reference to what wo said yester- 
day about Viticulture in Uva, — and with reference 
to many other places in Ceylon where grapes could 
well be grown, wo draw attention to what Dr. 
Trimen says about the Cochin-China tuberous- 
rooted vine. The main facts observed by Dr. Trimen 
on his botanical tours could not but be interest- 
ing to those who wish to know where certain 
speoies of vegetation predominate. A notice of 
the visit to "the mysterious Ritignlla" in the 
North-Central Province, be'ieved to have been 
at one time the refuge of the aborigines who 
lied from the Wijayan Conquerors, and said to 
have interesting monuments scattered over and 
around it, ought, certainly, to be given some- 
where, and in some shape by Dr. Trimen, or 
his accomplished travelling companion, Mr. A. P. 
Green of Colombo, or by the two conjointly. A 
paper is, probably, in course of preparation for 
the local Asiatic Society. 
There is much else suggeslivo of remark in Dr. 
Trimen's interesting and comprehensive Report, 
but nearly all of it, except the catalogues of 
plantu and the accounts, is given in our supple- 
ment and considerations of time and space compel 
us to conclude. But before closing we must bear 
testimony to the value of the Botanic Gardens 
of Ceylon to the Colony not only from the scientific 
and aesthetic standpoints, but in an economic and 
strictly utilitarian sense. 
COTTON 'CULTIVATH)N IN SOUTHERN 
INDIA. 
A merchant-shareholder in the new Company 
writes :— " I enclose a memo, relative to cotton cul- 
tivation in Southern India. There they plant in the 
North-east Monsoon. It we put April to May for 
August to September, it will apply to Ceylon for the 
South-west, and we may be able to get a crop in the 
North-east as well." 
' Operations are commenced in August to September 
when manure, chiefly sheep and cowdung, is tpread 
over the ground. The ground immediately alter is 
ploughed twice, and when tho rains come in Sept. to 
Oct., and while the ground is quite wet, the seed 
is thrown broadcast, and then at once ploughed in. 
Tho seed is previously prepared by being mixed 
willi buffalo dung and water, the proportion in 
weight being .1 of 6eed to 1 of the dung liquid. 
Kach seed Bhould be coatod with the mixture and 
allowed to remain so in shade 8 days, and then 
bagged, this assisting germination before being 
sown. Three days or so after sowing, the seed 
should appear above ground. In November tho 
plants should bo 6 to G inches in height, and at 
this stuge the ground should be weodeJ and the 
plants linod and thinned, 2 to •) inches space being 
allowed botwoon tho plants. In December, tho soil 
is furrowed between tho plants, and they are then 
left until thoy nro ready for picking in March.— Tuti- 
oorin, 20th April. 
Butl&Li.— T.ie Indian Government lias be-m 
endoavouring to have certain soda plants growing 
in various part* of tho country identified, and to 
see if barilla could not be profitably extracted 
from their ashes. Though plants, however, have 
been found available for the purpose, yet it has 
not been practicable to so economically extract 
the barilla from them as from the very abundant 
native natron earths themselves, the product even, 
of which cannot favourably compare with the 
European chemically made article from common 
salt. — Cum. 
Grevillea Robdsta.— In our article (page 785) 
on the Report of the Botanic Garden 3 , we wrote 
that this tree was "distinguished by its large masses of 
comb-shaped, orange coloured flowers." These words 
are necessary to a proper description of the very 
striking Grevillea liowers, forming such a contrast 
of vivid colour to the wealth of green, graceful, 
fern like foliage with which the tree is clothed. 
Grevillea robusta is one of the most ornamental 
as well as one of the most useful sylvan gift3 
which Australia has bestowed on Ceylon. Here, 
the tree does not compete with the blue-gum in 
r.picily of upward growth, but in thickness of 
stem in an equal number of years^ it excels mo3t 
of the eucalypti. Many of the latter which have 
thick stems within a few feet of the ground, have 
a habit of tapering away almost to a point as they 
get up higher and higher, some of them attaining 
10.) feet, or even 150 in ten years. In its own 
native habitat (New South Wales and Queensland), 
the Grevillea tree (the " silky oak " of ihe settlers), 
attains on rich alluvial banks of rivers a height 
of 100 feet. Specimens fourteen years old in Ceylon 
are about 00 feet in h ight, judging by the eye, 
but careful measurements may correct this estimate. 
Of course, the trees in the loose, accumulated soil 
on the sides of the Lome Road, to which we 
alluded as having become fine trees in seven 
years, are in very favourable circumstances for 
rapid (.rowth. But like most et'ier trees, they 
ought to be planted in groves and pretty close 
together to secure perfectly straight trees. A good 
many of the trees in the single row along the 
Lome lload have indulged in some curious bends 
and contortions under the influence of winds and 
loose soil. Hut we suppose that even crooked 
timber is useful for "knees," wheel tires and so forth. 
We may repeat th U in Australia the timber of Gnuillea 
Robusta is the favourite for staves of 1 a low casks. 
It might, therefore, be useful in Ceylon for oilcasks. 
The order to which this tree of equally beautiful 
foliage and inflorescence belongs, is described as 
"a very large genus, comprising some beautiful 
and interesting Australian flowering shrubs and 
trees. Nearly 200 species have been descrioed all 
with one or two exceptions, indigenous to Australia, 
and two-thirds of that number belong to Victoria. 
They are chietly admired and cultivated fur their 
liowers; some of them aro of a dwarf, heath-like 
habit ; others are trees of considerable size." 
Hy the way we may no.v supply an omission 
in our notice of Dr. Trimen"s report by drawing 
attention to the fact that amongst the Eucalypti 
which have nnde the best growth at Hakgala, and 
on poor soil, is maryinatn, the grand jarrah, 
which gives the finest timber of all the species, vieing 
with oak in quality and w.ih mahogany in brauty of 
colour and polish. This noble and useful tree 
seems to take more kindly to the Ceylon hill regions 
than most of the eucalypti. The red gum, (A'. 
rmtrata) with its clean stems and elegant drooping 
foliage is very beautiful, but it seems difficult to 
grow, and has an unfortunate h ibit of dividing into 
two or more stems. Tho most ready grower is 
the blue gum (/.'. ylobulut). and the more wo learn 
about tho limber of this tree, the more favourable 
is our impression, if only the timber it well icasoiud. 
Darkened win oil tho wood rea?m lc fl 1 • stpu. 
