October t, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
343 
country with it, and it was carried out to a certain 
Limited extent; but the next year and those follow- 
ing, it lapsed into disuse and became neglected. It 
lacked encouragement and was never thought lo have 
such a brilliant future in prospect, and it has now 
attained, and coffee was giving sure and quicker pro- 
fits ; so that until 1877 the few hundred C. Siicci- 
rubra trees which were left anrl had survived, and 
that without any care or attention were simply re- 
garded as curiosities, and sampled of what the soil 
couhl product", if it ever became necessary to encourage 
them. (I do not hero allude to the Rev. Mr. Rich- 
ter's 'cinchona garden,' which has steadily been culti- 
vated since 1863.) 
Then, when the reaction set in in 1877, these trees 
were looked upon as an authority, they had become 
superb specimens of their kind. C. Succirubra stand- 
in- from thirty to forty feet in heiaht. with thick- 
ne 
ilal 
dly 
partly 
rainfall was somet 
and Boldom less tl 
soncd that, thriving so well there, similar trees would 
grow as well at the same altitude, and where the 
rainfall averaged ouly one hundred inches — which is 
about the mean of the coffee growing districts. Ex- 
tensive orders for young plants were given to the 
Government gardens near Ootacamund in the first 
place, and as the supply from these was only limited, 
private planters ou the Neilgherries were requisitioned, 
and from thence up to the present year the orders 
for both plants and seeds have been always upon the 
increase. 
Where orders had not been previously registered it 
was with very groat difficulty, and sometimes impos- 
sible to procure young plants from there, the demand 
is so great. Upon one estate bere 20,000 C.Succirubras, 
twelve inches high, weie pui chased at the rate of 
1120 per 1.000 ou the Neilgherries ; the cost of trans- 
port into Coorg excluded, a journey of nine days by 
bullock carts Of the trees planted in 1877-8, I can 
epeak with confidence of their being magnificent 
specimens of their kind, ranging in height from four- 
teen feet downwards, vigorous, healthy, aud com- 
mencing to (lower. Whether the seeds will be valuable 
and productive from such young trees remains yet to 
bo proved ; but blossoming thus early is a good in- 
dication of the adaptability of both soil and climate. 
— Madras Standard. 
COVERED VS. BARE GROUND. 
(From the Australasian, 6th August I8S1.) 
"Covered ground versus bare ground" has been a 
much-discussed subject in English aud American gar- 
dening periodicals. It will bo renumbered by many 
of our readers that Mr. l'eter Henderson, nurseryman 
of New York, has proposed to cover all (lower-beds 
with club moss or some similar plant, as a means of 
lessening radiation aud evaporation, and of thus main- 
taining humidity in tho soil, and especially on the 
surface, whilst vastly improving tho appearance of 
tho beds. He would treat specimen plants in pots 
aud till s in like manner, and both he and others have 
insist- d i hat the plau is a natural one, and that it 
is therefore justifiable on that score. Nature, it has 
been said, covers the ground under trees with their 
loaves, and thus protects the soil from becoming fro/en 
in winter or parched in summer. Under single trees 
grasses prow right ui> to the stem unless the branches 
swocp tho ground, ami thus choke other vegetation. 
Tho advocates of the tyatem of carpet bedding base 
its claims on somewhat similar gronnda ; they aver 
that beds tbowing naked soil between the plants can 
never compare favourably with those- that are clothed 
with verdure, or v n with coloured vegetation. To 
nil this it must lie replied that much will binge upon 
the manner in which the idea is carried out. In this 
country it would be a good thing could evaporation 
be lessened at the hottest season of the year, but it 
is hardly possible that it would be so lessened by 
that it 
further 'reduce the amount of moisture i 
serving it. Of tho club moss it may k 
is not a deep rooter ; it has, however, a large evapor- 
ating surface, and when the air is quiet it maintains 
around it a humid atmosphere, which is grateful to 
other plants. Buds clothed with this inos3 and duly 
watered are very grateful to the eye when all around 
is parched, but they can bo kept verdant only when 
sheltered from the north by a building or a high 
wall, and thus in this part of tho country the plan 
is susceptible only of limited application. We have 
as yet heard of no objection to the covering of large 
pots and tubs with club moss; liquid manure can be 
given as readily as when the surface is bare, it only 
serves to deepeu the verdure of the moss, whilst 
causing it to grow all the stronger. Where moss 
cannot be employed, coconut fibre makes a neat mulch- 
ing : a little of this placed over a dressing of rotten 
dung will be found to improve the appearance very much. 
ARROWROOT IN VICTORIA. 
That a very excellent kind of arrowroot may be 
profitably raised in Violoria has been long since proved 
by the Rev. F. A. Hagenauer, superintendent of the 
Aboriginal Mission Station, Ramahyuk, Gipps Land. 
The plant from which the farina is obtained is the 
Carina edulis (variety coccinea),also called Tows lesmoie,* 
The following interesting memorandum is an extract 
from a letter sent recently by Mr. Hagenauer to Mr. 
W. R. Guilfoyle, director of the Melbourne Botanic 
(lanlens : — 
"This plant is one of the freest-growiug kinds, 
and any farmer can grow and cultivate it without 
If th 
cts sh 
ploughed, aud harrowed, the sets should be planted a 
few inches under the ground, but the old stem to be 
out of tho soil, so that it may be seen. It ought to 
bo planted in rows about 3 ft. each way, so that 
tho sacrificer could be used at the first part of the 
season, and tho ground kept clean — the success is 
almost certain. At the beginning of winter it is 
ready for manufacturing the tlour, which is done ex- 
actly as that of the potato starch ; either the bulbs 
should be crushed or grated, and with the application 
I of clean water it should then be strained through a 
I sifter or cheese cloth ; the Hour settles freely to the 
bottom, after which it is to be washed, and, when 
pure, to be dried and packed for sale. I have uo 
doubt that there will be a good export market, as 
tho plant does not grow in Eurnpe, aud yet tiie pro- 
duce is freely used there for sick people, for children, 
aud for family use in general." . . . Mr. Hagen- 
auer further adds :— " Should there be any iuquiry 
for quantities of seed bulbs, we cau supply a good 
quantity for 12s, (id. per cwt , delivered at Sale rail- 
way station, if application is made in good time." 
A lob Fibuk. — Wo have to acknowledge with thanks 
the receip', from the Inspector Genera] of Prisons, of 
a sample aloe fibre twine exhibited by the Convict 
Establishment at tho Polytechnic exhibition held at 
the Medic d College. The tw ine is veiy rtroiig and 
serviceable. 
• " Maranta aniudinacea " is tho plant which yields 
tho most Indian arrowroot of commerce ; this species 
does not, however, mooted well in America, 
