THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1881. 
Seychelles. — We have received through the courtesy 
of a correspondent, a photograph of a plant of Libe- 
rian coffee, apparently about 7 feet in height, the 
branches of which are laden with fruit. The plant 
was sent from Kew in 1877 .—Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Dried Grasses. — Messrs. Hooper inform us, in illus- 
tration of the demand for these ornamental grasses, 
that they have just received a consignment of 8 tons 
of Stipa pennata ! and this only represents a portion 
of their stock, a large quantity being also stored in 
their warehouse in Germany. — Ibid. 
Fruit Packing ought to have attention bestowed 
upon it, as being an indispensable operation, which is 
but too often indifferently performed. It cannot be 
too frequently stated that, to ensure safe transit, the 
packing must be firmly done, the material used must 
be sufficiently elastic, and the boxes shallow, or, if 
deep, divided by trays. Perhaps the best materials 
for fulfilling the second condition are paper shavings 
and perfectly dry moss ; the latter of which was 
generally used for packing fruit in the old coaching 
davs, and is not yet superseded by anything superior. 
—Ibid. 
Artificial Fertilisation.— A fact recorded by Mr. 
Williams in the report of the Dundee Horticultural 
Association is so important, that we think it well to 
give it greater prominence. A flower of Victoria 
regia naturally fertilised, says Mr. Williams, yielded 
twenty-five seeds ; another, artificially fertilised with 
its own pollen, gave sixty seeds ; another fertilised 
with pollen from another flower on the same plant, 
a hundred seeds ; while yet another, fertilised with 
pollen from a flower on another plant, gave 300 seeds 
twelve times that of the naturally fertilised flower. 
— Ibid. 
Eucalyptus Citriodora.— Of late years it has been 
the fashion to grow both in greenhouses and out-of- 
doors the blue gum tree, that has (deservedly or not) 
got the character of being an antidote against mal- 
aria ; but its inability to bear our winters out-doors, 
and the rapid growth it makes inside, where it quickly 
outgrows its limits, renders it of little use. But those 
who are fond of plants with fragrant foliage cannot 
fail to like E. citriodora in the condition we recently 
saw it at the Durdham Downs Nursery, in the shape 
of compact plants from 1 foot to 15 inches high, in 
small pots ; they were raised from seed sown the 
present spring. It has handsome lance-shaped leaves ; 
the perfume is something like the lemon-scented Ver- 
bena (Aloysia citriodora).— Ibid. 
Costa Rica. — General Thomas Guardia, the President 
of Costa Rica, has signed a decree to the effect that a 
waggon road from the capital to Rio Sucio having been 
sanctioned by the Republic, it is necessary to provide 
for the cultivation of the lands and the erection of 
habitations on either side of the road, so as to 
facilitate traffic along the said highway, and therefore 
that all persons, foreigners as well as natives, who 
may wish to become owners on either side of the road, 
shall signify their intention, within six months from 
the 22nd of April last, to the Governor of the Pro- 
vince of San Jose, and that this officer shall there- 
upon draw up a document, stating the locality of the 
said free concession, and this certificate shall serve 
as a orovisional title, and after two years from the 
date of this provisional title, the grantee shall appear 
before the Judge of National Revenue, and prove that 
he has commenced to cultivate his lot, whereupon 
the Judge shall deliver to the grantee a freehold title, 
free froin payment or price, except the fees for the 
measurement of the land, and the expense of the title 
deed ; and that a space of twenty yards shall be left 
open between each allotment of land, so that the 
various cultivators may have accommodation roads be- 
tween their lota for facilitating their various cultiva> 
Uou..— Aludru. Mail, 
Madagascar Plants.— We learn that the national 
herbarium at Kew has acquired another important 
collection of dried plants from Madagascar. The col- 
lection was made by Dr. G. Parker, and comprises 
about 400 species, many of thtm novelties. Among 
other things is a miniature palm, 2 or 3 feet high, 
and having pinnate leaves. We understand that Dr. 
Bail! on is engaged writing a Flora of the island. 
— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Gooseberry Fungus.— In thanking you for your 
most interesting article on ^E^idium grossularis, and 
asking you to supply your readers now and then with 
similar exhaustive treatises on the fungoid diseases of 
our plants, I can corroborate the writer's aesertion 
as to the sporadic visitations of that pest. It appeared 
laet year very extensively in a neighbour's garden, 
where it had never been noticed before ; this year it 
has changed its habitation to mine, though it has not 
developed itself to any great extent. The same seems 
to be the case with ^Ecidium urticas, which was very 
common in some parts of Norfolk last year, but of which, 
after the most diligent search, I have only succeeded 
in finding one specimen this year. — K. M. D. P. — Ibid. 
How to Estimate Height of Trees.— Now, with re- 
gard to height, you may say, "It is all very well 
to measure girth, but how are you going to measure 
height ? " Who is to tell us whether a tree is 130 ft- 
or 140 ft. high ? I can give you two rules of thumb, 
which will at least assist calculation. This is one. 
Supposing your tall friend to stand out well in the 
open ; set by the side of him a stick of ascertained 
height, say of 6 ft. Watch at the proper hour the 
length of shadow cast, both by your 6 ft. rod and by 
the tree. Then calculate in proportion the height of the 
shadow-casters ; e. g., if the tree's shadow be twelve 
times' the length, take its height at 72 ft. Or, take 
three laths, join two of them at a right angle, and 
make each lath containing the angle to be of the same 
size. Then unite the equal sides with a third, sub- 
tending the angle. Now hold it level and opposite 
the tree. Walk away until your eye looks up the 
third and long side precisely to the summit of the 
tree. You may now consider yourself to be standing 
at the apex of an enlarged triangle, of which the 
ground line is one side and the erect tree another. 
You measure the ground line, and in so doing you 
measure the height, for it equals the perpendicular 
which you thus get. — Australasian. 
Standard Peach Tree Culture at Whitehill. — 
At the gardens on the beautiful estate of Whitehill, 
near Hawthornden, belonging to R. B. Wardlaw 
Ramsay, Esq., is to be witnessed at present a sight 
seldom if ever seen in this country. Peaches at White- 
hill have for some time been famous, but this season, 
especially as regards the prolific crop, eclipses all 
former years. The fruit range, which is erected upon 
an elevated plateau, surrounded by pretty and well 
designed flower beds, consists of four peach-houses 
and three vineries, all span-roofed. The central house 
which is several feet higher than the others, is the 
standard peach-house, of which I wish more especially 
to speak. It is about 32 feet by 18 feet, and about 
20 feet high. It was erected about twenty-five years 
ago, and in it were planted out as standards four 
peaches and one nectarine. They are now about 18 
feet high and about 12 feet through, and are literally 
covered with beautifully, coloured fruit, and when the 
afternoon sun falls upoa them, to stand underneath 
these trees and look upwards, a sight is seen which 
will rarely be forgotten. It is estimated that on 
these trees there are not less than from 2,300 to 
2,500 fruit, and on one of the peaches there are not 
fewer than 600 well finished fruit. Mr. Leyden, the 
courteous head gardener, pulled one of the peaches, 
and it was found to weigh 7| ounces, and measured 
10 inches in circumference. —John M.BSSV6X, JJdia- 
burgh,— Gardencn' Chronicle. 
