424 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1881. 
The Deadly Linden. — A St. Louis physcian eays 
the linden tree is dangerous to health, being like 
the deadly upas tree of the east. The St. Louis doctor 
has been making investigations, and he says : " Just 
in the spring, when the sap was about to rise, I wounded 
my trees in several places, and collected the exuding 
gum carefully- I found in it a new and singular alkal- 
oid, to which we gave the mime of 'lindoline,' and 
which fully justified my fears. It is a most deadly 
poison — somewhat akin to the curare or wooreli poison 
of South America. A very small inoculation upon 
the skin of a cat, made with a needle simply dipped 
in the lindoline, killed the animal in eighteen 
seconds. It acts as a nerve excitant of great power, 
and has a real value in the materia medica as an 
antidote to morphine poisoning and other cases of 
that kind ; but it must be greatly diluted in order 
to do anything of this kind, as it is intensely vir- 
ulent. I am quite sure that a pinscratch touched 
Vfith lindoline would kill a man in a couple of min- 
utes. Of course, like all poisons of this kind, it 
is not one-tenth as effective in the stomach as 
when inoculated, still even there it is deadly. " — 
Madras Mail. 
The Moreton Bay Chestnut in the Dabjeeling 
Terai. — Sir, — The plants of the Moreton Bay Chestnut 
(Castanospermum australe) at Bamanpokri (Darjeeling 
Terai), three in number, have this year flowered for 
the first time. I send you a bunch of flowers herewith. 
They grow like the jack fruit on small special branch- 
lets on the older parts of the stem and branches ; 
but these special branchlets seem to produce no leaves. 
I would have sent you a better specimen, but that 
I want to procure seed in order to raise more seed- 
lings of the tree. Two of the trees which are closest 
to the leak plantation, and are thus in the shade, 
seem to be dying slowly ; whereas the other, which 
is about 60 feet distent, but well exposed to air and 
sunlight, is in a flourishing condition. At page 34 
of your list of "Trees, Shrubs, &c," you state that 
1869 is probably the date on which these trees were 
planted. I should be glad to know if in its native 
habitat the Castonospermum australe flowers at so 
early an age as eleven or twelve years. I fear this 
early flowering is an indication that the tree is unable 
to adapt itself to the climate of the Terai. — F. B. M. 
Note. —It is a handsome orange yellow flower, resembl- 
ing that of 'Cassia.' We cannot s*y whether flowering 
at an early age is the characteristic of the tree. 
Perhaps some of our readers can help us. — Ed. — 
Indian Forester. 
Tobacco. — Since the commencement of tobacco grow- 
ing by the Government, and more recently by the 
enterprising proprietors of the Poosa Farm, with a 
view to prepare the weed for European consump iori, 
much has been done. We learn that 13,723,660 1b. 
of tobacco, worth only £126,322, were exported from 
India in 1878-79. In the following year a less quant- 
ity was exported, but the total value had slightly 
risen. This would seem to indicate an improvement 
in the quality of the exports. The fact that the 
value of non-indian tobaccos has been falling during 
the interval, puts the prospects of the Indian trade 
in a still more favourable light. The few who have 
really studied the subject know that, in the estima- 
tion of London agents and merchants, the Indian 
leaf only requires the labour of skilled curers to 
compi-te successfully with the produce of America and 
the Manillas, The native agents here are the per- 
sons who are chiefly responsible for the abominably 
bad way in which the leaf is prepared. This shows 
clearly that the general quality of Indian tobacco is 
improving. The recent withdrawal of the Spanish 
Government from the Manilla monopoly should further 
advance this trade, and if only the native growers 
would procure good seed, and bestow more attention 
on curing, there is no reason why Indian tobacco 
should not be equal to the very best in the world. 
— Friend of India. 
Tea-Bug. — The following telegram from Mr. J. Wood- 
Mason to the Chief Commissioner of Assam, and dated 
June 8th, 1881, is extracted from the Assam 
Gazette : — Have discovered by observation of speci- 
mens of this formidable pest kept in confinement that 
the female deposits her eggs singly in the substance 
of the tenderest shoots of the plant in the internodcs 
or portions of the stem between the pekoe and the 
two or three leaves succeeding from above down- 
wards, and in the buds developed in the axils of 
plucked leaves and in the parts thereabout ; that the 
presence and position of each egg is from the first 
indicated on the exterior by two unequally long 
glistening white bristle like prolongations of its shell, 
and later by discolouration of the point pierced. 
Have discovered by dissection that she is provided 
with a serrated ovipositor of the shape and sharpness 
of a sabre, wherewith to pierce holes in the soft 
tissues of the plant for the reception of her eggs. 
These observations have been verified in the field upon 
numerous blighted bushes ; but, though eggs have 
readily been found by the unaided eye on blighted 
portions of bushes, not a single one has yet been seen 
on any perfectly uninjured shoot. The vigorous and 
unremitting plucking of the blighted portions of bushes 
might mitigate the evil, and I would suggest that 
this message be sent to newspapers, and published in 
the Gazette for general information. 
Queensland —At Oxley Point reserve plantations 
of red cedar ( Cedrela Toona ) have been successfully 
established ; the young plants are now from 3ft. to 
6ft. high. A large number of seedlings have been dis- 
tributed gratis to intending planters; "applications 
varying from 20,000 to 2,000" have been received. 
The varieties of sugar-cane in the Oxley-reserve have 
thriven exceedingly well ; many new varieties have been 
received during the past year, making in all 78 new 
varieties which are under successful cultivation. The 
director, has considered the sugar-cane an object worthy 
of his special attention on account of its great com- 
merical importance. Bice from British Burma and from 
the Madras Presidency has succeeded. Surprise is ex- 
pressed at the indifference shown by colonists to the 
special inducements offered by the Government to those 
wishing to go into coffee cultivition. The garden pos- 
sesses a large stock of seed and plants ready and 
available for such cultivation. The Moresby Ranges 
are specially pointed out as adapted for the culture of 
coffee, cocoa, and several spices. Applications have 
been received for tea, but they are chiefly from abroad. 
Large numbers of seeds and plants have been distrib- 
uted during the year, and no less than 104,000 cut- 
tings and roots, chiefly of economically useful plants. 
The Mango, the Jack fruit ( Artocarpus integrifolia ), 
the China date plum ( Diospyrus kaki), the Alligator 
pear, the Cherimoyer, the sweet sop, and the oval 
kumquat have all fruited abundantly, showing their 
perfect adoptability for culture in Queensland, but 
more especially in the northern portions. " The Ame- 
rican and other varieties of grape vines from this 
establishment, distributed to Toowoomba, Warwick, and 
Stanthorpe, have yielded large quantities of superior- 
flavoured fruit, adapted for both wine manufacture 
and the table, proving to be a valuable addition to 
the many varieties already in cultivation here. During 
the late season I visited the majority of the principal 
vineyards, with the view of satisfying myself as to 
the existence or not of the Phylloxera vastatrix, and 
I am happy to be in a position to report that with- 
out exception 1 found every vineyard I inspected 
perfectly free from not only this pest, but from any 
disease whatever." — R. B. Gardeners' Report. 
