November i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
463 
GUM TREE "LEAP DISEASE." 
6th October 1881. 
Dear Sir, —Referring to"Karoly Furdo"'s letter which 
appeared in.your issue of the 3rd inst., I have noticed the 
disease on a few trees of Eucalyptus globulus in the 
Dimbula district ; but it has not yet proved fatal in 
any instance. I attributo the blotches on the leaves 
to the attacks of a small fly, somewhat resembling 
the May fly, with transparent, light brown wings. 
This insect was very numerous on the trees that were 
attacked, and I feel sure that the flies are in some- 
way connected with the disease, though I have not 
yet found any larvae boring in the leaves. 
The blue gum is ceriainly not an enemy of insects, 
nor the red gum either. I have seen specimens of 
the former destroyed by cockchafer grubs, by black 
grub, and by whiteants, and the leaves of both species 
arc liable to the attacks of leaf-rolling larva?. The 
trees ore often used as resting-places by beetles of 
various species. The Ccloniidoe may sometimes be found 
on the trunks, feasting on the gum that exudes from 
the bark.— Yours faithfully, AUSPEX. 
NEW PRODUCTS. 
Sir, — Permit me to suggest the names of two new 
products, which may bo cultivated with advantage in 
this islands — I mean — sanseviera , or American aloes, * 
known in Tamil as maral ; and Asclepias gigantea, called 
in Tamil erukkalhj. 
The formor grows in abundance in the Jaffna pen- 
insula and the Vanuiya district uncared for by the 
people. It grows to a height of two to six feet, accord- 
ing to the fertility of the soil. Its leaves are very close 
to the stem, and resemble the leaves of pineapples ; and 
could bo propagated by means of snoots or buds. 
When t he leaves are cut and put into water for ton 
or twelve days, the flashy portion is removed 
from the leaves, leaving only the fibre in an unclean 
state. The fibre is extremely fine, glossy and very 
strong. It can be used in the manufacture of silk 
cloth, paper, or coir rope. 
• The latter (I mean Asclepias gigantea) also grows 
in all parts of Ceylon, chiefly it: hot districts, with- 
out any care or attention on the part of man. They 
neither requiro pruning, weeding, or watering, but 
grow wildly, spreading several branches. The native 
physicians utilize its leaves, roots, and juice for medi- 
cinal purpose. A white powder resembling lime is 
found in the leaves, pods, and branches. The juice 
is vory hot and pungent. In Jaffna, people bum the 
sticks to charcoal, and utilize it in the preparation 
of fireworks (rockets) and gunpowder. 1 would 
suggest to the codec planters to try the leaves of this 
plant, as manure for tho estates suffering from leaf- 
disease. In the bark of this stick, may be found 
fibre of excellent quality which also can be used in 
the preparation of cloth, ropes, <tc, and in tho pods 
uctremely soft cotton, which can be utilized for 
mattresses and various other uses. 
LANKASNAHAN. 
I \'<>i 1. -An allied species, to tho first mentioned the S. 
ijmif, i>.<i«, or African bowstring hemp, grew in Ceylon in 
I81M, and may be still in tho I'cradeniya Gardens. Tho 
aOlatrOpia is wi ll-known for its fibre, its charcoal, for 
m use as Boats to nets, its gum, and medicinal 
qualities. It is the Mudu-wara of the Sinhalese and 
tho Irkulan of Ihe Tamils. Tho Sanseviera zeylanica 
Jl'i'/W , and the Valatropi* ( Atclepia) gigantea are 
too well-known plants in Ceylon and India to be con- 
sidered .im ••new products." Tlie former is found wild 
all round Ceylon, and its long strong fibre is well- 
• I never heard this plant called American aloo 
before: tho Agave Americana and Founruya gigantea 
wo so called.— W, P. 
known as the Ceylon bowstring hemp, but I do not 
recollect an instance of its profitable manufacture in 
Ceylon. It is the Maha-nii/ada of the Sinhalese and 
the Aralcij or Maral of the Tamils. — W. F,] 
The Raspberry- jam Wood of Western Australia 
is highly scented, and will polish equal to Spanish 
mahogany. For fancy cabinet-ware it will be found 
especially useful. British manufactures will do well 
to obtain samples, and judge for themselves as to 
the truth of these observations. — Stationer. 
Cinchonas: Upper Maskeliya, Cth October. — Your 
South Coorg correspondent has no reason to complain of 
the growth of his succirubraB 6 feet in 20 months from 
seed. The following will give some idea of how 
they grow in this end of tho valley : — Succirubra — 6" 
plants put out in July 1879, are now some of them 
15 feet high; 3" plants, or, as you may call them, seed- 
lings, put out in November 1879 are now 8 feet high, 
Officinalis,— G" plautsput out in July 1880 are now 8 feet 
high, girth 4^. Can any other district in Ceylon beat 
this ? If Maskoliya docs not hold its own in coffee 
with other districts, I think it has the pull over them 
in cinchona growing. 
Leaj/ Disease. — A wail comes from the coffee dis- 
tricts around Palghaut. Young estates in this neigh- 
bourhood enjoying all the conditions for successful 
cultivation, soil, good climate everything that can be 
desired, elevation suitable, and rainfall perfect, are 
attacked in the most unaccountable way with leaf 
disease. The young wood which gives promise of ex- 
cellent bearing capabilities for tho next year, is sud- 
denly denuded of foliage, and the wood itself dies 
back to the primaries all in the short space of a 
fortnight. No apparent cause can be assigned for 
this rapid progress of tbe disease. Everything is 
being done to counteract the disastrous effects of the 
disease, especially vigorous manuring, and time alone 
will decide whether the estates will bear the attack 
or succumb. — South of India Observer. 
Dimbula, 4th Oct. — I send, per accompanying post, 
a " poochie" which I found eating into the bark of 
a cinchona officinalis tree. I have never seen one like 
it before. I am afraid I have injured the head in 
taking it from the tree. However, I send it, and shall 
be glad, if you, or any of your readers, can let me 
know what it is ; and whether they are likely to 
turn into a pest? I get your T. A. through my 
P. D. and read it with great interest. It contains a 
great deal of valuable information, of which I was 
totally ignorant of before. [The ''poochie" is the 
larva of a small moth (probably of the family Arc- 
tiid.-B, genus Psyche) in its portable tube constructed 
of bits of bark and lined with silk. Although a bark 
feeder, it is not likely to do much injury to cin- 
chona plantations. — Ed. C. O.] 
Ashes of the Kctmbpk Tree.— It seems that 
the ashes which were analyzed by Mr. Cochran for 
Mr. Elphinstoue were from tho kunibuk tree, as our 
correspondent " W. F." surmised. Ou 16th Septem- 
ber Mr. Cochran wrote to " W. F." :— "I havo es- 
timated the amount of lime in the ashes receivod 
from you. Tho raw sample dry contained 93 75 
per cent of carbonate of limo and the prepared 
sample 98 05 per cent. Tho first of these closely re- 
sembled in appearanco the sample I received from 
Mr. Klphinstouc. I think it is very probable that 
it too was from the kumbuk tree. It contained 
rather more lime than your sample ; but, whereas 
yours was fully carbonated, the other contained fully 
'j per cent of lime in tho caustic state which w <uld 
by and bye become carbonated, thus reducing its per- 
centage of lime a littlo." On 2Wt September Mr. 
Cochran wrote to say that he had heard from Mr. 
Elphinstono that the ashes ho had sent were those of 
the kumbuk. 
