you 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
this the digger probes the soil until he hits upon a 
piece of gum, which he then proceeds to dig out ; it 
only requires washing and scraping a little and it is 
ready for the market. 
In conclusion, I may mention that I have just 
received some Assam tea seed direct from India, and 
am very sanguine about its growth here ; and should 
another new industry be added to those already 
rooted, I shall most gladly send you some parti- 
culars at some future time. 
J. LlNDLEY. 
Northern Wairoa, Auckland. N.Z. 
EOYAL GARDENS, KEW. 
The report on the progress and condition of the 
Royal Gardens at Kew, during the year 1880, has 
just been issued. 
Indian and Colonial Botanic Gardens. 
The remarks made in the Kew Report for 1878 on 
the relations of this establishment with the botanic 
gardens of our various dependencies have to a con- 
siderable extent anticipated the actual course of events. 
A great increase of activity, arising from a variety 
of causes, has characterised almost all these institutions 
with which we are in regular correspondence, entailing 
a very great extension of the official work transacted 
at Kew, independent of the purely administrative 
work of the establishment itself. I may refer to a 
paper read by the Assistant Director at the Colonial 
Institute on May 11, of last year, on the Botanical 
Enterprise of the Empire [see Gardener's Chronicle, 
1880, vol. xiii. , pp. 615, 624], as giving some idea 
of the extent to which the ramifications of the foreign 
relations of Kew have extended, and of the growth 
of the demands of all kinds which are now made 
upon its resources. Two of our most important 
botanical departments, those of Ceylon and Jamaica, 
have been to a large extent reorganised under new 
Directors within the last two years. I trust that 
in the future these will become more and more the 
head-quarters of botanical enterprise for our eastern 
and western tropical colonies respectively, and will 
not be content with the limited scope of departments 
strictly confined in their operations to their own local 
spheres. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR PLANTERS ON 
ARBORICULTURE. 
(Gardeners' Chronicle, 19th November 1881.) 
Nothing saves time in the growth of trees and 
other plants like the careful cleaning, culture, and 
nourishment, if need be, of the soil in which they 
must perforce spend their whole lives. The longevity 
of the trees, their value in a state of maturity, and 
the worth of the prunings and thinnings at various 
stages, all appeal to planters to give them a fair 
and liberal start in good, sweet, clean soil. To plant 
choice trees or shrubs in sour soil, already full to 
repletion with the roots of Brambles, Briars, and 
coarse weeds, is to court failure. In the struggle 
for life which the plants are thus forced to engage 
in, the survival of the fittest seldom proves that the 
trees were the fittest for the po ition selected or 
preparation provided for them. Next to the whole- 
sale culture of the soil here advised was the old 
plan of digging out the holes for the plants several 
months or a year before the planting takes place. 
If the holes and the earth on their sides be kept 
free from weeds, and frequently broken up during the 
season, sufficient mellow, swee*, warm soil will be 
available to allure the roots to a fresh start and vigorous 
grow th in their new quarters. Where no such prepar- 
vu been nor can now be nyicle a third mode 
of fostering rapid rooting in new quarters is still 
available. This consists in giving each tree a few 
spadefuls of good soil or compost immediately under 
or over the roots. This will give them a good start, 
which will not only save time, but ensure an aug- 
mentation of growing force at starting. The latter 
is of the greatest importance, for a vigorous start 
often ensures a henlthy growth throughout the whole, 
or the major part, of the life of the tree or plant. 
Not only is a good preparation the surest means of 
insuring a vigorous, healthy, and rapid growth of 
timber or other trees, but it is also the best antidote 
to accidents from such " storms and gales as we have 
had this autumn. A practical survey of hundreds of 
trees prostrated by the gales reveals the fact that 
it is those on shallow or unprepared soils that have 
been destroyed by wholesale, whereas trees on deeper 
land have either withstood its force, or broken off 
sharp rather than give up their root holdfasts. Nothing 
fosters deep root growth so much as a vigorous start 
immediately after planting in good well prepared soil. 
As far as resistance to storms and the formation of 
fine timber is concerned, there can be no doubt that 
the best mode of all is to sow the seeds where the 
trees are to grow. Each tree would then be perfect 
with its tap-root intact, and hence virtually storm- 
proof in this country. In many cases there would 
also be a gain of time by thus sowing on the permanent 
site of the timber, provided the sets were properly 
prepared, and the seedlings kept clean from the first, 
and thinned in time. When this is impracticable, small 
and healthy trees should be chosen in preference to 
larger, and the shorter the interval between nursery 
beds and permanent quarters the better for the well- 
being of the trees. 
Vanilla. — According to Mr. Home, vanilla of excel- 
lent quality is grown in the Seychelles Islands, an 
acre yielding about 250 lb. of vanilla, which realizes 
a net profit of 2,500 rupees. Seychelles vanilla obtained 
the first prize at the Paris Exhibition.— Pharmaceutical 
Journal. 
Importing Plants. — In answer to "Tree Fern," 
ferns and palms, if small enough, might best be 
brought from Calcutta in Wardian cases. Many orchids, 
if they are collected when at rest, may be sent home 
as cargo in ordinary packing cases, through the sides 
of which a few large auger holes have been bored, 
so as to ensure perfect ventilation. In shipping cases 
of plants, directions to stow them away quite clear 
of the heated engine rooms, &c, should be given. 
Large trunks of tree ferns may be packed in long 
packing cases or crates in dry moss, after the fronds 
have been removed, and thus shipped as cargo. Very 
rare orchids should be tied firmly on teak-wood blocks 
(or have their roots packed in coconut fibre), and 
should then be grown for some months in Calcutta 
in order to establish them, and enable their fleshy 
roots to cling firmly by growing naturally on the blocks, 
after which they may be screwed firmly to the sides of 
close Wardian cases, and thus brought home on the poop 
of a steamer, safely lashed below the awning. Unless 
"Tree Fern's" friend in Calcutta is au fait at pre- 
paring the plants named for exportation, he will find 
the expenses more apparent than the success in get- 
ting home living plants. Models of Wardian cases 
may be seen in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, or 
at Messrs. Veitch's, Chelsea Nurseries, London, and 
any Chinese or native carpenter in Calcutta will make 
such cases at a moderate price. I should not advise 
the attempt to import the plants nnmed, unless "Tree 
Fern's'' correspondent is practically acquainted with 
the particular species or varieties of plants he requires, 
add the best way of preparing them for export in the 
way he desires. Most amateurs pay very dearly for 
their experience in such matters.— F, W, B.— Field. 
