February r, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
725 
in Nuwara Eliya, trees have been, in too many cases, 
exhausted of their juices by the loranthi and destroyed. 
We have seen casuarinas and even jak trees killed from 
the same cause at Colombo. But the parasites were allowed 
to have their will, instead of a cooly being occasionally 
sent up the trees to rid them of their enemies. Instead 
of climbing the trees, the cooly could use a long pole with 
a sickle or crooked knife at the end, and could so clear 
the trees and keep them clear of the bird-carried para- 
sites. Superior, perhaps, in the brighter species of beauty 
is the other form of Australian acacia, yremllea robusta, 
with its fern-like leaves and its tufts of fragrant orange- 
blossoms. Wo are glad that many specimens of this 
" silk oak" are yielding seed in Ceylon, for it is not easy 
to get seeds in Australia. The' special habitat of the tree 
is Queensland, but neither in that colony nor in any of 
the others did we see grevilleas to compare with our own 
in Ceylon. Thii 
and the silk oa 
that a gentlerai 
the tree grew v 
silk oak timber 
Australia for tin 
coals to Newca 
tralia were Marc 
golden wattle v 
very month we i 
that specimen's ' 
about three or 
ings between T 
grown well. N< 
masses of goldc 
separated green 
purposes. Sc 10 
halbata, against 
habit of sendini 
spreading into 
prevalent are g 
;s for tallow casks, 
for this purpose, 
old him how well 
3d tho idea that 
from Ceylon to 
Talk of "sending 
ver sides in Aus- 
tit flowers of the 
,nd it was in that 
ry at Queen's Oot- 
to 
Mi 
proper and Barn 
n be more beai 
igrant flowers cc 
id the bark is use 
11st whic h a prejudice has arisen from its 
ding up fresh trees from its roots, and so 
to groves. So rapidly has it spread and so 
i groves of this treo in Ootacamund, that 
serious efforts are to be made to extirpate it on sanit- 
ary grounds ! But surely laues at right angles could be 
cut through the thickest groves; good firewood being 
thus obtained, and the spread of the tree could be 
checked by drains. We cannot conceive of anything 
Witter suited to bind banks, if kept closely cut down, 
judging from what we saw in the South India sanatoriam. 
To bungalows in Nuwara Eliya this plant affords valuable 
shelter, which, in a place so liable to strong, cold awl 
often rain-laden winds, is, after a time, desiderated even 
at the expense of extensive views; the still more indis- 
pcusihle requisite of a plenteous supply of water, by 
gravitation or in wells close at hand, has decided the 
position of most dwellings at the foot of knolls instead 
of on their tops. The majority of the villas we have 
visited are so snugly sheltered by spared natural forest, 
or exotic ornamental trees obtained from the Government 
gardens at Ilakgala, that the fine views as well as the 
'fresh air of the mountain sanatorium must be sought 
out-of-doors. The collection of eucalypti, acacias, cypres- 
ses, junipers, firs, casuarinas, auracarias, &c., around a 
bungalow I visited yesterday was rich and beautiful. 
■But plants of auraearut exeeha (the Norfolk Island pine), 
on., of the noblesl trees in creation at its full height 
of ill*) feet, must have been in plentiful supply when the 
ground-, were laid out, for half-a-do/m of these tins 
are placed as closo together as they can stand. It would 
be wise, if possible, to separate them. Two Norfolk Is- 
land pines, ono of them 150 feet high, form the 
central objects in the exquisitely beautiful Botanical 
Cardnis on the shores of Sydney Bay. Tho space their 
branches shade, over which many seats are placed, 
is probably equal to the whole of the grounds in which 
we saw six trees of auraearia excelsa wasted by being 
packed close together. If any proof were wanted of the 
UOW Observing powers of the greal Captain Cook, it will he 
found in the fact that hi' insisted on the siHcific differ- 
ence of another aiiiaeuriti which Banks and Soiau.ler elaxncd 
as a mere variation of auraearia tXCtlsa. Nearly a iviit- 
my after the death of the great navigator, Mr. Oharjea 
Moore, of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, procured tho cones 
Of the tree from which Captain Cook obtained masts :1 nd 
hind continued the opinion of lh«. shr, v.d ui.uuei 
th. 
nght 
Auraearia Cookii closely resembles that which justly bears 
the name of exceha and the cruciform habit of the 
branches of which is so striking, 
is different from but still rcsem 
very different, quaint and curious is the growth habit of 
auraearia Jjidwillii, popularly "the monkey puzzle," of 
which we saw a couple of fine specimens, a proper dis- 
tance apart, in the grounds where the finer species 
were so crowded, and the tree is to be found near many 
plantation bungalows. It is, we believe, almost confined, 
in Australia, to particular portions of Queensland, and it 
is strictly preserved by Government on account of the 
value of the seeds of its huge cones as food for the 
aboriginals. Once in three years, generally, there is a 
the blacks assemble from all quarters, 
d go away as fat as pigs to resume 
grs 
Th 
the 
by an 
fruits, 
it of shell-fish, screw-pine 
mgaroo, wallaby, native bear, or oppos 
Many of them would gladly add not only " cold mission, 
but roast white man generally, to their cuisine, but 
the emphatic manner in which the whites have e-xprei 
their objections to such marks of affection. It is < 
taphorically that the blacks are being " eaten up" 
the whites. The aboriginals might quote Shakspere, if they 
could, and say : — " You take my life when you do take 
the means [the _ hunting-grounds] by which I live." But 
as our subject is not the race which roved the forests 
of Australia, but the trees of the forest, we may express 
our regret that one of the most beautiful and dense 
growing of the Australian casuarinas, is short-lived in 
our hill regions. But for this it would be invaluable 
for shelter purposes. I may here again say that 
I did not see a casuarina in Australia, (and I saw them 
lining the banks of streams), to be compared in height to 
the fine specimens in the grounds of the Galle Face Hotel at 
Colombo. Indeed the giant eucalypti, the tallest trees in 
the world, as the California trees are the trees of greatest 
diameter, are only to be found in damp, rich-soiled sites 
in Gippsland and especially at Fernshaw. 
ys at the latter place the closely 
, branchless stems resemble the 
)f a grand organ built for the Anakim. I saw 
ms 350 feet high, and it seems certain that some 
iached 500 feet, for a fallen one, of which the top 
ne, was measured to 474 feet. Old Dr. George 
; of Sydney poohpoohed such an altitude, point- 
the 150 feet high tree in the Sydney gardens and 
ing : " Just fancy a second tree of the same height 
on the top of that !" It did seem astounding, but 
: measurements afford evidence not to bo resisted 
at is incredible to those who have not seen what 
ilr. Abbay both saw and described.* Baron von 
, the first authority on the subject in the world, 
the height which to my good friend, Dr. Bennett, 
incredible. But lower trees will suit us in Ceylon, 
though auraearia excelsa is valuable for shelter 
s, it is not in this respect to be compared to 
,n$iffni9, which I found to be the favourite for 
ug dwellings and orchards in Melbourne. But I 
Iraw this already too long communication to a 
Trees for shelter are wanted all over our bill plant- 
but especially are they wanted on the cold wid 
often windswept plain which will soon by means of tho 
railway be the central station of Ceylon. Those who 
contemplate building bungalows need not be in u special 
hurry with their masonry and carpenter work, but they 
cannot at too early a date lay dowu their groves of 
sheltering trees, of which we have indicated tho names 
and characteristics of a few most likely to succeed and 
he useful. 
such as exis 
In the mounts 
set, white-bar 
pipes of a gn 
specimens 350 
and, 8 
pnrpos 
mrm 
shelter 
must 
close, 
at ions ; 
NEW PRODUCTS IN THE LOW COUNTRY. 
GUBBBAXi RCPOBTi TIIK EXPJ RIM&I | Oil 1SS1 : i.iukkian 
C'OKKKE ; l.tLU'- HISK.\SK; HL'BDER ; CARDAMOMS ; 
I'lMKSTO ; COCO. 
l'-'th January 1882. 
In that section of the W-ste.n I'rovmce, Ivm- 
between the Kclani and Mahaoya, tho year 1881 has 
been specially favourable to tin pl.inUr ol ucw^io 
