February i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
735 
COFFEE PLANTING IN JOHORE: A 
CORRECTION. 
Sir, — A paragraph which appears in the December 
somewhat mis- 
3U will kindly 
d:_"VVe are 
number of the Tropical Agriculk 
leading, and I should bn glac' 
publish this correction. It is 
sorry to hear bud news from Johore. The large clear- 
ing of the I ompany of that name, under .Mr. Watson's 
auspices, at an elevation of about 700 feet above sea- 
level, had been condemned for coffee Arabica Mr. 
Dobree's report was so unfavorable that the directors 
decided to plant no more ordinary coffee at this elevation, 
if fchej do not abandon what has already been put out." 
The only clearing on which Mr. Dobrce reported 
formally, as far as I know, was that of the -'Pulai 
Planting Company." It could hardly be the "Johore 
Company," which is ill quite another. district, and ab ut 
the planting of which there has been no question. As 
to the Pulai Planting Company, the elevation of the 
clearing is from 700 ti 1,400, and so far from Mr 
Dobree's report having induced the directors to abac don 
the clearing, they are now pushing forward the 
planting up of .SO acres more with coffee Arabica to 
complete the 150 acres they originally decided to 
plant. On the portion already planted, I am happy to 
say the coffee is looking strong and well, and very 
forward for its age. — I am sir, yours faithfully, 
ONE OF THE DIRECTORS. 
Lkdgeriana Seed. — At Mr. Symons' sale at noon to- 
day (Jan 13th) of the Ledger seed advertized, only apor- 
jrammes. 
r e before 
pe of an 
on the ophthalmic u 
action, from which 
turn ot it was sold at KI.hV.KI-_' per l.ox 
Artesian Wells i* Australia, — V 
ne a photograph of the outlet and i 
artesian well at the town of Sale, Gippslantf, Victor. , 
the depth of which is 232 feet, diameter of borne 
2 inches and daily outflow 40,000 gallons. The water 
runs 43 feet above the surface and is fresh, pure and 
palatable. The well was sunk by the direction of 
the Uroii^h Council in 1SS0 and cost £300 instead 
of £30,000 required for the construction of a tank 
and channels lor an ordinary water supply! 
Quinine in Diseases or the Era. — In the Scientific 
American for Juno 1SS1 toere is a review of a work 
i of quinine and its therapeutic 
it appears that not only in 
ophthalmia but iu cases of extraction of cataract and 
other surgical operations quinine is of great value. 
Dr. Sibley Compbell believes the curative action to 
be due to the direct action of quinine on the vascular 
system, through its power of contracting the small r 
bloodvessels, especially on the smaller arteries. As 
our readers are aware, the great use of quinine in 
fever is its power of rabidly lowering the temperature 
of the body. On the vascular system it acts as a 
mutrbtgent. Hence its value as an application iu 
diseases of the eye. Day by day new uses for this 
substance are being discovered. 
A Test for Lime in Soils. — Sir— Can you or any 
of your readers give a simple test to discover 
whether a particular soil is deficient iu lime? If no 
such test exists, can you state tho best analyser and 
probable cost of a qualitative analysis? — New Ohm. 
[Grind Boil in a mortar, and place a small quantity 
of the Bubitance in a glass vessel ; add some dilute 
hydrochloric acid, and agitate for a few minutes. 
Allow the mixture to settle, and then decant a por- 
tiou of the clear liquid into a lest tube or other glass, 
and breathe into the I. quid through a tube (a clean 
straw will answer the purpose). If lime be present 
iu quantity the clear liquid will become c'.ou«i\ . l.i.t 
li there be only a trace of limu iu tho soil uo chance 
will bo noticeable. Tho explanation of this is— tho 
carbonic acid of the bi.au. unites with the lime, 
forming carbonate of Luno,— Eu.J — Avttraitulan, 
TROPICAL READING BOOKS. 
three series.* 
These Reading books contain carefully arranged and 
pleasantly selected short chapters on subjects as familiar 
to a child in a tropical country as snow, holly, apples 
or daisies are to one in tho old country. They are in 
fact easy and interesting lessons on familiar objects with 
a largo number of good illustrations. Thus, in Book I, 
we find, amongst the 79 titles of chapters such headings 
as: Cocoa-nut, Pepper, Job's Tears, Gandasi and her 
Puppy, Tom's Bad Habit, Spinning Tops, Calabashes, 
Mango Stalks, Date Palm Tree, Tho Cat and her Master's 
Bags, The Banyan Tree, Christopher Columbus, and 
Alick's Humming Bird. 
Book II becomes still more instructive as well as en- 
tertaining. It consists of nearly 200 pages and contains 
50 chapters, some few being poetry. Several chapters 
are devoted to animals and insects, such as ants, cro- 
codiles, monkeys, mosquitoes, and bees; then we have 
interesting biographical sketches or anecdotes, very in- 
teresting stories with a moral ; pieces on the uses and 
properties of- various vegetable products, cacao, the 
cocoa-nut, cassava, india-rubber, the sugar-cane, plantain 
and soap hemes. Another attractive element in the book 
is the largo amount of conversation introduced. Beth 
Gelert and Little Jim, or the Collier's Home are the 
best poems in the Second book. 
The Third book contains fewer object lessons, so to 
speak, but takes the reader to many lands, and intro- 
duces him to various domestic scenes or national amuse- 
ments, gives a chapter to the Telephone and Microscope, 
to a Coal fire and to Gas in London, others to English 
houses, the Polyteclinic, the Jamaica Robin Redbreast, 
the Poor Men's Weather Glass and an English Winter's 
Day in January. It contains valuable reading that 
would interest older people quite as much as the young 
student, and deserves to be generally used in the Tropics. 
(Extract from Book II.) 
XVI. GUINEA-GRASS IU JAMAICA. 
Tri-fling — unimportant, of small value. 
Flour-ish — giow luxuriantly, thrive. 
Il-lus-trate— explain, set in a clear light. 
Very great results will sometimes arise from very tri- 
fling causes, and as it is interesting to trace the origin 
of things in the different countries in which they flour- 
ish, I will, to illustrate this, tell you how the tall, wav- 
ing guinea-grass, on which horses and cattle so delight 
to graze, found its way into Jamaica. 
A native of Africa, it was brought to the West Indies 
in a very strange manner. 
A gentleman, named Mr. John Ellis, sent to the coast 
of Guinea, in Africa, for some birds, and at the same 
time for some seed on which to feed them. 
The birds died, and the seeds were thrown away as 
useless, but instead of being useless beautiful crass sprang 
up from them, and to this grass Mr. Ellis led bis horse 
and cow. 
They not only eat the new herbage greedily, but grew 
fat upon it. 
Tin? Guinea-grass was transplanted into a garden, 
began to be cultivated in the island, and thence, ,„', 
doubt, was transplanted into other islands. 
You all know what a useful plant it now is. 
Qiwstioiu : — 
Of what country is Guinea-grass a native? 
How was it hi-.. light to .lauuiieii .» 
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