March i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
791 
the owner. Mr. D. Morris, the Director of Public 
Gardens, writes in his last report: — "As indicating 
the value of cinchona planting in tho Blue Mountains — 
taking 379 trees which occupied an area of less than 
120 square yards — it was estimated that if they yielded 
on tho average one pound of dry hark pin - tree (young 
trees at the Government Plantations yielded 1A pounds 
per tree), eacli tree would be worth ar, least 5s ; this 
would give £91 15s as the value of 379 trees on an 
area of 120 square yards, one-fortieth of an acre. 
Under ordinary conditions it would not, however, be 
advisable to plant the trees so closely as this, but 
the value of an acre of land planted with trees even 
at one-half the above rate, would amouut to more 
than £1,890. Large as this sum may seem, it appears 
that Willi the precious Ledgcriana bark, grown by 
the Dutch in Java (a few plants of which have just 
been introduced to Jamaica), the yield per acre, us 
quoted by Mr. J. E. Howard, K. U.S., is estimated, 
from actual sales, at £2,000 per acre." 
Three kinds of cinchona are now well-established 
in Jamaica, viz., C. officinalis, C succirubra, and a 
variety called C. caitsaya, which is supposed to be a 
hybrid between tho other two. The Inli/nrimin is a 
variety of caitsaya. Seeds of the C. officinalis for 
cultivation at elevations above 4,000, are supplied by 
the Government at 5s. per ounce, of G. succirubra &t 
elevations between 2,500 and 4,000, fe t at 3s. per ounce. 
An ounce is sufficient to produce 20,000 seedlings, 
which will plant five acres. Boxes of seedlings may 
be obtained at a guinea per box, and plants are 
obtainable at from -lOs. to 60s. per 1,000. — Journal oj 
the Society of Arts. 
next season, and we firmly believe that it will be 
found a perfect success. The proc 98 should be extended 
Thus the camellia, with which we so often hear of 
failures, might be tried. In f act, all plants that are 
propagated by this method might be experimented on. 
GRAFTING. 
Some time since we directed attention to autumn 
grafting of all kinds of trees. Whether practical 
effect has been given to the suggestion in this colony, 
System ot winter grafting is advocated and acted upon ; 
and the remarks are so very sensible and to the point, 
and so peculiarly applicable to the circumstances of 
this colony, that, with additions to suit, we deem it 
advisable to give a brief rdsumi. The peculiarities of 
our climate (luring the early spring months are such 
as, unless in very favourable situations, to make 
grafting a mere matter of speculation. It may be - 
either too wet or too dry. The wind may be hot, or 
the weather may be, as of late, alternately hot and 
very cold, all combining to materially affect tho 
union between scion and stock. The method adopted 
by the Iowa college is to graft early in the winter, 
store the grafted plants in sand, placed in a humid 
cellar or Other close house ; leave tliein till the follow- 
ing spring, aud plant out into the proper positions. 
The covering of sand and the humid atmosphere will 
have caused the imi >n to be perfectly complex, an I 
thou all the plant will have to do is to grow when 
planted out in tho open ground. In the covering 
of the incised parts, our Iowa friends somewhat alter 
the usual method. They advocate first placing the day 
compound ou tho scion, and then covering with a 
grafting wax compound, spread on some line muslin. 
The material they use, is white resin, liuseed oil, and 
wheatou flour, a composition that does not harden, 
and therefore may be applied without warming, lu 
consideration of our short winters, which generally 
are not very severe, even in tho coldest part* ol the 
colony, these etceteras might be dispensed with. That 
is, presuming the ties perfeotly cover the incised pans, 
ami are tlnn pi .n ted in sand, the c\elusa.n ..f air 
will he quite BufBoient to allow the granules from 
both soion and stock to form and unite. We r . . in 
mend both amateurs aud gardeners to try tho method 
md 
labrusca If these, as is stated, are more or less 
liable to the attacks of the phylloxera, they will 
prove but of little uso for grafting purposes, as it 
should be borne in mind that the severe winters in 
America must uct in a measure as a check ; but in 
this colony or in Victoria, where the frosts are so 
slight as to scarcely cake the surface of the ground, 
they will be as equally prone to phylloxera as the 
varieties already attacked. Again, as most species of 
American grapes are very prolific in growth, and 
may be multiplied by the hundreds of thousands 
either by cuttings or layers, plenty of stocks, with- 
out troubling the seedling process, could be obtained 
in one season wherewith to try experiments. In the 
matter of training vines, we noticed specially one 
idea ; that was, to let the rorls attain a sufficient 
height, and then gather the tops iu and tie up in a 
bunch. This system certainly would do away with 
expensive stakes, but could only be adopted iu situ- 
ations that are not exposed to puffs of hostile wind. 
Another question presents itself : Do vines require 
stakes at all ? We grow them on what is known as 
the currant-bush system, and if this plan were carried 
out iu its integrity the vines should be self-sup- 
porting. Thus the shoot should be nipped off one 
eye above the bunch, and by a scries of Dippings the 
present allowance of useless rods might be entirely 
dispensed with, and the plaut present what it is 
intended to form— simply a dwarf bush. — Australasian. 
COST OF COCONUT AND CINNAMON CULTIV- 
ATION IN CEYLON. 
I suggested to my Colombo friend that if he were 
an American, instead of a Sinhalese, by birth, and 
had some capital to invest, he would probably look 
about and liud twenty more fathers of boys or girl?, 
of his own nationality, religion, and social statu?, 
and pool say £500 each. Tins would give a joint 
capital of £10,000, with no interest to pay. They 
would then fiud a thoroughly competent native 
manager ; and by giving him besides his salary, a 
certain share in tho profits, identify his iuterests with 
their own. They would buy of Government a block 
of 2,000 acres, of which 750 would be planted with 
coconuts, 750 with cinnamon, and tho other 500 
held as a reserve. Roads would be opened, and the 
estate either marked into twenty plot*, one for each 
Shareholder, or if it were to he managed as one 
estate, then twenty good building plots would be 
laid out at the centre of the property, and a village 
formed. Some time ago 1 got the native manager ol 
just such an estate to .-it down with me and make 
the calculation I am now gong to lay before you. 
It was an estate that had failed in the hands of an 
European capitalist. He was an absent o, his manager 
cooked the aec unts, th. kanganies ch-ated the manager, 
the Qooliea stol products from under the noses of 
b th, and BO it at last c uue under the hammer and 
into native hands. Thero were several partners and 
a good practical man to manage under their personal 
supervision. The result was that withiu live yean 
tho estato paid for itself, aud now the owners can 
