296 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. I, 1893. 
fruits by different methods of propagation, as carried 
on in the above mentioned Gardens, that an explana- 
tion more favourable to artificial methods of pro- 
pagation is possible, and that local causes and 
conditions are responsible for what is attribated to 
othpr forces. 
From the saccers wldch hag attended tlie intro- 
duct'on of tbe Ahebican DEwnEnEV (llnhus iiiviafi.>) 
into India, where it is repor'ei t) hivo borne most 
profusely, it shouM commend itself to tbo more 
enterprising fruit cul ifalors i i Ceyloo, through 
wbosd agency if, as is most likely, it finds a home 
here, it shou'd spread through tlm islnnd. Amth'r 
desirable exotic wool I pcem to be the Gifmark Apple 
(I'ljrus mains), de cribed as a Tasmauiin varic y 
" wh ch bears iho name of one of the best kiucia m 
the world lor cultivation in diitricts which are to3 
hoi fir sitisfaotor.ly fruitinfj the otd nary kinds 
o( upplrs." 
A correspncdent of Cheiiii.il and Dniyoisi con- 
tributes nn iotercsthijjs pnper < 11 the preparation, 
obarBCterifHicp, arid use of Hasbisii (Hhing), which 
he describes us an earthy brown tubHiuiico in lumps, 
lua'Je by taking the sniiU lea^einud l( m ile fl )wer» 
from the tops of cannabis salit-a, lu'ibing them 
down tj a powder, puttuig through a fin; eievr, 
and heatiog the dark gretn powder thm obtuincd 
till it becomes adLosive, auil then workiug it inti 
lumps with tbe hand. Aiinlyi^is stows it to conteiu 
1 per coot of volatile oil, 6 7 per cent of subst.inres 
soluble in water, 55 5 per cent of oily and 0 5 per 
cent of resinous matters, ]8'1 jor (e t ot in!>oluble 
organic matters, and 13'7 of mineral lua'.terg. 
Drury, in his Uaelul I'Uut.s uf ladis, mentions 
that the oSScItieI pirt of tbo Indian Hemi' ooueiois 
e£ ttedrieJ floweiiug tops of the female pi iDt<, and 
ih^t this ii called (jiinynh : the r ■^in iteelf which 
exudes from tbo leaven, stem and fiowtri, is culled 
Lhv.n-m : and what is known as llhamj is the l»rge 
leaves and cipsuUa witLoat thu stalkn. 
There has been s ^me correepoudeuce in the local 
preKS legardini; the ^heuumenon cf lumin'o^ity IN 
cEHTAiN PLANTS. CLamburs m'iut'oii>i tbe obsis o! 
Hip«lic!B and Fungi wliicU pcesesa ihisjropnrty 
uf emitting light, s:)me to eurh an txt nt a? in 
mfficie:i» to admit of rcar'i: g ordirjavy print, 
liefer, nee isslsomade to tbe fl sloi of 1 gtit mi.ttt.r 
by ceitiio flo ven, while tl o lFa\e< aU'l jui.ea of eome 
trees aie knowa to posses luminosity. It is ki^owu that 
the roo/6' of tome of our common trte* | o a.ts tb's 
property. Chsmbi ri is inclined to aitribute lriu)inos ty 
to cbemital aciiuu, while sparks and lla iioa oMiKht, 
ho eayc, are probibly dua to elecuicol ciuse.-. 
Snobs on his valuab.e work ou B . t iny say^ : — lo tl e 
few cases in which up lo the presint time .hj dtv lop- 
mentof li?ht or Phosph.eeslencf, has been oliterv d 
in living plants, tbi.< pbeuomeuou is a'sa d peiicienl 011 
the respiration of oxygen. The funguj Ayarictis Oltarin 
«mit'< ligbt only s)lung as it is alive, uud ceases to 
do so at onae when it is deprived if o.xyken ; the 
respiration is in Itiis case also vtry cupuu-. Be- 
Bid'S this fungus, Jgaricas ir/nes, A. noclilicens, A. 
yatdneii, and thu lihizouiorpiis ard kuuwa to emit 
light tpjntaneously. 
Aprjpo9ofihe ' iiALMUDHEREA" Irei of CeyloD, is 
Ihe refeieuce to the •' ilimuinitiog trot" of Tusjoiora 
in your last column ot Pickings which appeared ou 
Monday moruiDg'.-4 (the 16th inat.) issue. iVloisture, 
«e ate there told, is essential to pho-pboiescence. 
Farther iuforioation on tLif eubjeot ot luminosity or 
phoepboreEcenceis to be lound in ££ardwicke'B"Science 
Gossip" aud Dr. Ptipson'a work "Ou Phosphore- 
scence." 
PLANTING IN BRITISH GUIANA IN 
THE OLDEN DAYS. 
COFFEE AT 20C8 PER CWT. 
It IB ruo^gh to make a modern planter's 
mouth water to read Wr. Ili.ds'ay's utaiement (\b 
0 pied into Timehri) of the possibilities of planters' 
nauag'oi; t> jog along uotwitstaodiug bigb freights, 
high pricea of necessaries, and all the tiakt and 
f'rawbackg of wartime, and the loss cf oof-c<ettb 
by drninigo on the voyage. Sug»r fold in IT'.iT at 
03 fh'liugk the bun Jridweigbt ; ia 1798 at t)5 
sbilliugf', and in IVi'i at ■'>5. After this there was a 
drop iu price", which made the planters cry out te» rible. 
E'l n these who cultivated C3(f<-e and cotton could fud 
coiiifuit, wi^h the f' rmer at 20Us the hundredweight, 
and lh«: litter at I'i 10 J tbo punnd. In IHII Detnerara 
aod Ejsequibo produced, together, a'lout 18,000 hogs- 
heads (ot abont 13 ot-) but the average pri'se had 
fallen to 343 ll'l tbe hundredweight. The labour quf»- 
t-oo was now making iteolt felt,owii g to tbe abolitiuu of 
the slave trade, and cotton e»ta'c< were ni<ju lo be 
thrown out of cultivat'oa and the alavea from tliem to 
be tianarc-red to ttc sugar plaotBtioaR which 
still »ve-o the men profitable propcrlie'. lo l7ao 
Comniaadcar Tierjiia was ordered to beniu tbe 
cultivation of ludigo in Berbice. In 1713 Ind'go fields 
were " still kept np " in Ksfequibo. The m«ua>:crs 
did cot understand the manuiacture and the i-lavei 
disl'kcd tbe work at the vati>, sj the industry did not 
prosper. In 1717, all tbe iudgo fields were dettroyed 
by cat' rpilUrs, anil the cultivation whs therefore ii>eii 
up. It vat alo'Jt 171G that the cultivation of cotton waa 
begun iu KtBiquibo, 10 develop Utc r 00 iuto a Et <p1e 
inius'ry. In J!'jrbic<>, directiuLS had beeo given ns 
far bHck as 1721), to begin the cn'tivatiun uf ei/ttoo, 
and ou the l'2ih of Jionary 1791, 46 couruiMons for 
planting it were granted in Btrrb C9. Each coi. ces- 
sion wrs of £00 acres of laud, liable to a tax of one 
stiver per acre. Tl e further liability to make a road 
vtas for the first tim^ io Berbice, attached lo tb> s 1 
gra'jtF, ell of which weie oti tbe eras'. In 
I8IIO, a cotton estate of about £200 acres would 
clear about £2,000 a year fur i s owner. Ouly half 
the number of slaves per acre rcqiir-d for (ugar 
were needed for the production of cotton or c iffee. 
Denserara an I K^sequibo together expor'.e 1 about ten 
millioa pounds of cotton io iKll ; but, in 1814, tbe 
quantity fell to ja-t over six million poaiids. 'Ihe la'e 
ftJr Orotby, for ni my ycirs Immigration Agenfr-tieneral 
of Briiieh Guiana, has beeu beard to tell ti at be could 
remember se<'iug, when a Loy, Bcr^icd coHtC, exposed 
for sale iu London eliop<, as coff-^e of tbe choiceat kind. 
Bu', ^a tis all i:s frame, and Biitish Ouia'<a knows 
no*, iierbico cotfee iio«-a days. It wai in 17:.'9 tl at 
word was sent to Coaiman'leur Tiereas cf BerLice 10 
ba particularly rnergeiio in growing coffee, which 
had bnt two or three years before be<n introcu e I into 
Surinam From Surir a-n k few p'auis had already 
been broight 10 B=rbice. Tbe auiboriues in Ametel- 
dan), at tbe time they fO instruo'ed Tie.-eiis, also wrote 
to tha Governor of Sar nam, a-king him to send 
a b' at loud of coffee L/eaup, in tbe hu»k, to Bi-rbice. 
Governor Cju'.icr complied ao thoroughly wiih fie 
request th it tbe Direstors made him a pee it of 
a fine siddle horse. The coffee plants 8u-cce;led 
adm rably, and Berbice be ;ame more prosperous. Mr. 
Kodway finds that onffee and cocoa never eucr.eeJed 
well in Bssequibo. Governor Vau Grave^aiide had 
even lo send lo Berbice, on one occasion, to b'jy cjlfea 
for the garrsion in Essequibo. In 1800, a coffee eat*te 
of 200 acres would clear b;tBeen £2,500 and £3.000 a 
year. Coffee was cropped two or three times a year. 
Every tree gave one to one and a half pound at 
each picking, or four to six hundred-weight per acre 
in tlie course of the year. Abont twelve milliou 
pounds of coffee were produced by Demerara and 
tssequibo jointly in 1811, but, in 1814 the quantity 
shipped from these two places fell to eight million 
thri e hundred tUou-and p^uIld^. In J821 there were 
still sixty plantations in cjffee in Berbice. The cocoa 
grown ia Berbice had a very fiue flavour. In 1720 
there were two plantations under this cu'tivatio . 
An increiEe of tbe oultivaiicn was nrge 1 upon Oomccan- 
dtur Tierens by the HutLorities in Holland. Demerara 
planters who visited Berb ce in 1783 reported that they 
h*d never elsewhere sean oocoa trees looking f o healthy. 
Prefereiice should bj given, they consideief, lo the 
onllivaiioQ of coooa in that lo ality : it having a rich 
Bub-eoil, and being protected frtm the E%st aad No((t) 
winds, 
