246 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct.  i,  1892. 
to  private  enterprise  will  be  the  long  period, 
about  thirty  years,  required  for  plantations  to 
come  to  maturity.  But  clearly  the  Forest  Depart- 
ments in  India,  Ceylon  and  the  Eastern  World 
generally  ought  to  devote  their  attention  to 
the  cultivation  on  a large  scale  of  these  valua- 
ble trees.  Our  own  Forest  Department  has  already 
taken  up  the  cultivation  of  one  species  of  india- 
rubber-yielding  trees. — Ed  T.A.~\ 
— <- 
RURAL  INDUSTRIES  OF  EGYPT. 
Subsequently  to  the  special  dinner  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Club,  on  the  25th  ult.,  Sir  John  T.  D.  Llewelyn, 
Bart,  who  presided,  gave  an  able  and  remarkably 
interesting  address  on  the  horticultural  and  agricul- 
tural resources  of  Egypt,  whence  he  has  recently 
returned  after  a prolonged  visit. 
In  this  opening  remarks,  Sir  John  Llewelyn  said 
that  Egypt  was  a land  of  agriculture  rather  than  of 
horticulture,  for  good  gardens  were  few  and  far 
between,  and  these  were  taken  but  little  advantage 
of  for  teaching  the  people  the  cultivation  of  the 
several  classes  of  useful  and  ornamental  plants  that 
have  a place  in  them.  Agriculture,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  most  successfully  carried  out,  but  it  was  pretty 
much  a question  of  water,  especially  from  the  Nile, 
and  Nea  os  (new7  mud)  tells  the  story  of  the  fertility 
of  the  vast  tract  of  land  watered  by  this  remark- 
able river.  This,  at  the  time  of  its  flood  is,  as 
is  so  well-known,  heavily  charged  with  earthy  matter 
which,  when  the  water  overflows  the  banks,  is 
deposited  on  the  land,  and  so  greatly  does 
this  deposit  contribute  to  its  productiveness,  that 
the  point  to  which  the  water  reaches  is  so 
clearly  shown  when  the  crops  are  in  full  growth 
that  it  is  hardly  a figure  of  speech  to  say  that 
it  is  possible  to  stand  with  one  foot  in  the 
desert  and  the  other  on  fertile  land.  Of  the  cultiva- 
ted area,  about  one-half  is  devoted  to  Wheat 
and  other  cereals,  and  the  other  half  to  Date  Palms, 
Cotton,  Castor  Oil,  Sugar,  Lentils,  Peas,  Beans,  and 
Poppies.  Of  the  several  crops  other  than  those  of 
cereals,  that  of  Dates  is  perhaps  of  the  most  importance 
to  the  people,  and  it  would  perhaps  be  of  the  greatest 
interest  to  a body  of  horticulturists.  Phoenix  dactyli- 
fera,  of  which  twenty-seven  varieties  were  commonly 
offered  for  sale,  is  abundant  in  Egypt,  but  rare  in 
Palestine.  Its  rarity  in  the  last-named  country  is  all 
the  more  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  the  name  by 
which  the  land  was  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
was  Phoenicia,  or  the  land  of  Palms.  Again,  when 
Vespasian  wished  to  commemorate  on  his  coins  the 
capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  he  represents  Judaea  as 
a woman  sitting  weeping  under  a Palm.  Probably  in 
olden  times  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  was  full  of  Palms, 
and  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea  are  fringed  with 
trunks  that  have  been  preserved  from  decay  by  the 
salt  water,  and  tell  of  a time  when  Palms  must  have 
been  much  more  common  than  now.  In  Egypt  the 
Date  Palm  grows  as  a common  tree,  and  under  ordi- 
nary cultivation  is  very  productive.  It  also  grows 
freely  in  some  parts  of  Europe — Italy,  for  example  ; 
but  in  Granada  alone  does  it  ripen  fruit  on  the  Euro- 
pean continent.  To  the  Moors  belongs  the  credit  of 
introducing  this  Palm  to  Europe,  and  they  say  “ He 
must  have  his  foot  in  water,  and  his  head  in  the  sun.” 
It  undoubtedly  marks  the  presence  of  water,  and  in 
proof  of  this,  Sir  John  stated  that  Major  Lloyd  told 
him  that  when  he  was  engaged  in  a survey  of  the 
desert,  he  saw  a decaying  Palm  trunk,  and  in  conse- 
quence sunk  for  water,  and  found  a spring.  In  Egypt, 
each  Palm  is  taxed  at  20  piastres,  which  is  equivalent 
to  about  2£d,  and  as  illustrating  the  usefulness  of  the 
Date  to  the  people,  it  was  pointed  out  that,  besides  its 
employment  for  building,  wine  is  made  from  the  sap, 
and  a spirit  is  distilled  from  the  wine.  The  crown  of 
barren  trees  is  cooked  as  a vegetable  ; sugar  is  made 
from  the  syrup ; mats,  baskets,  and  various  utensils 
manufactured  from  the  leaves ; horses  are  fed  on  the 
stalks,  and  camels  on  the  pounded  stones.  The  trees 
bloom  in  March  and  April,  and  the  fruit  ripens  in 
August  and  September,  When  first  ripe  the  Dates  | 
! are  harsh  and  astringent,  but,  like  Medlars,  are  more 
I palatable  after  fermentation,  and  are  very  nice  also 
I when  dried  in  the  sun.— Gardeners'  Chronicle,  June  4th. 
— -♦ 
THE  MASCARENE  ISLANDS. 
[An  article  so  heads!  in  the  Gardeners’  Chronicle 
possesses  special  interest  in  view  of  the  catastrophe 
which  has  befallen  the  isliud  of  Mauritius.  We 
ex  ract  some  passages. — Ed.  T.AA 
The  terribly  destructive  hurricane  which  lately 
visited  Mauritius  has  called  public  attention  to  the 
products  of  this  fertile  island.  Some  account  of  the 
cultural  industries  of  these,  and  adjacent  islands, 
may  therefore  be  acceptable,  and  these  we  are  enabled 
to  supply,  as  Monsieur  M.  F.  Jadin,  Chief  de?  tra- 
vaux  de  botanique  a la  Faculty  des  sciences,  was 
recently  despatched  on  a mission  to  the  Mascarene 
Islands,  to  continue  certain  investigations  of  crypto- 
gamic  botany,  which  have  for  some  time  past  been 
carried  out  in  France  for  the  public  benefit.  The 
notes  de  voyage  of  M.  Jadin  were  communicated  to 
the  Socibte  Languedocienne  de  Geographic,  and 
published  in  their  late  bulletin. 
M.  Jadin,  after  visiting  Mauritius,  was  no  longer 
surprised  to  find  Sir  G.  Bowen,  who  was  Governor 
of  the  island  from  1879  to  1883,  pronouncing  this 
colony  to  be  “ the  richest  country  in  the  empire, 
and,  perhaps,  the  richest  in  the  world.”  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  the  botanist  prefers  the  descriptions 
of  the  Isle  of  France  given  by  Bernardin  ae  St. 
Pierre  in  his  Paul  and  Virginia  to  those  which  are 
to  be  found  in  his  former  Voyage  a Vile  de  France. 
The  first  seems  to  him  more  just,  more  true  to  life, 
and  he  suspects,  he  adds,  strongly,  that  M.  Arvbde 
Barine,*  the  author  of  a very  interesting  study  on 
Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre,  can  never  have  seen  the 
Mascarene  Islands,  when  he  writes,  apropos  of 
these  said  descriptions  in  Paul  and  Virginia , “ The 
landscapes  are  copied  from  nature,  and  complete  by 
a divination  of  what  the  tropical  vegetation  ought  to  be, 
in  a country  more  fertile  than  the  Isle  of  France.’ 
After  this  natural  tribute  to  the  comparison  of  fic' 
tion  with  real  life  and  the  literary  value  of  the  great 
Mauritian  romance,  without  alluding  to  which  no 
French  writer  could  possibly  touch  on  anything  to  do 
with  Mauritius,  M-  Jadin  proceeds  more  prosaically 
to  modern  facts,  which  can  therefore  be  given  in  his 
owm  words  : — 
“ The  principal  cultivation  in  both  colonies  (Re- 
union and  Mauritius)  is  that  of  the  sugar  cane  (Sac- 
charum  officinale,  L.) 
* * * * 
“ The  two  colonies  export  the  fibre  of  the  Aloes — 
so-called— but  these  fibres  are  net  extracted  from  the 
true  Aloe  [Aloe  vulgaris  of  Abyssinia,  the  Aloe,  of 
Dioscorides],  but  from  the  leaf  of  several  Amaryl- 
lidese  allied  to  the  Agave.  The  principal  species  is  the 
Fourcroya  gigantea,  Vent.,  or  Agave  foetida,  L.,  which 
locally  bears  the  common  name  of  Aloes  vert — Green 
Aloe.  This  plant,  which  blossoms  in  throwing  out  a 
tall  flower-bearing  stem  to  a height  of  six  feet,  from 
its  basal  tuft  of  stiff  leaves,  does  not  bear  seed.  The 
flowers,  which  have  the  form  of  a white  bell,  with  a 
very  sweet  odour,  are  never  fertile;  at  the  base  of 
each  a small  bulb  is  put  forth,  which  develops  quickly, 
and  when  the  flowers  are  dead  these  bulbs  remain  and 
develop.  As  soon  as  each  of  these  little  bulbs  has  one 
or  two  small  leaves  unsheathed,  the  stalk  bends  under 
the  weight  of  these  small  plants,  and  finishes  by 
falling ; once  on  the  ground  the  bulb  develops  itself 
into  a new  plant.  Very  hardy,  thriving  in  the  most 
arid  and  rocky  soil,  the  Agave  propagates  rapidly,  and 
without  further  care  permits  the  production  of  fibre  at 
a low  price. 
“ The  cultivation  of  Vanilla  is  far  more  delicate ; 
this  Orchid  requites  a light  soil,  rich  in  humu3,  and 
also  a support.  The  support  generally  in  use  through- 
out the  Mascarenes  is  a Euphorbiaceous  plant,  the 
Jatropha  curcas,  L.,  which  vulgarly  bears  the  name  of 
Pignon  d’lnde — Indian  Nut,  or  “ Physic  Nut ; ” all  the 
* Bernardin  de  Saint-Pien  e,  par  M,  Arve  le  Barine. 
Paris,  Hachette,  1891,  - . 
