Dec.  i,  1892,] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
433 
were  found  two  trees  aged  about  thirty  years  which 
produce  1 yearly  a great  quantity  of  seeds.  It  was 
from  these  that  a young  plantation  was  started  in 
the  Garden  of  agriculture,  and  thus  the  great  num- 
ber of  young  trees  were  obtained  which  were  required 
for  the  vast  plantation  established  a number  of  years 
au'o,  by  the  Dutch  Government,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Garden.  The  camphor  tree  of  Sumatra,  a tree 
of  great  value,  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  grow,  first, 
because  it  bears  very  few  seeds,  and  second,  because 
these  seeds  very  soon  lose  their  germinating  power, 
often  being  found  worthless  after  a very  short  voyage. 
With  particular  care  Teysmann  succeeded  in  raising 
the  trees  at  Buitenzorg.  In  1S85  the  plants  began 
to  fructify,  and  now  the  garden  possesses  a young 
plantation  of  the  camphor  trees  and  a great  number 
of  plants  can  be  distributed  from  there  during  the 
next  rainy  season. 
The  researches  made  up  to  this  time  into  the 
athology  and  the  physislogy  of  plants  have  not 
een  very  extensive,  and  yet  they  have  been  such  as 
to  tax  the  powers  of  the  present  personnel.  Upon 
the  arrival  of  the  two  new  functionaries  to  be  set 
apart  exclusively  for  this  kind  of  work,  the  force  will 
be  strong  enough  to  meet  fully  all  such  demands. 
Every  one  interested  in  natural  history  knows  that 
Zoology  owes  a great  part  of  its  recent  rapid  de- 
velopment to  the  founding  of  various  Zoological 
“Stations”  (establishments  in  places  where  the 
species  to  be  studied  occur  naturally).  Of  still  greater 
importance  in  the  development  of  the  science  of 
botany,  are  such  great  botanical  “Stations”  as  this 
one  at  Buitenzorg,  destined  to  be  in  the  near 
future.” 
It  is  interesting  to  compare  what  is  said  of  these 
gardens  by  Dr.  Trimen,  Director  of  Botanic  Gardens 
in  Ceylon.  He  visited  them  in  1891,  and  in  his  Re- 
port he  states  his  experience  as  follows  : — 
“ The  Dutch  botanical  establishment  at  Buitenzorg 
is  maintained  entirely  on  a scientific  basis. 
“ The  Director  has  the  control  of  all  the  six  de- 
partments into  which  the  institution  is  divided,  as 
follows: — 1,  the  Herbarium,  Library  and  Museum; 
2,  the  Botanical  Laboratory ; 3,  the  Experimental 
Garden  and  Laboratory  for  Agricultural  Chemistry; 
4,  the  Pharmacological  Laboratory ; 5,  the  Botanic 
Gardens;  6,  the  Photographic  Institution.  Each  of 
these  departments  is  under  the  immediate  manage- 
ment of  a highly-trained  scientific  or  technical  chief 
from  Holland,  and  most  of  these  have  also  an  assistant. 
There  is  thus  a very  large  staff  of  Europeans.  The 
Laboratories,  Library,  &c.  are  completely  stocked, 
and  kept  fully  up  to  the  time,  and  everything  is 
provided  for  close  investigation  and  original  re- 
search in  all  branches  of  botanical  study.  Many 
students  are  thus  attracted  from  Europe,  and  the 
Laboratories  afford  accommodation  for  a considerable 
number  of  workers.  A valuable  serial  publication, 
the  “Annales  du  Jardin  Buitenzorg,”  is  issued  at 
intervals,  devoted  to  scientific  botany,  and  another 
one,  “ Teijsmannia,”  occupied  with  economic  and 
garden  subjects 
“The  Botanic  Gardens  themselves  at  Buitenzorg 
occupy  between  60  and  70  acres,  at  an  elevation  of 
about  800  feet,  with  a fine  soil  and  abundant  water, 
and  are  well  protected  by  a high  iron  railing  and 
a barbed  wire  fenee.  Nearly  the  whole  is  occupied 
by  a classified  arboretum,  each  Natural  Order  being 
isolated  by  a road  or  path.  The  eollecion  is  extremely 
rich,  and  every  sepcies  is  elaborately  labelled  with 
upright  labels  made  of  the  very  hard  wood  of  Eu- 
sideroxylon.  which  is  never  attacked  by  termites.  The 
whole  is  now  much  toe  crowded,  and  cannot  be  said 
to  be  of  much  beauty,  but  is  of  course  extremely 
convenient  for  scientific  study.  Connected  with 
Buitenzorg  is  a small  Hill-garden  at  Tijbodas,  4,700 
feet,  also  under  a European  Superintendent,  where 
is  also  a house  for  the  Director  and  a Laboratory 
and  accommodation  for  four  students. 
“ The  experimental  Garden  (Cultuur-tuin)  is  about 
two  miles  from  the  main  garden,  and  is  200  acres 
in  extent,  but  is  not  all  at  present  occupied.  It  is 
laid  out  in  square  plots,  each  devoted  to  one  product ; 
large  labels  at  each  corner  give  the  name,  date  of 
sowing,  or  planting,  and  other  information.  Here  are 
very  many  plants  of  great  interest.  Though  a large 
distribution  of  seeds  and  plants  is  made  to  planters 
and  others,  no  charge  is  made  for  anything. 
“ 9n  the  whole,  I was  filled  with  surprise  and 
admiration  at  the  completeness  of  Buitenzorg  as  a 
centre  for  botanical  work ; the  only  weak  side  seemed 
to  be  the  Herbarium,  which  is  by  no  means  kept 
up  on  a par  with  the  rest  of  the  means  of  study,” 
— « 
A TALK  ON  MANURES. 
[By  Professor  Shelton  before  the  Bundaberg 
Agricultural  Conference,  and  reprinted  from  the 
Bundaberg  Mail.~\ 
t Professor  Shelton  said  the  subject  put  down  was 
A Taik  on  Manures,  1 and  it  was  not  a misnomer  as 
there  would  be  nothing  technical  about  it,  but  the 
practical  view  of  the  matter.  It  was  the  question 
how  to  improve  soils,  and  howto  make  cheap  man- 
ures. The  ground  they  tilled  was  not  a simple  de- 
pository of  substances  that  went  to  make  up  vegetation 
crops,  &c.  The  ground  was  much  more  than  that. 
The  ground  was  a great  laboratory.  A constant 
round  of  chemical  changes  went  on  in  it.  They  (the 
farmers)  were  all  the  time  thinking  and  planning  that 
if  they  knew  the  deficiencies  of  the  soil  they  could  put 
into  it  what  it  required.  That  was  a great  mistake. 
They  could  employ  an  analyst  to  test  their  soils 
an(r  n P^y  him  £10  10s.  for  the  experiment,  but  it 
would  be  simply  waste  of  money.  A soil  could  be 
made  that  was  chemically  equal  to  the  natural  soil 
but  they  couldn’t  get  out  of  it  what  was  in  the 
natural  soil.  There  were  a lot  of  things  required 
to  make  up  the  nutrition  of  plants.  The  common 
notion  was  that  if  they  knew  what  vegetation  took 
out  of  the  ground,  they  could  put  back  into  it 
what  was  taken  out.  That  was  an  error.  He  had 
noticed  in  reading  the  debates  which  took  place  in 
Bundaberg  at  the  meeting  of  the  Agricultural  Society 
that  that  belief  wast  current  here.  His  saying  that 
it  was  a mistake  looked  like  a condemnation,  and 
a sweeping  charge,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  put  it 
like  that— he  only  wished  to  correct  them.  They 
wanted  to  know  the  composition  of  the  soil,  and 
of  the  commodity  grown.  A chemical  analysis  of 
the  soil  was  very  good  as  far  as  it  went,  but  if  they  had 
it  they’  would  be  no  nearer  a solution  of  what  they 
wanted ; they  would  be  no  nearer  the  mark  as  how 
‘V?101’6  fertility  to  the  soil  at  a paying  cost. 
What  wa^  it  that  made  a soil  good  or  bad.  Several 
things.  If  the  Burnett  Kiver  overflowed  its  banks 
it  would  destroy  the  crops,  and  impoverish  the 
ground.  Yet  there  were  the  same  properties  in  the 
ground,  but  they  would  no  longer  grow  profitable 
crops.  The  same  soils  have  the  same  composition 
and  may  be  fertile  yet  not  payable  for  growing 
crops.  The  chemical  condition  of  the  soil  was  the 
only  one  that  had  to  be  considered  in  the  great 
question  of  fertility.  They  might  have  a soil  that 
would  no  longer  produce  crops  profitably.  They 
might  perhaps  go  and  put  4001b.  of  bone  dust  on 
each  acre,  and  they  would  immediately  get  good 
crops.  In  that  4001b.  there  was  1001b.  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  the  application  of  that  had  made  already  a 
crop  from  a failure  to  a success.  In  America  it  was  a 
common  thing  to  use  ’ gypsum  about  1001b.  to  the 
acre.  In  that  quantity  there  was  lime  also.  It 
was  good  for  lucerne,  or  clover,  but  not  for  every- 
thing. After  the  application  of  these  manures  the 
chemical  analysis  of  the  soil  would  show  nothing 
out  ot  the  ordinary.  Chemistry  was  one  thing  and 
farming  another.  The  old  idea  that  chemistry  could 
come  in  and  give  an  analysis  as  to  what  to  put  in 
for  the  crop  which  was  to  grow  on  it,  and  also 
make  an  application  of  the  manures  useful  to  the 
ground,  was  useless.  It  had  been  proved  by  scores 
of  scientific  men.  It  was  something  like  the  u vespotic” 
Scotchman.  The  story  went  that  a Scotch  gardener 
was  walking  out  one  day  with  his  lordship.  The 
latter  said  “Sandy,  the  time  is  coming  when  we 
shall  be  enabled  to  manure  a whole  paddock  with 
your  vespotic,”  “and”  said  Sandy,  “you  will  be 
able  to  take  the  crop  home  in  the  other  vespotic.” 
(Laughter.)  There  are  such  peculiar  changes  in 
65 
