264 
THE TROPICAL AGPdCULTURIST. 
I Oct. ], 1900: 
SCENT FARMING. 
London, Ang. 30, 
T iieard the other day from snnicnne who on<;hfc 
to kiiow that tkero is a great opening for " scent 
farmers" and " grower.^ of sweer, her!):!." I can 
believe that t.liis' branch of ;i -ricr,lMTr« wonhl be 
especially iileating to f.niv^le rj;.ir.le'iC'r-<, for it 
conjures' up at once a di'Cflni of fr,i::;r mt perfiinic, 
and' certainly the cult of sv, Ci-t l:',>-';nd.M- and t!ie 
tend ir;;,' of the modest roseiiin,ry should lie iiioi e 
attractli'e than cutting eahhage-^ and •!!;-, udug 
potatoes. All that is required is phi.^c :i:;d a 
small amount of c;u>ital to start a soi^nb !;\y\n. 
Land, of coarse, is the principal diirrtulty. ¥or 
the raising of lavender the soil iiiu^t ho of (h'eii, 
sandy loam, ifpossible overlying chalk. An iu"'! 
of lavender in good condition is cah-ulated to yield 
£,50 in a season. English lavender is the sweetest 
in the world and the demand for rr> is pre^it. It 
is hardy and ne'jds but little en tivation. 'i'heio 
is a typical scent fMrin at Wallinglon, _ ncar_ Croy- 
don, and there is no que'^tion of its fina icia! suc- 
cess. I''or miles round the Crystal Palace aud the 
Epsom Downs are fields of lilue lavender. The 
caltivation of rosemary too and of the more i)le- 
bian peppermint is an" occupation with money in 
it, and [ canDot help thitikuig that it is v,'ork 
essentially fitted for gentlewomen ar,d it might, 
succeed the violet growing. I am told also that a 
dairy farm managed by ladies would prove most 
financially successful at any of our crowded sea- 
Kide resorts. Milk, eggs, and poultry are not to 
be had for love or money by visitors, most of the 
country people being p ed;;ed an I 1) Mind to send 
their produce to London direct. Ki'.chen garden 
produce, we all know is most difficult to be obtained 
at crow.ied seaside plares. I really believe a very 
lucrative business might be done by ladies able to 
supply farm pro'^lirce, vegetables, fruir, and fluwers 
to visitors at any of our rising seaside resu: ts. 
A SCOTCH FLOWJiK SHOW. 
I was much plep.sed by a visit I paid the other 
day to a country tiower show in a remote village . 
amongst theSco'tch hills. Surh iiotatocHlsaclibean.i, 
leeks and onions ! I never looked on before above 
ground. Carnations of every shade of colour and 
of enormous siz<^ were stuck in ginj^er-beer Lotties, 
with a circle of paper round ervch separate bloom. 
Deep unrple and variegated pansies were di«- 
played'on white cards. Brii'le bouquets made up 
of 'pure white flowers, even baskets for tiibie 
decoration, were, all there, artistically si)read out 
upon the s-choolroom tables and desks. But what 
pleased me more than any of these most credita- 
ble exhibits from the gardens of the oottHgers 
were the collections of .'■oeds and fruits made by 
the boys of the village and the preUy bonqueis 
or "boggies" of wild flowers g.'itheied anci ar- 
ranged by the little girls atl ending the scdiool. 
In one boy's collection of wild frniis and seeds 
100 diderent varieties were fonr.d, all neatly ar- 
ran^-'cd ujion a square sheet of green moss, fir 
cones, wild raspherries, bilberries, acorns, beech 
nuts 'chestnuts, etc., all collected and carefully 
arrari'-ed by the boy (tlie first i)rizo Avmner) him- 
self an> village schoolmaster (who 
is somewhat of a botanist) cncourage'i his pupil.s 
10 employ their leisure hours in searching ihe 
nei'dibour'in" woods an < I nu)ors for these botanical 
specimens, and is iuo.= t kind in assisting them to 
ri-une and arrange their treasure trove. What 
■ iutelligent aud eiilii^htQned schoolmastev for an 
obscure .country ^-illage in the Uii Is amidst .the 
sheep and the heather ! Would that there were 
m ire ."-uch in oar rural villages and hamlets to 
influence so wisely and intelligently the tastes 
and ;irir, r,;;s of tiie lisii'.g generation —the youngs- 
ters of oar ccunvry cottage homes. • ' 
I fni cot to say that rows and roAVs of competing 
scoiics o;:/;fiake, butter, cookies, , and home-made 
■jam r-?poscd upon slrelves ail round the room. I 
'felt so iur.eh inclined to lest personally the virtues 
of these fresh and tempting e.vliibits. i was told 
that a vf^r^' liaiidsnnie prize had been offered at 
a nt-iglibouriiig viihiie for the largest collection 
f.f qiiecn -vasji^, a;.d tliat over 500 had been pro- 
'I'.iced l:y on.-suiail boy. A perfect terror amongst 
Vi'asps tliat boy must have been. 
Penelope. 
FORESTRY IN 33PtITISH II^IDIA. 
BY B. EIBBENTEOP, C.I.E., INSPECrOR GENEKAL OF 
FOREST.9, TO THE GOVRP.NMRNT OF INDIA. 
A copy of this valuable work lias come to us. 
Its object is explained in a prefatory note : — 
The en 3 of my e<areer ia tlie Indian Forest Ser- 
vice is drawing near. It has extended over thirty- 
years, a^nd though I was not in tb6 coantry when 
regnlar forest' conaei-Taucy was first introduced 
under the auspices ot Mr. (now Sir Dietrich) Brandis, 
I arrived whoa it was slill quite a saiall sapling, 
aud I have ssen it grow to the mifihty tree it is 
at present, under the wide-spreading sliadow of which 
I have grown oli. Tliis is my excuse for preparing a 
gsneral description of the forests and a resume of the 
introduction and growth of fores'a'y in the Briijish 
Indian Eirpire, to the publication, of which I liave 
obtainted the cousent o£ Goverument. I am, how- 
ever, solely responsible for the matter, ths form, 
and the opinions expressed. 
The contents are as follows : — 
Physical possibilities of India as a forest-growing 
country ; Evergreen Forests ; Deciduous Forests ; Dry 
Forests ; Alpine Forests : LittorpJ and Tidal Forests 
of Burma and Bengal ; Kiparian Forests ; Zones in 
which no forests erow ; influence ' of man ou the 
Indian forests ; Inflaenoo of forests on the climatic 
conditions of a country ; Local infiueuce of forests on 
the fertility of the counti-y ; Early forests policy 
after British occupation ; First attempts at forest 
administration; The dawn of Forestry in India ; Pre- 
sent forest admiuistratiou and its devclopmeht ; 
Organization of the Forest Department and its 
growth ; Proprietary status of forests in India ; F''or- 
est laws; Constitution of State Forest property; 
Further iDrogress of constitufciou of Keserved forests 
under modem legislation ; Forest Settlementis ; De- 
marcation ; Forest Sui'veys ; Working-plans ; Com- 
maiiications and buildiuRs ; General protection ; Pfo- 
teotiou from fire ; Grazing and browsing ; Sylvicul- 
ture ; Arboriculture; Works of improvement of ex- 
isting forest growth; Bxploitntion and outturn; 
Minor forest produce ; Financial results of Poirest 
Administration ; T^'rbiiicil education ; Indian forest 
litoratnre ; Fo! ( sr, A. li-.iiiuscration in Native States. 
Appendices. — (i) 'Jiiiut of tlie average annual rainfall 
of India (meutioised at page 6). (ii) filap showing 
the desctiptiou of distribution of Forest lauds under 
Government control on 30th June 1899 (mentioned at 
pafio 123). (iii) Map showing the advance made in 
Forest Surveys up to 30th June 1899 (mentioned at 
pxgo 130). (iv). Map showinf; the advance made in 
Working Plans up to 30th June 1899 (mentioned at 
page 139). 
* The luapsare wclbexecutcd and very interesting, 
