36 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [JvLY 1, 1902. 
mentioned on page 12 that the chief desideratum 
for a complete modern organisation of the Depart- 
ment was the opening of an experiment station or 
carden, where experiments could be tried on a 
large scale with staple products or wioh new pro- 
ducts not yet staples. This station is now opened, 
the GoTernment having purchased at the be- 
sinningof this year the almost lustorical estate of 
^angaroowa, lying on the side of the ij^ver oppos_ite 
to the Botanic Garder-s. The estate is of 550 
acres and of approximately horse-shoe shape, 
SnAhe oppo-^te bank of the Mahaweh-ganga 
nnTo^lie sky line all round the north, east, and 
west si^^^s of the Botanic Gardens, while on the 
S side between the river and the hill there are 
ow^ sno acres of nearly level land with good 
S v^?siSo the gardens will remember that 
-Znyof the most beautiful views are obtained at 
Places where the river curves, and that their 
heautvrs due to the banks of the river itself and 
to the wooded hills beliind. All these hills are 
included in the new experiment station and are 
rie worked as forest reserves, so that there will 
le no in eTference with the scenic beauty of the 
«»iahbourkood. The experimental plots of eco- 
neighbouraooa, ^^^^ j^^^^, 
S^leveTTand of^;e^state, which at present 
rmainly cultivated with cacao, pepper, coconuts. 
«Th^; Sre'irof Motoric interest in two ways. 
T?^.na the bungalow enclosure may be seen the 
?eniafns of the Earthworks of the former Portu- 
luese fort, the scene of a great defeat and 
Khter of one of the armies which invaded 
vtn^v About 1824 the estate was opened in 
^%1^'inai^o sugar, &c., by the then Governor, 
If Edward Barnetwh was^one of the very first 
SoneerrL the planting enterprise, which soon 
Kwards spread so rapidly over the central 
S ets of the Island. -Mr. Willises Annals. 
THE Sw BRANCH GAHDEN AT NUVYARA KLIYA 
The Government liaving decided to open a smal 
branch garden for experiments with cultivation o 
Sul and ornamental plants in the peculiar soil 
of Nuwtra Eliya,- a small site of about 5 acres 
haf be^n set apal't for the purpose in the new 
i^rk and is now being brought into cultivation. 
Ol be worked like the Bar uUa garden, as a 
branch of Hakgala. The land lies at an elevation 
of about 6,200 feet, and is at present ma nly 
paia with scattered Rhododendrons and a small 
P^nt'^ET-K-ESHOUSE AT PKKADENIYA 
The building, mentioned on page 21 of t e 
nresent volume as in progress, was opened to the 
P An 10 h March, and is very convenient for 
S^rs t. and workers in, the gardens. It lies 
Ibou 200 yards f-om the principal entrance to 
the Botanic Gardens, contains dining and sitting, 
^oom, andfour largebedrooms,andis fully furnished 
LTth all necessaHes. Visitors working in the 
PeJadeniya laboratories have a prior claim to some 
of the rooms, for which a charge of Kl per day is 
A Mea s are supplied according to arrange- 
'^entstobemade withYhc resthouse-keeper.-Zb.c^. 
quality of soil, its early maturity, its fine, smooth 
and branch-free trunk, and its large yield of latex. 
It is trae that, regarding the latter, the evidence 
•vailftble is so far contradictory to a degree, the 
annual yield of a full-grown tree being variously 
itated as amounting to from one to twelve pounds 
or more per annum. Thus we find Dr. Morris (The 
Colony of Bri'tish Hondara'?, London, 1883) stating 
that the yield of a Isjrge tree of Oaatilloa two feet 
in diameter is about 16 lb of rubber when first out, 
and that such trees at th» end of eight or ten years 
may be reckoned to produce an annual yield of at 
lesist seven or eight pounds of rubber. Bat according 
to Senor Horta (Diplomatic and Consular Beports, 
No. 2,354 1899), an experienced planter, one pound 
par annum may be considered a fair average yield, 
Thi» is in agreement with a recent statement made 
by the Een^ Guerin (Journal d'Agricultute Tropical, 
1902, p, 73), but all theae data are opposed to Dr 
Warburg's assertion (Las Plantes a Gaontchou, trans, 
by Vilbouohevitch, Paris, 1902) that trees grown in 
favourable sites will produce an annual yield of 2 4 lb. 
To reconcile such widely divergent statements made 
on the one part by planters of undoubted experience, 
on the other part by equally experienced botanists, 
is Tery diffioult indeed. No doubt, to some extent, 
the explanation of this very wide discrepancy is to 
be fouud ia the fact that the above data refer ot 
trees grown in different districts, en different soils, 
and at different, elevations from the coast. It is well 
knpwa that all rubber trees are very sensitive in this 
rejpect, and Cftstilloa not the least so. That condi- 
tions of this description exert a very important in- 
fiuence upon the yield is further •videnced by the 
fact that the conditions under which the Castilloa 
should be planted are just as differently stated. One 
authority strongly advocates its planting as a shade 
tree for cocoa and coffee, while another equally strongly 
deprecates this practice as utterly mistaken, insisting 
upon these trees themselves being grown in the 
shadow of other trees. Nor do we find any closer 
agreement between the methods adopted for tapping 
the trees, horizontal cuts, vertical outs, V-cuts, or 
pricking being- recommended. Each of these methods 
appears to have its adherents in differaufc localities. 
The only point of agreement in this respect seems 
to b« that circular cuts round the whole oircumfereaoa 
of the tree unfailingly result in its destruction. 
Equally diversified are the methods proposed for 
the eoagulation of the latex when obtained. We find 
Biffen'g centrifugal method strongly recommended, 
whilst others seem to consider the spontaneous coagu- 
latioM of the latex on the trunk of the trees per- 
fectly satisfactory, but ths majority of writers appear 
to favour the coagulation of the latex by means of 
decoctions of various plants. 
One begins to understand the causes and nature of 
the keen disappointments not unfrequently resulting 
from rubber-planting ventures in the past ia running 
the gamut of these contradictory statements, and 
it is perfectly evident that, while the ultimate success 
•f rubber planting on the large scale cannot reason- 
ably be doubted, the whole subject is one requiring 
much more careful specialised study than it has so 
far received, — India Rubber Trades' Journal, May 12. 
HOW TO TAKE QUININE IN MALARIA. 
INDIA-RUBBER PLANTING. 
It is becoming increasingly eviSent that for cuUi- 
:•• of anv rate in Central America and the «.d- 
yation, J!-;^ ck,tUloa clastica is much the most 
rtLtc orftreo 'fSr' a variety of reasons These 
are its laP^^ requirements as to 
Major Ronald Ross, in the ninth edition 
of his book on " Malarial Fever" (2s 6d, Liverpool 
Universif.y Press), gives some useful notes on 
taking quiiiine. He explains that, as quinine 
ia vviuted in the blood, a.id noi> in ihe stomach, 
the bsst fnrni is to take it 'iisboh-od by means 
of acid. The next best form is that of the powder 
shaken up in water. Quinine pills, tablet forms, or 
capsules takes longer before it is absorbed into the 
blood, and, if pills or tablets are used, they .should 
