16# 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTFRIST. [Sept. 1, 1902. 
the column and organ of fecundation. The instrument 
is represented as placed against the column, readv 
to presa upwards the anther a, and bring the -pollinia 
in contact with the stigma h. 
3 — Single flower of Vanilla, exhibiting the second 
stage in the process of artificial feitilization ; 6 shows 
position of column exposed by division of the lip [the 
middle lobe of lip is pulled forward and curled upon 
itself to show the position of the column ; the side 
lobes of lips, aeperated as shown in Pig. 2, are re- 
presented at back of the column] ; a, the position of 
pollen masses^ taken from the anther and placed on 
the stigma. 
4 — Enlarged front view of top of the column; «, the 
antker. 
5— Enlarged side view of top of the column; «, the 
anther : 6, the stigma or visced surface on which the 
pollen masses mnSt be placed to ensure fertilization, 
6 — Enlarged section through top of the column ; a one 
of the pollen masses in situ ; &, the stigmatic cavity. 
7 — Enlarged section through top of the column ; a, 
the pollen masses, having been transferred from m. 
Fig. 6, are now represented in contact with the 
•tigmatio surface. [Although dingrammatically shown, 
thes« figures give a tolerably good idea of what is 
actually necessary in order to produce fertilization 
in a Tanilla flowarij — Agricultural News. ' 
TEA, COFFEE, AND OTHER PRO- 
DUCTS IN ZANZIBAR. 
THE FIEST LB. OF TEA, — COFFEE LEAF DISEASE. — 
RUBBER AND FIBRE. — CEILON PINE APPLES. 
We have received a copy of the Annual Repo<V 
(1901) of the Agricultural Department of Zanzibar, 
and it is interesting to read of the results of the ex- 
perimental cultivation of various commercial products, 
most of them only recently introduced into the 
coun ry. The subjects dealt with in the Report range 
"fromt tea to the minor products, everything grown in 
Ceyl on flourishing with more or less success in Zanzi- 
bar. The cultivation of vanilla seems to be pro- 
gressing, and the fertilization of the flowers is 
attended to by native boys who have learned th« 
work. Cocoa and Kola have not made satisfactory 
progress, the trees having suffered from some blighting 
influence which attacks the growing points. Coffee, 
which is also a new product, is now experiencing the 
leaf disease. The plantation of Liberiau Coffee laid 
in 1899 was growing vigorously and the trees were 
carrying their first crop. The Arabian Coffee trees, 
planted in 1900, also had a light crop. Leaf disease 
(Hemeleia Vastatrix) had appeared among the trees, 
though it had not yet done them any serious harm. 
The disease is not new to the island, it having been 
observed on some Liberian Coffee trees at Mbweni 
in 1898. The Arabian coffee had also been infected 
by a borer and by an insect which attacked the 
leaves and spun upon their interior surface a white 
downy webbing, which curled them up into the form 
of a big pen at the ends. The tea— raised from seed 
imported from Ceylon — appears to have been attacked 
by a pest, while the growth of the plant has proved 
erratic. We extract a part of the Report which 
affords interesting reading :— 
We made our first plucking on January 10th, but 
obtained little more than a pound of made tea. 
On May 29th we plucked a second time, previous 
to topping. Growth then remained stagnant till 
September when light flushes began to appear. By the 
end of November we were plucking every ten days, 
and this continued till Januay 16th (1902) when flushes 
again stopped owing to dry weather. We plucked 
nine times during 1901 and obtainedk46/2 lb. of made 
tea. During the cool months, when flushes ceased, 
the trees showed great tendency to run to seed, and 
we wera frequently compelled to send the boys 
through the garden to pluck off the buds and flowers. 
The trees have not escaped infection. A blister blight 
appeared which curled and dried up the leaves. Some 
specimens were in 1900 sent home to Kew and the 
authorities there stated that ' The blistering and 
crumpling of the leaves is caused by a parasite fungus 
called Exohasidium vegeans, Massee, which is stated 
by Watt to have done a large amount of injury to 
the tea plantations in Assam. It would be interesting 
to learn how this disease reached Zanzibar. Have 
the plants been imported from Assam ? ' Our tea 
seed came from Ceylon, but it is an Assam-hybrid 
variety. The attack declined with the survival of 
growth. At the beginning of 1901 we sent home some 
more diseased tea leaves which were stated to be 
infected with ' Gray blight fungus, Pestaloztia Ouepini, 
Deam.' But on the whole we can report fair 
progress with this product." 
With regard to rubber, the experimental clearing 
at Dunga are progressing satisfactorily. Four varie- 
ties were cultivated, viz., Para (Srfvea Braziliensis] ; 
Ceara, ( Tfanihot Glaziovii) ; Central American (Can- 
tilloa elastica), and Assam (Hcus elastica.) Fibie cul- 
tivation was also receiving attention, and the plants 
in cultivation at Dunga and Mpapa were the American 
Aloe {Agave Americana) ; Sisal hemp {A rigida, var 
Sisalana) ; Mauritius hemp {hourcroya gigantea); 
t . Macrophylla ; F.Hndcni; Sansivieria sp. ; and 
China grass [Boheineria nivea), all these grew well 
with the exception of China grass, which barely holds 
its own. Chillies, cloves and coconut-s are next dealt 
with as also fruit cultivation. 
In May last the Department obtained from Ceylon 
144 plants of Kew pineapple which had been planted 
at Dunga and Mpaps. It is hoped in the course of 
the year to exhibit from these plants pines that 
will be some improvement upon the native product. 
Pineapples sell for a pice each in the plantation; 
the season begins in December. Bananas were 
thriving and were largely planted for shade ; jack 
fruit was bearing well ; arecanut had proved unprofit- 
able ; the mango crop had turned out a poor variety ; 
the silk cotton tree {Eriodendron anfractuosum) bore 
satisfactory anaual harvest ; Cassava cultivation was 
paying, and sugar-caue was planted to feed the cattle ; 
a fe*F trees of cinnamon and cocaine had maintained 
a healthy, though leisurely, growth ; anatto was 
growing like a weed ; silver oak (grcvillea robusta) 
had been set out for shade for vanilla, tea and coffee J 
Eucalyptus citrodora : E. viminalis, and E. teHticornis 
were all doing well at Dunga; Bois immortelle 
{Erythrinia umhrosa) grew rapidly, but was one of 
the few trees subject to scale attack ; kus kus grass 
{Andropogon muricatus) was one of the most useful 
of the minor plants ; lemon grass {A . Schaenanthus) 
is also planted, but it dies out after four years. The 
interesting publication concludes with a report oh a 
labour bureau which had been organized at Dunga. 
♦ ■- ■ 
GUTTA PEROHA FROM A CHINESE 
TREE. 
{Etico7nmia ulmoides, Olive.) 
Between 1887 and 1890, from several localities on 
the middle Yangtze- Kiang river. Dr. A. Henry sent 
to Kew fruiting specimens of a peculiar Chinese plant, 
with the statement that its bark is a most valued 
medicine in China, where it is named " Tu-chung," 
and that the tree is cultivated for it. ' I have never 
»8en it wild, " he adds, " but I was informed it occurs 
so in Fang and other districts to the north. " Fang 
is the name of a reigon near the middle pdrt of the 
Taugtze-Kiang in the province of Hupeh, 
Thia plant Prof. D. Oliver described (SooJcer't 
Icones PlantaruM, t. 1950) as Eucommia ulmoides. 
Flowers not being available, and what material 
he had so peculiar that its relationships were not 
obvious, Prof. Oliver left the determination of the 
order of Eucommia open, merely adding that th* 
tribe Phyllanthew of Euphorbiaoe® occurred to him 
ai of probable aftnitj. 
