June 1, 1900.] 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist.^ 
869 
It is only since the latter half of the seventeenth 
century that the seed business has begun to be 
separated, littla by little, from that of general 
gardeniiig, and, as division of labour always results 
in an improved product, the establishments that 
have devoted themselves exclusively to the growing 
of seed have come to do it better and more eco- 
nomically than the common gardeners, whose time 
and effort were divided among various lilies of 
production. In one respect, however, the com- 
petition of the market gardeners, as well as that of 
the florists properly so called, is still very useful 
to the careful seedsman in that it helps to keep 
him always in the front line of progress. To a 
less extent than the market gardener and florist 
the seedsman is brought in immediate contact 
with the consumer, whose needs are the source of 
progress and new acquisitions. The former some- 
times supply these ne»da, but often they turn to 
the seedsman and poiut out to him the prospect of 
increased profits as the reward for the creation of 
new and desirable varieties. 
At the present day species that have been culti- 
vated for many years have become, so to say, like 
wax in the hands of special growers, who mould 
them and fashion them to their taste, obtaining 
the various modifications of shape, size, flower, &c. 
demanded by the preferences of their patrons and 
the caprices of fashion. 
(To be continued.) 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
We cull the following from an article on Indian 
agricultural affairs, appearing in the Indian 
Agriculturist :— We all kncv that in private and 
semi-public life the helping hand is a great saviour 
to vast numbers. And that self-same helping hand 
embodied in an energetic, practical and scientific, 
and really working Agricultural Department, would 
assuredly do great things for India. It must create - 
more wealth and therefore more revenue, more 
-stability for the country, more ability to bear a 
famine among the people themselves, when it comes. 
It is gratifying to note from the Hon. Mr. Ibbetson's 
reply to the Maharaja of Darbhanga that the 
Secretary of State has sanctioned a Director- 
General of Indian Agriculture, but the right man 
for that post has not yet turned up. It may be 
safely observed that very much indeed depends on 
the right man for this post ; he should, I venture to 
think, have full authority to pull down and build up : 
much wants absolutely destroying root and branch. 
Hand in hand with a great advance in railways 
there should surely go a great advance in agricultuie, 
to say nothing of tlie great amplification Indian 
agriculture is open to. If a tropical country suffers 
from many disadvantages, it at the same time 
has many advantages too, and can grow many 
valuable products not possible in temperate climes. 
Undeniably able and brilliant as is the record of 
the Indian Civil Service, since neither practical or 
scientific agriculture forms a part of their training, 
it is most unfair they should be called upon to 
conduct an Agricultural Department at all, and it 
is still more unfair to agriculture, with its multi- 
farious details and routine, that it should be saddled 
with a body of distinguished men who know nothing 
of its technique. It is no wonder, seeing this is so, 
the Department resolves itself into a mere statistical 
recording body, and that so much of its practical 
agriculture as does exist is perfunctory, and utterly 
inadequate to the needs of the country. 
We find t\\\t through an oversight the -rainfall 
for Novemlier 1899 and January 1900 were not given 
in the pages of the Magazine. In oider to maintain 
the record of the rainfall as taken at the School of 
Agriculture and for purposes of comparison with 
the Fort readings we give them now. In Novem- 
ber 1 99 r rin fell on the 'following dates : — 3rd 
•77; 4tli, 02; 14th, -60; 16'h, 2>25 ; 24th, -11 ■ 
26th 2-2; 28il:, '20; 30th, 74, The total for the 
month was tiius 6'89in. witii a mean daily rainfall of 
'22 in. In the month of Januarj' rain fell on the 
followinof dates :— 10th, i -16 ; 13th, 1-31; 19th, 
1-43; 25th, -41; 26th, '02; 27th, '69; 29th, -02; 
31st, '19. The total rainfall for the month was 
thus 4'38 in. with a mean daily rainfall of '14 in. 
The following is a complete chemical analysis of 
an average sample of cow's milk, as made by Prof. 
BrunHich, AgriculturalJChemist of the Queensland 
Agricultural College: — 
Specific Gravity .. .. .. I'OSll 
Water [86-75 — 86-79 — 8670] .. 86752 
Casein ., .. .. .. .. 3'174 
Albumin -322 
Butter fat [4-23- 4-26] 4 245 
Milk sugar (lactose) 4-850 
Ash '724 
Total solids;[13-29— 13-21] 13'25 
(Total solids calculated from fat and 
specific gravity 13-13) 
Analysis off milk ash : — 
Sulphuric acid SOg -285 per cent, = -002 
Carbonic acid COj . . -390 per cent. = "003 
Phosphoric acid P2O5 .. 29-430 per cent. = -213 
Chlorine CI . . 13-343 per^cent. = '097 
Lime CaO . . 22-520 per cent. = -163 
Potash K2O .. 22-310 per cent, = -161 
Soda NajO . . 9-940 per cent. = -072 
Magnesia MgO .. 1-440 per cent. =' "010 
Iron FcgOj.. -040 per cent. = trace 
Undetermined, Loss, &c. . -302 per cent. = -003 
100-000 
724 
The following references to two well-known 
Ceylon trees occurs in the report of the Queens- 
land Agricultural Department : — 
Pa-wpaw. — Tiie continued heavy rains in March 
had disastrous effects on our Pawpaw trees, killing 
many off by rotting the roots. Some would have 
recovered had not the wind blown them down before 
new roots could be made. Several good trees 
were lost, including the blanching variety. There 
are several varieties not in the nursery, however. 
Three distinct varieties are known in Southern 
India, besides a Chinese variety, apart from the 
branchingTvariety here. The Singapore Pawpaw 
is nob especially large, but turns a golden yellow 
when ripe, and has a fine flavour. The Chinese 
is a long pointed fruit, and is a dark-green colour 
when ripe. This would probably travel better 
than most. The male tree is not a necessity in a 
garden, though there is nothing lost by retaining 
one should a number come up from the seed. The 
Pafaya carica may be dioecious, monoecious, and 
even hermaphrodite. I hope to be able to deal 
with this interesting fruit tree later on by itself. 
Jack Fruit (Artocarjms integrifolia). — The only 
tree of this useful truit in^ the Nursery shows 
signs of a past crop, but none of a further crop this 
year. The tree is rather slow-growing, bat the 
