3i6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [Nov. ], 1901. 
To Drive Mosquitoes Away.— Oil sassafras 
oil wintergreen, equal parts. Apply to exposed 
portions of body. The oils of cajuput and origa- 
num are also very effective, but they have a rather 
unpleasant odoaY-—Joitr7ial Trap. Med. 
Poor Tea !— What Next ? -A recent post 
has brought us from tlie Department of Land 
Records and Agriculture, Madras, Agricul- 
tural Branch, Vol. II, Bulletin No. 4.5. namely, 
on '' A Tea-Eeiworni Disease in South India," 
by C, A. Barber, Governiaent Botanist, 
Madras. And we read :— 
The disease in question was first brought to notice 
by Mr. A. Brovvii of Glenfruen Estate, Devala, who 
sent a parcel of tea seedlings to Dr Watt while he 
was on tour in Madras. After a hasty examination 
the plants were forwarded to the Royal Garden?, 
Kew, It turned out, however, that the seedlings 
had been destroyed by nematode worms. The 
whole correspondence, which was freely reported in 
the Madras Mail, has caused a good deal of pertur- 
bation among tlie tea planters of the Wynaad dis- 
trict, and the object of the present notice is to 
allay their fears, while at the sanie lime it is hoped 
that their attention will be drawn lo this class ot 
parasite and that a sharp look-out will be kept in 
case of the spread of the disease to other nurseries. 
I wish at the same time to direct the attention of 
planters and others interested in agriculture to the 
whole subject of root nadules, The.<e are not 
always beneficial, nor do they at once determine the 
plant bearing them to be legumiuous and therefore 
nitrifying. It will also be seen later on that legu- 
minous plants may also be attacked by the eel- 
worm, and sowings of such plants for the purpose 
of green-dressing must be conducted with a certain 
amount of caution. The particular outbreak at 
present referred to is undoubtedly caused by the 
root-eelworm, Heterodera radicicola (Greef) Muell. 
The attack has proved to be a very destructive one 
for tea seedlings and is confined to the nurseries of 
the G'enfruen Estate. A careful examination on 
the spot has brought to light several interesting 
facts. The virulence of the outbreak fully justified 
the fears expressed by the miinagerof the estate, on 
the other hand it is strictly localised and there does 
not appear to be any great fear of the pest 
spreading. 
And theu follows a full account (and illustra- 
tions) which we may give in our Tropical 
Agriculturist. There is no need for alarm : 
persistent neglect of weeding, etc., is to blame 
for the visitation for we are told: — 
Heterodera is particularly fond of old and ill- 
kept garden land, and I accordingly attempted to 
trace n to some place whence it might have been 
distributed in the manure. The examination of 
the manure heaps near the house and their weeds, 
however, completely disposed of this idea, and the 
plants found near the house seemed to be free from 
the disease. The conclusion arrived at was tliat 
the eel worm bad been on the place for a long period, 
probably dating from the time when the coffee 
bushes were allowed to run wild. They had then 
gradually established themselves, and this especi- 
ally in the Ageratum, which, lying about in half- 
dead heaps, would form an ideal ground for the 
pest. Having adapted itself to this composite it 
was carried all over the estate, and, arriving at the 
nurseries, found the young tea plants and the 
peighljQuring weeds suitable hosts, 
CiRCUMVENTIVG THE Mo.SQUlTO.— One of the 
most dangerous breeding grounds of Anopheles 
is the pool generally to be found outside the 
bathroom of an Indian bungalow, says the Madras 
Mail. It is more dangerous even than the pools 
to be found in the native quarters, because, be 
ing composed of cleaner water, it is more likely 
to be fit for the growth of the green water-weed 
On which the larvae principally live. In .searching 
the pools, etc, in our compound for larvae it is 
little use attempting to do so by merely looking 
into the water. Dip a tumbler into the water and 
hold it with its c ntents up to the light. If the 
water is muddy, wait till it settles. If there 
are any laivae present, it will be easy to see them. 
They are minute worm-like bodies moie or less 
transparent, with a large head and a pair of black 
eyes. Tiie tail looks :,s if it were forked, and 
the animals are characterised by vivacious wriggl- 
ing movements. Once seen they will always be 
easily recognised again. 
Intkresting Planting Experiments.— The 
German Foreign Office Report for 1901 contains 
an interesting account of an attempt to improve 
the vegetation in the vicinity of Swakopmud, the 
port of German South Africa. The neighbourhood 
is a dreary and barren desert of sand, and it was 
necessary to choose such plants as requiied tut 
scanty soil, coulil stand considerable changes of 
temperature, and resist excessive dryness. It was 
also desirable to guard against the strong sea 
wind. The latter difficulty was met bv planting 
a screen of wilJ Tobacco, which, while 11 lurisbitig 
well, jjresented an interesting instance of adapta- 
tion to altered cotxlitions. The leaves, which at 
a distance from the sea are wed known to be 
large and thin, became in the new habitat narrow 
and thick. Young trees of Oak, Pine, Juniper, 
Eucalyptus, Date Palm, Vine and Fig quickly 
perished, but the seeds of the Date Palm and 
Port Jackson Acacia promised good results, 
another instance of adaptation to environment. 
—Jou rnal of Horticulture, Auc. 15. 
Preserving the Form and Coloub of Flowers. — 
Fi'om a Fiench botanical journal we extract several 
recipes for preserving the form and colour of flowers. 
One method is to immerse the stem of the fresh 
speciicen in a soluti.in of 31 parts by weight of alum, 
feur of Litre, and 186 of water, for two or three days 
until the liquid is ihoruughly absorbed, and then to 
press in the ordinary way, except that dry sand is 
sifted over the specimen, and the packst submitted to 
the notion of gentle heat for twenty-four hours. 
Another method is to make a varnish composed of 20 
parts of powdered copal and 500 parts of ether, 
powdered glass or sand being used to make the copal 
dissolve more rsadily. Into this solution the plants 
are carefully dipped ; then they are allowed to dry for 
ten minutes, and the same process is repeated four or 
five times in succession. Plants may aiso be plunged 
in a boiling solution of one part of salicylic acid and 
600 of alcohol, and theu dried in bibulous paper. But 
this act should be very rapidly done, violet flowers 
especially being oecolorised by more than an instant- 
aneous immersion. Red flowers, which ha-e changed 
to a purplish tint in drying, may have their colour 
restored by laying them on a piece of paper moistened 
with dilute nitric acid (one part to ten or twelve parts 
of water), and then submitting them to a moderate 
pressure for a few seconds. But this solution should 
never be »llowed to touch the greea leaves, as they 
would be decolorised by it. — Jourml of HorHmUwi^ 
and GQttag6 Gar^«ner, Aug. 29i 
