784 
Suvplement ro the Tropicxl Agricuiiurisi.^ 
[May 1, 1902. 
advantage for free circiilntion by the anthoiilies 
interested in the developement of a local cotton- 
growing indljstry and in the opening up of the 
areas through which the new railway will run. 
4 
TO PRESERVE MANGO CTTTTITOS. 
In our February number {vide first article) we 
gave some directions for packing Mango cuttings 
so as to keep them fresh for budding purposes. 
In the Agricultural Journal of Natal icx 'M;\rc\\ 
the following further information on the same 
subject occurs :— 
Mr. H. Knight, according to a recent issue of the 
" Queenslander," has received a report from the 
Department of Agiiculture (Queensland) with re- 
gard to the cuttings of mango be packed at the 
City Market here on the 7th of September last. 
There weie four tins. In two were eighteen cut- 
tings packed in moist sand ; in the other two were 
six cuttings^ packed in coconut fibre, which had 
been bciiled and washed and squeezed dry. One 
of the big tins was opened on the 15th of Octolier, 
and it was found that fourteen of the cuttings 
were dead, two partly alive, and two fairly hcMl- 
thy. The second big tin was opened on the 12th 
of November. All the cuttings were dead except 
the largest, whicii was covered witb nodules, bat 
had no appearance of any b-uds swelling. The 
first of the small tins was opened on the I2lh of 
November,, and aU six cuttings were alive^witii 
numerous buds ready to develop or grown out 
from \ in. to 2 in., in length, the wood covered 
with white nodules, and the base of the cuttings 
well calloused. The last tin was opened on the 
I9th of December. In this case, also,, the whole 
of the cuttings were alive. They had made 
shoots of from 2 in., to 4 in long, and all the buds 
appeared to have developed, though it would have 
been possible to get adventitious buds from the 
ba-e of the larger shoots.. The base of each cut- 
ting was almost completely calloused over. Mr, 
Benson, who examined the cuttings, states : "I 
consider the two large tins a failure.. Botli the 
small, tins were a complete success, and proved 
conclusively that mango wood can be success- 
fully sent long distances if carefully packed in 
tight tins filled with coconut iibre, as used' by 
Mr. Knight." Mr. Knight is quite satisfied with 
the result of his experiments ; but he is hopeful, 
now that he, has demonstrated the possibility of 
keepirg mango cuttings alive for a good length 
of time, that something may be done by the De- 
partment of Agriculture in the matter cf introduc- 
ing into Queensland some of the finer classes of 
the fruit that are grown in the East. 
4, 
A VALUABLE TIMBER TREE. 
The Editor of Indian Gardening referring- to 
Mr, Herbert Stone's jiaper on " Tlie Identificfitioii 
of Timbers" read before the Society of Arts, 
London, says : — "That our Indian timbers require 
to be more closely st.iidied is evident. How many 
people, for ins;t,aiif-i', know xXw. value of 'Gurabar,' 
tJie wood of (imoli.fia arhorm, and its peculiarity 
of resisling the fffects of time, wind and water,, 
and its complete immunity from the attacks of 
insect pests? Even the voracious «^hite ant will 
not touch it." The trpe known as Etdemata \h 
rather conanion in Ceylon, and its wood is descri- 
bed by Trimen as " yellowish-white, even-grained, 
light, strong, tough and durable; an excellent 
timber." The following nore given by Dr. Watt 
in his Dictionary of Economic Products sujiplies 
fuller information regarding this timber which 
is not known popularly. Colour yellowish, 
greyish, or reddi-h-whii e with a glossy lustre, 
close and even-grained, soft, strong, does not warp 
or crack in seasoning, weight from 28 to 85 lbs., 
per cubic foot, breaking weight, of a bar 6' ft. by 
2 iu. by 2 in., 580 lbs. (according to Biker). It 
is light, has a good surfuce, is very durable, is 
easily worked, and takes paint and varnish 
readily, and is therefore highly esteeine<l for 
planking, furniture, carriages deCK boats, 
panelling, and ornamental woik of all kinds. 
(Gamble.) Mason stntes that it i-s largely emplr_\ed 
by the Karens for canoes, and by the Burmans'for 
logs. Owing to its extreme durability, it Iws 
been recnraraended as an excellent limber for 
making tea boxes, and hns also attracted much 
attention as a very suit;ilile wood for furnifure, 
picture frames and similar work in which shrink- 
ing and warjjing has to be avoided. 
Buchanan meniions thatit is much emjdoyed for 
making native instruments of music. Ro.xburflr 
appears to have first noticed t excellence of t?ie 
timber. He applied various tests to prove this.. 
In one case he jilaced an out.s-ide plank in the 
river, a Uttle above low water mark, where tb(^ 
worm is supposed to exert its grerteft powers- 
After three years in this position it was eut an4 
found to be sound anil in every way as perfect 
throughout as it was when first put info the 
river. Amongst other things a flood door was 
made of it to keep the tides oirt of the Botanic 
Gardens. Seven years and a half after tiie door 
(4 ft. square) was made, it still remained good 
though exposed to sun and water, while similar 
doors of teak were much decayed after si.t years'" 
use. 
Dr. Watt mentions that the wood has come- 
prominently into notice and is in considerable- 
demand in Calcutta for furniture making. 
We have no doubt that Mr. Fredrick Lewis'' 
forthcoming work will contain a reference to this 
tree, and supply all the information that may be- 
desired from a local point c>f view. 
VETERINARY NOTES. 
Experiments are in progress in the treatment of 
Tetanus by subcutaneous injections of fresli 
nervous substance. Prof. SliinUelkn, after liaviug. 
unsuccessfully experimented with rabbit braiii 
tried sheeps' brain.. The fresh eerehtiil substance 
was triturated \.\ a strong jiroportlon of steril- 
ised water and the emulsion injected under' 
the skin. This treatment was applied to eigh/ 
horses suffering from tetanus, and seven qT 
these recovered; one died on the fourth d.-i^. 
Prof. Shindelka inleiuls to continue his expe|/— 
