TMP TROPfCAt AGRICULTURIST. 
[May I, iSgr. 
780 
or Tea-berr}^ The leaves have a pleasant aromatic, 
flavour, and an infusion is used in some parts of 
North America as a substitute for China tea, under 
the name of Mountain or Salvador tea. 
Styrace/e. 
.')3. Si/mplocos Ahtonia, L’Her. — A small^ tree of 
New Granada, described as having the habit of the 
tea plant. The leaves, which are of a pale green 
colour, are employed as tea on account of their 
slight astringenoy. It is known as tea of Santa F6. 
LOGANIACEiB. 
r>.3A. Gtevtnei'a rac/inaia, Lam. — The seeds of this 
plant were introduced to notice under the name of 
Muss^nda borbonica, but were identified at Kew in 
1889 as those of Gajrtnera vaginata. The interest at 
first attached to the seeds was on account of their 
use as a substitute for coffee. It was made the sub- 
ject of an article in the liew Bulletin for December, 
1889, from which the following notes are taken : 
The plant is a native of Keunion, and in a letter 
from the Consul to the Foreign Office, it is described 
as a shrub foimd in the forests, but not plantiful, 
bearing fruit only at the extreme ends of the ^branches. 
“ The berry, when gathered, is peeled, and then much 
resembles the coffee berry, though smaller. In fra- 
grance, it is inferior to coffee, and in colour to chicory. 
The yield is far less than that of the coffee tree, and 
the picking more expensive, that is to say, about Is. 
the pound. It is much doubted, by reason of its in- 
feriority, that Mussfflnda could ever ^ compete with 
coffee and chicory, even if it were cultivated. ’ From 
an examination made by Professor Dunstan, of the 
Pharmaceutical Society, it was proved that the seeds 
contain no caffeine, and that in consequence it can- 
not be regarded as a xu’oper substitute for coffee. ^ The 
result of Professor Dunstan’s examination is printed 
in the Pharmaceutical Journal for November 16, 1889, 
p. 381. A sample of the seeds is contained in the 
Kew Museimi. 
Boeaginea;. 
54. Litlios 2 '>erm'>im officinale, L. — The_ Gromwell of 
our hedges and copses is found also in other parts 
of EuroxJe, and in the Basse Pyrenees ; the plant 
is used as a substitute for tea, under the name of 
The de Montague. A sample of this tea is contained 
in the Kew Museum. 
ScROPHULAPaNEAS. 
55. Veronica officinalis, L. — A native of this country 
and of other parts of Europe, as well as in 
North America. The leaves, which are astringent 
and bitter, are made into tea in Sweden and some 
parts of Germany, and used medicinally as a sti- 
iiiulaut under the iia/ine of The ci Bui ope. Simon 
Paiilli contended that this tea was identical witn 
the true tea of China. A sample is contained in 
the Kew Museum. . 
56. V. Allioni, Villars.— A glabrous^ iirocumbent 
plant, native of Switzerland, Southern France, I^ly, 
&c A sample of the dried leaves 111 the iiew 
Museum is labelled “ The_ de Mont Oeiiis, used as a 
beverage on Mont Cenis.” 
57. Capra) ia hijlora, L.— It is known as the West 
Indian Tea plant, Lunan says, according to Long 
and Barham, tlie leaves not only resemble those of 
tea, but make .an equally agreeable decoction, which 
irt ahso recommended as an excellent febrifuge. Ihe 
jylant is very coininoii everywhere in the Savan- 
Ibuham, writing of the jilant says: “A I'rench- 
miui. captain of a ship, r.fiiimed to me as we were 
ivalkiiig aboal llie town of St. Jago ae la Vega, and 
o'.ir.c.Anr tliis plant growing so plentiliilly, tnat n 
\va- tlic same as Lb o tea plant of Clniia that he had 
used in ine iiart of the v.orld many years, liad seen 
larce fields of it, and Uic manner of cultivating it 
and all Ine dilfei dice was that the Cliincsc plant 
\v:i' wliicii lie iiscribed to Buch ciM’C luid cub- 
tiiu' of Tt. and had no doubt liut the Jainaicii plant 
if ?l ■.■•'•le ;et in lieli , ground and attended witli 
i.iiiial care v, nild iiiiiii'ove in size.” I’.arliani furtber 
meutiom; I'lic fact of "a gentleman wl.o never (bunk 
•Uiv otlier than West Indian tea, and that aUlioiigh 
'he eoiihl not coil up the leaves so dexterously as 
l)ie, ('0 111 Cliiiia. sot ho poiloriiiod tins opciatioii 
tolerably well, and every person whom he regaled 
with it extolled it as the very best green tea they 
ever drank in their lives. It is certainly unknown 
to what perfection it might be lirouglit if reclaimed 
from its wild state, and cultivated in the rich soil 
of gardens, and it w'ell ■ deserves the experiments of 
the curious.” The plant is a shrub widely distri- 
buted in the West Indian Islands, extending into 
Mexico, Brazil, Peru, as well as in Tropical Africa. — 
John R. Jackson, Museum, Kew. — Gardeners' Chro- 
nicle. 

Eel Worms and Root Galls. — The Agriculiurat 
Gazetie of New South Wales for August, 1890, con- 
tains an elaljorate account by Mr. N. A. Cobb of 
the eel worm (Tylenchus arenarius) which is 
causing great mischief to root-crops in New South 
Wales. A synopsis of the knowm species is given. 
When established, cure is imxiracticable ; but pre- 
vention may do something by ridding the soil of the 
worms, or by putting such obstacle in their way as 
to render their ravages bearable. This may be done 
by the use of some chemical — preferably a fertiliser 
— whicli will destroy the larv® Ijefore they have 
entered the roots ; by the selection of some varieties 
not subject to the attacks of the creature ; by 
trapping the worms and destroying them. To trap 
and destroy enemies numbered by the million, and 
liidden away under ground, might seem impractic- 
able ; neverthless, a plan based on the life liistory 
of the creature has been successfully adopted in the 
case of Beetroot. Strubell, who obtained a prize 
from the University of Leipsig for an investigation 
into the nature of tlie disease affecting the Beetroot, 
observed that the larvss, after entering the roots, did 
not become matm-e till after an hiterval or five or 
six week. Whereupon Professor Fluhn recommended 
that the plant should be pulled at the end of four- 
weeks, when the creatures would die, and leaves no 
progeny in the shape of eggs. By thus sacrificing 
two or three crops of seedling plants, the pest is so 
diminished that a crop of roots can be successfully 
raised. Gas lime apiplied to tire soil would probably 
be efficacious. Tho.se pests are becoming more fre- 
quent, or are sooner observed than heretofore, not 
only iir outdoor crops, but in the case of pot plants. 
— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
A Few Old Simples. — To allay hiemorrhage, a 
toad, well dried in the sun and put into a bag, was 
Inmg ronud the neck by a string sufficiently low to 
touch the region of the heart; and a p eparation of 
garlic and h. uey smeared on the person was said 
to act as a charm against the bites of dogs and 
reptiles, or the fting of tiu££ier,.us insects, hkewise 
e^f^ctiug, thoir cure. Toothache rouH be charmed 
away by a few haves of the “sheplieid’s purse,” 
placed in the sole of the shoe on the reverse side 
of the body to that in which the tooth was aching. 
An excellent recipe for weak or sore eyes was the 
expresfed ju’’ce of the calyx of the red honeysuckle ; 
provided alvvay.s that the flowei-.o were gathered kneel- 
ing, repeating nine pHteruosters in honour of the 
Tiiuity, nine more “to greet Our L.dye,” and a 
creed. Rest and sleep were required after applica- 
tion. Anuthof prescription for the eyes much in 
favour with the Anglc-'Saxons was a pisto made of 
the straw berry-plant and pepper, diluted with sweet 
wine. OhilHrcn were passed threugh the .split stem 
of a tree f u- the cure of the rickets, hut the frac- 
ture must be afterwards bound up sufficiently tightly 
to ensure eohi sicn. For ague a very -we-ll-salted 
herring', split open, -was applied, as hot as p is-ible, 
to the s les ef tho f. et. It nii'-ht also be mitigated 
by tho hab tu 1 wearing round the neck of an eme- 
rald — a gem equally potent in cp lep.sy. Precious 
stones were acoiedite 1 with marvel!. us powers over 
tho moi-fl qualities and affections, as well as physioa 
dis ons luiice the origin of their being s t in rings 
and worn. The t-.-' th of old age were fixed firmly 
ill the gums by an infusion 'of powdered jet ; while 
writer in wli’cli tho beryl iial been stsipsd afforded 
a valu-rhle wasli for sticugtiiening thoe.ies, besides 
ensuring tho mutuol love of a wedded couple. — Hos- 
pital. 
