IOC 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug,  I,  1895. 
rana  (grown,  I take  it  in  tlie  gardens  at  Madras) 
has  been  very  well  reported  on,  and  is  considered  to 
be  nearly  as  good  as  Manilla  hemp. 
The  only  specimens  of  fibre  of  .Ij/are  americona 
which  were  sent  to  the  Imperial  Institute  from  the 
Madras  Presidency  were  those  obtained  by  himself 
at  Coimbatore,  which  must  be  those  which  have  been 
thus  favorably  reported  on. 
Dr.  Cooke’s  letter  to  the  Agri-Horticultural  Society 
was  communicated  to  me,  together  with  a series  of 
(mestious  by  a fibre  expert,  I accordingly  deputed 
tne  Museum  Herbarium  Keeper  to  visit  Coimbatore 
and  gave  him  specific  instructions  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  inquiries  which  he  was  to  make.  The  re- 
sult of  his  inquires  in  loco  is  embodied  in  the  fol- 
lowing note — 
Agace  antericana  grows  in  all  soils  (red,  black  and 
gravel)  in  the  Coimbatore  district.  It  is  planted 
extensively  as  a protective  hedge  along  the  Madras 
Railway  line,  and  flourishes,  in  the  open,  fi-eely  ex- 
posed to  the  sum,  and  unsheltered  by  trees,  shrubs, 
&c.  In  some  places  between  Coimbatore  and  Erode 
where  the  agave  is  overgrown  with  creepers,  the 
plants  are  unhealthy  ; and  in  other  places  (<’.</.,  near 
Tudiyalur),  plants  whicli  are  shaded  by  tamarind, 
nim  and  other  trees,  are  stunted,  while  those  which 
grow  in  the  open,  are  rich  in  leaves  and  luxuriant 
in  growth. 
Tlie  age  of  the  plants  from  which  the  leaves  are 
taken  for  fibre  is  six  to  seven  years.  The  old  green 
leaves  falling  outwards  fj-om  the  central  stem  are 
cut  for  fibre. 
The  fibre  is,  as  a general  rule,  extracted  im- 
mediately after  the  leaves  have  been  cut,  or  after  a 
lapse  of  a few  hours.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
leaves  are  kept  for  a day  or  two  and  the  fibre  is 
extracted  when  the  people  have  leisure. 
The  extraction  of  the  fibre  is  ])erformed  by  hand 
and  no  machinery  is  used.  The  fibre  is  extracted 
by  two  methods,  viz.  (u)  scraping  and  (/<)  rnaceration. 
(rt)  Scraping. — The  leaves  are  cut.  the  sharp  spines 
removen  with  a knife,  and  about  six  inches  cut  ofi 
from  the  top  of  the  leaf.  The  leaf  is  then  split 
longitudinally  into  four  or  five  pieces,  which  are 
beaten  with  a wooden  mallet  and  placed  on  a board 
4’  y.  4"  K ;i”  held  firmly  by  the  toes.  The  pulp  is 
then  removed  by  means  of  bamboo  scraper,  one  edge 
of  which  is  shaped  in  the  form  of  .a  blade,  and  the 
fibre,  dried  by  exposure  to  the  sun. 
The  fibre  obtained  by  this  simple  process  without 
washing  or  bleaching  is  very  clean  and  free  from  pulp. 
The  staple  is  not,  however,  very  long.  It  is  made  into 
thread,  which  is  used  in  weaving  grass  mats. 
{b)  Jfaveral ion. — As  in  the  previous  method  of  fibre- 
extraction,  the  leaves  are  cut,  and  the  spines  removed. 
The  whole  leaf  is  then  beaten  with  a wooden  mallet, 
and  thrown  in  bundles  into  tanks  or  wells,  in  which 
it  is  left  to  macerate  for  a fortnight  to  twenty  days, 
or  until  the  pulp  is  quite  decomposed.  The  bundles 
arc  then  taken  out  dried  and  ble.ached  in  the  sun. 
The  fibre  obtained  by  this  process  is  longer  than 
that  obtained  by  scraping,  but  is  not  nearly  so  clean. 
A very  large  supply  of  the  fibre  could  be  obtained, 
if  a demand  of  it  arose.  At  present  it  is  sold  in 
the  bazar  at  the  rate  of  2 annas  per  lb.,  Imt  if  a 
regular  trade  in  it  was  started,  the  price  would 
doubtless  be  reduced. 
The  mean  temperature,  of  Coimbatore  is  T.so  rang- 
ing between  a maximum  of  1)7°  and  a minimum  of 
1)1'^.  The  annual  rainfall  of  Coimbatore  is  about 
21  inches,  of  which  half  falls  during  the  north-east 
monsoon  (October  to  December),  the  remainder 
being  di.stributed  over  the  other  months  of  the  year. 
(Signed)  Edoau  Thuhstok, 
Superintendent,  Govt.  Central  Museum. 

DR.  CT-EGHURN  AND  REMINISCENCES. 
I see  from  the  Observer  that  Dr.  Hugh  Clcghorn  is  no 
more.  I have  a very  kindly  recollection  of  the 
dear  old  man  whom  I met  when  in  Edinburgh  be- 
tween 1887  and  188'.).  Writing  of  Dr.  Clcghorn  re- 
minds me  in  what  good  stead  the  l.vct  of  my 
“ belonging  to  Ceylon  ” stood  me  in  the  West. 
(Alas  1 it  is  a stumbling-block  amd  an  offence  to  our 
Government  in  Ceylon!)  Through  it  I made  many 
friendly  and  pleasant  connections  in  many  parts 
of  England  and  Scotland,  and  it  once  served  me 
well  in  Paris.  But  I must  tell  you  of  a strange 
experience  I had  in  Scotland.  I once  happened 
to  be  travelling  with  a friend — a “ vifeiting  agent  ’’ 
we  would  call  him  here — who  was  bound  for  a 
sheep  farm  in  the  wildest  part  of  Gallowayshire 
I remember  now  passing  Craigenvuy  (with  its  asso- 
ciations of  Carlyle)  on  our  way,  and  finally  reaching 
our  destination  for  the  night — a shepherd's  cottage 
on  the  borders  of  Loch  H . 
After  supper  my  friend  and  I trudged  across  the 
moor  to  visit  another  herd’s  cottage  about  a mile 
off.  It  was  a “ misty,  moisty”  dark  night,  and  as 
we  walked  along  we  heard  the  sound  of  footsteps 
approaching  along  the  lonely  road— for  except  for 
one  country  house,  there  were  no  dwellings  but 
scattered  herds'  cottages  for  miles  around.  “ Good 
night,  Sir,”  called  out  m3'  companion  to  the  ghost 
of  a tall  man  that  came  by  us;  then  after  a few 
words  “ Let  me  introduce  you  to  my  friend  Mr.  D." 
But  the  tall  stranger  seemed  to  have  received  a 
shock.  “D D ,”  he  muttered,  “Where  did 
I hear  that  name  ? Of  course— you  belong  to  Ceylon 
—any  relation  of  Major  D of  the  Rifles?” 
And  so  he  rattled  on  till  he  carried  us  into  the 
only  decent  house  in  the  countryside,  and  there 
introduced  me  to  the  Sheriff  of  L and  his  daughter, 
who  were  his  guests.  But  I had  to  say  all  I Knew 
about  Ceylon  that  night,  for  the  benefit  of  m3'  new 
friend  who  had  last  seen  the  place  long  before  I 
had  been  born,  and  gave  me  what  to  me,  was  an 
amusing  account  of  Colombo  in  his  day. 
But  to  return  to  Dr.  Cleghorn ; I once  came  be- 
fore him  for  an  ‘'oral”  in  Botany.  He  was  a vener- 
able looking  old  man  with  a grey  beard,  and 
looked  very  much  older  than  he  must  have 
been  (about  7 years  ago)  for  I find  that  he 
was  only  75  when  he  died.  Besides  the  good  Doctor 
seemed  to  be  more  infirm  than  he  sliould  have 
been.  “ You  belong  to  Cevlon  !”  he  exclaimed  as 
I presented  myself  before  him,  and  straight-way 
we  started  to  compare  notes, — my  venerable  E.x- 
aminer  seeming  quite  cheered  by  the  recollection 
of  the  “ beautiful  place  ” as  he  called  it.  But  be- 
fore we  were  aware  that  the  prescribed  ten  minutes 
for  the  “ oral  ” had  slipped  by,  the  sound  of  a hand- 
bell (indicating  that  the  candidates  must  “ move 
on  ” to  the  table  of  the  next  examiner)  was  heard. 
“What  is  the  botanical  name  of  the  rice  plant  he  hur- 
riedly asked.  I gave  it  him.  “Quite  right,  quite  right !” 
said  the  dear  old  doctor,  shaking  inwardly  with  laughter, 
while  my  lecturer  on  Botany  who  sat  behind  the 
Examiner,  was  literally  convulsed.  On  another  occa- 
sion I went  before  Marshall  Ward  and  Prof.  Balfour, 
and  again  thiough  my  Ceylon  connection  no  doubt, 
I got  the  question : — “ Is  the  fruit  of  the  coconut  palm 
a nut  ? If  not,  what  kind  of  a fruit  is  it,  botamcally 
speaking?”  I scored  there,  end  as  I returned  after 
my  oral  I found  two  of  our  men  discussing  the  nature 
of  the  coconut  fruit.  “ Why,  man,”  said  one,  “ if  a 
coconut  is  not  a nut,  w’hat  is  it  ?”  “ It’s  a drupe  of 
course — a fibrous  drupe,”  replied  the  other,  and 
added  ma'iciously  “not  unlike  your  head!"  Bui 
every  time  I look  at  the  signature  of  “ H.  Ch-ghorn, 
L.L.u.”  written  in  a tine  bold  hand  among  the  rest  of 
the  names  at  the  bottom  of  my  diploma-slieet,  I can- 
not help  smiling  at  the  recollection  of  the  little 
incident  I have  referred  to  above,  and  of  how  Ori/.-.a 
satira  pulled  me  through  my  Exam,  and  saved  the 
concience  of  dear  Doctor  Cleghorn.  D* 
^ 
GREVILLEA  ROBUSTA  IN  ENGLAND. 
(From  the  Hardeners'  Chronicle,  May  11th.) 
Looking  in  recently  at  the  Botanic  Gardens  at 
Cambridge,  where  visitors  will  always  find  much  of 
beauty  or  of  interest,  either  out  of  doors  or  in  the  fine 
open  ranges  of  well-furnished  glass-houses,  I found  an 
unusually  fine  8i>ecimen  of  this  graceful  plant. 
Considering  the  grace  and  beauty  of  Grevilleas, 
of  which  there  are  many  species,  it  is  rather  sur- 
prising to  find  thi'in  so  little  and  so  seldom  grown, 
unless  for  foliage  plants  ip  a sfiiall  slate.  And  J'et 
