Dec.  2,  1895.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
403 
Cui!ri;sponde>it  c 0. 
« 
To  the  Editor. 
UUTTA  PEllCHA  TREES;  EXPERIMENTS 
SUGGESTED. 
Oct.  2iiil. 
SiK, — Your  paper  (the  Ohacrver)  has  such  a wide  cir^ 
culation  and  letters  have  the  advantage  of  appearing  in 
the  Tropical  AariculturUt,  which  touches  specially  plan- 
ters in  foreign  countries,  that  I would  suggest  to  some 
of  those  interested  to  iry  the  following  experiment. 
I have  very  good  grounds  for  stating  that  it  can  be 
successfully  cai'ried  orit  and  has  been  so. 
Where  the  gutta  percha  tree  exists,  if  the  leaves 
are  allowed  to  fall  ripe  and  are  then  collected  and 
withered,  then  rotted  and  time  allowed  for  them 
to  decay,  and  if  the  matter  is  then  collected  and 
ground  up  finely  and  treated  with  bisulphate  of 
carbon  a very  superior  gutta  percha  is  produced. 
I have  lately  seen  cakes  of  this  gutta  perclra  drawn 
out  as  thin  and  fine  as  rubber. 
Naturally  it  will  occur  to  anyone  who  is  interested 
in  this  subject  that  by  this  plan  the  trees  can 
easily  be  deprived  of  their  leaves  and  twigs  with- 
out in  any  way  deteriorating  the  parent  stem. 
Surely  some  gutta  percha  trees  can  be  found  in 
Ceylon  and  this  experiment  tried  and  reported 
upon  in  your  paper. 
Tt  is  only  fail,  however,  to  say  that  this  matter 
does  not  originate  from  me,  and  that  good  work  is 
being  done  and  excellent  gutta  percha  collected. 
I am  sending  out  to  Africa  by  this  mail  informa- 
tion oir  this  subject  with  the  view  of  inducing  some 
of  the  growers  of  Landolphia  to  try  the  experiment 
where  a good  supply  of  leaves  can  be  produced. 
These  species  of  Landolphia  (four  or  five  of  which 
I have  obtained)  I find  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
growing  and  Mr.  Horace  Billington  informs  me  that 
he  experienced  great  difficulty  in  getting  up  a stock 
of  these  rubber-yielding  plants. 
Some  of  your  readers  will  remember  that  I urged  the 
collection  of  rubber  and  gutta  from  trees  some  years 
since  by  extraction  and  boiling  of  the  fresh  foliage, 
but,  from  .all  I can  hear,  this  has  not  yielded  a satis- 
factory result  except  in  the  boiling  of  the  twigs  ahd 
stems  of  the  Landolphia. — Yours  truly, 
THOS.“  CHRISTY. 
[Ceylon  being  a v*ery  paradise  foi‘  leafage, 
Would  bo.tli<3  pHce  for  experiments.  Rlanters 
Willi  rtiblicr  trees  should  make  a trial.— Ed.  T.,4.] 
VEGETABLE  BUTTER. 
London,  E.C.,  Oct.  10. 
i)EAR  litltj — i enclose  a cutting  from  The  Stand- 
ard of  the  7th  October  in  reference  to  the  pre- 
paration of  Coconut  Butter  whicli  is  made  from 
a vegetable  oil  as  opposed  to  Margarine  wliich  is 
matle  from  animal  fat.  It  might  therefore  be 
termed  vegetable  butter,  and  .as  siicli  would  be 
much  .appreciated  by  (hose  who,  eilher  by  edu- 
cation or  inclination  are  opp(tsed  (o  tlie  con- 
.suiiiption  of  oil  or  fat  of  animal  origin:  — 
“Some  time  ago  it  was  reported  that  butter  had 
been  made  successfully  from  coconuts,  but  it  w'as 
supposed  that  the  cheapness  of  margarine  had  pre- 
vented the  discovery  from  assuming  commercial  im- 
portance. Now,  however,  an  American  dairy  paper 
reports  the  establishment  of  an  extensive  factory  for 
the  manufacture  of  coconut  butter,  which  is  already 
being  made  at  the  rate  of  10,0001  b.  a day.  The  crude 
coconut  oil  it  is  stated,  is  received  from  Cochin  in 
tierces  of  2,0(X)lb.  each.  This  oil  is  almost  colourless 
and  tasteless.  After  passing  through  two  processes, 
which  are  kept  secret,  it  emerges  white  and  granu- 
lar, and  afterwards  it  is  churned  with  skim  milk  or 
butter-milk  to  give  it  a butter  flavour.  At  present  most 
of  the  commodity  is  sent  out  in  its  natural  white 
colour,  for  the  use  of  coafectiyuers  cyyks  m 
pI 
restaurants,  but  that  which  is  sold  for  table  use  is 
coloured  to  resemble  butter,  and  for  the  best  quality 
it  is  intended  to  add  a little  cream  before  churning. 
The  so-called  biitter  is  said  to  possess  a clean,  sweet 
flavour,  and  to  keep  remarkably  well.  The  oil  from 
which  it  is  chiefly  made  is  declared  cheaper  and  bet- 
ter than  “neutral  lard,’’ emulsifying  more  easily  with 
skim  milk,  and  being  more  difficult  to  detect  when 
mixed  with  real  butter.’’ 
Some  few  years  );ack  I exerted  myself  to  bring 
to  the  notice  of  an  old  Ceylon  linn  a project  for 
the  manufacture  of  this  imrticular  hutter  from  co- 
conut oil  ; but  at  that  time  the  firm  in  question 
couhl  not  see  their  way  to  take  up  the  matter  j 
and  now  the  ever  enteiqu'ising  Americau.s  have 
perfected  the  proce.ss  in  a practical  manner. — Yours 
faithfully,  JOHN  HUGHES. 
A USEFUL  GRASS. 
Dear  Sir, — In  last  Keio  Bulletin  (Sept.  1895) 
reference  is  made  to  .a  very  useful  grass  Andro- 
pogon pevtuiiuslinow'n  in  the  VV'est  Indies  as  “ .sour 
grass  ” and  in  Bengal  as  palava.  Can  you  or 
any  of  your  correspondents  .say  if  it  is  to  be  found 
in  Ceylon  and  what  is  its  local  name. — Yours, 
&c.,  HAY. 
[Mr.  Nock  will  at  once  be  able  to  tell  us  if 
we  have  this  grass. — Ed.  T.A.} 
MR.  ROBERT  THOMSON’S  REPORT  ON 
COLOMBIA,  S.  AMERICA. 
Sydenham,  Oct.  18. 
Dear  Sir, — I have  the  iileasure  to  forward 
by  book  post  today  a co))y  of  my  last  Re- 
port on  Colombia.  I was  very  pleased  to  see 
you  had  reproduced  in  your  valuable  work  my 
previous  Report.  I think  this  was  in  the  July 
(1894)  number  of  the  Tropical  Aqrimlturisti 
One  error  slipped  into  the  introductory  part  of 
that  report,  an  error  on  your  part,  viz.,  you 
mentioned  “ Joseph  ” Thomson  instead  of  Robert. 
— I am,  your  obedient  servant, 
ROBERT  THOMSON; 
[The  Report  referred  to,  gives  us  much  use- 
ful and  novel  information  and  extracts  will  be 
found  quoted  elsewhere. — Ed.  T.A.~\ 
“ANDROPOGON  PERTUSUS.” 
Dear  Sir, — Andropogon  pertusus,  Willd.  Sp.  Pl.j 
Rox.  FI.  Ind.  1.  p.  238,  Thw.  Ew.  p.  437.  A very 
common  gr.ass  from  the  sea  coast  up  to  3,(X)0  feet 
elevation.  Plentiful  about  Colombo.  It  is  an  ex- 
cellent fodder  grass,  either  in  a green  or  dry  state 
and  cattle  are  very  fond  of  it.  It  can  easily  be 
distinguished  from  the  other  species  of  this  genus 
by  a remarkable  pit  on  the  back  of  the  calyx  of  the 
hermaphrodite  flower.  It  creeps  a little,  but  the 
culms  rise  from  one  to  two  feet  with  three  to  twelve 
digitate  spikes  of  flowers.  It  is  not  known  by  any 
native  name.  J.  A. 
No.  II. 
Dear  Sir, — This  grass  is  indigenous  to  Ceylon,  but  it 
apparently  has  nodistinctive  native  name.  AV.  Ferguson 
in  his  Notes  on  Ceylon  Grasses  says  it  is  very  com- 
mon from  the  sea  coast  to  2,000  and  3,000  feet,  and 
speaks  of  it  as  an  excellent  fodder  grass  either  in 
a green  or  dry  state.  The  following  is  his  description 
of  the  grass  : “ It  creeps  near  the  root  but  has  culnls 
from  one  to  two  feet  high  and  three  to  twelve  digi- 
tate spikes  of  flowers.  It  can  at  once  be  distin- 
guished from  the  other  species  of  this  genus  by  a 
remarkable  pit  on  the  back  of  the  calyx  of  the  her- 
maphrodite flower.’’  Baron  von  Mueller  states  that 
in  Australia  it  is  regarded  as  one  ef  the  best  grassei} 
