3G2 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  AgricuUurid'' 
[Nov.  2,  1896. 
deep  and  Sin  diameter  is  cut  in  the  rock  and 
iilled  Avith  mould.  All  the  trees  at  Gopuate  are 
planted  in  solid  rock. 
DR.  HENRY  TRIMEN  F.R.S. 
Dr.  Trimen,  whose  sad  death  occurred  on  the 
17th.  October,  was  no  mere  botanical  enthusiast 
as  many  w^ere  inclined  to  think,  but  a scientific 
worker,  who  made  use  of  his  special  knowledge 
as  far  as  in  him  lay  for  the  advancement  of 
the  colony’s  welfare.  Indeed  it  will  be  long 
before  we  find  another  official  with  so  intimate  an 
acquaintance  with  our  tropical  flora  not  only  in 
its  inirely  botanical,  but  also  in  its  economic 
aspects.  In  classifying  and  describing  the  vege- 
table products  of  the  Island  whenever  the  neces- 
.«ity  arose.  Dr.  Trimen’s  services  were  invaluable 
and  he  will  be  sadly  missed  whenever  work  of 
this  description  has  to  be  done.  Besides,  as 
a botanical  referee  on  local  questions  who  is 
there  witli  Dr.  Trimen’s  experience,  and  whose 
authoritative  decisions  will  be  accepted  P A close 
worker  who  allowed  him.self  little  recreation. 
Dr.  Trimen  was  yet  a social  companion  and 
courteous  in  the  highest  degree. 
We  had  the  pleasure  of  being  associated  with 
him  ill  dealing  with  the  Ceylon  collections  for 
the  Imperial  Institute  in  London,  and  saw 
something  of  his  wonderful  energy  and  thorough- 
ness of  work.  Very  sliortly  before  his  death 
wo  had  occasion  to  consult  him  on  a point 
connected  with  the  teaching  of  botany,  and 
we  would  refer  to  the  matter  here  as  being  of 
interest  to  others.  AVe  wrote  to  the  Doctor 
animadverting  on  the  botanical  classification 
of  fruits  cas  givon^in  ordinary  text  books  of 
botany,  remarking  how  inadequate  such  a mode 
of  classification  was  for  tropical  fruit,  and  giving 
examples  which  presented  difficulties.  Here 
is  Dr.  Trimen’s  reply,  which,  while  it  illustrates 
tlie  desicive  manner  in  which  he  was  wont  to  state 
his  opinion  on  botanical  questions,  sliow’s  at 
the  same  time  the  characteristic  humour  of  his 
style  and  conversation  : — 
Dear, — 
You  are  quite  right  about  the  classification 
of  fruits  in  text  books.  I have  denounced 
them  for  years.  But  as  a fact,  they  may 
mostly  be  disregarded,  being  never  employed 
by  working  botanist  and  usually  invented  for 
the  delectation  of  the  unhappy  student.  Most 
of  those  in  the  list  you  give  are  succulent  and 
several  truly  “berries”  but  most  would  require 
special  description,  not  falling  under  particular 
names.  Some  have  special  names : tliat  of  the 
pomegranate  is  called  a “balaustion”  in  the 
books.  Anybody  is  at  liberty  to  call  it  so  if 
he  choo.ses,  but  he  may  juib  as  w'ell  call  it  a 
pomegranate  at  once,  as  there  is  nothing  else 
like  it  in  structure. 
You  will  find  correct  descriptions  of  our 
native  fruits  in  my  Flora. 
Yours  very  truly, 
JIkniiy  Tkimkn. 
‘"NlTRAGIN,”  OR  THE  USE  OF  PURE 
CULTIVATION  BACTERIA  FOR  LEGU- 
MINOUS CROPS. 
The  inquiry  by  Dr.  Nobbe  took  three  distinct 
lines  : — 
1.  AVhat  the  nature  of  the  process  wms  bj'  which 
leguminous  nodule-possessing  plants  were  en- 
abled to  assimilate  free  atmospheric  nitrogen. 
2.  How  the  working  of  the  noudles  mani- 
fested itself  in  soils  of  different  degrees  of  rich- 
ness in  nitrogen. 
3.  AVhetlier  the  bacteria  originating  from  the 
nodules  of  different  kinds  of  leguminous  plants 
w'ere  all  of  one  and  the  same  kind,  or  if  each 
group  of  leguminous  plants  had  its  particular 
nodule  activity. 
As  to  1,  Nobbe  concluded  that,  like  the  green 
plant,  the  bacteria  could  not  by  themselves 
assimilate  free  nitrogen,  but  that  they  w’ere 
gradually  changed  in  the  nodules  to  a particular 
form  knovm  as  “ bacteriods,”  and  that  it  w’as 
by  virtue  of  their  network  arrangement  in  the 
cells  of  the  nodules,  which  presented  the  largest 
possible  surface  to  the  air,  tliat  they  were  en- 
abled to  absorb  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  cell- 
sap  and  render  it  assimilable  by  tlie  plant. 
In  regard  to  the  second  point,  Nobbe  found 
that  the  working  of  tlie  nodules  attains  its  full 
efficiency  only  when  tlie  sol  liable  soil-nitrogen 
was  nearly  used  up.  Accordingly,  the  more 
nitrogen  that  the  soil  contained  capable  for 
being  taken  up  by  the  iilant,  the  less  was  the 
difference  between  plants  that  had  been  inoculated 
and  those  that  had  not.  As  a consequence  of 
this,  quickly  growdng  leguminous  plants  such 
as  peas,  vetches,  and  the  like,  that  used  up 
the  nitrogen  of  the  soil  quickly,  showed  the 
influence  of  the  inoculation  much  more  rapidly 
than  did  clover,  lathyriis,  &c.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  inoculated  plants  ijo.sse.s.sed  an  advantage 
ill  that  the  demands  of  leguminous  plants  for 
nitrogenous  food  are  exceptionally  high. 
The  third  question  is  the  one  of  most  iix- 
portance  to  us  at  the  present  time.  Nobbe  showed, 
by  his  experiments,  that  though  the  bacteria  from 
the  nodules  of  leguminous  plants  of  different 
families  were  in  outward  appearance  scarcely 
to  be  distinguished  from  one  another,  yet  in 
their  behaviour  to  iilants  they  showed  very  marked 
differences.  The  bacteria  from  nodules  of  the 
pea,  for  instance,  acted  admirably  when  used  for 
inoculating  the  pea  plant,  and  also  did  some- 
what less  well  when  used  for  vetches  (which 
are  nearly  related  to  the  pea) ; but  they  did 
not  do  at  all  when  used  on  clovers,  .serradella, 
robinia  &c. 
Similarly,  bacteria  from  the  nodules  of  red 
clover,  robinia  ^cc.,  would  answer  with  those  kinds 
of  plants  from  which  they  originated,  but  had  no 
action  whatever  on  peas.  From  tiiis,  Nobbe  drew 
the  conclusion  that  every  legnminoiis  iilant  is 
most  inllueiiced  by  bacteiia  of  its  own  kind, 
though  bacteria  of  nearly  related  kinds  can  re- 
place one  another  to  a certain  extent;  but  that 
bacteria  from  leguminous  ])lants  belonging  to 
families  widely  separated  from  one  another,  either 
from  no  nodules  at  all  or  only  small  ones  with  no 
appreciable  inlliience  on  the  supply  of  nitrogenous 
nourishment, 
