668 
|Aprm,  I,  1^97. 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRlLULTaia^r 
at  least  remarkable  to  me,  as  it  is  the  first  of  its 
kind  I have  ever  seen....  The  fruit  and  photograph 
were  sent  to  me  from  Hassam,  one  of  our  hill  dis- 
tricts by  Mr.  A.  Walkinson,  a coffee  planter.  His 
own  letters,  with  two  of  my  replies  enclosed,  will 
afford  all  the  information  at  my  disposal.  Would  you 
do  me  the  great  favour  to  say  what  you  ihink  of 
this  fruit?....  With  your  eastern  and  western  ex- 
periences you  are,  of  course,  well  acquainted  wdth 
the  usual  form  of  this  fruit,  and  can  offer  a valuable 
opinion.  ” 
Mr  Watkinson’s  account  of  the  tree  is  as  follows: — 
“There  is  a peculiar  Jack-tree  here,  the  shell  which 
holds  the  kernel  grows  on  the  outside  of  the  fruit 
...  Both  planters  and  natives  declare  it  to  be  un- 
known in  any  other  part  of  the  district.  The  native 
idea  is,  it  was  brought  hither  by  a cobra  when  youngj!  ” 
On  March  ‘23,  1890,  Mr.  Watkinson  sent  a specimen 
of  the  fruit  to  Mr.  Cameron  with  the  follow’ing  note  : 
“ In  October  last  I wrote  you  about  a curious  Jack- 
fruit,  a specimen  of  which  I am  sending  by  bearer. 
I think  you  will  find  that  the  pericarp  is  intermixed 
with  the  tubercles  or  spines,  and  that  the  peculiarity 
i.s  not  caused  by  enlarged  spines.  I am  sending  a 
fruit  weighing  9.^  lb.  to  Mr.  Graham  Anderson.  I 
should  have  sent  the  larger  one  to  you,  but  it  is 
already  over-ripe,  and  should  be  in  a state  of  decom- 
position by  the  time  it  reached  you. ..I  could  send 
you  another  later  on,  as  there  are  five  others  on 
the  tree  only  half-grown.  ” Mr.  Watkinson  adds,  “I 
can  see  no  difference  in  the  tree  itself  from  tlie  rest 
of  the  trees  of  the  wild  Jack.’’  The  wood-cut  (fig. 
125)  represents  the  Hassam  Jack-fruit  one-lialf  the 
natural  size.  Its  most  striking  characteristic  is  the 
osition  of  the  seeds  on  the  outside,  instead  of  being 
uried,  as  usual,. in  copious  pulp.  There  is  evidently 
no  swelling  either  of  the  receptacle  or  of  the  perianth, 
as  in  the  ordinary  Jack-fruit.  Hence  the  Hassam 
fruit  is  probably  uneatable.  The  spine-like  processes 
occupying  the  area  between  the  seeds  are  the  abortive 
florets. 
Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  who  has  recently  completed 
his  great  work,  The  Flora  of  Bril ish  has  been 
good  enough  to  ex.unine  the  drawing  of  the  Hassan- 
iruif,  and  he  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  either  an  ab- 
normal form,  or  a new  species. 
Colonel  Beddome,  F.L.S.,  who  is  credited  with 
having  found  the  Jack-tree  in  a wild  state  in  Southern 
India,  expresses  a similar  opinion  in  the  following 
words : — 
“ The  Jack-tree  is  very  common  in  a wild  state  in 
nil  the  moist  forests  on  the  w^estern  ghats  of  the 
Madras  presidency....  Its  fruit  does  not  differ  from 
that  of  the  cultivated  tree.  Your  drawing  must,  I 
think,  represent  a quite  abnormal  form,  unless  it  be 
a new  species.  I can  only  say  I never  saw  anything 
like  it.” 
Appar-ently  it  is  not  an  abnormal  form,  as  the  seeds 
(I  learn  from  Mr.  Cameron)  are  fully  developed,  and 
give  rise  to  normally  healthy  plants.  These  are  now 
growing  in  the  Ihaugalore  Garden.  The  matter  cannot 
be  carried  any  further  at  present,  but  material  is 
promised  of  both  the  leaves  and  of  flowers,  the  latter 
in  different  stages  of  development.  When  these 
arrive  it  may  be  possible  to  come  at  a more  definite 
conclusion  respecting  this  interesting  plant. — D.  Moik 
Ris,  Kew,  December  5. — Gardeners'  Chronicle. 
TUB  COFFEK  ENTEUPKISE  IN 
SELANGOR. 
Judging  from  the  euthusiasm  of  tho.se  directly 
interested  in  the  cnlii.ation  of  Libc;i-an  coffee 
ill  Selangor  (writes  a c irrcspondent  who  has  boon 
visiting  the  Native  States  of  the  Malay  Archipe- 
la<ro)  there  stens  ti  be  a great  future  in  stoio 
for  the  (u'erprise.  In  Ceylou  you  have  heard' 
from  one  s lurco  or  another,  at  irregular  intervals 
of  the  oiJportunitici  oJe.el  by  investments  in  laud 
in  these  States,  but  very  little  real  interest  seems 
to  have  been  taken  in  the  matter.  I have  had 
the  privilege  of  meeting  among.st  others,  Jlr. 
'Toynbee,  who  was  engaged  in  opening  out  the 
first  estate  ever  put  under  cultivation  in  Selangor, 
and  who  naturally  is  an  authority  on  the  subject. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  largest  proprietors  in  the 
district.  Selangor  is  the  capital  of  the  newly-organ- 
ized Federated  States  of  which  Mr.  F.  A.  Swetten- 
ham,  13  the  II*  sident-General.  It  is,  in 
extent,  3,000  square  miles,  or  about  one-eighth  of 
the  size  of  Ceylou.  It  lies  immediately  to  the  South  of 
Perak,  and  is  well  intersected  with  railways.  The 
climate  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  Colombo  and 
the  lowcoantry  of  Ceylon,  and  is  regarded  as  being 
no  less  healthy  than  tho  average  Eastern  country. 
At  present  there  are  some  sixty  estates  under 
cultivation,  but  many  more  are  likely  to  be  opened 
out  shortly.  Possibly  Mr.  T.  N.  Christie,  l^lr. 
G.  A.  Talbot,  or  Mr.  W.  B.  Kingsbury  would  be 
the  best  authorities  as  to  when.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  it  is  as  well  to  state  that  at  present 
land  may  be  bought  at  the  rate  of  the  dollar  per 
acre,  with  a nominal  annual  ground  rent  of  half 
that  sum.  To  small  capitalists  then,  the  prospect 
ought  to  be  inviting,  because  there  can  be  “no 
doubt,  no  possible  doubt  whatever”  that  the  con- 
ditions are  favourable  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
product,  and  that  those  who  have  already  invested 
are  anything  but  dissatisfied  with  the  results  of 
their  experiments. 
On  one  point,  however,  I was  solemnly  w'arned. 
However  expert  a Ceylon  planter  may  be,  he  cannot 
hope  to  be  a successful  Selangor  planter,  until  he 
has,  so  to  speak,  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the 
country.  First  and  foremost  a knowledge  of  the 
iMalay  language  is  essential,  for  although  Tamil 
labour  is  largely  used,  it  is  next  to  useless  in  the 
preliminary  work  tliat  has  to  be  done,  and  for 
which  Malays  only  arc  utilized.  Secondly,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  planter  should  know  all  about 
irrigation  and  the  intricacies  of  drainage — drainage 
such  as  is  little  dreamt  of  in  Ceylon.  For  instance, 
a clever  prospector  will  see  glorious  possibilities  in 
a huge  sheet  of  water,  that  is  a tract  of  flat 
ground,  covered  by  two  or  three  feet  of  water. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done,  of  course,  is  to  drain 
tbe  w'ater  off  the  ground,  and  the  second  to  do 
il  in  such  a way  as  to  prevent  a repetition  of  the 
Hood.  This  done  the  estate  is  ready  for  planting. 
I have  said  that  Tamil  cooly  l.ilour  is  largely 
employed.  From  what  I heard  there  seems  to  be 
no  difficulty  in  the  way  of  procuring  this  labour. 
A man  is  paid  twenty-seven  cents  for  a day’s  work, 
equal  to  about  forty-five  Ceylon  cents,  while  a 
\yoman  is  paid  twenty  cents.  Rain  is  plentiful,  as 
is  necessary  for  the  cultivation  of  Liberian  coffee, 
the  average  rainfall  being  anything  between  80 
and  180  inches. 
What  the  future  of  the  country  may  be  it  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  say,  but  at  present  pros- 
pects seem  very  bright.  The  Government  is  doing 
its  best  to  assist  tlie  planters,  and  fresh  capital  is 
continually  being  imported.  To  the  outsider  it  would 
seem  that  the  enterprise  has  already  got  beyond 
the  experimental  stage,  and  that  the  openings  for 
and  the  probable  re«ards  for  small  or  large  capi- 
talists are  enticing.  It  is,  however,  no  place  for 
the  uncapitalized  Ceylon  planter,  for,  as  I said 
before,  the  conditions  and  the  nature  of  the  work 
are  very  dilTerent  to  those  here.  Wtill  it  is  as, 
good  a place  as  any  other  for  tho  ‘‘ creeper,”  and 
— what  a chance  for  Lipton! — Local  “ Indepeudent.” 
C.tPK  Fruit. — The  ss.  “Tantallon  Castle”  has  arrived 
from  the  Cape  with  728  cases  of  fruit,  consigned  as 
follows : — 202  cases  of  Grapes,  to  Mr  Hudson  ; 195 
cases  do.,  to  the  Colonial  Consignments  and  Distri- 
buting Company  (Ltd.) ; 5 cases  to  W.  R.  Sutton  A 
Co. ; 80.,  and  20  cases  of  I’ears,  to  Messrs.  Woodhead, 
I’laut  & Co. ; 120  cases  of  Grapes  to  Mr.  E.  Hudson  ; 
and  100  cases  do.,  to  Mr.  Nathan.  This  cntii-e  con- 
signment arrived  in  very  good  condition. — Gardeners' 
Chivniclc, 
