320 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
Mr. D. Fairweallicr— at pie?ent nianagir'r Yala- 
deria— expects to meet liim before the end 
of tlie year. If there were time we should re- 
eonimeml to Mr. J. R. Fainveallier a vi^it to 
the coffee gardens in tlie Caiins district of 
(Queensland, where soil and climiUe seem s]iecially 
favc.uj'ahle to ouir old staple; while the great 
difhculty, labour, might he oveiccme if (as Mr. 
Wardlaw Thom])Son rejiorted) the Kanakas in 
the I’acitic Isle.s, are now' very glad to take 
etu|)loyment from responsible pianters in (Queens- 
land. At ('aims, which is in 17 degiees ISouth 
latitude on the North-East coast of (Queensland, 
there is a raihv.'<y 42 miles le-rg up to Heil;er- 
ton ; hut after 6 inile.s on the Hat, in twelve 
mile.“ of this line an elevation of 1 . 6(0 feet is 
attained through ve)v grand .scene)y, lendered 
more im]iressive hy the hiaek-ground el the “Great 
Barrier Reef.s ” in the Cor.al Sea of the Ff.cilie 
Ocean. Then there are 20 miles acioss a i>laleau 
with good soil, ft i.s doubtless alongside this 
railway that coffee has been cultivated so 
successfully, although as yet only to a limited 
extent. For a capitalist d>'ig business on a 
big scab*, there is pioh.'ihly no cunpaiison 
between (lie ad\antages of invesiimni in East 
Java with jilcnty of lich land and good labour 
and in Northern Queensland with no local labour. 
But then, in the latter case there is the con- 
sideration of being under British ru’e. 
BOTANICAL NOTES FROM MINCING 
LANE. 
A botanical ob.mvver who visited the Miucic.g 
Lane showrooms lately gives us some notes of what he 
saw fr> m his point of view. The goeds which 
cover the tables he writes, bring before our mind 
within a few yards the three divisons of the vegetable 
kingdom mixed together, r.ot by any means in accord- 
ance with the view of a botanical systematic t in the 
dicotyledonous group we spot kola nuts, the true seeds 
of Cola acuminata, which about twelve j cars ago 
were to be had only from their native country, 
tropical Africa. About the time of the Coloni 1 and 
Indian Exhibition, in 188G, when some fine fresh 
samples were shown from Jamrica and other West 
Indian islands, the cultivation of the pi nt was 
stroijo'ly recommended by some, and ridiculed by ethers 
jpe wisdom of the former has sin. e been shown. 
Coca-leaves, again, the produce of Kn/throa t/lon Coca, 
are a comparatively new product which has thoroughly 
established itself, and which is a near botanical ally 
to the kola though brdongiug to another natural 
order, Linacece. Pruthur on we see a sample, of 
guarana, a peculiar substance from Brazil, made by 
beating up the small seeds of Pajilinia soi'hilin, a 
close al'.y to the horse-chestnut, into a pasty mass 
and then rolling it into thick sticks and drying it. 
The invigorating power of this substance has been 
known to the natives of Brazil for a very long period, 
and even at the present tinre they use guarana as of 
old in the preparation of a beverage by grating a 
small portion of one of the hat'd cakes or rolls 
into a cup of water and drinking the conicnts. For 
this purpose they carry a roll of the guarana, an 1 
the rough tongue of a fish to grate it upon, with 
them on thrdr journeys. It- introduction into English 
commerce, like that uf kola, is of o nnparatively recent 
date. Proo eding from the Papimtaceep, to which 
guarana belongs, the product of a leguoiin .us plant 
next catches the eye — m m ly the hair fr .m the puds 
of Mucuana pruviens, popularly known as cow-itch, 
and in eomnierce as cowuge or cowliage. — C. & D. 
It may not be ouc of pi cu lo mention a s.mpleof 
Boldo-leaves {Peuwus holduti) a Chilian shiul), which 
was iiitioduced to this coumry in 1871 as ;.n aid to 
divesdion, and as a remedy in liver diseases. Tin! 
discovery of the properties of the jilaut is said to 
have been made by noticing the beneficial effects 
on a flock of sheep that were suffering from liver 
[NoV. I, 1897 . 
difease. The fold in which they were enloscd have 
been repaired will, two bcldo twigs, the sheep ate 
the leaves and shcots with the result that they 
ripidly re.oveied. Seme siigiiJar-lcckiDg dried and 
shrivelled flewets lave also been shewn under the 
none of “ Cactus fiev. e rs.” '1 hough they cannot yet 
be sutisfacti 1 ily ick rtified, ti er p 1 e b; bly l.eV.ng to the 
genus J./;i/..-.clw. a greup of fl'e.‘hy jointed blanched 
Icf.f'tss pl.’irts belcrginii g to tie Coitocccc. They 
are <f but little ci no use econcniieally, though in 
Bit zil the fiuits oi Jti/ Jifoli.i /orhppti/a are reputed 
to b.Tve antiseoibutic and piitibilious picpeities, and in 
the Yvtst Indies hhipsalis Caysiiiha is used as aveinii- 
fuge. — Chemist and T-ruapist, Sept 4. 
“ (QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL 
-JOURNAL.’^ 
Thjs i.s the title' e.f a new agricnltnial publica- 
tion, only two nuniLer.s of which — those lor July 
and A iigi'.st — have yet been issurel. T he journal 
is ]inblislitd by diiection of the Minister for 
Agncnllure in place of the bulletins that were 
is.siied from time to lime. “ Essentially of a utili- 
tarian character" — to quote from the journal 
itself — “The (Queetisland Agricultuial journal 
will be devoted mainly to the publication and 
wide dissemination of ai tides of a )iopular 
ediicatory cliaracter. It is not intended that 
it .shall take the place of an Agricultuial 
Newspaiier, nor that it sliall in any way 
interfere with the peculiar work of such 
journals.” The bulletins that used to be issued by 
tlie Department of Agriculttiie, Queensland liave 
always been c.f a most u.sefni and jiractical 
character, but the journal now' issued while in- 
cluding all tlie .subject matter of the bulletins 
contains sjiecial contiiluitions of much merit, and 
tlie lettcr-piess and illustrations help to make 
it an agiiculiural publication of a bigli order. 
Indeed tlii.s new journal and the New South 
Wales Agiieubiiral Gazette are undoubtedly 
among the best managed agricultural publications 
to be met with anywhere. 
- 
PLANTING IN PAHA>G, STRAITS 
settle:\iknts. 
(From the Adininisfrator's Annual Report.) 
Of planting, other than rice and the usual native 
fields of maize and sugar-cane, there has been little. 
The Liang Syndicate has brought 130 acres of land 
under cultivation, and has planted it with coffee during 
the year. A further plantation of 120 acres will be 
opened up on the same property during the current 
year. The coffee already planted is I'eported to be 
doing very w'ell, and the laud selected is said to be 
exceptionally good. It is to be hoped that this is 
but the beginning of an enterprise, which, if success- 
ful, may greatly benefit this State. It is probable 
that the superior rainfall on the east coast of the 
Peninsula will prove to be to the advantage of the 
coffee planter, but those who open up land in Pahang 
have still to contend with groat difficulty as regards 
transport. The labour employed on this coffee estate 
is drawn entirely from .lava and Sumatra. 
Kami planted on the property of the Liang Syndi- 
cate has been f ivo'jr tbly reported upon, and it is 
possible that decortiea ors will be erected during the 
current year. 
Biini grows well on P,i,hang s dl, but the necessity 
for its immediate decortication renders it improb . ble 
that it will be widely grown for some years to come. 
At.OB Eibrk. — O n page 306 we quote an 
extract in which a hopeful account; is given 
of the trade in aloe fibre. Theie seems to have 
been a continuous demand fur the fibre from all 
part.s of the world and the prospects are such as 
to warrant the statement that the trade affords 
a jirolitable field for investment. 
