t)EC, 1 , 1897 .] 
Supplement to the ^'■Tropical Agriculturist.''' 
437 
suddenly died. We have now one plant over 3 
feet high which is perfectly healthy, and the 
foliage looks soft and tempting as a fodder. I am 
afraid it would never thrive in the lowcountry.” 
The Superintendent of Government Botanical 
Gardens, Saliaranpur, writing to us says : “ I have 
several times tried Tagasaste. It succeeded 
very well during the cold season, hut always 
died off in the rains. I should say it has no 
chance with you on the plains, but it might 
thrive at one of your hill stations.” 
What is known as “ Jarrah timber ” is got from 
Eucalyptus marginata. We note that Timber, 
of May 20th, 1893, published a letter from 
Uathcart W. Methuen, Engineer-iu-Chief of the 
Natal Harbour Board, in which he describes ex- 
periments made with Madagascar timber 
as compared with Australian Jarrah wood, and 
states that the Madagascar timbers were practically 
untouched while Jairah w’as much worm-eaten. 
EAINEALL TAKEN AT THE SCHOOL OP 
AGRICULTUKE DURING THE MONTH 
OF 
NOVEMBER, 1897. 
1 
Monday' 
. Nil 
17 
Wednesday . . 
Nil 
2 
Tuesday 
. -21 
18 
Thursday . . 
Nil 
3 
Wednesday 
. 1-62 
19 
Friday 
Nil 
4 
Thursday 
. -88 
20 
Saturday 
Nil 
5 
Friday' 
. Nil 
21 
Sunday' 
Nil 
6 
Saturday 
. -07 
22 
Monday 
Nil 
7 
Sunday 
. Nil 
23 
Tuesday 
Nil 
8 
Monday 
. ISil 
24 
Wednesday . . 
Nil 
9 
Tuesday 
. Nil 
25 
Thursday . . 
Nil 
10 
Wednesday 
. 3-44 
26 
Friday 
Nil 
11 
Thursday' 
. Nil 
27 
Saturday . . 
Nil 
12 
Friday 
. 2-18 
28 
Sunday 
Nil 
13 
Saturday 
. Nil 
29 
Monday 
Nil 
14 
Sunday 
. -64 
30 
Tuesday 
Nil 
\5 
Monday 
. 1-39 
1 
Wednesday , , 
•13 
16 
Tuesday 
. Nil 
Total. ,10'56 
Mean . . 
•35 
Greatest amount of rainfall 
in any 24 hours 
on 
the 10th, Wednesday, 3‘44 inches. 
Recorded by A. R. Jeremiah. 
THE VALUE OF PLANT ROOTS AS 
TILLERS OF THE SOIL. 
This is the title of a communication to the 
last number of the Royal Agricultural Society’s 
Journal, made by a writer (Robert H. Elliot) 
who states that he began life as an agriculturist 
in Mysore, and has since then been farming in 
Scotland. The object of the communication is 
stated at the outset to be to show how, in 
the face of foreign competition, farmers could 
produce more cheaper than now, and at the 
same time largely improve the fertility of their 
soils. But we will let the writer speak in his 
own words. 
To clearly apprehend how both these objects 
can be carried out, it is necessary in the first 
instance to remark on the causes of the decline 
of fertility in most soils. And, first of all, let 
us examine the conditions when the soil is taken 
in from forest lands, or frcni the original turf 
which has never been disturl ed liom time 
immtmoiial. If, then, we clear down the former, 
as I often have, we find that, partly from the 
land not having been exposed to the elements, 
but mainly frcm its being interpenetrated w'ith 
the rootlets of jungle, shruls, and tares, the soil 
is in the most p'eifect physical condition. But 
as time advances the rootlets of course decay, 
and the soil then lo-es its original condition 
and becomes a bad nidus for the plant ; and 
so much so, that while in newdy-opened land 
the young coffee plants flourish exceedingly, in 
the land that has been long ago opened the 
plants cannot be successfully gtown without 
much cattle manure, or with the aid of virgin 
tojisoil taken from the adjacent forest land. 
And many years ago we had excellent proof 
that the failure of the young plaiits wiis not 
owing to the decline of the, stiictly speaking, 
chemical condition of the soil; for on comparing 
an analjsis of the original soil with an analysis 
of soil from wdiich sixteen crops of coffee had 
been taken without manure, we found that the 
soil wms little the worse, and only shrived a 
slight deficiency in lime, the leaves which annually 
fall from the large trees which shade the coffee 
having evidently supplied the exhaustion caused 
by the crops. The examination was carefully 
conducted by the late Professor Anderson, of 
Glasgow, and a brother-planter who called on 
him to hear the result very naturally asked 
how it was that, if the soil was only so slightly 
impaired, we could hardly grow^ young coffee 
plants in it, or Out very unsuccessfully. “Simply,” 
replied the Professor, “ when turf land is first 
ploughed up, it being deeply intei penetrated with 
grass roots, is in the same condition as a new 
forest soil, and no fertility is apparent till 
after the lapse of a greater or less number of 
years. Then ns the vegetable matter becomes 
exhausted the soil solidifies and becomes not 
only tough but shallow, as it is no longer thickened 
and disintegrated by^ roots, a decline in fertility 
being the result ; and though tillage may lessen 
the evil for a time, the particles of soil, being 
no longer kept apart by vegetable matter, soon 
run together, and thus the land becomes a bad 
nidus for the plant. There are of course ex- 
ceptions to every rule, and 1 may mention one 
of them, which after all proves the vast im- 
portance of a fine physical condition of the 
soil , . . A small quantity 
of manure on land in good physical condition, 
such as a fine sandy loam, goes much further 
than in another of inferior physical condition, 
because the soil is continually a good nidus for 
the plant, and the roots can always readily ramify 
through it in search of ftiotb” Sir John Lawes 
says with reference to his own great work : “All 
our experiments tend to show that it is the 
physical condition of the soil, its capacity for absor- 
bing and retaining water, its permeability to roots, 
and its capacity for absorbing and radiating heat, 
that is of more importance than its, strictly' 
speaking, chemical composition.” 
-We hav'e now seen the value of roots in 
maintaining the physical condition of the soil. 
To further extend our view of their importance, 
