July i, 1891.] 
THE TROPlC^lL AtaRTOOLTURlST, 
IS 
practically Bterilised when it contaioR only from 1 to 
3 per cent, ol oolfee extract. One is to hear coffee 
BO well spoken of, and biuhraen and travellrr^ in 
Australia ought to take it instead of tea, inasmuch as 
coffee requires cooking (ought to be boiled and produced 
as a decoction)^ but this procef^s really converts tea 
into a dang«*rou8 duid, for tea should never be drank 
except as an infusion. 
Some vfllnablo botanical experiments- iu the life-history 
of green leaves have recently been pnbli^hed by Professor 
Hobitnper. They relate t^ practical eipenmonts made 
by himself on the part played b/ mineral frilts in 
the economy of plants, lie shows that, immediately 
on germination, the phosphates begiu to leiive the seed-. 
In coiijunctiou with orgadc s'lb'tauci s, their ultimate 
goal 18 the growing poi* t and the meif>phyll (or midole 
substance oFloavis). The miutral acids, he shows, 
passthrough th'i inter -cellnlar parts of stems and liat 
through which the sugars and amides also pas.?. 
Potassium passes upwarUn out of the s« eds as potassium 
phosphate. The leaves ot the vine [>l.iiit more particu- 
larly (and this ought to interest Australian viticulturists) 
oontaiii, in addition to oxalate of lime coiisid* rable 
quantities of tartrate and malato of calcium (or lime). 
Lime ha-* practicady (by a stud, at of oraganic ch^'inis- 
try) to regarded as a carrier of ot-ier and pt-rhaps 
more importaiP and fragile chemical partiolo.s to the 
parts uf the growing organism wiiere they are required, 
and wherv, us iu a market-piac> , thny are iniinediat: ly 
picked up. Tiieu the *‘cirrier'* {Itme) returns to the 
oanh as it was, as it does in the case of old bones 
which dead men and animals cannot walk about with. 
One important botanical fact has rcceutfy hejii 
proved— that plants can bo stotil sod. This is efftcied 
by parasitic fungi attacking pistils and stamons res- 
pectively, and, of course, dostroying them. There is 
a tendency among botauiats to bol cv« this mny have 
been the inducing cause of tho ( rgatiifatiou of momecious 
and (luecaius plants, which are not condoed to any 
particular botanical order, although they are more 
abundant ill some than others. Munceeioa-i (one hous:- 
liold) signifies tbat pUtils and stamens nro fou id of 
the same plant, and dicocious (two households) on 
separate plat t'*. 
A Frem h wine merchant, M. Girard, has for some 
time past been uoilertaking practical experime nt? to 
prove the poasibility of pro6tnbly growing po'aties for 
the mauufactnrt? of potato brandv. He dcclies it 
is an industry wh-ch cannot fail to bo comniercially 
sucoe&sful. Only ought not the words “potato brandy" 
to be ou the label of each bottle? — AimCralasian, 
BURXT KAHTH. 
As the subject of burnt earth is commauding a good 
deal of attention from gardeners at the present time, 
and we think properly so, a few words upon t}\e 
Bcientific side of the question may not be out of 
place. 
The improvement of sterile soils by burning is a 
very old practice, and was known to the Komans. 
Ihe theory of its operations has occasioned much 
tliacussion, both among scientific men, horticulturists, 
and farmers. 
It is quite evident, however, that the action of 
burning a sou iy not a merely mechanical one of 
but is decidedly chemical. 
Xfae burmug process does not answer on all clay 
sous, but It does answer on most of thorn, especiaJly 
^ u which crosses England in a 
wide babd; it answers also in Essex, Cambridge- 
aluro, Bedfordshire, and in AVorcosterahire. 
ihe operation renders the soil less compact, less 
tenacious, and retentive of moisture; and when 
^ converts a substance that was 
Stitt, damp, coiiHoqueutly cold, into one powdery, dry, 
and warm, and much more suitable as a bed for 
egetable life. A plant to grow up strongly and freely, 
must have not only good and aBundaut food, buta 
suitable and healthy abode ; it must be well fed and 
well bedded. 
• greftt objection usually made to burning hoIIb 
18, that It deatroys vegetable and animal matter, or the 
nianuro in the aoil; but in caaoa iu which tlie tex- 
ture of its eartiiy ingredients is permanently improv- 
ed, there is more than a compensation for the tem- 
porary diuadvautago. It must always understood 
that the ashes of burnt earth are best wlien tliey- 
aro blackest— that is, when produced by slow oombus 
tion. 
The burnt subatance, wtien mixed with other soil, 
makes it work more easily, renders it more friable 
and leas tenacious, and tends to make strong, thin, 
sterile clay-soils less compact, and more productive. 
The vegetable matter which was burnt is guickly 
converted into an enriching ingredient, which in some 
classes of soil may lie dormant for ages. Whenever 
there is an excess of inert vogetahle matter, the 
destruction of it by fire is most beneficial ; the ashes 
being mixed with tlie soil produce vigorous and healthy 
plants on ground which before was unproductive j 
burninjg, therefore, destroys tlie inert vegetable matter 
of a soil, and converts it into a valuable manure. 
In well and satisfactorily burnt eortli, it is esti- 
mated that about one-sixth of its weight should bo 
destroyed, the other five-sixths being liroiiglit into 
more vigorous action, and resulting in positive good. 
Ou the other hand, coarse sands, or ricli garden soil, 
whose texture is already sufficiently loose, and the 
organic nitrogen sufficiently aolnble, tlie process of 
burning must be detrimental,— J. J.W'inws, Hurpenden. 
— Oarcitners' Chronicle. 
Salt in Askiculture. — A further communi- 
cation from “B.” in regard to the use of salt in 
agriculture has been seut us for publication, Ilo 
gives us some curious information about the use of 
salt for cattle and the effect it lias upon the pro- 
duction of milk, and mentions the custom of placing 
a block of rook salt in tlie stable for cattle to lick 
This was— and probably is still— a common tiling 
upcountry in cattle-sheds, and perhaps "B." may not 
bo aware of the manufactnre of oybuders of salt on 
a metal aprindle wliich can bo hung up in convenient 
positions iu tlie sheds or out of doors. As re- 
gards the working of the ground in the Mahaoya 
valley, has “B. " ever tried thatching the ground with 
mans, grass or other vegetable litter? w’o have seen 
wonderful results from this operation iu a dry district 
upooiiutry ; whilst the rest of the estate was absolntelv 
burnt up and drooping and the surface as hard as a 
brick, the soil beneath throe or four inches of thatch 
was always moist and friable. The grass itself was 
tired into tinder and thence rose tlie danger of fire 
which was only avoided liy a liberal sprinkling of 
earth ever the thatch. If "B." will pffint out to 
Mr. Dawson how he proposes rendering the salt 
unfit for human food, it is very probable he would 
be allowed to make a trial.— Local “ Times " 
The Tallow Trek i.v Cui.na — .Mr. Jiogia the 
British Consul at W’f>nohow. iu his last report describes 
a curious vegetable product which is cultivated in 
his district. This is the tallow tree (Slilliiigia 
Bobifera, Roxb.), the fruit of which produces oil as 
well as tallow. The berries, whicli resemble coffee 
beans in appearance and size, are first steamed ami 
then pounded in an ordinary rice-trough. By pounding 
the soft mealy mesooarp is partially separated from 
the kernels. 1 lie whole is then placed iu a bamboo 
sieve tlie meshes of which are just large enough 
to allow the mealy matter to be scrubbed through 
and small enough to keep back tlie kernels which 
are hard, black, and about the size of peas' From 
the mealy matter tlie tallow is expressed in primi 
tive wooden presses To obtain oil the kernoJs 
arc dried and passed between two millatonea lieid 
at such a distance apart by means of a bamboo 
pivot as to crush the hard shells of the kernels 
without injuring the white interiors. The wliole is 
then paRsed through a winnower, which neperateu the 
broken sheila from the solid matter. The latter is 
then placed in a deep iron pan and roasted until it 
begins to assume n brownish colour, the process beine 
accompanied by continual stirring to prevent burninir 
The criwhed snelU make an excellent fuel for the 
purpose. It IS then ground by a huge stone roller 
m a circular stone well, steamed, made into circular 
cakes with bamboo and straw casings, and passed 
through the wooden press. A good lighting oil of 
a brownish-yellow colour is thus obtained. The 
al ow IS called “P'lyu "-that is, skin, pr external, 
wh— Lendgn Ttmes. ’ 
