48 
The sales of opium are however said to be much less and it 
appears that in many cases the “ Medicine ” has enable opium 
smokers who wisli to desist to stop taking the drug. 
J. B. C. 
Ficus Elastica in Tonkin. 
According to Mr. JACQUET, the Head of the Agricultural depart- 
ment of Tonkin, some difficulty has been experienced in propagat- 
ing Ficus elastica in Tonkin, of the local variety when cuttings were 
made only io or 12 per cent, rooted and even then those that did 
become sturdy at first only ten * per cent, could be saved, a 
greater success was obtained however with plants from Buitenzorg 
seed received in 1902. The Tonkin strain which failed originally, 
came from Java but has been cultivated at Hanoi for 20 years, the 
leaves are smaller than those of the Buitenzorg one, and it is sug- 
gested either that it is a different plant or that the climate of Tonkin 
has altered it, more success has been obtained in propagating by 
Marcottage but the plants require a good deal of care, and labour 
in watering it seems, especially in the dry years. In Marcotting it 
was found that the ordinary ringazut round the stem was difficult to 
make and the bough was apt to be broken off by the wind, so that 
longitudinal incisions of about two centimetres and a half in length 
were made, through the bark, a small clawed gouge was made which 
made four cuts at a time and saved time. 
Somewhat elaborate plantations of the ficus are made for 
supplying marcots exclusively. 
(Bulletin Economique, Hanoi, Nov., 1906). 
Sanseviera in East Africa. 
An article by Mr. RICHARD SoRGE in the journal of Tropical 
Agriculture November 30th, 1906, on the exploitation of Sanseviera 
in East Africa possesses some interest, and extracts from it may be of 
some use to our readers. The Afro-American Company has A 1 
Voi on the Uganda Railway a large concession of land at a height 
of about 1,800 feet altitude where the Sansevieras, S. Ehrenbergi and 
S. cylindrica are abundant. 
These plants grow in ‘rich soil characterised by the presence of 
Euphorbias and Acacias. These plants stand shade and orow 
without any care among the bushes. The exploitation is effected in 
this way. Each cooly brings to the factory 1,200 leaves a day in 
bundles of fifty which are conveyed in carts to the factory. Women 
and children cut the leaves in two lengthways. They are then treated 
by a machine and washed in water to remove the green colour of the 
plant which lowers the value 65 or 75 francs a ton. The fibre is 
dried in the sun, combed out with a rotary brush and pressed into 
