October 4, 18SS. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
321 
ing. To remedy it I left ventilation on during the night, kept the 
pipes just warm, and discontinued damping in the morning, which f 
found was the best course to adopt. I have never found other Grapes 
scald if ventilation is attended to early in the morning, and think it 
would be gross carelessness if Black Hamburghs or other Grapes were 
allowed to scald.— T. Slade. 
THE MADRAS AGRI-HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
In the course of the annual report issued by the above, the follow¬ 
ing notes occur on tropical plants introduced or cultivated in the Madras 
presidency through the influence of the Society : — 
Economic Plants. The grievous depression amongst the planting 
community of Southern India mentioned last year unhappily still con¬ 
tinues and paralyses private enterprise in the direction of new intro¬ 
ductions. The stock of such plants is, however, still kept up in the 
Society’s nurseries in hopes of better times reviving the demand. Num¬ 
bers of Maragogipe Coffee, Erythroxylon Coca, Lance Wood, Mahogany, 
Landolphia, Trincomallee Wood, Edible Prickly Pear, and other useful 
plants are still available. 
Chocolate. —The large tree of Theobroma Cacao, under the shade 
of the Coconut Palms, succumbed to the drought, but another plant a 
year or two younger growing near it not only survived, but seemed not 
to suffer. The old plant was isolated in the grass, so had no protec¬ 
tion but the shade overhead, and got only such water as was given to 
it directly by hand ; while the survivor is in the new border closely 
surrounded, sheltered, and shaded by the Coconut Palms and the young 
trees and shrubs in the border, and got the full benefit of the periodical 
floodings of the border. The Honorary Secretary is still of opinion 
that the cultivation of Cocoa might very possibly be successful in 
Madras if the cultivators would take the same trouble as the growers 
of the Betel Leaf do in Bengal, to shade, shelter, and irrigate their 
crop. 
Rubber Plants. —The Landolphia plant successfully ripened its 
crop of fruit, and from the seeds Mr. Gleeson raised about eighty plants, 
which were in due course placed at the disposal of Government for 
further experiment. Orders have been issued to various officers to take 
over the plants and try them in climates and situations which are ex¬ 
pected to be favourable to their growth and development. The Castilloa 
elastica plants still thrive. 
Bread Fruit. —A batch of root-cuttings of the tree which bears 
the seedless Bread Fruit was obtained through the kind offices of Mr. 
Logan, the Collector of Malabar, and the Superintendent hopes to raise 
from them a few good plants. A large rooted plant was also obtained 
by Mr. Robinson, the Chief Engineer of the Madras Railway, from the 
western coast, presented to the Society, and planted at once in the 
Coconut tope where it is showing great promise. Three other fine plants 
are thriving, planted out in the gardens, two having been presented by 
Mr. Lovery, and one being the survivor of a number received from Dr. 
Trimen, Ceylon. In view of Mr. Lovery’s success in growing and fruit¬ 
ing the tree, and of the healthy and vigorous appearance of the young 
trees in the gardens, the Committee sees no reason why this tree, such a 
safeguard from famine as it might be, should not be found growing by 
the side of the channel of every irrigation well in Madras. The Com¬ 
mittee is informed that Mr. Lovery has interested several of the wealthy 
Brahmins living in and about Mylapore in the subject, the produce of 
the tree being specially suited to the needs of their community. The 
Society is of course willing, and anxious, to do its best to obtain plants 
from Ceylon or the western coast, for everyone who is prepared to pay 
the cost, which should not come to more for each plant than that of a 
young grafted Mango. 
Tree Tomato. —The Committee still hears frequently from the 
hills of the great success of its introduction, thanks to Mr. Morris of 
Jamaica, of Cyphomandra betacea. Unfortunately the plant will not 
grow on the plains, but in the cooler climates of Southern India it is an 
unqualified success, and its popularity continues to increase. Happily 
its fecundity is so great that the Society has no difficulty in complying 
with demands for seed by applying to some of its correspondents in 
more favoured localities. 
Prickly Pear.—A few inquiries have been made during the year 
for plants of the Edible Opuntias introduced from Cyprus and Malta, 
but no report has yet been received of their success. In the Society’s 
Gardens plants of both are well established and growing freely, but 
have not yet fruited or even produced perfect flowers by which they 
could be identified. The Society's collection of Cacfacem has been 
greatly enlarged by gifts from Poona, Calcutta, and elsewhere during 
the year, and it is hoped that progress may shortly be made in naming 
them all correctly ; but, with the exception of the naturalised species, 
and two or three others, plants of this order do not appear to flower 
freely in the climate of Madras. 
Carludovica palmata.— In August, 18S7, three plants of this 
Palm were received in a Wardian case from Dr. Henry Trimen, Director, 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. Two of them unfortunately died, but 
the third promises to grow well, and is now five or six times as large as 
they were when they arrived. The following interesting account of 
the plant and its uses is extracted from the “ Treasury of Botany”:—■ 
“ Common in shady places all over Panama and along the coast of New 
Grenada and Ecuador. Its leaves are shaped and plaited like a fan, 
and arc borne on three-cornered stalks from 6 to II feet high ; they are 
about 4 feet in diameter and deeply cut into four or five divisions, each 
of which is again cut. The Panama hats commonly worn in America, 
and now becoming common in this country, are manufactured from 
these leaves. Those of the best quality are plaited from a single leaf 
without any joinings, and, as the process sometimes occupies two or 
three months, their price is very high, a single hat often costing- 
150 dollars, and cigar cases of the same material £6 each. The leaves- 
are cut whilst young, and the stiff parallel veins removed, after whiclu 
they are slit into shreds, but not separated at the stalk end, and im¬ 
mersed in boiling water for a short time, and then bleached in the sun.”' 
Paritium elatum (The Mountain Mahoc). - Seeds of this plant: 
were received from Kew on 19th July, 1884, from which a few plants- 
have been raised. Two of them have been planted in the border in the 
Coconut Tope where one of them is very promising, being now about 
23 feet 9 inches high, and 9 inches in girth, at 3 feet from the grounds 
It is stated that this plant “ affords the beautiful lace-like inner bark 
called Cuba bast, at one time only known as a material used for tying- 
round bundles of genuine Havannah cigars, but afterwards imported,, 
particularly during the Russian War, as a substitute for the Russia bast 
used by gardeners for tying up plants ; it is now largely substituted by- 
other materials. The tree, which is found only in Cuba and Jamaica,, 
grows 50 or 60 feet high, and yields a peculiar greenish-blue timber,, 
highly valued by the Jamaica cabinet-makers.” 
Moringa.— A species of this tree, M. pterygosperma, ffaertn., is well! 
known to Anglo Indians as the producer of the “Horse Radish” used) 
on the plains, and less generally as the supplier of the main constituent 
of “ Drumstick curry.” There is another representative of the family 
with finer and more beautiful foliage in the gardens, where it has stood 
a solitary specimen for many years without flowering. Interest was; 
excited in the subject by “The Kew Bulletin,” which, in its first num¬ 
ber mentioned another species which produced a tuberous root, reported 
to grow, and be valued as food by the Arabs in the Desert. The Honorary- 
Secretary wrote to the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, on the sub¬ 
ject, who kindly sent the Society, in May last, three roots which he; 
described as “ in the resting stage.” From the account given of this- 
plant it would probably be a very valuable introduction. 
Inga dulcis. —As usual the Society has sent on application to- 
Ceylon, Penang, and all parts of India, particularly the north, large; 
quantities of this invaluable and most versatile tree. It is probably the; 
most universally cultivated tree in Madras, being as general for hedging- 
and nearly as good as the Hawthorn in England. It bears any amount, 
of clipping and chopping, or worse, nibbling by sheep and goats, and : 
gnawing by horses and cattle. If attended to it forms an impassable- 
fence, if neglected grows into a noble “ Bullfinch.” It sows itself and 
grows on all waste land, and that even with its roots in salt or brackish* 
water. Single or surviving hedge plants grow into grand timber trees.. 
The timber is used by the husbandman for cart building; the wood is; 
specially appreciated by the brickmaker ; the leaves and twigs furnish 
a never failing forage for the poverty stricken feeder of milch goats p 
birds, beasts, and boys scramble for the plump arillus which encases its- 
seeds ; and in the hot weather while the grass is too dry to be eatable,, 
the hungry cattle eagerly devour the tough outer pods. 
Casuarina muricata. —Experiments and inquiries are now on.; 
foot to ascertain and bring to notice the value of this tree as a producer- 
of timber useful for building purposes, pavement, and other economic- 
uses, as it seems positively wicked to chop up trees 100 feet high,., 
straight as a dart, and girthing at breast height 5 or 6 feet, for fuel,, 
which is practically the sole use to which they are now put. Mr. Chis¬ 
holm, the late Consulting Architect to Government, has spoken very 
highly of the timber for building purposes ; and Mr. Thorswgood, the 
Engineer of the Madras Harbour Works, is now making experiments 
with it for the pavement of level-crossings over the Beach Railway, 
Mr. Thorowgood’s experiments are yet in their infancy, but it is believed, 
that the traffic will prevent the white ants, the bane of woodwork in- 
the tropics, from doing much mischief, and that the cement in which-, 
the blocks are set will prevent warping, to which this wood, being- 
immature, is specially liable. Should the trial be a success, it may be- 
expected to revolutionise the dusty thoroughfares of Madras. 
On 29th April, 1879, papers were read before the Institute of Civil' 
Engineers which, amongst other facts, demonstrated that hard tough; 
wood should be selected to creosote, creosoted beech pavement on- 
Sunderland Bridge having worn less in fourteen years than granite sets- 
in four years ; that it is an absolute necessity for wood pavement that 
it should have a thoroughly good concrete foundation, and that the- 
cost of maintaining wood pavement to get seven years’ life from it is- 
one-eight-h, and of scavenging one-sixth of Macadam. With such facts.- 
before us there can be no doubt of the advanta.es of wood pavement 
generally, and there appears to be every probability that Casuarina. 
timber will, on fair trial, be ascertained to be specially well suited for- 
the purpose. The planting of the tree on a large scale has been practised; 
for so short a time, and the wood has been so much used in an unmatured 
state for fuel, that comparatively little mature timber has been handled,, 
but in hardness, toughness, density, and specific gravity it is almost 
unrivalled. Hard wood is scarce and costly in Europe, and if it should 
appear on experience that Casuarina wood is equal to or better than 
other woods in use, Madras has in her hands a source of almost 
incalculable wealth. 
Another reason why experiments which may lead to the retention of 
growing trees till they reach something like mature age should be pressed 
and encouraged, is that the price of Casuarina wood for fuel has fallen 
during the last fifteen months nearly 30 per cent. ; large plantations in 
the market can find no purchasers, and petty owners are grubbing up- 
their young trees to realise before the price falls still lower without 
