1.Arracacha.—

The Indian Government are desirous of introducing this esculent vegetable into India. Arracacha. Esculenta is cultivated in the cooler mountainous districts of South America, where the roots form the staple diet of the inhabitants. Steps have been taken at Kew (where plants are now growing) to procure the seed, and as success in cultivation appears to depend on the method of treatment, I place on record here some particulars obligingly communicated to me by Mr. Henry Birchall, of Bogotà.

About 6,000 feet is nearly the upper level of any extensive cultivation of this plant, though it produces at points a good deal higher. It is rather difficult to obtain the seed, as from habit the peons invariably pull up the flowering plants, as they do not produce the edible root. I have several times missed getting the seed by the stupidity of the men who weeded the plantations.

As regards cultivating from seed, my own experience is nil; but my neighbours assure me that by repeated replanting of the young plants at last the roots are developed.

When this is attained the plant throws out a multitude of shoots from the crown. These being broken off are prepared by slicing the base neatly and then putting them in a hole dibbled about 5 or 6 inches deep, and require no further care than ordinary weeding, for which the rows and plants should be 3 feet apart.

"In our climate the root conies to perfection in eight to ten months, and the weight of a good specimen will be 8 to 10 lbs. No doubt if scientifically cultivated, and in properly loosened soil, much larger roots would be obtained. We do not even plough, but stick the seed in immediately after burning off the forest or the brushwood, as the ease may be. It is cheaper to take new ground page 32 then to cultivate properly the old, as we have no command of skilled labour or good apparatus."

2. Chestnut-flour.—

We are indebted to Mr. D. E. Colnaghi, H.B.M.'s Consul at Florence, for specimens of the dried chestnuts, flours, and necci (the cakes made from them), which are so important an article of subsistence in the Apennines. The collection of the specimens for Kew was due to the kindness of Dr. L. Bacci, of Castigliano, in the mountains of Pistoja.

The fresh chestnuts are dried, or rather roasted, for three days and nights in a seccatoio, or drying room, on a latticed floor covering a chamber in which a fire is lighted. The husk is then easily removable, and the kernel is ready to be ground into flour, which is of a pinkish colour. This is mixed to the consistence of cream with water, and poured on fresh chestnut leaves to be baked into small circular cakes, necci, between heated stones.

The cakes were found to contain only 6.7 per cent, of proteids, with 3.4 per cent, of flour. The large amount of dextrin is due to the high temperature to which the chestnuts are subjected in the process of drying. Professor Church thinks that chestnut-flour ought to be of easy digestibility, and a suitable children's food, considering that it contains over 40 per cent, of nutritious matters soluble in pure water.

3. Thé de Montagne.—

The Museum of the Royal Gardens is indebted to Mr. George Maw for a specimen of a product used, according to the Rev. Wentworth Webster, who procured it, as tea in the Basses Pyrenées in France, and on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Navarre. It was found to consist of the dried shoots of a species of Lithospermum, which was identified with probability as L. officinale.

1.Bamboo.—

The energy and persistence with which Mr. Routledge has advocated the claims of bamboo as a paper material have attracted much attention in India. The nature of the problem which has to be solved has been discussed in previous Kew Reports (1877, pp. 35, 36, and 1878, pp. 42 to 44), and need not be further dwelt upon. It is now generally conceded by those interested in the matter that the young bamboo shoots must be cropped so as not to impair the vitality of the clumps. Dr. King, Superintendent of the Royal Botanical Garden, Calcutta, remarks that the plan of taking a few shoots annually from each clump is the principle on which bamboos have been cut in India from time immemorial.

That without such caution the bamboo cannot be cut indefinitely, even in countries where it is merely used for local purposes, is shown by the fact that in the Government forests in India it has been found necessary to give the bamboos rest. For example, Dr. Brandis, Inspec-tor-General of Forests, states in his recent report that "in some forest tracts of the Damoh district the page 33 growth of the bamboo had been so greatly restored by four years protection against cutting that it was lately found possible, subject to certain restrictions, to reopen these blocks for the cutting of bamboos. Dr. King lays down very clearly the questions which now remain to be settled. They are whether commercial success can be obtained (1), by forming plantations of bamboos for the collection of succulent shoots; (2), by collecting the immature shoots of wild bamboos in the forests and carrying them to a paper factory; or (3), by fitting up a floating paper stock mill and moving it about on rivers by the banks of which bamboos naturally abound."

2. Broussonetia papyrifera.—

The bark of the well-known paper mulberry supplies the material from which the tappa cloth of Polynesia and the bulk of the paper of Japan and China is manufactured. The Japanese cultivate the plant very much in the same way that we grow osiers, and they use only the young shoots for the manufacture of paper. A sample of the bark which came into the hands of Mr. Routledge is stated by him to be nearly, if not quite, the best fibre I have seen." . . "I must admit it is even superior to bamboo." . . "It requires very little chemicals, and gives an excellent yield 62.5 per cent, in the grey, i.e., merely boiled, and 58 per cent bleached."

3. Esparto.—

It is evident from the mode in which this grass (Macrochloa tenacissima, also known as Alfa) is collected in Mediterranean countries that the supply must eventually materially diminish, if it does not altogether die out. It grows sporadically in strong ground under conditions which do not admit of any steps being taken for its cultivation. Mr. Routledge writes in the early part of last year:—"I have just had two large cargoes of Alfa from Tripoli, and the rapid deterioration of this comparatively new district is striking; the grass when first it was introduced was long and strong; now some of it is as fine and short as the shortest Spanish. I have a quantity varying from 6 to 10 inches only. It is the inevitable result of overcropping."

Esparto is consequently becoming relatively scarcer in the market, while its price is rising. Paper manufacturers arc therefore anxiously on the look-out for some material equal in quality to esparto and procurable with as much facility, and at as reasonable a price as esparto was when first introduced.

4. Guadua.—

The giigantic bamboos of the Old World belonging to the genera Bambusa and Dendrocalamus are represented by those belonging to Guadua in the tropics of the New World. In order to ascertain how far a supply of this kind of bamboo would be available, Mr. Routledge and some other gentlemen interested in the matter sent Mr. Thomson (late Superintendent of the Cinchona Plantations, .Jamaica) on a mission to Venezuela, to explore the bamboo forests. The species met with by Mr. Thomson appeared to be Guadua amplexifolia. He reports:—This guadua grows about the same size as Bambusa vulgaris, viz., from 50 to 60 feet in height, with culms 5-6 inches in diameter. The latter are much thicker in texture than the bamboo stems, and their fibrous tissue is much tougher, so that much more labour is required to cut them down than in the case of the bamboo. And this applies equally to the young stems, i.e., young shoots of bamboo, say 10 feet high, are easily cut with a knife, but each stem of guadua page 34 of a corresponding size and expansion requires more than one blow from a sharp axe."

The bamboo (guadua) forest over large extents of country is generally of the same age, and consequently the plants flower and die simultaneously, a circumstance which only happens after protracted intervals, but which when it does happen is succeeded for a time by an almost total disappearance of the plant. This had happened in Venezuela about the time of Mr. Thomson's expedition and Mr. Routledge informs us: "I regret to say that I do not, see much inducement to proceed with the undertaking I proposed. To do so would involve laying out regular plantations, and having regard to the uncertain political condition of the country, the difficult and dear labour, and some other drawbacks, the prospect of commercial success is not sufficiently tempting for me and my friends to embark in the undertaking."

5. Indian Forest Fibres.—

Of these fibres, No. 1 is decidedly best, possessing the characteristics of strong linen rags, i.e., of coarse flax and hemp; the raw bark is worth 7l. to 8l., possibly 9l., per ton; the bleached stock 20l. to 22l.

"No. 7 is the next best bark, worth 6l. to 7l. per ton raw. None of the others are of much value for white papers, excepting, perhaps, Nos. 5 and 9; say 5l. to 7l. for No. 5, and 5l. to 6l. for No. 9. It would, however, be necessary to make a practical working trial, that is, to make paper from all of them (excepting No. 1) before pronouncing positively as to value. No. 1 I believe fully worth what I have appraised it at."

"All of these raw barks required a very large dose of bleach to bring them to even the low colour they are. No doubt opening them out by willowing or teasing them, both before and after boiling, would materially improve them. I do not consider, with the exception of Nos. 1 and 7, it would pay to import them from India."

6. Molinia cærulea.—

The proposition of using this common British grass for the purpose of papermaking was mentioned in the Kew Report for 1878, p. 45. Mr. N. G. Richardson, of Tyaquin, county Galway, has since actively promoted its experimental cultivation in the west of Ireland. At a private meeting held at Athenry a committee was formed to raise subscriptions to plant ten Irish acres of bog with it at Tyaquin. Mr. W. Smith, of Golden Bridge Mills, had manufactured paper from this grass, with which he was so well satisfied that he was prepared to buy 1,000 tons if any one would supply him."

7. Portuguese esparto.—

A grass sent for identification by Mr. Routledge under this name was determined to be Stipa capillata. He informed us that it would make paper, but that the yield of fibre was not even equal to straw, say 33 per cent.

8. Rye-straw.—

The claims of rye-straw (Secale cereale) have been urged as a paper material by Mr. Noble. It has the prima facie merit of being a home-grown ma-terial. Mr. Noble says:—"Rye (not 'rye-grass') should be sown early in October, so as to be cut green in May and June, in time to get the land clear for turnips and other vegetables. I have found it best to sow four bushels per acre for the purpose of getting a heavier crop, stifling the weeds, which would be injurious to the purpose for which it is intended; and the thinner and longer the stems are grown the more fibre they produce."

Mr. Noble believes that rye-straw will make paper not inferior to that made from esparto, and that papermakers can afford to give a price for it which will be sufficiently remu-nerative to the farmer to grow it.

Mr. Routledge remarks upon the proposal to use it:—"It is very largely used in the States, also on the Continent. It will make a harder and firmer paper than any other cereal straw, except, perhaps, maize."

1.Agave americana.—

H.E. W. Robinson, the Governor of the Bahamas, sent to Kew for report specimens of "perpetual razor-strops," which were apparently cut from the dried flowering stem of this plant. On inquiry in London they were not found to meet with much favour. They, however, afforded a striking instance of Governor Robinson's determination not to overlook the development of any product of the colony he administered, however apparently page 36 insignificant. I may add that a razor-strop of this material imported from Peru, now many years ago, was in daily use by a member of my family for a very long period, and highly approved of.

2. Herminiera elaphroxylon.—

We are indebted to Messrs. Thomas Christy and Co. for a sample of a similar article, of which the opinion was more favourable, and which was apparently made from the wood of the "Ambash" (Herminiera elaphroxylon), the curious pith-wood of the Nile. It has the advantage of being obtainable in larger pieces than Agave stems, and can, therefore, be cut into strops with a more uniform texture. According to Colonel Grant it may be obtained in abundance. He informs me that in three years it almost choked up the channel of the Bahr-el-Gazelle," and the natives use its light logs to assist them in swimming across rivers.

1.Bunkuss.—

In the Bengal Catalogue of Indian products shown at the London Exhibition of 1862 (Section I., pp. 137, 168) mention is made of a grass known by this name, which grows in the Terai, and is used in N.W. India for making ropes. A specimen sent to Kew from Saharunpore, for identification, by Mr. Duthie, proved to be Spodiopogon angusti-folius. Mr. Duthie states that it is also known under the name of Baib grass, and he has furnished the Kew Museum with an interesting series of articles made from it, including, besides rope, shoes, door-mats, floormatting, and a lota-holder for draw-ing water from a well.

2. Curculigo latifolia.—

The Kew Museum is indebted to Mr. F. W. Burbidge (now Curator of the Trinity College Botanic Garden, Dublin) for a very complete series of specimens illustrating the manufacture of cloth in Borneo (where they were obtained by him during his travels) from a species of Curculigo, which has been identified by Mr. Baker with C. latifolia, Dry-and. The Dusan in N.W. Borneo, near Kina Balu, prepare the fibre by macerating and beating the leaves. It is woven into a very close cloth, about ten inches wide, in a loom of very simple construction, such as is used in Brittany for weaving saddle girths. A heavy wooden sword is used for driving close the woof after it is thrown by the shuttle between the threads of the warp. The strong fibrous leaves of Curculigo seychellensis are employed in the Seychelles for wrapping plugs of tobacco (Baker, Flora of Mauritius, p. 368), and this is apparently the only other known instance of the economic use of a hypoxidaceous plant.

3. Ningpo hats.—

In a Foreign Office Report on the trade of Ningpo (Commercial Reports, China, No. 7 (1878) pp. 113, 114), Mr. W. M. Cooper, H.B.M. Consul at Ningpo, referred to these hats as follows:—The export of hats woven by hand from a small species of Carex (sedge) has grown within three years to great proportions, no less than 15,000,000 having this year been exported. The plant is indigenous, and is to be found in damp spots among the hills, but that employed for the manufacture is cultivated in rice grounds. The hats are made by the women and children at their homes, and sold by them at ½d. to 2d. each. They are strong and serviceable, and are bought wholesale by the foreign merchants, who send them to London, whence, I believe, they are shipped, principally to the Southern States of America." These hats were very abundant in London last year, and we thought that specimens obtained for the Kew Museum were made of some kind of page 37 rush. Mr. Cooper, has, however, obligingly sent us a specimen of the plant actually used for the purpose, which proves to be identical with that from which China matting is made, and which Dr. Hance has determined to be Cyperus tegetiformis, Roxb. The only difference is, that in making the hats the culms are used whole, while for matting they are split into two.

1.Eagle-wood.—

The gradual extermination of this tree (AquilariaAgallo-chum) in the islands in the Mergui Archipelago was pointed out in the Kew Report for 1878, p. 36. Major Seaton reports that 200 seedlings have been procured and planted out in South Tenasserim.

2. Lin-a-Loa.—

Our attention has been drawn to a scented wood used in San Francisco in the manufacture of furniture. By the kindness of Mr. W. L. Booker, H.M.'s Consul in that city, a specimen of the wood and a box lined with it have been obtained for the Kew Museum. Mr. Booker states:—"It comes in pieces about the size of a railroad sleeper from the highlands, of Mexico, but I have been unable to ascertain what it is botanically. The wood is only used for veneering or in the manufacture of small fancy articles."

We had no difficulty in identifying Mr. Booker's specimens with a wood which already existed in the Kew Museum, and which appears to be yielded by a species of Bursera. It has indeed been known in Mexico for the last half century, and was referred to by Guibourt under the name, of Bois de Citron du Mexique [see Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society, 2nd series, Vol. X., pp. 590-593]. Further material in the shape of dried specimens, with both fruit and flowers, is much to be desired for the purpose of ascertaining definitely the tree which produces it. The name Lin-a-Loa is clearly a corruption of Lign Aloës, which has been identified with Aquilaria Agal-locha, otherwise known as Eagle-wood [Kew Report, 1878, p. 36]. This is, however, a tree confined to the Old World, and the Mexican one has no connection with it. The wood of the latter is imported into this country for manufacture into perfumery, a fragrant oil known as otto of linaloe being distilled from it.

3. Nan-mu Tree.—

Reference has already been made, in the Kew Report for 1877, p. 33, 34, to this interesting Chinese timber-tree. Through the kind intervention of E. Bradford, Esq., F.L.S., Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Mr. Arthur Davenport, H.B.M.'s Consul at Shanghai, made inquiries with a view to obtain better botanical data for its determination. He obtained the following informaton from Mr. Baber:—Two days journey southeast of Chungking, in Szechuen, I found several specinens of about a foot in diameter, one of them having a straight branchless trunk of 100 feet in height, with the branches and foliagerising 25 feet above that; anothernad 70 feet of bare straight stem, and 90 feet of total altitude. Although the trunks are branchles, yet in many cases they send out shoots resembling saplings, which rise parallel with the trunk. The wood is white and close graned, and I do not believe that the pillars at the Ming tombs near Peking are of this wood. They look more like true teak. I have seen some much larger trees than the above, some two feet and more in diameter, straight and of great altitude. They are used in Szechuen for bridge work. I alnost despair of procuring the flows, for people who have spent ther lives beneath the trees have never seen them in page 38 flower, and the young trees which the missionaries have planted in places do not flower, possibly on account of their youth. If the tree produces any noticeable flowers at all it must be on the summit, which is inaccessible."

Eventually, however, through the instrumentality of Père Vincot, who resides at Chungking, flowering specimens were transmitted to the Kew Herbarium. From these the accompanying figure has been pre-pared, and they entirely confirm the previous identification of the tree by Professor Oliver (from the leaves alone) as a near ally of Phæbe pallida (one of the Laurel family). The genus Phæbe is now merged in Persea, and Professor Oliver has described the Nan-mu under the name of Persea nan-mu, distinguishing it from Persea (Phæbe) pallida chiefly in stature, in the form of the acumen of the leaves, and the character of the indumentum."

4. Pai-cha wood.—

We are indebted to Mr. W. M. Cooper, H.B.M. Consul at Ningpo, for a block of this wood (see Kew Report, 1878, pp. 41 and 42), and a carving showing the extremely delicate work of which it admits. The wood was placed in the hands of Mr. R. J. Scott for report. He informs us:—"The most striking quality I have observed in this wood is its capacity for retaining water and the facility with which it surrenders it. This section, which represents onetenth of the original piece, weighed 3 lbs. 4½ ozs. At the end of 21 days it had lost 1 lb. 6¾ ozs. in an unheated chamber. At the end of another 14 days, in a much elevated temperature, it only lost ¼ oz. In its present state of reduced bulk, its weight is 1 lb. 10 ozs. It is not at all likely to supersede box; but it may be fit for coarser work than that for which box is necessary."

5. "Rhus Thunbergii."—

We were indebted to Mr. II. Hutton, of Albany, S. Africa, for a quantity of seed of the plant sent and distributed under this name (Kew Report, 1877, p. 20). It is, however, no species of Rhus, nor is it allied to that genus, and was supposed to be Sideroxylon argenteum (of which R. Thunbergii is a known synonym). Having some doubt about the identification, he has sent us specimens, and it is clear that the seeds distributed do not belong to Sideroxylon argenteum (Rhus Thunbergii) but to Sideroxylon inerme. Mr. Hutton writes:—It is the white milkwood of the Cape, of which I have sent the seeds, our most durable hard wood, and we are fencing extensively with it for standard poles."

Mr. Duthie reports from Saharunpore:—Seeds received from Kew last year (1878) were sown in April, and took one month to germinate; the growth since has been slow, but the plants are perfectly healthy."