PIPERACE.

CHAVICA BETLE, Miq. (= Piper Betle, Linn.).

This affords the celebrated Betle leaves, so extensively employed as a masticatory in the East. Ainslie says that the warm juice of the leaves is prescribed by the native doctors as a febrifuge, in the quantity of a small spoonful twice daily.

PIPER NIGRUM, Linn.

Black pepper has long been known to possess febrifuge powers: an infusion of it in some kind of spirit is a popular remedy for preventing the return of the paroxysms in intermittent fevers. The root, however, is the part used by the native doctors in India, and is administered in the form of a decoction. Piperin, one of the constituents of pepper, has been said to be a more certain and speedy febrifuge than the chinchona alkaloids, but O'Shaughnessy says that after repeated and careful trials he found it was not of the least utility. The Tamul name of the plant is "Shuvium.”

ZINGIBERACEÆ.

CURCUMA LONga, Linn.

The uses of the various kinds of Turmeric for dyeing purposes and as a condiment, particularly for the preparation of curry-powder, are well known, both in this country and to the natives of India; but the latter consider that it also possesses medicinal virtues, and give it as a stimulant and tonic in intermittent fever and some other diseases. European practitioners at one time regarded it as useful in jaundice.

LILIACEÆ.

ALLIUM SATIVUM, Linn.

Ainslie says that the Hindus express a stimulating oil from common garlic, which they prescribe internally in ague to prevent the recurrence of the paroxysms, and use externally in paralytic and rheumatic affections. Garlic is called “Vullay poondoo" in Tamul; "Lassun " in Hindostanee; and "Lasuna " in Sanscrit.

ORONTIACEÆ.

ACORUS CALAMus, Linn.

The rhizomes of the common Sweet-Flag are well known in some parts of England as a cure for ague, and the natives of the East are well aware

of their virtues in this respect. Indian practitioners also reckon it valuable in the "indigestions, stomach-aches, and bowel affections of children," so much so, indeed, that, according to Ainslie, "there is a penalty incurred by any druggist who will not open his door in the middle of the night and sell it if demanded." The Bengalese call it "Shwet buch; the Cinghalese, "Wadakaha ;" and the Hindus, " Bach.”

POTHOS SCANDENS, Linn.

The native practitioners use this plant in putrid fevers. It is an epiphyte with slender rooting stems adhering to the branches of trees like ivy, and has entire, lanceolate, smooth, coriaceous leaves, tapering upwards to a point and blunt and rounded at the base, where they are articulated with the winged stalk.

GRAMINACEÆ.

ANDROPOGON MURICATUS, Retz.

The fragrant aromatic roots of this grass, called Cuscus or Vetivert, are only employed for perfumery purposes in this country, but in India they are well known as the material of which window and door screens are made, and the native doctors, moreover, consider them to possess medicinal virtues, prescribing an infusion of them as a diaphoretic and gentle stimulant in some kinds of fever. "Vittie" is the Tamul name of the plant, and "Vayr" in the same language signifies root, and, by combining and corrupting these, Europeans have formed the word Vetivert ; while its other European name, Cuscus, is derived from the Persian "Khus-Khus." In Hindustanee it is called "Useer;" and in Sanscrit "Viratara.”

ANDROPOGON IWARANCUSA, Roxb.

The natives administer an infusion of the roots of this grass, combined with pepper, in fevers, of both the continued and intermittent kind. It has a bitter, warm, pungent taste, and fragrant odour. The specific name is derived from the Bengalee and Hindustanee, which is variously spelt ‘Ibharankusha,” “Iwarankusha,” “Kurankusha,” or “Iwarancussa.”

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ANDROPOGON CALAMUS-AROMATICUS, Royle.

According to Royle, this is the káλaμos ȧpaμarikós of the ancient Greeks, and the Sweet-cane or Calamus of the Bible. When chewed it has a strong taste of ginger, whence it is commonly called Ginger-grass. The native doctors give an infusion of it as a stomachic and febrifuge; and they also prepare from it a very fragrant aromatic oil, which they esteem very highly as a liniment in chronic rheumatism. This is sent to this country as grass-oil, or ginger-grass oil, and is sold by our perfumers as oil of geranium or spikenard.

APPENDIX D.

REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHONAS IN SOUTHERN INDIA. BY WILLIAM G. McIVOR, ESQ., SUPERINTENDENT CHINCHONA - CULTIVATION IN THE NEILGHERRY

OF
HILLS.

Rearing Seeds-THE first sowing of imported seeds took place in the beginning of February 1860. No certain data being given for the treatment of Chinchona-seeds, our first operations were necessarily experimental, and a good number of seeds were lost by being sown in too retentive a soil, and supplied with what, to Chinchona-seeds, proved to be an excess of moisture; the greatest success we obtained in our first attempts was with the use of a soil composed almost entirely of burned earth, and of this sowing nearly sixty per cent. germinated, the temperature of the earth being about 70°. The number of days required before germination took place in the several sowings varied from sixty-two to sixty-eight. The seedlings made but little progress for the first six weeks, but after that time they sprung into rapid growth, averaging from 1 to 2 inches per

mensem.

Seeds of the valuable Chinchona Condaminea, received on the 16th February 1862, were sown on the same day in a very light open soil composed of a beautifully open sort of sand, with a very small admixture of leaf-mould. Our experience with the first seeds having established beyond all doubt that the Chinchonas are very impatient of any excess of moisture, particular care was taken in the preparation of the soil used in this sowing. The earth was in the first instance exposed to the sun for two or three days and thoroughly dried, it was then heated to about 212° in order to destroy all grubs or larva of insects; after being allowed to cool, it was brought into the potting-shed and watered sufficiently to make it moist, but only to that degree of moisture that the particles of soil would not adhere together on being pressed firmly with the hand, that is, the earth on being laid down was sufficiently dry to break and fall into its usual form. With the soil in this state the pots were filled, the surface lightly pressed down, and the seeds sown thereon, being lightly covered with a sprinkling of sand. The pots were then placed on a slight bottom heat of about 72°. These were never watered in the strict sense of the word; when the surface got dry they were slightly sprinkled with a fine syringe just sufficient to damp the surface, but never to penetrate the soil. Under this treatment

the seeds began to germinate very vigorously on the sixteenth day after sowing, and now, 17th March 1862, or twenty-nine days after sowing, upwards of sixty per cent. of the whole of the perfect seeds sown have germinated, and we may fairly hope to rear over ninety per cent. of this sowing. I may, however, observe that these seeds possessed the great advantage of being forwarded to India in a letter, and thus they were never subjected to the damaging effects produced on seeds sent out in air-tight parcels. The reason of this is the want of a circulation of air through the packets, and a consequent deposit of moisture on the interior of the outer covering by every increase and decrease of temperature on the voyage. As soon as the seeds germinate they are carefully pricked out into fresh pots (the soil being prepared as before described for the seeds). This must of course be done with very great care, the radicle being carefully covered with soil, while the seed and cotyledons are kept above the surface. In this way about twenty-five seedlings are transplanted into a four-inch pot, and treated in every respect the same as the seeds; that is, they are never watered, the soil being merely sprinkled as before stated to keep it in that medium state of moisture in which it was first put into the pots. This prevents the damping off of the seedlings, to which they are very liable when treated otherwise; it also greatly facilitates their growth and the formation of roots, the soil being so perfectly open that it is readily affected by the atmosphere, and thus kept in the most favourable condition for promoting vegetation. When treated in this way our seedlings have made an average growth in ten months of over eighteen inches, the growth being much more rapid towards the end of the ten months than in the earlier stages.

Propagation.-As soon as the seedlings and imported plants attained sufficient size, they were propagated by being layered; in this way it was found that they rooted readily in about six weeks or two months, and threw out shoots from every bud; and not only this, but many latent buds were developed, and a fine growth of young wood produced for succeeding layers and cuttings. The principle of layering, being so well known to English gardeners, requires no detail; but in the Chinchona-plants it was found that the layers were very liable to bleed, and this not only weakened the plants but retarded the formation of roots; this we found to be remedied in a great degree by inserting in the cut a triangular piece of perfectly dry broken porous brick. An abundance of young wood being produced, we proceeded to propagate by cuttings, the earth being prepared with great care, the same as for the seeds, with the exception of not being heated. The ends of the cuttings are placed upon pieces of perfectly dry porous brick, around the sides of the pots. They are then placed on a bottom heat of 75° or 80°; and, with this treatment, young and tender wood roots in about three weeks or one month, older wood in about six weeks to two months. With cuttings of the young wood our loss has not exceeded two per cent., and with older wood about ten per cent.

Our object being to produce the largest number of plants in the shortest

possible space of time, it was found that cuttings and layers required more wood than could be conveniently spared, and it was resolved to try the propagation by buds; in this respect the success has been most satisfactory. The secret of success entirely lies in the amount of moisture given; if in excess, they rot immediately, but, if sufficient care is exercised in reference to moisture, the losses will not exceed three or four per cent. Six C. Calisaya buds put in on the 30th January all rooted in forty-one days. It may be observed that it is not necessary that a leaf should be attached to the bud: this is no doubt an advantage, although we have struck many buds of the red bark without leaves, and also a few of the Calisayas.

It ought to be explained that the reason why the earth is brought to a medium state of moisture before being put into the pots is because it is never afterwards watered to such an extent as to render it really wet, being in fact just kept in that state of moisture in which it was originally placed in the pots, and this uniform and medium state of moisture is more easily retained by the pots being plunged in beds of earth. The reason why we found this system necessary was, that, when the soil was watered in the usual way after the seedlings or cuttings were placed in it, it was found, from its expansion and adhesion by the action of the water, that its particles were forced far too close together to be beneficial to the growth of the plants, and in many instances this proved to be injurious, vastly retarding their growth.

In the nurseries in the open air the same principle of cultivation and propagation as that described above has been adopted, and, with reference to the condition of the plants and layers, with nearly equal success, the period of rooting of the layers being from two months to ten weeks, while cuttings take from two to three months, the average loss being about fifteen per cent. this occurs from the impossibility, in the open air, of keeping a uniform state of the atmosphere around the cuttings. With layers this is not so important, as they root quite as surely (though slower) as in the propagating-houses, and flourish equally well.

Formation of Plantations.-The mode of cultivation of these plants likely to prove the most advantageous being uncertain, it was resolved in May and June of 1861 to place out a number of plants under different conditions of shade, exposure, &c., and the result has been that the plants placed without the protection of living shade have made the most satisfactory progress, and borne the dry season without the least injury. The plants placed under living shade were found to be damaged in some degree during the rains by the incessant drip, but on the weather clearing up they threw out new leaves and quickly recovered. Nine months after planting, or at the end of our dry season, these plants were found to be suffering considerably from the drought; and on taking a few of them up, it was found that the holes in which these Chinchonas were planted had become entirely filled by the fibres of the roots of the living trees in their neighbourhood, which had drawn up the whole of the moisture and nourishment from the soil in which the Chinchona-plants were placed. In putting the