Subtropical cultivations and climates : a handy book for planters, colonists and settlers

Preface

THOUGH much has been written upon the agriculture and produce of the tropics, there is, I believe, no work published in England which deals exclusively with the economic plants of the subtropical and warm-temperate zones. The want of information on the subject has prevented settlers in our subtropical colonies from taking up new cultivations worthy of their careful consideration. The object of this book is to call attention to some of the lesser-known agricultural industries of subtropical regions, which are sources of wealth to the inhabitants, but which are almost unknown to the ordinary class of settlers in our Australian and other colonies.

The present Colonial Exhibition shows what wonderful agricultural resources our colonies possess, and to what perfection many of the industries mentioned in the following pages are carried. These industries are, as a rule, still in their infancy, and may be indefinitely extended. The general tendency of English colonists is to adopt the same branches of agriculture which they

VI

PREFACE.

followed in England, and to neglect others which are better adapted for our warmer colonies. In any case, many of the cultivations described in the present volume are well suited for increasing the profits of a colonial farm.

Considerable pains have been taken to point out the climate required by the different plants, and to indicate the approximate degree of temperature which each plant requires. Without some such guide a work of this kind might be misleading, by inducing farmers and horticulturists to attempt cultivations for which they might not have the necessary climate. The subtropical and warm-temperate zones have such a range of climate that strict attention to temperature is absolutely necessary for success. The present volume does not profess to be a complete guide to this ; but it supplies information difficult to procure, which, in the hands of an intelligent man, should enable him to draw his own conclusions about suitable “new products” adapted for the temperature, soil, and climate of the country in which he dwells.

While in the colonies, I saw that information on these points was much required. I will give three instances tea, cinchona, and esparto-grass. The first two of these plants are properly tropical products. That tea will grow in many of our temperate colonies is too well known to require comment ; but, as a cultivated plant, tea would ruin any man who attempted to open a teagarden without abundance of cheap labour, the daily wages of a coolie on the tea estates of Ceylon being from fourpence to eightpence a-day. Were we to judge of the suitability of a country for cinchona cultivation

PREFACE.

vii

by the mean annual temperature alone, many places in our Australasian colonies, such as Mongonui, New Zealand, would seem adapted for this delicate tree. But if we look further and examine the mean temperatures for the different months, we should see a wide difference. The variation between the means of the warmest and coldest months at Mongonui is — January 68°. 3 and July 53°9, a difference of I4°4; whereas, in the cinchona district of Dimbula, Ceylon, the difference is but 30. 70, between 68°.20, the mean of April, and 64°. 50, the mean of July. Besides which, we must remember that cinchona, which thrives in the clear rarefied air, bright sunshine, and occasional mists of tropical mountains, where the climate is unusually equable, is unable to bear alternations of seasons the temperatures of which are either too hot or too cold, and conditions of air and light so very different from those of its native forests. Esparto-grass requires to grow for twelve or fifteen years before it is fit to cut, and the enormous resources of North Africa will supply the world with this article for many years to come. These illustrations will show why I do not mention some plants which may at first seem to be omissions. The size of the book might have been considerably increased — other plants might have been mentioned which contribute to the welfare of man in different parts of the world ; but the object was not to write a large book, but a small one, the price of which would be within the means of colonial settlers and emigrants.

It is hardly necessary to mention that a great part of this book is compiled from many sources. Some of

Vlll

PREFACE.

these works are expensive, and chiefly devoted to subjects very remote from agriculture; consequently they are not likely to form part of the library of colonial farmers, who have seldom the opportunity or time to consult them in public libraries. A list of the principal works from which information has been derived is appended.

It is to be hoped that the statistics of temperature may prove of use to more people than horticulturists. They may be of service to medical men and invalids who desire information about warmei climates than England for winter quarters or for residence. Emigrants will find them of use in forming an idea of the climate they will experience in their new home. The general reader may also find them interesting. In collecting these temperatures I have received the greatest kindness and assistance from Mr R. H. Scott, Secietaiy of the Meteorological Office, to whom I am under great obligations.

That this book may be of service to residents in our subtropical colonies, that it may afford useful information to persons who contemplate emigrating to these regions, and that it may help to develop the resources of our colonial possessions, is, I need hardly say, my most sincere wish.

Introduction

PAGE

I. CLIMATE, ....... I

II. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, . . .12

III. ACCLIMATISATION OF PLANTS, . . . .21

FRUITS.

SWEET ORANGE, ..... .34

BITTER OR SEVILLE ORANGE, . . . 30

BERGAMOT ORANGE, ...... 33 lime, 55

citron, . 56

POMELOE OR SHADDOCK, • • . . . 58

KUMQUAT, S9

DATE-PALM,

FIG’

JUJUBE>

PISTACHIO,

POMEGRANATE, . .

THE GRAPE-VINE, ...... 7n

X

CONTENTS,

ALIMENTARY PLANTS.

ARROWROOT AND STARCH, ...... 91

BANDAKAI OR OKRO, ...... 95

CHICK-PEA OR GRAM, ...... 99

CIIUFA OR EARTH-ALMOND, ..... IOO

COFFEE, ........ IOI

LUPINE, ”8

TRUE MILLET, ....... I24

ITALIAN MILLET, . . . - • I25

EGYPTIAN MILLET, . . • • • I25

SUGAR SORGHUM, . . • • • .126

SWEET-POTATO, . • • • • • • I33

CONDIMENTS.

CAPSICUM, J49

FENUGREEK, . . • • • • • I5I

VEGETABLE WAX AND TALLOW.

CANDLEBERRY MYRTLE, . . • • " *

CHINESE TALLOW-TREE, . . • • • • IS§

JAPAN VEGETABLE WAX, . . • • " . l6o

THE LACQUER-TREE, . . • • ' . 162

OIL-PLANTS.

. 163

CAMELINA SATIVA, ...•••

. 164

GROUND OR PEA NUT, .

CONTENTS xi

MADTA SATIVA, . . . . . , 173

RAPE OR COLZA, .... ... 184

SESAME OR GINGELLY, . . . . . 1 86

FIBRES.

WHITE MULBERRY AND SILK, ..... 2I3

DRUGS.

fennel, 235

PEPPERMINT, 243

POPPY> 24S

TANNING MATERIALS, Etc.

sumach, 273

BLACK WATTLE, ....... 275

CORK-OAK, ...... 2yg

WILLOW OR OSIERS, ...... 282

Xll

CONTENTS.

DYE- PLANTS.

SAFFLOWER, 292

LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS WHICH HAVE SUPPLIED INFOR- MATION FOR THE PRESENT VOLUME, . • • 294

Appendix

TABLES OF MEAN TEMPERATURES, .... 297

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SUBTROPICAL CULTIVATIONS AND CLIMATES.

INTRODUCTION.

I. — Climate.

The northern hemisphere is divided from the southern by an imaginary line, called the equator, which encircles the earth half-way between the poles. On either side of the equator? at a distance of 23^4°, or 1410 geographical miles, are two parallel lines known as tropics- — the northern one called the Tropic of Cancer, and the southern one the Tropic of Capricorn. The space between the tropics is the torrid zone. The tropics mark the turning-points of the sun in the ecliptic. The sun being always vertical in some part or other of this space, has more power than in regions farther to the north or south, where its rays strike more obliquely, and consequently with less power — a vertical beam having to pass through less of the dense lower atmosphere than an inclined beam.

The distance from the equator to either pole is divided into ninety degrees of latitude — a degree containing sixty geographical or nautical miles, and sixty-nine and a half statute or common miles. Latitude, therefore, denotes distance north or south of the equator.

A

INTRODUCTION.

Had the surface of the earth consisted of water alone, or only of land of even altitude, the temperature of a country would have been accurately indicated by its latitude. But this not being the case, we find a number of circumstances existing by which the effect of latitude on temperature is modified and altered ; and we are obliged to consider many natural causes, some of which are extremely complex and difficult to understand, before we can arrive at any definite conclusions. Nevertheless climate depends mainly upon latitude, as this indicates the obliquity of the solar rays and the distance from the equator, where the greatest mean temperature is found. Though the highest mean temperature for the year is found at the equator, the maximum readings of the thermometer are not obtained in the torrid zone, but at about the thirtieth parallels of latitude during the summer.

Altitude.

The influence of latitude is modified by altitude above the sea-level. In rising above the surface of the earth, we leave a warm body behind us and approach the colder regions of space. As the greater part of the sun’s heat reaches the earth, little being absorbed by the atmosphere through which it passes, it follows that the air in immediate contact with the surface of the earth becomes more heated than the upper expanse of atmosphere. The greater the elevation, the less is the atmospheric pressure — consequently the particles of air aie not so closely compressed together ; but to keep them apart a considerable amount of heat becomes latent, and its effect is therefoie not felt.1 Every three hundred feet of altitude may be roughly calculated to reduce the temperature by i° F. from what it was at sea-level ; hence the changes of temperature experienced in ascending a high mountain. In ascending a mountain, or receding from the equator towards the poles, we meet a gradually decreasing temperature, and in both cases at length arrive at regions of perpetual snow. Humboldt stated that an elevation

1 Buchan, Handy Book of Meteorology, pp. 127, 128, second edition.

CLIMATE.

of from 256 to 278 feet produces the same effect on the temperature as if one had retired one degree of latitude from the equator. He found that on the east coast of North America, from Labrador to Boston, the mean temperature increases i°.58 F. for each degree of latitude one goes south; and proceeding towards the tropics, the temperature increased for each degree of latitude as follows

From Boston (42° 20' N. lat.) to Charleston (320 43' N. lat.) i°.7i F.

From Charleston (32° 43' N. lat.) to Cuba (230 10' N. lat.) 1°. 19 F.

From Havana (23° 10' N. lat.) to Cumana (io° 23' N. lat.) o°.36 F.

Proportion of Land to Water.

The extent of the respective surfaces of land and water have a marked effect upon climate. Land has the power of absorbing heat, which is partly conducted down into the soil and partly radiated into the atmosphere. Water absorbs heat more readily than land, but radiates it more slowly, often conveying it to great distances, as in the case of the Gulf Stream, which absorbs its heat in the Gulf of Mexico and radiates it on the British coast. The sea is thus a reservoir for heat ; and from this cause islands have milder and more equable climates than continents, where the extremes of heat and cold are greater. For the same reason, owing to the greater surface of sea than land, the southern hemisphere possesses a milder and more insular climate than the northern. The proportion of land and water in the two hemispheres is about : —

Northern hemisphere,

Land,

38,000,000 square miles.