CEYLON INFLUENCED EARLY TROPICAL GARDENS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

 Originally published in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ) in 1935 , updated in  1943, this   1952 reprint , a previous  owner  R.R. Bryant, of   Port  Moresby , was  a  recent   find  in the  Townsville  University Hospital  volunteer   shop  book  section .

Profusely illustrated,560pp including index , it has  the above    coloured  frontispiece , named after Lady  Amherst ,wife of a  former  Governor of Burma  ,   and was a guide  for  those going to the tropics for the first   time wishing  to  cultivate  plants  for  ornament, utility  or  commercial  purposes. 

The author was encouraged   to write the book by his  late chief,   Sir Frank A. Stockdale, the first Agricultural Adviser to the Secretary of State for the  Colonies in 1929.  Sir Frank (1883-1949) was a leading British agriculturist who served   in British Guiana, Mauritius  and Ceylon,  in the latter Director of Agriculture  from  1916 to 1929 and a member of the  Legislative Council   from  1921  to  1929. 

There are references  to Australia  in several places , the author having  received   assistance  in  preparation for the last edition from the  Australian Trade  Publicity Agents.  There is mention of  the  beautiful  Waratah ; Australian noxious weeds listed include  Cape Weed, Water Hyacinth ,  Bathurst Burr , Prickly Pear (Queensland ) , Bracken Fern. Paddy's Lucerne   Australian Daisy  and  Cockle Burr.

Dealing with garden and   estate  enemies, it says  large numbers of Flying Foxes were killed with strychnine  in Queensland  ; White Ants are another  problem  in Australia , there being a photo of a " gigantic" termite hill  , a bicycle  nearby  to  give  an  indication  of  size.