148 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Sept. i, 1886. 



the grease previous to the application of benzine by 

 means of a warm iron laid ou a piece of thick blotting 

 paper which has been placed over the spot. To remove 

 f'rease or oil from white linen or cotton goods use 

 soap or weak lye. From coloured goods warm soa|)- 

 ■suds. From woollens soapsuds or ammonia. From silks 

 benaine, ether, ammonia, magnesia, chalk, yolk of og'>', 

 with water. From a carpet, upon the grease stain lay 

 a little damp Fullers earth, and after standing for 

 some time, rub it gently into the carpet, and then wash 

 off by using a little carbonate of ammonia, and the 

 colour will be restored. For all kinds of fabrics chloro- 

 form is best, but must be carefully used. Stains of 

 paint or varnish, after being softened with olive oil, 

 may generally be removed by the same means as or- 

 dinary grease. Saturate the spots with a solution of 

 equal parts of turpentine and spirits of ammonia ; wash 

 out with strong soapsuds. 



" Marian."— To Clean Kid Boots.— In the first place 

 the boots should be thoroughly cleansed from dust and 

 dirt, and this is best done with a sponge and railk, 

 than rubbing with a clean cloth. As long as the boots 

 are tolerably new, this is all that is required. After- 

 wards mix a little oil and ink, and keep this well 

 rubbed in when necessary. They should be done long 

 before they are wanted to be worn, ami they should 

 be carefully kept from the dust. It is far better to 

 do them yourself ; they will last twice as long. 



HOUSEHOLD HINTS. 



Oil of lavender will drive away flies. 



Grained wood should be washed witli cold tea. 



Copperas mixed with the whitewash put upon the 

 cellar walls will keep vermin away. 



Ceilings that have been smoked by a kerosene lamp 

 should be washed off with soda water. 



Drain pipes and all places that are sour or impure 

 may be cleansed with lime water or carbolic acid. 



Strong brine may be used to advantage in washing 

 bedsteads. Hot alum water is also good for this 

 purpose. 



The warmth of floors is greatly increased by hav- 

 ing carpet lining or layers of paper under the carpet. 



Cayeime pepper blown into the cracks where ants 

 congregate will drive them away. The same remedy 

 is also good for mice. 



If gilt frames, when new, are covered with a coat 

 of white varnish, all specks can then be washed off 

 with water without harm. 



If a little salad oil is mixed with mustard for the 

 table, it is greatly improved. 



Moth-infested articles should be saturated in naphtha 

 or benzine. It injures nothing and kills the des- 

 troyer. 



It soothes a feverish patient to bathe him with 

 warm water, in which a little saleratus has been 

 dissolved. — Australasian, 



-♦- 



DE. TEIMEN'S LECTUEE ON THE VEGET- 

 ATION OF CEYLON. 



LoxDON, 2nd July 1880. 

 After all, I was i^resent fit the delivery, last 

 Saturday, of Dr. Trimen's lecture ou the veget- 

 ation of Ceylon in the conference hall at the Col- 

 indian Exhibition. The attendance was not large, 

 and unfortunately, owing to the defective acoustic 

 properties of the room and the voice of the lecturer 

 being pitched too low, a great part of the interest- 

 ing paper was lost to the audience. However, Dr. 

 Trimen has kindly sent me the paper to look over, 

 so I am able to summarize its contents. Before 

 proceeding to do so, however, I may mention that 

 the chair was occupied by our former Governor 

 Sir Wm. Gregory, who was supported on the plat- 

 form by Mr. Geo. Vane, c. m. a. (whom I was glad to 

 see looking as young and active as ever) and Mr. J. T. 

 White, Among those present were Mr. George 

 Wall (whose eyesight has happily not totally been 

 lost to him), Mr. and Mrs. D, Morris, and Mr. .3, 



H. Barber, Your lady correspondent " Penelope " 

 was also there, and will no doubt refer to the 

 lecture in her letter by next mail. The chairman 

 in introducing the lecturer dwelt for some little time 

 on the natural beauties of Ceylon, apologizing for the 

 length of his remarks by stating that his heart 

 was full of Ceylon, and " out of the abundance 

 of the heart the mouth speaketh." Dr, Trimen's 

 paper opened with an apology for introducing into the 

 series of lectures one of a scientific character but 

 went on to show that after all no apology jyas 0- 

 quired, " for Ceylon owes everything to its plants and 

 its agriculture and the climate which fosters them. Its 

 ancient renown, and its prosperity under Europ- 

 ean rule, have alike depended upon its veget- 

 able productions so freely and abundantly given, 

 hnd if a disregard ofj nature's unvarying rules 

 aave brought about in several cases the inevit- 

 able penalty one cannot but recognize with grat- 

 itude and admiration the wonderfully recuper- 

 ative powers of the land, which indeed seem able 

 to prevail over almost every natural drawback 

 and artificial obstacle." The lecturer then went 

 on to call attention to certain characteristics of 

 the physiography of Ceylon which are generally 

 overlooked, there being in fact two distinct regions 

 in our island the wet and the dry. A large map 

 hung on the wall, showing the rainfall in the 

 different parts of the island, was freely used by the 

 lecturer in illu'^trating his remarks. Dr. Trimen 

 then went on to show that there were greai dif- 

 ferences in the vegetable productions of tliese 

 strongly marked climatic districts, and the 

 more prominent of these were referred to ; and 

 the remarkable fact was mentioned, that by far 

 the greater part of the trees and shrubs which 

 joroduce the splendour which strikes the eye of 

 the visitor are not natives of Ceylon at all but 

 foreigners. It is chiefly in the low moist district 

 of the island, that these are so frequent, the 

 original forests having been destroyed by chenaing 

 and part of the laud being now under cultivation 

 with i)addy, jak and breadfruit trees, etc., while 

 the rest was almost worthless, being cov- 

 ered with lantana and the small bamboo. 

 The Sinharaja forest between Galle and Eatna- 

 pura is the most extensive remnant of the original 

 forest, and the characteristics of this were de- 

 scribed, the most valuable of the timber trees be- 

 ing the calaraander and the nedun. On the sum- 

 mits of isolated rocks also, such as the Haycock 

 and the Millowe hills, which the chena cultivation 

 has not been able to reach, a number of remark- 

 able species mostly peculiar to Ceylon, are found 

 crowded together. Dr. Trimen then referred to the 

 remarkable fact that about 800 species (.SO per cent) 

 of the whole number of plants found in Ceylon 

 are peculiar to the island, and that they arc 

 related far more closely to the floras of the 

 Malay Islands and Peninsula than to those of 

 Southern India. The lecturer then referred to the 

 belt on the hills about Adam's Peak up to 3,000 

 feet which has since the British occupation been 

 brought under coffee, cinchona and tea cultivation 

 and where foreign weeds have taken the place of 

 native ones. The true hill region (above .5,000 

 feet) was then examined, that height been chosen 

 because it was the limit fixed by Government, 

 above which no forest land was sold. The trees 

 of this region were described, and it was stated 

 that the flora here resembled more that of 

 Southern India than that of the Malayan pen- 

 insula. The patanas were then described, and it was 

 said that the cause of the marked separation 

 between these and the forest was due to an 

 equilibrium having been arrived at by the veget- 

 ation, so that one was unable to encroach on 



