Feb. I, 1887.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



56r 



$orr^spnnd6no6. 



To the Editor of the " Ceylofi Observer. " 



NEW TEA ROLLERS. 



Maskeliya, 2'2nd Jan. 

 " Mercy o'me what a multitude are here — 

 They grow still too, from all parts they are coming." 



Shakspeare, Henri/ viii. 

 Dear Sik, — The divine William is ever equal 

 to the occasion, and on reading recently " Notes 

 and Comments" the quotation heading this rushed 

 through my brain. 



But I do not think B 's roller has continuity 



of I'oll, as however good it is, I don't think the 

 inventor even claims that a? one of its merits, as 

 a certain break most occur between discharging 

 and filling. Another new roller does its work con- 

 tinuously without the smallest iota of a break 



until all available leaf is finished. B 's does 



not do so, the seller's to the contrary notwith- 

 standing. — Yours, 



THE MORE THE MERRIER. 



TEA IN HAPUTALE : WELL DONE. 



Dear Sir, — I have no permission to use names, 

 but I think an extract from a report of a well- 

 known Colombo tea-taster and broker will show that 

 the Kandapola side will prove second to no district in 

 the quality of its tea, which ma,y be of interest 

 to some of your readers: — "I must congratulate 

 you on the stride made in the manufacture. No. 

 1 is really a handsome tea, full of golden tips, 

 very brght, good aroma &c. d'C, may safely value 

 it at 23 per lb. and No. 2, pekoe souchong 

 leaf, bright tiavory clean brisk liquor, value Is 2d 

 to Is 3d per lb.'" 



This is promising. I may add the break was a 

 small one, but No. 1 was 4-")ths of the whole, 

 and the plucking was an usual one. The proprietor 

 will soon have near a hundred acres of the same 

 jat to pluck from. -Yours, PLANTER. 



THE^DHOLL plant! 



The Colombo School of Agriculture, 1st Feb. 1887. 



Dear Sir, — I have learnt with great pleasure that 

 some of our goyas have made arrangements for cultiv- 

 ating dhoU extensively and with a view to giving 

 them an idea of how the cultivation can be best 

 carried on, I send you for publication the following 



Earticulars about the plant. I may also mention 

 ere that this letter has already appeared in Sinha- 

 lese in the "Dinakaraprakashaya," a leading native 

 newspaper : — 



The dhoU plant or rata-tora of the Sinhalese is 

 not very uncommon in some parts of the island, al- 

 though it is very seldom cultivated by our goyas. 

 The botanical name of the plant is Cajanus Iiidisus 

 and the common English name is Indian peas or 

 dholl. The following account of this plant appears 

 in the " Catalogue of the most interesting forest 

 trees" &c. prepared by Mr. D. Morris, m.a.. Assistant 

 Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon : — 

 "There are two varieties of this species. Both are 

 cultivated in various parts of the tropics for the sake 

 of their seed or pulse. In India the pulse is called 

 dhal or dhol and forms a large part of the food of 

 all classes of natives. In the West Indies the seeds 

 are called Pigeon Peas and are highly esteemed as 

 food. Horses and cattle are very fond of the young 

 branches and leaves, either in a fresh or dried state. 

 There are few tropical plants so valuable. It grows 

 luxuriantly in the parched Savannah and mountam 

 declivity, as well as in the more fertile and season- 

 able districts.' 



Dholl is a most nutritious and agreeable food and 

 the seeds are said to contain more nutritious matter, 

 bulk for bulk than meat. The seeds are also said 

 to possess the jjroperty of counteracting ic\ev and I 

 have the authority of the Chaivniau of the Agvicul- 

 71 



] tnral Association of Ceylon for this statement. In 



one of his letters addressed to the Colombo School of 



1 Agriculture, he had stated this fact and asked for a 



, supply of dholl seeds so that he may distribute 

 them among the inhabitants of those districts of the 

 island which are subject to frequent attacks of fever, 

 A large quantity of dholl has been grown in the 

 Agricultural School compound. It takes about six 



I months for the plant to grow and flower. The cultiv- 



, atiou of dholl is carried on to such a large ex- 



j tent in India that a large quantity of the de- 

 corticated seed is also exported annually. The 

 decorticated seeds which are sold in our boutiques 

 under tlie name of "parippu" are generally dholl. 



I The " parippu " is a Tamil name for any kind of de- 

 corticated grain, such as dholl, gram, &c. The roots 

 and the seeds of dholl are used medicinally by the 

 Sinhalese and it appears that the few plants which are 



; to be found in some parts of the island are also 

 chiefly grown for this purpose. It can be readily 

 seen that dholl is a most suitable food for those 



j who never take any kind of meat either by habit 

 or by principle. 



Oil the occa'iion of the prize distribution at the 



1 School of Agriculture by H. E. the Governor, I heard 



I Mr. A. M. Fergusiin, c. m. g., speaking about dholl 

 cultivation end alluding to the ''grand physique of 

 the men of Northern Inilia as a result of living on 

 dholl porridjfe, dholl being largely cultivated iu that 

 part of India." Dholl will grow in almost any soil, 

 cowdung is a good manure for the plant. A top 

 dressing of lime will be found most beneficial for 

 obtaining a heavy crop. I here describe for the 

 information of our goyas the method in which 

 this plant is cultivated in India and the seeds 

 prepared for the market. First of all, the land 

 is prepared just as our goyas prepare their lands for 

 sowing giugelly, kurakkan &c., and the seeds are sown 

 broadcast — about five seers of seeds are required for 

 an acre. If the land is hard and unfertile it should 

 be loosened either by ploughing or by digging and 

 manured. In about three days the seeds will germ- 

 inate. The plants are very tender when yauug. After 

 the plants have grown for about ax months, they 

 blossom and when the pods get quite dry the trees are 

 cut down to within a foot of the ground and carried 

 to a suitable place where the grain is thrashed out 

 with the aid of cattle. The seeds are afterwards 

 soaked in cold water for a whole night and dried in 

 the hot sun, which cause the testa or the husk to split 

 and the cotyledons to separate. The husks are very 

 easily separated by means of winnows. Dholl can be 

 cooked just as the natives cook green gram or mun-eta. 

 A little ghee added when cooked will make it an ex- 

 cellent curry. Excellent soup can also be prepared 

 from the seeds. 



The stumps which are left shoot up again and give 

 a second crop. After the second crop is gathered the 

 plants are pulled up by the roots and some other 

 kind of vegetable is grown on the laud, or it is allowed to 

 lie fallow for a few months and dholl seeds sown again. 

 As dholl is such a nutritious article of food and is 

 so easily grown as tie above account shows, I hope 

 that our goyas would be induced to take up the 

 cultivation of this valuable food -plant in every part of 

 the island. — I remain, yours faithfully, 



H. D. LEWIS. 

 [The writer of this interesting and useful com- 

 munication is Assistant Master of the Agricultural 

 School, ColoKibo. — Ed.] 



Coconuts. — A Coconut plantation in the West 

 Indies, well established and in full bearing (siy at 

 the end of eight years), with sixty trees to the acre, 

 may, says Mr. Morris, in his annual report ou the 

 publif! gardens of .Taroaica, be safely assumed to be 

 of the mnual value of £10 per acre. The expense 

 of maintaining a Coconut plantation, when (nice 

 established, is practically nothing ; hence the thou- 

 sands of acres of land bordciing the sea-coast of oar 

 AVest India possessions are capable of immense 

 development.— <Tfr-v/f,(^,s' Chrnpicle- 



