588 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Oct.. 1908. 



Returning to Madras on the 25th June, I parted with Mr. Howlett, who 

 had given me much valuable assistance, and started for Ceylon via Tuticorn 

 the same evening, reaching the boat the following evening and landing in 

 Colombo early next morning (Saturday 27th). 



After calling at the Agricultural Society's offices and' the Chemical 

 Biaiich of the Botanical Gardens Station, I left for Peradenyia the same 

 afternoon, and spent the two following days at the laboratories of the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens examining the collections and collecting fruit flies. Then 

 with Mr. West (Acting Entomologist) I went across to the south-east of 

 the island among the tea plantations, where I found that fruit flies 

 were common in the garden fruits later in the season. Returning the next 

 day, I met the director of the R. B. Gardens who advised me to visit the 

 great mango district of Jaffna in the north of Ceylon, .and he wired to the 

 Resident of the district to place his officers at my disposal while there. 



Reaching Jaffna late the following night, I was met by Messrs. Matta- 

 humura and Chelones, who arranged everything for me until I left. In 

 the morning we drove through twenty miles of palm groves and' cultivated 

 lands, and though the season was late, and there was not much fruit about, 

 I found any amount of fruit fly maggots in the melon fields, from which 

 I have since bred a fine series of a large fruit fly, allied to. Dacus curcuhita^ 

 On my return to Colombo I spent the morning with Dr. Wiley at the 

 Museum and examined his collections. 



The Mediterranean fruit fly is not found in India or Ceylon, though I 

 found specimens in the collections at Cairo. All the fruit flies in the latter 

 countries belong to the genus Dacus and are allied to the Queensland fruit 

 fly. 



The parasites in Bangalore are only bred from species of Dacus, and 

 we have no record of one on the Mediterranean fruit flv. 



STOCK EATING CLIPPINGS AND CUTTINGS FROM 



GARDENS. 



A Dangerous Practice. 



Alfred ] . Eiuarf, D.Sc, Ph. D., F.L.S., Gover^imcnt Botanist. 



Quite a number of cases have recently been reported of deaths of 

 stock happening after they have been allowed access to the clippings and 

 cuttings from gardens. The danger of such a practice cannot be too 

 strongly emphasized. 



It is not generally known how large a number of our common garden 

 plants are poisonous to stock, and since the plants are unfamiliar ones to 

 animals grazing in the open, they have no previous experience to guide 

 them in discriminating between harmless and poisonous plants. Nor is 

 it safe or wise to rely too much on the experience of animals, anv more 

 than on that of children, to distinguish good from bad food. The most 

 cautious grazing animal v.dll eat almost anything that can be chewed and 

 swallowed when pressed by hunger, and pregnant or milking cows seeni 

 always to be hungry. 



In a recent case a correspondent writes : "A few days ago mv cattle 

 were picking over cuttings thrown out of the flower garden. Next morning 

 three of them were sick in the same way : quite off their feed, trembling 

 in their hind quarters and purged. One died the following dav and 



