420 



j?7ie Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



At the Ceylon Manure Works, Kelaniya, the 

 steamed bones are treated by super-heated 

 steam in large cylinders, in order to break up 

 their texture, and to sterilise tbe product. The 

 bones after being treated by steam are dried in 

 a special Drying Apparatus aud are then crushed 

 into a fine powder which is absolutely sterile. 



Many other manures, such as some Potash 

 salts, on account of the chlorine they contain, 

 and Basic Slag by reason of its large percentage 

 of free lime, are very good disinfectants. 



The manufacture of fertilisers in Ceylon is 

 done with due observation of modern sanitary 

 views, in fact, I think that the Ceylon Manure 

 Works at Kelaniya and those of my competitors 

 are quite above tbe standard of manure works 

 found in Europe and other countries. 



It might interest you to know that a few 

 years ago I went to the expense of getting a 

 report from Professor Aldo Castellani, Director 

 of the Bacteriological Institute, who went over 

 the whole works and drew samples of various 

 manures which on examination were shown to 

 contain no pathogenic bacteria whatsoever. 



Due to Want of Knowledge. 



You will see, therefore, that any suggestion 

 regarding the imposition of special regulations 

 for the sterilization of manures must have ema- 

 nated from want of special knowledge of the 

 subject. There are only very important and 

 large firms dealing in manures in Ceylon who 

 are quite alive to the fact that manufacture of 

 their products under sanitary conditions is ab- 

 solutely essential, and your readers may rest 

 assured that all the necessary precautions are 

 taken. I think, however, that it is the planter 

 who should be very particular with regard to 

 the storage of manure mixtures. There is, of 

 course, no doubt that manures, or for that matter 

 any other organic substances, will become 

 noxious if exposed to rain. 



Difficulties in the Way. 



Mr. S. FreuoenbERg smiled as he read the 

 paragraph and forthwith plied the pressman 

 with a host of questions. " How do they pro- 

 pose to do it ? It will mean an enormous 

 plant. We ourselves deal with some thirty 

 thousand tons every year. How do they pro- 

 pose to deal with the thousand native dealers 

 who import from India i— and what do they in- 

 tend to do with the manure that comes from 

 Australia, Japan, Europe, all over the world ? 

 It is a very tall order, and I think it is best left 

 alone. If one man is compelled to sterilise his 

 manure all the others must, and there will be 

 paarvy difficulties in the way." 



"BULLETIN OF THE IMPERIAL 

 INSTITUTE." 



" The third Quarterly issue of the " Bulletin 

 of the Imperial Institute " Vol X. (1912) No. 3, 

 contains Reports of recent investigations by the 

 Scientific and Technical Staff; the first (on 

 Uganda) of a series of special articles to be con- 

 tributed by experts, describing the develop- 

 ments — chiefly agricultural — that a'-e taking 

 place in the Colonies, particularly in the Crown 

 Colonies and Protectorates ; and several special 

 Reports. A section of the Bulletin, dealing with 

 Recent Progress in Agriculture and the deve- 

 lopment of Natural Resources, gives a sum- 

 mary of all important new developments in ag- 

 riculture and planting during the previous 

 quarter. A note on Seaweed as a Manure points 

 to a new source of potash salts in the large sea- 

 weeds of the Pacific growing within the three- 

 mile limit of the American coastlands, which 

 could be made to yield annually about eight 

 million tons of potassium chloride. Reports are 

 published on 



Rubber from Ceylon, 

 the Gold Coast, North- Western Rhodesia, Papua 

 and British JNew Guinea. Two new rubber- 

 yielding plants from Papua, about which very 

 little is known, are described acd analysed. 



The leading article is on The Improvement of 

 Cotton in Indict, reports on which show what is 

 being done to remedy the defect of short-staple 

 cotton grown in India ; and detailed descriptions 

 are given of the results of examination in the 

 Institute laboratories of improved cottons. 



EASTERN RUBBER IN U.S.A 



Conclusion of Mr. Baxendale's Exhibition 

 Report to the F M.S. Planters. 

 I am convinced that Mr Staines Manders, and 

 those associated with him in organising this, 

 the Third International Exhibition, have done 

 a genuine service to the plantation industry, 

 whereby we have been enabled to place our pro- 

 duce so prominently before our best customers. 

 At the same time, the benefit is likely to be ot 

 only a temporary character unless we make up 

 our minds to adopt so ue of the suggestions 

 made to us by manufacturers. The lack of uni- 

 formity (the most serious charge) is ascribed to 

 the use of harmful acids in coagulation, and (or) 

 to the mixing of all kinds of rubber by dealers 

 while it is passing through their bands in Europe 



