454 



[December, 1912. 



14. Discussed the Oxalis Pest. Decided that no definite recommend- 



ation could be made pending further investigations. It was 

 suggested that it might be made an offence under the Pests 

 Ordinance to allow the plant to flower on estates. 



15. Resolved that Mr. Bambeb be asked to furnish an early report on 



the Tea Manuring experiments on Lorne Estate. 



R. N. LYNE, 

 President and Chairman, 

 Committee of Agricultural Experiments, 



NOVEMBER MEETING. 



Minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Agricultural Experiments 

 held at the Experiment Station, Peradeniya, at 3 p.m. on November 7th, 1912. 



Present :— The Director op Agriculture (in the chair), the Govern- 

 ment Entomologist, the Government Mycologist, the Hon'ble Mr. E. 

 Rosling, Messrs. G. Q. Bliss, R. G. Coombe, W, Coombe, H. D. Garrick, 

 G. H. Golledge, H. Tnglis, C. O. Macadam, W. N, Tisdall, the Superin- 

 tendent Maha-iluppalama Experiment Station, acting as Secretary, 

 and the following visitors :— Messrs: O. T. Faulkner, K. G. Marsden, P. A. 

 Keiller and H, A. Wickham. 



1. Minutes of the ptevious meeting were read and confirmed. 



la. The Chairman explained that the Manuring experiments of Hevea 

 rubber had not yet been begun and that Mr. Bamber's report 

 on " Tea Manuring Experiments " had not been received. 



The Director stated that he had informed the Government that Oxalis 

 was not in his opinion a pest in the usually accepted meaning 

 of the term, 



2. Read Progress Report of the Experiment Station, Peradeniya. 



In reference to the collecting of cankered pods, Mr, Rosling 

 stated that the Committee had at some previous meeting given 

 instructions for diseased pods being collected once a month. 

 Decided that this practice should be renewed. 



3. Resolved that another plot of Nicaraguan cacao be planted from 



seed of the present plot, to determine whether the types breed 

 true. 



Hon'ble Mr. Rosling asked what prospects the Department con- 

 sidered Pourcroya had in the dry country, explaining that in 

 Mauritius plantations of Fourcroya were doing well. The 

 Director replied the point had not been investigated but in his 

 opinion Sisal was to be preferred, one reason being it had a higher 

 percentage of fibre than Fourcroya. 



4. Read Progress Report of the Experiment Scation, Maha-iluppalama. 



5. Discussed the revision of accounts in the monthly report form and 



it was resolved that the Committee not being particularly 

 concerned with the accounts it would suffice to lay the statement 

 on the table instead of circulating it. It was the opinion that 

 the form and the statement could be improved. 



6. Resolved that Mr. Bamber be asked to visit the Lorne and Ports- 



wood tea plots and report on the same forthwith. 



