December, 1912.] 



463 



VETERINARY TOXICOLOGY. 



This is the title of an exhaustive treatise on the subject of poisons 

 met with in Veterinary practice, a welcome and valuable addition to the 

 literature of Agricultural and Veterinary Science. The author is G D. 

 Lander. D. Sc. professor of Chemistry and Toxicology in the Royal 

 Veterinary College, London (Publishers Bailliers, Tindall and Cox, 

 Price 7/6). 



The first part of the book is taken up with the Chemistry and action 

 of poisious, diagnosis, treatment, &c. The author then goes on to con- 

 sider the Mineral or Inorganic poisons of which arsenic is the type, 

 organic poisons of which Hydroganic Acid and Stychemic are examples, 

 and last by poisonous plants which are classifield according to botanical 

 orders. The final chapter treats of chemical Toxicology. We should 

 have wished to see a chapter or two specially devoted to tropical poison- 

 ous plants. We do not mean to say that anything like an exhaustive 

 examination has been made of their toxic properties and action but 

 their botanical identity has been well established and something is known 

 of their poisonous character. The author himself expresses the hope that 

 " the labours of Tropical Disease and Agricultural Institutes — such as 

 that of Ceylon— will no doubt slowly unfold a wide field of knowledge." 



Some of the plants mentioned in the book are familiar to tropical 

 residents, e.g.— Croton tiglium, Jatropha curcas, Verbascum Thapsus, 

 Datura Stamonium, Cerbera odellam, Verium oleander, Azadirachta 

 Indiea. 



As a work of reference the book should prove of great service to 

 Veterinary practitioners. 



ROTATION OF CROPS IN JAFFNA. 



Mr. V. M. Muttukumarn, writing from Jaffua on the rotation of crops, 

 says that the rotation of crops as carried on in Jaffna is quite unlike that 

 followed in other countries. Here, different crops are raised, one after 

 the other during the same year, in the following manner : — 

 In Garden Lands. 



December-March 

 April-July 

 August- October 



March-October 



or 



Tobacco. 



Samai, a cereal crop. 

 Kurakkan, a cereal crop. 



Chillies or manioca 



August- October 

 February -August 



In Paddy Lauds. 



Paddy 



Tobacco, chillies, onions, 

 gingelly, peas, kurak- 

 kan or hemp. 



From the above tabular statement it will be evident that the arable 

 lands in Jaffna are under cultivation all round the year and that even 

 under such circumstances the soil does not fail to give adequate returns 

 to the cultivators. 



