Miscellaneous. 



244 



[March, 1910. 



scientific instruction which was origi- 

 nated by that great Prince whose 

 memorial stands near the end of Exhibi- 

 tion Road, and to whom science and art 

 in England owe so much. 



He dreamed a dream which his un- 

 timely death alone prevented him from 

 realising. Had he lived, who can set a 

 bound to what he would have achieved 

 for science and education in England? 

 It is a most happy circumstance that 

 the final stages of the realisation of that 

 dream should have been entered upon 

 in the reign, and have received the 

 sympathy, patronage, and active sup- 

 port of his great son, our most gracious 

 King, who is working in so many direc- 

 tions for the welfare and happiness of 

 our race. 



There is one further point I must 

 touch upon. In the few remarks which 

 I have bad the honour to make to 

 you, I have endeavoured, however im- 

 perfectly, to embody in words certain 

 thoughts which bear upon a great sub- 

 ject. I thank you for the patience with 

 which you have heard me. Whether I 

 have produced the effect I desire I know 

 not, but I know this, that even if I had 

 the tongues of men and angels, no words 

 of mine could have been so apt, so expi es- 

 sive as the magnificent deed of Mr. Otto 

 Beit recorded in to-day's newspapers. 

 It is impossible for me to pass this over 

 in silence, so closely is it connected with 

 the subject of my address. There are 

 two ways of manifesting thought, by 

 word and by action. Mr. Beit has 

 chosen the latter and far more effective 

 way. We can only express our respect- 

 ful admiration and gratitude for his 

 generosity, and our thankfulness that 

 a man should exist among us with the 

 power, the insight, and the true human- 

 ity to do such a splendid deed. 



MINUTES OP A MEETING OF THE 

 COMMITTEE OF AGRICULTURAL 

 EXPERIMENTS : 



Held at the Experiment Station, 

 Pebadeniya, on 13th January, 1910. 



The following members were present: — 

 Mr. R. H. Lock (Chairman), the Entomo- 

 logist, the Mycologist, the Agricultural 

 Chemist, The Hon. Mr. Edgar Turner, 

 Messrs. Jowitt, Anderson, Vander- 

 straaten, and the Secretary, J. A. Holmes. 



Mr. Bamber read the Progress Report 

 of the Experiment Station since the pre- 

 vious meeting, and the following resolu- 

 tions were passed;: — 



1. That a Circular on Tea be published 

 at the earliest possible date. 



2. That a separate file be kept for each 

 plot, and that the outlay on and returns 

 of each plot be recorded in its file. 



3. That Mr. Jowitt's monthly report 

 form be adopted with such modifications 

 as Mr. Bamber and the Secretary shall 

 deem necessary. 



4. That the scheme for the manuring 

 of coconuts drawn up by Messrs. Bamber 

 and Vanderstraaten shall be circulated 

 among the members of the Committee 

 for suggestions. 



5. That No. 13 plot at present under 

 cacao be cut out and the land used for 

 experiments on fruit. 



Progress Report on Experiment Sta- 

 tion since previous Meeting held 

 on 11th November, 1909. 



Read at the Meeting of the Committee 

 of Agricultural Experiments held on 

 January 13th, 1910. 



Varieties of coconuts have been ob- 

 tained from Mr. L. W. A. de Soysa and 

 have been put to germinate. 



The three nuts from the Penang Show 

 have all germinated. The old coconut 

 plots have been cleared again and experi- 

 ments will now be commenced. 



The copra manufactured from 1.000 

 nuts mentioned in a previous report wa9 

 pressed in the chekku mill and a good 

 clear oil obtained, 



367 "5 lbs. dry copra gave 175 lbs. of oil 

 and 108| lbs. Poonae. 



M A.NIHOTS. — Ceara and Dichotoma tap- 

 ping experiments have been continued 

 and the yields from individual trees re- 

 corded. The yield from the M. dicho- 

 toma (2 years old) is poor. Thinning 

 out the branches to prevent wind damage 

 may have had some effect on this point. 

 Many of the M. dichotoma trees have 

 been broken down by the wind, espe- 

 cially in the 12' x 12' plot 13 months old. 



Those planted 6' x 6' now 12 months 

 old have not suffered from the wind, the 

 top growth being more upright, thus re- 

 ducing the leverage and the area 

 exposed. 



The stumps planted 8' x 8' have been 

 supplied and are coming on well. 



Seed from the 10 months old trees 

 germinated more rapidly and well than 

 from the 2-year old trees. 



The Heptaphylla seeds have not ger- 

 minated. 



