and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— April, 1910. 368 



ACCACIA DECU RRENS. 



Results Wanted. 

 Pykara Falls Estate, Naduvatam, 



Nilgiris, Jan. 19th. 

 SIR,— You must be aware that a very impor- 

 tant departure has been made by Upcountry 

 tea Planters in Ceylon, at elevation over 3,000 ft., 

 in planting Aeaeia decurrens throughout their 

 fields of tea as a green manure and, therefore, 

 I venture to suggest that you should kindly as- 

 certain what the results have been up to date, 

 and enlighten your general readers on this sub- 

 ject. Acacia decurrens has an enormous devel- 

 opment of roots, and how the interference of 

 these roots with the roots of the tea bushes is 

 prevented is a very important question to tea 

 planters. Will you kindly enquire into this 

 matter at an early date.— Yours faithfully, 



A. PETER. 



We invite atttention to the aboye interesting 

 enquiry sent us by a Nilgiris planter, as to 

 the results of the planting of Accacia decurrens, 

 in so far as it acts as green manure amongst 

 tea. The results are probably much easier to 

 indicate in general terms, from managers' expe- 

 rience of improvement of the tea bushes and vari- 

 ously increased yields. But to state at all accu- 

 rately how much in at all concrete terms, the trees 

 have served as green manures, may be a matter 

 of some difficulty. Will any particular planter 

 kindly send us an up-to-date account of their 

 results for the benefit of local as well as South 

 Indian readers ? 



FERTILISERS ON RUBBER 

 PLA NTATIO NS. 



Jan. 7. — The time has arrived in the sub-tropi- 

 cal Colonies to begin the advantageous use of 

 fertilisers for rubber plantations. 



Mr. John Hughes wrote to me, the other 

 day, asking, — 



Can yon tell me how the Government rubber planta- 

 tions have turned out, namely :— 



1. The younger plantation at Henaratgoda. 



2. Culloden 60-acre field. 



3. Apatipawnura Flood-level, Forest Department, 

 Katnapura. 



i, Edangoda. 



You may remember that I analysed samples of those 

 sent me in September, 1898, and the results were pub- 

 lished subsequently, after delay, by Dr. Willis. 

 I answered Mr. Hughes about the Government 

 clearings— sold not very loDg ago — apart, of 

 course, from the Heneratgoda Garden with 

 the older Para trees in the island. Culloden 

 " rubber " has done well for its fortunate 

 owners, and it is interesting to hear further 

 from Mr. Hughes: — 



London, K.C., January 5th, 1910. - Thanks for yonr 

 prompt reply. The names mentioned were those on the 

 boxes as sent me. It is interesting to note that in my 

 remarks entered in analysis book as long since as Sept. 

 lfth, 1898, the soil from Culloden 60-acre field is described 

 as being the best of the four soils examined and con- 

 tained the most organic matter, the most Nitrogen and 

 the most water retained in the air-dried condition. Only 

 last Monday I was applied to frorL the Straits to recommend 

 what kind of manure should be applied on a rubber plan- 

 tation, so that apparently even there where the soil is 

 superior to that of Ceylon, it was thought desirable to 

 apply some kind of manurial dressing. 



We may make sure that many enterprising 

 rubber proprietors, as well as Companies, will 

 begin to see what scientific analyses and culti- 

 vation can do for them.— Cor. 



PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE 

 IN INDIA. 



The Report of the Director-General of Agri- 

 culture in India for 1907-1909 is a comprehen- 

 sive document consisting of 80 pages of printed 

 matter, and touching upon all the phases of 

 so complex a subject. We learn that the Scien- 

 tific Staff of the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture has been limited by the Secretary of 

 State to 16 European Officers who, however, 

 are provided with a number of Indian As- 

 sistants. The Board of Agriculture as consti- 

 tuted in India is an official body consisting 

 of 38 members. It has been definitely settled 

 that Pusa should be chiefly a higher teaching 

 institution with post graduate studies for 

 those who have passed out of provincial 

 agricultural Colleges and for distinguished 

 science graduates of Indian Universities. The 

 Director-General speaks in high terms of Dr. 

 Butler, the Imperial Mycologist, congratulating 

 him in regard to the practical applications of 

 his work to the ordinary conditions of Indian 

 Agriculture, and remarking that his enquiry 

 into the disease in palm trees has been of such 

 value that it is equivalent to saving the cost 

 of his section to India for many years to come. 



The Department has now a cottou expert in 

 Mr G A Gammie, F.L.S., under whose advice 

 much useful work is being carried on: (1) in 

 selection and distribution of seed, (2) intro- 

 duction of superior indigenous varieties and bet- 

 ter methods of cultivation, (3) Hybridisation 

 and (4) the trial of exotic varieties. 



Tobacco. 



Under the head of tobacco we read that the 

 experiments in the three Presidencies have 

 yielded some encouraging results particularly 

 those at Rampurs which are thought likely to 

 be of substantial benefit to the ryot. A trial 

 of improved methods of curing local tobacco 

 resulted in the best sample being valued in 

 Bombay at five annas a lb., while country-cured 

 tobacco was 1 to 1$ annas. As regards manur- 

 ing it has been found that 600 lb. castor cake 

 with cattle manure at the rate of 10 tons per 

 acre gives a substantial profit. The effect of 

 manuring was considerably enhanced by deep 

 cultivation. Burmah is experimenting with 

 American varieties of tobacco, and in Madras 

 Messrs. Spencer & Co. are attempting to pro- 

 duce a suitable wrapper leaf for their cigars. 



Sunn Hemp. 

 All this is most interesting to us seeing that 

 both tobacco and cotton are receiving special 

 attention just at present, particularly the 

 former which is the subject of an extensive 

 and costly experiment. We read of ciotalaria 

 juncea, or sunn hemp (Sinhalese "Hana") 

 that while the fibre does not compete with 

 jute its market value is higher. Sunn hemp 

 is a suitable rotation crop with paddy for 

 which it greatly improves the soil. At present 

 this crop is only seen in the Jaffna and Chilaw 

 districts and gives no promise of extension. 

 In India the value of the crop both from fibre 

 and green manuring has been fully recognised. 

 We read that " the area under sunn hemp hae 



