May, 1910.] 



454 



Miscellaneous, 



winnow or by the use of a cloth bag — will 

 be found an importaut measure in the 

 treatment. But I consider that pre- 

 ventive measures are still more import- 

 ant than curative treatment. I have 

 several times pointed out that, in the 

 intervals of the rice crops, the bug feeds 

 upon and breeds on the natural grasses 

 that spring up on the banks and on 

 waste lands surrounding the fields. This 

 grass should be periodically burnt off. 

 By so dcing the virulence of the pest 

 during crop time will be very greatly 

 diminished. Grass growing in fallow 

 fields should not be allowed to run to 

 seed. It must be understood that it is 

 upon the unripe seed of the grasses 

 that the bugs teed. The fire should 

 therefore be applied before the grass 

 has ripened its seed and dried up. Clean 

 cultivation and rotation of crops would 

 be a very great check upon the ex- 

 cessive development of the pest." 



The Director of the Imperial Institute, 

 refering to a sample of Gardenia latifolia 

 resin forwarded for investigation, writes 

 that, as the resin does not appear to 

 belong to any well-known groups of 

 resins, a detailed chemical examination 

 is being made, which will take some 

 time. 



Miscellaneous. —The Agricultural Ex- 

 plorer attached to the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, in asking 

 for assistance in securing some thousands 

 of mango seeds, writes : — " Through the 

 introduction by this office of the best 

 East Indian mangoes, of which we have 

 distributed many plants in the West 

 Indies and Florida, very unusual interest 

 has been aroused in this fruit. Al- 

 though we have imported a large num- 

 ber of varieties as grafted plants, it is 

 our belief that promising new varieties 

 could doubtless be orginated from these 

 if we planted several thousand seeds of 

 the different recognized good varieties 

 from various Oriental countries." The 

 directions given for packiug may be 

 useful to others, and are given below : — 

 "Select only seeds which have not been 

 ruined by having a fork stuck into them. 

 Scrub the flesh off as thoroughly as 

 possible with a stiff brush and abund- 

 ance of water. Dry the seeds for an 

 hour or so in the shade (under no circum- 

 stances expose them to bright sunlight 

 after washing), then spread in layers in 

 the packing material in a box that will 

 not be broken in the mail. To prepare 

 the packing material, take equal parts 

 by volume of finely powdered charcoal 

 and chopped sphagnum moss. Charcoal 

 from which all creosote has been ex- 

 pelled will be sent to you when we order 

 the seeds, It is very important that the 



packing material be of the right damp- 4 

 ness — neither too wet nor too dry. In 

 order tc get the mixture in the right 

 condition, throw the sphagnum into a 

 pail of water and stir it until thoroughly 

 saturated with the water. Then take it 

 out by the handful and wring it as hard 

 as possible, squeezing out every drop of 

 water possible with the hands. Mix this 

 damp sphagnum with the charcoal, and 

 use this mixture in layers between the 

 layers of mango seeds," 



The Superintendent of School Gardens 

 reports that school gardening is spread- 

 ing to the girls' schools, The teacher of 

 the Balangoda Girls' School has written 

 acknowledging her indebtedness to the 

 "Govikam Sangarawa" (the Sinhalese 

 Agricultural Magazine) for the instruc- 

 tion she has derived from that publi- 

 cation, and states that the produce of 

 her garden is worth Rs. 50 per mensem 

 to her. 



It is much to be regretted that the 

 magazine referred to above has not a 

 larger circulation, as it is greatly ap- 

 preciated by all into whose hands it 

 falls. The Committee on publications 

 might well consider whether it would 

 not be to the advantage of the Society 

 to vote a sufficient sum to allow of, say, 

 1,000 copies being supplied to each 

 Government Agent of the Sinhalese- 

 speakine; Provinces, for free distribution, 

 at the discretion of the Mudaliyars and 

 Ratemahatmayas, so that the Magazine 

 may have as wide a circulation as 

 possible. 



The visit of Professor Dunstan of the 

 Imperial Institute, who evinced great 

 interest in the work and possibilities 

 of the Society, is worthy of record. The 

 study he has made of the conditions 

 under which cultivation is being carried 

 on in Ceylon will, no doubt, enable him 

 to offer valuable advice to members of 

 the Society. The Secretary will be glad 

 to receive any specimens upon which 

 reports are required, and to forward 

 them to the Imperial Institute for in- 

 vestigation. 



A set of coloured plates of insect pests, 

 with short descriptions and directions, 

 has been received from the Imperial 

 Entomologist for India. These plates 

 are full of instruction, and are parti- 

 cularly valuable for educational pur- 

 poses. 



C. DRIEBERG, 

 Secretary, 



Colombo, April 6, 1910, 



