March, 1912.] 



253 



Miscellaneous. 



Agent, Matale, the instructor has taken 

 charge of a field in the town for experi- 

 mental purposes. 



Mr. W. ft. Bibile, Rateraahatmaya, 

 Wiyaluwa, writing on January 31, re- 

 ports that he has grown some of the 



Carolina gold " paddy received from 

 the U. S. A. Department of Agriculture. 

 He sowed the seeds on September 11 last, 

 blossoming began on December 15, and 

 reaping was done on January 29. The 

 crop was badly damaged by the heavy 

 rains which prevailed just about the 

 blossoming period, but about two 

 bushels of good seed have been secured 

 for re-sowing. Mr. Ohabliss. the U. S. A. 

 rice expert, states that in South Caro- 

 lina and Georgia, Carolina gold rice 

 requires a growing period of five months. 

 It is usually irrigated, though it is also 

 cultivated in high lands without irri- 

 gation in much the same way as maize. 

 Under irrigation the rice is grown in 

 rows 15 inches apart and is inter- 

 cultivated. 



Mr. L. A. D. Silva held a successful 

 demonstration in the use of the Meston 

 plough at Wikiliya on January 15. 



The Director of Science and Agricul- 

 ture, Demarara, has kindly supplied 

 10 lb, each of four varieties of paddy. 

 These are known as Demarara 3, 4, 6, 

 and 75, and are excellent types, yielding 

 from 86 to 100 bushels per acre. It is 

 interesting to note that Nos. 3, 4, and 

 6 are the selected progeny of Ceylon 

 hill rice, sent from here about 1902-03, 

 while No. 75 is a selected Indian rice 

 which a cooly from India took over with 

 him, and from which the Department 

 of Science and Agriculture, by con- 

 tinuous selection, raised the present 

 strain. 



Cotton. 



The Secretary inspected a 20-acre 

 block of land planted with cotton by 

 Mr. Sabapathy in Kayts. The plants 

 had suffered severely as the result of 

 the heavy rainfall of December last, and 

 the greater part is not likely to come to 

 anything. This is a very unfortunate 

 experience for the enterprising owner, 

 who, in spite of the disappointment, has 

 resolved to plant a larger area this year. 



Cotton is doing well at the Balalla, 

 Kalalgamuwa, and Madipola gardens. 



The variety known as Sakellarides, of 

 which seed was sent to the Society by 

 the British Cotton Growing Association, 

 is a particularly hardy plant. The 

 cotton is named after the discoverer, 

 M. Sakellarides, who isolated it from a 

 field of Mitaffifi on his Egyptian estate. 

 Professor Dunstan, reporting on a 

 sample forwarded by the Director- 



General of Agriculture in Esypt, speaks 

 highly of its strength, lustre, colour, 

 texture, and length, and valued it at 

 li^d. per lb., with fine Jannovitch 

 at 13£d. 



B'ruit Cultivation. 



Through the kindness of Mr. J. C. 

 Barnett, Adviser to the Department of 

 Agriculture, Bangkok, Siam, a dozen 

 grafted plants of the seedless pumelo 

 (Citrus decumana) have been secured. 

 Considering the value placed upon this 

 fruit from a dietetic point of view, the 

 introduction of the seedless variety 

 (which could now be propagated locally 

 by grafting) is a distinct gain. 



In view of the large supply of pine' 

 apples during the fruiting season, certain 

 enterprising persons have been consider- 

 ing the possibility of tinning the fruit for 

 export, as well as for local sale during 

 the off-season, and a syndicate has been 

 formed with the object of starting a 

 canning factory. The most important 

 consideration for any scheme of this 

 kind is the selection of a suitable type 

 of can, and in order to assist in this 

 matter the Society has been instituting 

 inquiries, which have brought to light 

 the merits of the patent Sanitary Can. 

 Its chief recommendation is that no 

 heat or solder is necessary for sealing, 

 this operation being a purely mechanical 

 one, effected by means of a " double- 

 seamer " machine. Further information 

 may be had on application at the 

 Society's office, where a sample of this 

 can be seen. 



Bell-apple (Passiflora laurifolia) seeds 

 received through the kindness of Capt. 

 Montgomery, late of Ceylon and pre- 

 sently of Fiji, have germinated well, 

 and plants are now available for distri- 

 bution to members. 



Piauts of Pullesang (Nephelwm muta- 

 bile) are al&o now available, raised from 

 seeds secured through the kindness of 

 the Director of the Botanic Gardens, 

 Singapore, on the suggestion of His 

 Excellency the President. 



Pests and Diseases- 

 The points raised at the last meeting 

 of the Board in connection with the 

 paper on lac culture were duly submitted 

 to Mr. E. E. Green (Government Entomo- 

 logist), who has kindly replied as 

 follows :— 



"The Indian lac insect is known to occur 

 only upon certain trees specified in my 

 previous note. It is extremely unlikely 

 to attack tea, cacao, or rubber, or any 

 other of our staple crops. The species 

 (Tachardia decorella) that occurs occa- 

 sionally upon the tea plant in India is a 



