Miscellaneous. 



540 



[June, 1912. 



Mr. W. Molegoda, Agricultural Instruc- 

 tor, forwards the following details of 

 an experiment in transplanting paddy :— 

 "Four fields, each of one pela sowing 

 extent, or about half an acre eacb, were 

 transplanted as follows :— 



1st pela, the distance of transplanting was 6 in. by 6 in. 

 2nd do do do 9 in. by 9 in. 



3rd do do do 9 in. by 12 in. 



The fourth pela was transplanted in 

 the ordinary methods, that is, at dis- 

 tances varying from 3 to 5 in., in bunches 

 of three or four plants in a hole, but in 

 the other three plots individual plants 

 were put. The yields were as follows :— 



B. L. M. 



1st plot yielded ... 24 2 1 

 2nd plot yielded ... 31 2 

 3rd plot yielded ... 20 5 

 4th plot yielded ... 28 7 



There was scarcely any difference ob- 

 servable in the growth of plants in 1, 2, 

 and 3, but in plot 4 the plants were not 

 as robust as in the others. The cost of 

 transplanting was Rs. 2'50 per plot. 

 Though unfortunately no exact record 

 of the grain sown was kept, there was 

 a decided saving of seeds by planting 

 individual plants. The usual return ob- 

 tainable from the above four pelas when 

 transplanted in the ordinary way is 

 between 115 and 120 bushels, but as in 

 the last maha season even the very best 

 fields in the district did not give the 

 usual return, I am well satisfied with 

 the results obtained by transplanting. 



Mr. L. A D. Silva, Agricultural Instruc- 

 tor, Ratnapura District who was on 

 special duty in the Rayigam korale, 

 ploughed a number of fields with the 

 "Meston" and "Goiya" ploughs at 

 Rayigama, Wedagama, Wewita, Kalu- 

 pane, and Talagala. Each field has an 

 adjoining field prepared in the usual 

 way by means of the native plough. The 

 arrangements for this experiment were 

 made by Mr. J. A. Wirasinghe, Mudali- 

 yar of Rayigam korale, who will report 

 results after the harvest. 



Mr. M. A. Jayasinghe, Inquirer into 

 Crimes, Nagoda, reports having raised 

 the yield of a field from 150 to 250 bags 



of paddy by using 8 cwt. of a manure 

 mixture made up of castor cake, bone 

 dust, and kainit. A bag is equal to 12 

 kurunies (1§ bushel). The sowing extent 

 of the field is 20 bags. The manure was 

 applied ten days before sowing. 



In this connection the conclusions 

 arrived at by Dr. Coleman, of the 

 Mysore Department of Agriculture, are 

 worthy of attention. He found as the 

 result of his trials, that saltpetre is not 

 a profitable manure for the paddy, that 

 a complete fertilizer (consisting of salt- 

 petre, basic slag, and sulphate of potash) 

 is unsuitable for the same reason ; that 

 castor cake, or preferably some other 

 cheap poonac manure, particularly if 

 used in moderate doses in combination 

 with green manure, is more likely to 

 prove profitable; that cheap organic 

 manures rich in nitrogen (such as milled 

 fish) are to be recommended ; that bone 

 meal, particularly with green manure, 

 may be employed with advantage ; that 

 green manuring is the cheapest and most 

 efficient means of increasing the fertility 

 of paddy land, and of green manure 

 crops, Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea= 

 S. hana) and Cowpea (Vigna catiang=S. 

 gas-me or li-me) are to be preferred. 



Cotton. 



The following are Messrs. Freudenberg 

 & Co.'s reports of outturn of lint and 

 seed from the cotton grown at Kalal- 

 gamuwa Experimental Garden :— Sea 

 Island, 1:2; Abassi, 1: 1'86; Black 

 Rattler (No. 1), 1: 1'93; Black Rattler 

 (No. 2), 1 : 1-85. The cotton is being con- 

 signed to Liverpool. 



Mr. C. K. Sathasivam, Agricultural 

 Instructor, Eastern Province, reports 

 well of the cotton experiment at Saman- 

 turai, where 10 acres of Crown land were 

 made available. The land has been 

 apportioned among five cultivators, who 

 hold 2 acres eacb, one cultivated with 

 cotton and the other with chena grains. 



Cotton is being grown in some of the 

 villages near Balalla garden, from where 

 seeds have been obtained. The Agricul- 

 tural Instructor in charge is having the 

 seed cotton collected for despatch to 

 Colombo* 



