Miscellaneous. 



542 



[June, 1912. 



used with good effect in South-India, 

 where the Secretary with Mr. Wickrem- 

 aratne saw it worked, and a trial of it 

 made in the North-Central Province 

 gave satisfactory results. 



Specimens of grape leaves and insects 

 found to be destroying them in the 

 Bandaragama experiment garden were 

 submitted to the Government Ento- 

 mologists who reported as follows :— 

 " The insect consisted of a few 

 membracidse, a small hymenopteron, 

 and two chrysomelid beetles. It is the 

 latter that are responsible for the 

 damage to the vine leaves. The 

 chrysomelids are nearly all destructive 

 pests, and have the habit of riddling 

 leaves in this manner. Spraying with 

 arsenic will kill the beetles ; but as there 

 are objections to the employment of 

 mineral poisons, it would be more con- 

 venient to use a deterrent, such as Bor- 

 deaux mixture. This will not kill the 

 insect, but will render the foliage unpala- 

 table, which is all you want." 



Mr, Green, reporting on specimens of 

 of insects submitted to him by Mr. A. 

 Madanayake, Agricultural Instructor, 

 North-Western Province, as found on 

 cotton plants at Balalla experimental 

 garden, writes : " The insect is the com- 

 mon 'red cotton stainer' (Dysdereus ein- 

 gulatus). The best course is to collect 

 and destroy the insect by hand. This 

 may be done by a winnowing tray and a 

 small tin containing kerosine. The tray 

 is held under the plants, which are then 

 tapped or shaken. The insects fall into 

 the tray and are dropped into the tin of 

 oil. Any insecticide strong enough to 

 kill the insect would be injurious to the 

 plant. If the lint is infested by the 

 insects, they may be driven off by expo- 

 sure to the sun." 



Investigations and Reports. 

 In his despatch No. 70 dated February 

 20, the Right Hon. the Secretary of 

 State forwarded to His Excellency the 

 Governor the following report from 

 Professor Dunstan, Director of the Im- 

 perial Institute :— 



"The consignment of margosa seed, 

 which is the subject of this report, was 



forwarded to the Imperial Institute by 

 the Secretary of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society, and is referred to in his letters 

 No. 512 dated February 27, 1911, and No. 

 2,614 dated September 30, 1911. The seed 

 was forwarded at the request of the 

 Imperial Institute in order that its com- 

 mercial value might be ascertained. 



''The consignment weighed about 3 

 cwt., and consisted of unshelled seeds, 

 each composed of a thin woody shell and 

 a single soft oily kernel. The seeds were 

 in very good condition on arrival at the 

 Imperial Institute, and showed no signs 

 of rnouldiness or ' heating.' The kernels 

 were yellow internally, and had the 

 odour of garlic, which is characteristic 

 of margosa kernels. 



"The consignment was forwarded to 

 a large firm of soap makers, who had 

 expressed a wish to carry out technical 

 trials with margosa seed. After making 

 a detailed examination of the seed the 

 firm furnished the following report : — 



The seeds consisted of shell 54 '2 per 

 cent, and kernel 45*8 per cent. The 

 kernels were found to have the following 

 composition : — 



Per Cent. 



Fat 



59-25* 



Moisture 



4-65 



Proteins 



20-53 



Carbohydrates 



9-10 



Ash 



3-44 



Woody fibre ... 



3-03 



* Equivalent to a yield of about 31 per 

 cent, on the whole seeds. 



The fat was of soft consistence. When 

 extracted by a solvent from the kernels 

 it was yellowish in colour, but when 

 obtained by crushing the entire seed it 

 was dark greenish- brown. The fat 

 obtained by the latter method Was 

 found to have the following constants :— 



Per Cent. 



Saponification value ... 193*90 

 Free fatty acids, expressed 



as oleic acid ... 5-37 



Unsaponifiable matter 0*34 

 Glycerine 9'61 



