Mat 1908,] 



477 



Miacellaneoua, 



when the Organizing Vice-President and 

 Secretary were present, and, as Dr. 

 Willis explained, the only likely means 

 of remedying the defect is by looking 

 to the proper drainage of the land. Irri- 

 gation without proper drainage is bound 

 to be pre judical to a soil. By washing 

 out the salts that have accumulated 

 through evaporation and giving the laud 

 a short rest from cultivation, there is a 

 likelihood of improvement following. 

 The subject will, however, be fully 

 thrashed out by the Acting Director of 

 Irigation at an early meeting of the 

 Board. 



O. P. (India).— In Ceylon, Mauritius or 

 water grass {Panicum muticum) is the 

 stock green fodder for stall-fed cattle 

 in the low-country. It is true it contains 

 a large proportion of water, but so do 

 turnips and swedes (which this grass 

 may be said to replace locally) fed to 

 dairy cattle in the West. Guinea grass 

 {P. maximum) grows freely at higher 

 elevations. Paspalum dilatatum is 

 not suitable to the low-country, and 

 in the dry months is kept alive with 

 the greatest difficulty. Reana luxu- 

 i mn.sjhas never been seriously cultivated 

 for fodder. Hay made from wild Andro- 

 pogon grasses (as in Bombay) and Sor- 

 gnum and Pennisetum (as in the Deccan) 

 is not known in the Island, but paddy 

 straw is given to working bullocks to 

 whom also natural grasses (most com- 

 monly Panicum repens) are cut and fed. 

 Ensilage has not proved a success 

 in Ceylon. 



P. De. M. — West Indian arrowroot is 

 the product of Maranta arundinacea, 

 the plant the Sinhalese called Hulanki- 

 riya, and is the ordinary arrowroot of 

 the grocery stores- Queensland arrow- 

 root is prepared from tanna edulis, or 

 "Edible Canna" as it is commonly 

 called — a species of " Indian shot" (Sin. 

 butsarana). The former has for a long 

 time been cultivated in the Cotta dis- 

 trict, and excellent arrowroot-flour was 

 prepared on a fairly large scale some 

 years ago in the Panadura (Bandara- 

 gama) district by Muhandiram J. A. G. 

 Rodrigo, acting Manager of the Govern- 

 ment Dairy. The cultivation of Queens- 

 land arrowroot seems to be spreading 

 in the Island. The flour, if properly 

 prepared, is as good if not better, than 

 ordinary arrowroot. There should be 

 no difficulty in getting plants or tubers 

 of either for planting a large area. 



G. S. — The tree you refer as being used 

 for shade in the Government Stock 

 Garden is Gliricidia maculata, of which 

 a few seeds came to the School of Agri- 

 culture some twenty years ago from 



Central America as an exchange, and 

 from the original trees established in 

 the grounds cuttings and seeds have 

 gone out directly, and through the 

 Royal Botanic Gardens, to all parts of 

 the Island. The tree has a showy blos- 

 som which is put out in February-March. 

 It is a good low shade but requires 

 training, and the roots are well furnished 

 with nodules. In some parts it is be- 

 coming a common shade and fence plant 

 since it grows so readily from cuttings. 



Mr. Frederick Lewis is good enough to 

 furnish the following valuable instruc- 

 tions in reply to an enquiry from a 

 correspondent as to the best way of 

 raising Lunumidella and Teak seeds : — 

 " The best way to germinate Lunu- 

 midella seed is first to prepare beds as 

 if for planting tea, taking care to have 

 the soil well freed of stones, wood, roots, 

 &c. Next plant the seed after it has had 

 its fleshy coat removed, in little holes 

 made by the finger or an oval section 

 peg, and lay each seed on its side. Cover 

 with well-sifted soil to a depth of half 

 an inch, and cover the Avhole bed with 

 well dried straw to a depth of 4 inches 

 and set fire to the straw. As soon as 

 the fire is out, water freely at once, and 

 water once a day afterwards till ger- 

 mination begins, and then shade with 

 light shading. The proportion of germi- 

 nation is very variable and ranges from 

 10 to 30 %, as it is not easy to regulate 

 the heat so as not to kill the embryo. 

 Germination too is not regular. 



Teak.— Remove the papery envelope, 

 and first see if the seed has not been 

 drilled by insects. If perfect, first boil 

 in water of 120° F. temperature for 20 

 minutes, then soak between wet sacks 

 for 48 hours and plant in beds which 

 should have about 30 % of sand well 

 mixed with rich loam. Light shade is 

 wanted for Teak as it will not stand 

 direct exposure. Teak seed is generally 

 about 40 % defective, so care should be 

 taken to select heavy seed. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 



Minutes op the 40th Meeting. 



The 40bh meeting of the Board of Agri- 

 culture was held at the Council Chamber 

 on Monday, the 4th May, 1908. 



The Hon'ble Mr. H. C. Nicolle, Colo- 

 nial Treasurer, presided. Present :— Sir 

 Solomon Dias B indaranaike, the Hon'ble 

 Messrs. H. L. Crawford, S. C. Obeye- 

 sekere, J, Ferguson, A. Kanagasabai, 

 Dr. J. C Willis, Dr. H. M. Fernando, 

 Messrs. J. Harward, P. Arunachalam, 



