June 1908.] 



565 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



CEYLON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



REPORT FOR 1907-1908. 

 PRESENTED AT THE GENERAL MEETING 

 OF THE SOCIETY HELD ON 15TH 

 JUNE, 1908. 

 The last General Meeting was held on the 

 25th of May, 1907, when a Review of the work 

 done by the Society from its inception in 1904 

 to the beginning of 1907 was submitted. The 

 present Report refers to its operations since 

 the latter date. 



Reconstitution of the Board. 



According to the regulations of the Society, 

 the Board was re-constituted at the begin- 

 ning of this year for a three years' term of 

 service. Most of the original members re- 

 main on it, but the number of provincial 

 representatives has been increased from 38 

 to 52. The total number of members at 

 present serving on the Board is 102 against 

 81 previously. 



Membership and Subscription. 



In terms of the resolution passed by the 

 Finance and Publication Committees, the 

 subscription for members resident in the 

 Island was raised from Rs. 5 to Rs. 8 per 

 annum, the rate for members residing out 

 of the Island remaining at Rs. 12 per annum. 

 To non-members the Magazine is now avail- 

 able at one rupee per copy, or for an annual 

 subscription of Rs. 10. Only those who 

 have been enrolled as members, however, 

 are entitled to all the privileges of the Society. 



At date there is a membership of 914. 



Publications. 



The publication of the English, Sinhalese 

 and Tamil Agricultural Magazines has been 

 carried on without interruption. In August, 

 1907, the English Magazine proper, edited by 

 Dr. Willis, was augmented by the addition 

 of a Supplement containing from 24 to 32 

 pages, thus increasing the amount of reading 

 matter to about 100 pages. The Supplement 

 gives greater variety to the contents, and 

 embodies information of special local interest, 

 useful for future reference. 



The Sinhalese and Tamil Magazines, edited 

 by the Superintendent of School Gardens and 

 Mr. J. P. Cooke respectively, were issued free 

 of cost to all vernacular-speaking members. 



In addition to these periodicals, leaflets 

 were published from time to time, both in 

 English and the Vernaculars, treating of the 

 following subjects : — 



Hints on the Growing of Vegetables, 

 West Indian Yams. 



Experiments in Rotations of Ci'opa in 

 Cbena, Lands, 



Conservation of Soil Moisture. 

 Diseases of Tobacco in Dumbara. 

 Coconut Stem Disease. 

 A Sinhalese Agricultural Calendar. 

 Review of the Society's Work 1904 to 

 1907. 



Meetings of the Board. 



Nine meetings of the Board were held dur- 

 ing the year under review, generally on the 

 first Monday of the month. 



The subjects discussed at these meetings 

 included the following : — 



Experiments in Crop Rotations. 



Cultivation of Paddy. 



A Central Agency, to deal with Agricul- 

 tural Produce from the Provinces. 



Report on a Visit to India by Mr. C. 

 Drieberg. 



An Experiment in the Manuring of 



Tobacco. 

 Roadside Arboriculture. 

 A System of Cultivation suitable to Arid 



Districts. 

 The Cultivation of Betel. 

 Coconut Stem Disease. 

 Suggestions for establishing a rational 



system of Bee-keeping in the Island. 

 The Present Position of the Chief Crops 



of the Island. 

 The Acclimatisation of Plants. 

 A Note on Plantain Fibre Machines. 

 Experiment with Fodders and Pasture 



Grasses at Hakgalla and Nuwara Eliya. 

 Salt in Agriculture. 



Some .Suggestions for the Improvement 

 of Rice Cultivation in Ceylon. 



A Revised Test for Citronella Oil. 



Recent Researches into the cause of Fer= 

 tility in Soils. 



Introduction of New Products. 



The importation of seeds and plants was 

 continued during the year. Four good varie- 

 ties of grafted mango plants (625), three 

 varieties of grafted oranges (750), as well as 

 some Sapodilla grafts were imported from 

 India. 



Besides varieties of vegetables, seeds of the 

 following were procured for applicants : — 



Cotton (Sea Island and Egyptian). 



Bellary Onion. 



Durian. 



Indian Betel (cuttings). 

 Dry and Wet Paddy. 

 Sorghum. 

 American Maize. 

 Jamaica Yams. 

 Kiushu Paddy 

 Nepaul Chili. 

 Sandal Woods 



Solid, B&Hlbag, • • 



