[Ave Stock, 



50 



[July, 1910. 



There is no objection to usiug condensed 

 milk made from whole or yet from 

 skimmed milk if the consumers know ex- 

 actly what they are using, but the labels 

 round the tins are sufficient to convince 

 the consumer that this is the best milk 

 procurable, even although it distinctly 

 states that it is machine-skimmed, which 

 means that it is deprived of some of its 

 food value and is in reality a poor food in 

 comparison with whole milk ; mothers 

 buy this machine-skimmed condensed 

 milk for the sake of its cheapness and 

 give it to their childern, thinking they are 

 giving them a full ration when in reality 

 they are starving them, and this 

 ignorance on the part of the parent is 

 doing a lot of harm to the younger 

 generation all over the civilised world. 



Statement showing the quantity of 

 Condensed Milk imported into the Island 

 of Ceylon during the year 1909: — 



Country of Cases of 4 dozen 



Production. tins. No. 



United Kingdom ... 12 



British Colonies.— 



Straits Settlements ... 130 



New South Wales ... 4 



Victoria ... 2 



Foreign Countries. — 



Austria ... ... 127 



Denmark ... ... 10 



France ... ... 63 



Germany ... ... 251 



Holland ... ... 1,084 



Country o) Cases of k dozen 



Production. tins. No, 



Italy ... ... 100 



Norway ... ... 2,435 



Switzerland ... ... 25,000 



United States America ... 135 



Total .., 30,553 



I am indebted to the Principal Col 

 lector of Customs for the above inform- 

 ation, which shows that the bulk of the 

 condensed milk comes from the Con- 

 tinent and would require a very large 

 herd of cattle to supply the quautity 

 of milk which comes from these parts- 

 Ceylon an agricultural Island and within 

 easy distance of one of our most im- 

 portant agricultural Colonies should not 

 be dependent ou foreign countries for a 

 large portion of their milk supply. If 

 one looks over tbe administration re- 

 ports of the Veterinary Surgeon they 

 will find the accounts of the Government 

 Dairy, and if this is to be taken as a 

 criterion of the financial side of the 

 question, then dairying in Colombo seems 

 a very paying concern in spite of rinder- 

 pest and the increased cost of food, and 

 apparently it only requires enterprise 

 to start a flourishing Dairy business 

 which would supply the wants of the in- 

 habitants of Ceylon, or failing this to 

 encourage our own Colonies to supply 

 us and legislate that supplies coming 

 from outside Ceylon should be not only 

 fit for human consumption, but of full 

 food value as is demanded from local 

 dealers. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE, 



THE EFFECT OF AFTER- 

 CULTIVATION. 



(From the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 

 XXXIV., 3rd March, 1909.) 



Mr. C. A. Barber, Government Botanist, 

 Madras, writes in the Madras Agricul- 

 tural Calendar : — 



When the long, dry season is drawing 

 to a close the first showers are eagerly 

 awaited for ploughing to begin. The 

 land is sometimes ploughed many times 

 and the seed is sown after further rain. 



But, besides the seed sown, weeds also 

 grow after the showers, and indeed 

 often much quicker than the crop. 

 Hence it is necessary to hoe the land 

 several times. The weeds are taken out 

 and thus prevented from overshadowing 

 the plants and robbing them of their 

 food. 



Working the soil after planting has 

 another very important function, namely, 

 that of aeration and keeping the soil 

 moist. The preservation of moisture in 

 the soil is perhaps the most important 

 problem in the dry cultivation of all 

 tropical countries. 



The roots of plants a re so constructed 

 that they can only 4.ake up food in the 

 liquid form, This liquid is supplied to 

 the soil in four different ways. First 

 and best is the rain. This is sometimes 

 replaced by irrigation. Water is also 

 obtained directly from the air as dew and 

 from the underground stores by a 

 constant gradual rise from the deeper 

 layers to the suiface. The chief object 

 of working the soil in after-cultivation 

 is to utilize these various supplies to the 

 utmost advautage and to make them 

 last as long as possible. 



