Miscellaneous. 



328 



[October, 1910, 



to find on my next visit (to-morrow) that 

 this has improved. I expect a crop of 

 about 20,000 lb. dry tobacco, which should 

 more than cover the cost of the experi- 

 ment this year, and enable us to increase 

 the area next year." 



A trial shipment of 1,000 pounds of 

 Trincomalee tobacco, sent by Mr. A, 

 Alvarpillai, has been shipped to Europe 

 by Messrs. Freudenberg on account of 

 the consignor to test the market. Mr. 

 Alvarpillai deserves credit for his enter- 

 prise. 



Cotton. — The ginnery started three 

 years ago in Darley lane by the British 

 Cotton Growing Association, through 

 their agents, Messrs. Nieland & Wilson, 

 had to be closed for nearly a year owing 

 to the failure of that firm. It has now 

 been re-opened under more favourable 

 auspices. Messrs. Freudenberg & Co. 

 have been appointed sole agents for the 

 British Cotton Growing Association, and 

 with their well-known enterprise the 

 success of the industry is. as tar as it can 

 be, assured. Messrs. Freudenberg & Co. 

 are prepared to buy cotton in small or 

 large quantities, and gin and ship on 

 consignor's account, or buy the seed- 

 cotton outright. 



Messrs. Freudenberg & Co. have just 

 received a consignment of fresh cotton 

 seed for planting, which they are giving 

 away at 10 cents a pound. 



The Assistant Government Agent, 

 Hambantota, writing with reference to 

 an experiment undertaken at the in- 

 stance of Professor Dunstan, makes a 

 favourable report of the cotton grown 

 on high land at Tissamaharama, Ranna, 

 and Walawe. 



Seeds and Plants.— A small quantity 

 of Asclepias semilunata seed has been 

 received from the Superintendent of 

 Entebbe Garden, Uganda, and a trial 

 sowing has been made. This is a tall, 

 slender herb, occurring from the Cape to 

 the Zambesi, in Uganda, the Congo, and 

 Abyssinia, It produces an exception- 

 ally fine fibre from the stalk after the 

 manner of jute. The Straits Agricul- 

 tural Bulletin for December, 1909, con- 

 tains an account of the plant. 



Seeds of seven varieties of Bombay 

 millets have been kindly forwarded by 

 Mr. J. A. Holmes, Superintendent, Ex- 

 periment Station, Peradeniya, for trial 

 at school gardens, &e. 



The cultivation of coconuts in Badulla 

 being limited, an attempt is being made 

 by the local Branch Societv to extend 

 its cultivation with the aid of a loan 

 from the Society. With this object 

 selected plants were purchased in Batti- 

 caloa and distributed among headmen 



and others. The Government Agent 

 reports that forty-two plants were dis- 

 tributed in August, and that a further 

 supply of fifty will be obtained and dis- 

 tributed in October. 



In response to an inquiry from the 

 Society regarding the Bombay mango of 

 Jamaica, which is being so successfully 

 grown and exported from that Colony, 

 the following information has been 

 kindly furnished by the Director of 

 Agriculture, Jamaica: "The mango in 

 question was brought to Jamaica in 1869 

 from India, via Kew, at the instance of 

 Governor Sir J. P. Grant, who had 

 recently come from India to administrate 

 the Government of this Colony. The 

 variety was labelled 'Bombay'; other sorts 

 that came in the same Wardian case were 

 Khyreapatty, Bhadoorea, Bangalore, 

 Madras, Goa, Langeria, Soondershaw, 

 and Agaboy. None of the other sorts 

 have proved to be a success in Jamaica, 

 and the ' Bombay' is still the best mango 

 we know of in this Colony." 



A consignment of 500 selected seeds of 

 local varieties of mango has been for- 

 warded to the Department of Agri- 

 culture, U- S. A„ at the request of Mr, 

 Fairchild, Agricultural Explorer. 



An order has gone to India for a supply 

 of grafted plants, including mango, 

 orange, sapodilla, grape, fig,, guava, 

 bhere fruit, loquat, pumelo, pome- 

 granate, rose apple, and citron, consist- 

 ing of 655 plants, which have been booked 

 to order. 



Lac— Professor Dunstan, writing on 

 May 6, says: "The Superintendent of 

 the State Gardens at Baroda has recently 

 sent to the Imperial Institute specimens 

 of stick lac collected from the ' rain tree' 

 (Pithecolobium saman), on which tree, it 

 is stated, the lac insect has only been 

 found within the last few years. The 

 results of the examination of the lac 

 resin at the Imperial Institute showed 

 that it was of fair average quality. The 

 'stick lac' was not of sufficiently good 

 quality for export to Europe owing to 

 the small quantity of lac present com- 

 pared with wood; the 'seed lac' or 

 granular lac removed from the twig 

 was, however, quite satisfactory, and 

 would find a ready sale at 50 to 60s. per 

 cwt. in London, As the rain tree is 

 common in Ceylon, the possibility of 

 utilizing it as a host for the lac insect 

 might be worth consideration in the 

 Island, Perhaps you will consult Mr. 

 Green on this subject and let me have 

 your observations." 



On reference to the Government Ento- 

 mologist, he reported that repeated 

 endeavours to introduce the Indian lac 



