October, 1910.] 



333 



Miscellaneous. 



THE MAHA-ILUPPALAMA 

 PILGRIMAGE. 



(Amicus No. 92, Vol. XI. Aug. 25th 1910.) 



A few of the members of the Agricul- 

 tural Society went last Friday on a 

 special pilgrimage to the. experimental 

 gardens as Maha-iluppalama. It will be 

 remembered that H. E. the Governor 

 invited the chiefs and agriculturists of 

 the north to visit the gardens, and offered 

 them free passes on the Railway for the 

 purpose. Those who visited the spot 

 last week tell us that our Jaffna friends 

 can have no idea of the treat awaiting 

 them. It was a liberal education to the 

 Agricultural Society members who went 

 there ; it will be a whole University 

 career to the Northern Agriculturist, 

 who will have so much of the inside, the 

 practical working to inquire into and 

 profit by. 



We are told the grounds are worth 

 visiting on their own acccount, irrespec- 

 tive of the lessons the experiments have 

 to teach. The beautiful large tank, Illup- 

 palama, which gives the name to the 

 district, is the chief scenic feature and a 

 beautiful house has been built for the 

 curator of the gardens, giving the whole 

 the peaceful look of a quiet country-side. 

 The pilgrims of last week had a stiff bit 

 of walking to do, and the heavy rains 

 that had fallen the night previous— quite 

 unusual for this time of the year — made 

 the exercise a bit too pronounced for 

 town-bred land-owners. However, they 

 set to, and tried to show they enjoyed 

 the outing. 



There was much to see in the experi- 

 ment station. The paddy attracted 

 much attention. The local goiyas were 

 invited, at the start of the station, to 

 select a field for themselves, and sow 

 their paddy. They were given all the 

 water they wanted by means of. irriga- 

 tion canals. They sowed their paddy 

 there. By the side of this field is the 

 experimental field, where the Java sys- 

 tem of transplanting is being tried. 

 Paddy was sown in the nursery and 

 planted at intervals of eight inches apart. 

 There is another plot where the local 

 system is followed. 



The Tamil labourer has much to learn in 

 this transplanting system if he would be 

 as deft as the Javanese women, but he is 

 making splendid progress. Already the 

 paddy has grown thick and bushy, too 

 bushy to be good for the crop. The 

 experiment has shown that intervals of 

 ten inches would be better in future. 

 But the difference in the health and 

 general appearence of this field as com- 

 pared with the fields sown broad-cast 



is extremely marked. The superiority 

 of the new system is already proved, ana 

 will be more so when the harvest is 

 gathered. The paddy is just flowering. 

 The local villagers generally sow 2£ 

 bushels to the acre. According to the 

 transplanting system no more than one- 

 filth bushel is required. 



Another very interesting point was 

 the tobacco experiments. A tract of 

 twenty-five acres has been set apart for 

 this, and Sumatra and Java varieties are 

 planted there. There is no comparison 

 between the Jaffna leaf and the impor- 

 ted ones. The delicate texture and fine- 

 ness of the leaf is unknown in the Jaffna 

 leaf. Curing is in progress, and Mr. 

 Cowan, the expert, is sanguine of success 

 The experiment is to be extended, and 

 next season fifty acres will be under 

 tobacco. 



There were other experimental fields, 

 too, where sisal hemp, para, ceara and 

 new manihots were being tried. All 

 show up well. And of course there was 

 the cotton plant, which is to transform 

 the face of the dry country through 

 which the Northern Railway runs. The 

 unseasonable rains had somewhat spoilt 

 the crop, but of the ultimate success of 

 the experiment there is no doubt. 



(Coconut has been put down on tilled 

 ground, with no irrigation at all. This, 

 too, is thriving). 



With that moot point settled we may 

 take it that the future of the Anuradha- 

 pura district is also assured, for the lands 

 under the tanks must soon be in large 

 demand. 



LITERATURE OP ECONOMIC 

 BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE. 



By J. C. Willis. 



Rubber : Castilloa : — 



La saignee du Castilloa cultive. 



Journ. d'Agr. trop. May 08, p. 142. 

 Alum for coagulating Castilloa latex. 



Ind. World 1. 9. 08, p. 401. 

 The tapping of cultivated Castilloa. 



Journ, dAgr. trop, May 1908, p. 142, 



Abstr. by R. H. Lock, T.A. Sept. 



'08, p. 212. 

 Castilloa rubber on the Isthmus of 



Tehuantepec. Trop. Life Aug. 1908, 



p. 118, Sept. ; 08, p. 131. 



The cultivation of Castilloa in Mexico. 



do July '08, p. 98. 

 Something doing in Mexico. Ind. 



World, July '08, T.A. Oct. 08, p. 315. 



