December, 1910.] 



after which the grant will cease— is con- 

 sidered satisfactory by Commissioner 

 Booth-Tucker, who, writing from Simla 

 on November 1, says :— " I am hopeful 

 that within the period mentioned we 

 should be able to get the farm on a 

 self-supporting basis." He adds fur- 

 ther : "I should like, however, to point 

 out that, in the interests of Ceylon 

 itself what appears to me to be wanted 

 is a Silk School, which will train young 

 men to establish the industry through- 

 out the Island, acting as Sericultuval 

 Inspectors, and going from village to 

 village with a view to introducing the 

 cultivation amongst the people. This is 

 much more important than the creation 

 of a commercially successful farm. (1) 

 The people must be taught the benefits 

 of the industry» and must be trained in 

 the correct methods ; (2) precautions 

 must be taken to avoid the diseases which 

 have sometimes devastated the industry 

 in other countries, I should propose, 

 therefore, that a few scholarships be 

 given to young men in order to induce 

 them to come and study the business 

 for a period oi from three to six months, 

 the instruction to cover the following 

 five branches :— 



"(1) The hatching of eggs and rearing 

 of silkworms for production of cocoons, 

 with improved methods of rearing and 

 feeding. 



"(2) Grainage, also the production of 

 indigenous disease-free seed for distri- 

 bution. In France and Italy the rearers 

 of silkworms are not allowed to produce 

 their own seed, this being an entirely 

 distinct business. 



" (3) Silkworm food : the best varieties 

 of mulberry, castor, &c. 



"(4) The diseases of silkworms and their 

 remedies ; microscopic examination on 

 the Pasteur system. 



" (5) Reeling silk. As modern machin- 

 ery is expensive, it will be necessary to 

 make use for the present of improved 

 hand-reeling devices. A little later on 

 a proper filature will be established. 



" You may be sure that we will give 

 that matter our careful consideration, 

 and that we shall spare no pains to 

 make it a thorough success. I am glad 

 to say that we have just had five crops 

 of eri silk in six months at Moradabad, 

 although I do not think the climate 

 there is so well suited to the cultivation 

 as that of Ceylon," 



Commissioner Booth-Tucker is expec- 

 ted to visit Ceylon shortly when all 

 practical details with regard to the 

 transfer will be settled, 

 69 



54 5 Miscellaneous 



Reports and Analyses.— In reply to 

 an inquiry by a member, the following 

 report has been received from Mr. Wm. 

 Raitt, Chemical Engineer and Paper 

 Expert, Bangalore, who is now doing 

 duty as Cellulose Chemist and Paper 

 Fibre expert in the Forestry Court at 

 the Allahabad Exhibition :— 



" I do not think there is any possibility 

 of the aggregated layers of the plantain 

 stem being made into a substitute for 

 wood at a cost anywhere within com- 

 mercial limits. As a paper-making fibre, 

 it has been proved to be of a technical, 

 but not commercial, value. The draw- 

 back is the scattered nature of the 

 cultivation, entailing great cost in 

 collection and transport to a factory. 

 To pulp any material economically, the 

 scale of operations must necessarily be 

 large. In the case of plantain stems, 

 several thousand acres, all fairly contin- 

 uous, and more or less in a compact 

 block, would be required. While I am 

 here an opportunity may occur to try 

 some experiments with it, the results of 

 which I will communicate to you." 



The following is the report from the 

 Government Agricultural Chemist on 

 samples of soil from the Rajakadaluwa 

 Experimental Garden :— 



" I have the honour to send my report 

 on the samples of soil from the five plots 

 in the Rajakadaluwa garden, growing 

 vegetables, mun, cotton, kurakkan, and 

 cassava. 



The soil is a dark gray, free sand, 

 fairly uniform throughout. The plant 

 food present is above the average for 

 this type of soil and may be due to 

 manuring or the digging in of ashes or 

 plant residues. 



" For most crops additional nitrogen, 

 potash, and phosphoric acid are required, 

 and I would recommend the following. 



"For kurakkan and other grain crops 

 which grow and mature in a few weeks 

 or months : — 



lb. 



Sulphate of ammonia ... 90 

 Nitrate of soda ••• 80 



Con. superphosphate ... 50 

 Sulphate of potash ... 8G 



300 



" For most vegetables 200 lb. of kainit 

 should be substituted for the sulphate 

 of potash. 



"For cassava and cotton more manure 

 per acre would be required, and the 

 following mixture would be suitable :— 



