July, 1908.] 



69 



Miscellaneous. 



formidable competitor. It may be 

 mentioned that the output in Sicily has 

 gradually increased in recent years, the 

 1907 figures, which have just come to 

 hand, showing exports of 6,100 tons of 

 citrate, against 5,100 tons in 1906, and 4,100 

 tons in lv)05, the exact figures in 100 kilos., 

 as published by the Board of Trade, being 

 61,684, 51,498 and 41.259 respectively. 



After a long period of depression the 

 citric-acid market has lately shown signs 

 of improvement, prices having advanced 

 from 1W. to 2d. per lb. during April, and 

 the prospects are for a still further 

 advance ; but in view of the disappoint- 

 ing course of the market last year the 

 placing of contracts has been slower and 

 more cautious. In April-May, 1906, the 

 English manufacturer's price for citric 

 acid touched 2s. 2d. (the highest point), 

 but previously (in March) a large con- 

 tract-business for delivery was done at 

 about Is. lid. The consumption of acid 

 in the summer fell off remarkably, and 

 prices slowly declined from June 

 to December, leaving a heavy loss to 

 those who contracted for their season's 

 supply. This decline continued through 

 the first quarter of 1908 also, English 

 make falling to Is. l|d. by April, and 

 even at this comparatively low price 

 buyers were shy to contract, hoping for 

 a shilling market, In this they were 

 disappointed, for the reaction came, as 

 announced in our issue of April 11, and 

 to-day the market is a rising one, and the 

 English-makers have this week with- 

 drawn from the market, they having 

 enough in hand to keep their works full 

 up to July. — Chemist and Druggist, 

 No. 1,475, Vol. LXX1I., May, 190S. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



By 0. Driebbrg. 



A. de S. — Jaffna mangoes — not those 

 so called in Colombo with a green skin 

 even when ripe — are of decidedly good 

 quality. They take on the typical 

 orange yellow colour of a properly 

 ripened fruit, and the small variety is 

 particularly sweet and well flavoured, 

 Propagation is as a rule by grafting or 

 " Gootie," and it is doubtful whether 

 many seeds could be got to germinate as 

 they are almost invariably damaged by 

 a weevil which is found inside the stone. 



H. H. C. — Mollison's and Mukei ji's works 

 on Indian Agriculture treat of all crops 

 grown there, and should give you the in- 

 formation you want. You could, if neces- 

 sary, consult the books in the library at 

 the Government Stock Garden, Thurston 

 Road ; but they cannot be sent to you. 



Bluestone.— Both bluestone (sulphate 

 of copper) and sulphate of iron are use- 



ful in fixing ammonia, which, as a rule, is 

 lost from manure heaps in the form of 

 carbonate of ammonia — a very volatile 

 compound. The above salts help to 

 produce sulphate of ammonia, Avhich is a 

 valuable and expensive fertilizer. So 

 that if you have no other use for the 

 bluestone, and cannot find a purchaser, 

 1 would advise you to have it crushed 

 into powder and employ it on your 

 estates to mix with manure collected 

 from your cattle sheds. 



P. J. — The experiment in the planting 

 up of jak trees in the Western Province 

 has not proved a success under the 

 conditions it was carried out. The 

 Forest Department might well take up 

 the work since the gradual extermin- 

 ation of the jak is steadily progressing. 

 Apart from the inconvenience caused by 

 the scarcity of the wood, a more serious 

 consideration is the threatened dis- 

 appearance of a tree which a,t all times, 

 and especially when crops fail, supplies 

 wholesome food for the masses {Jak = 

 Artocarpus integrifolia). 



F. D.— The plant you refer to is 

 Martynia diandia. The flower is de- 

 cidedly pretty, and makes the plant 

 worth cultivating. The dry seed is a 

 good example of mimicry, resembling as 

 it does the head of a snake, and for that, 

 if not a better, reason reputed as a 

 remedy for snake-bite ! 



S.— Your informant is correct; there 

 is a species of brinjal (egg-plant) of which 

 the fruits are inedible owiug to their 

 extreme bitterness, but the leaves are 

 cooked and eaten. 



Bee-keeper.— Bambara bees (Apia dor- 

 sata) and Danduwel bees (A. florea) only 

 build one comb, and that in the open, 

 depending from the branch of a tree. 

 They are, therefore, very unlikely to 

 build parallel combs in a box hive in the 

 same way that A. mellifica and A. indica 

 do. You can see some striking specimens 

 of the huge combs built by the Bambara 

 about 2| miles from Rambukkana on 

 the old Kandy road going towards 

 Maw T anella. Hanging from a solitary 

 tree just below the road, they form very 

 conspicuous objects. I do not know of 

 any near about Colombo. 



Goiya.— No: it is not expected that 

 they should adopt the heavy ploughs of 

 the West, but that they should use a 

 more effective implement than the so- 

 called plough they are so wedded to— 

 which is no plough at all, since it does 

 not turn a furrow, and, as a " cultivator," 

 is most unsatisfactory, doing a minimum 

 of work and wasting' labour (of men and 

 cattle) instead of saving both labour 

 and time. They will some day come to 

 give it up for something better. 



