August, 190S.J 



171 



Miscellaneous* 



Correspondence. 



"HANA" HEMP: A VILLAGE IN- 

 DUSTRY WORTHY OF 

 ENCOURAGEMENT. 



On Circuit — Hunupolla- 

 Kurunegala, 13th August, 1908. 

 Dear Sir.— I a m sending you by this post 

 some seed of " Hana " (Crotalaria juncia) 

 that I find is freely grown in this part of 

 the Kurunegala District, in the hope that 

 something might be done to encourage 

 the industry in this excellent hemp. 



It is quite a useful addition to the 

 finances of the villagers here, who grow 

 it without difficulty, and at small cost. 

 The ground is roughly prepared, as for 

 hill paddy, just before the S. W. rains 

 begin, and the seed is planted broadcast. 

 It germinates in three days, and in three 

 months the crop is ready. In that time 

 it grows to 4 ft., and is pulled up by the 

 roots. The stems are cut to uniform 

 lengths, and tied and pat into water for 

 about five days, after which the fibre is 

 stripped off by hand. 



The next process is sun-drying and 

 arranging the dry fibre into "murukkus " 

 or small bundles, and then are sold at 

 from 12§ to 16 cts. per lb. I find that the 

 trade appears to be in the hands of a few 

 Moratuwa people, who, I suspect, make a 

 very considerable profit out of the sutff . 



I send you a small sample of hand- 

 made string from this hemp, and which 

 you will find to be exceedingly strong. 

 I think the matter is quite worth atten- 

 tion, and I would suggest expert opinion 

 being obtained on the value of the fibre, 

 as I can hardly suppose it can be only 

 worth so small a sum as I2h cts. a pound. 



I have also observed that the " sticks " 

 after the fibre has been removed, are 

 very highly inflammable, beside being 

 exceedingly light ; and it has struck me 

 that this " bye-product " might be largely 

 used for making "spills," matchwood, 

 or even matches, so that in that way 

 something might be done with it. 

 Lastly, the lopped-off ends make a good 

 green manure, so that all round there 

 appears to be scope for developing a 

 trade in this little-known product. 



The whole business is so simple, and 

 the crop so easily raised, that I can't but 

 think it deserves to be encouraged. 



I send some seed with the hope that 

 you will raise it in Colombo, and satisfy 

 yourself as to the ease and readiness 

 with which it can be grown. The 

 " sticks " I will bring with me on my 

 return to Colombo. Yours truly, 



FREDERICK LEWIS. 



CEYLON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MINUTES OF THE 41st MEETING, 



The forty-first meeting of the Board 

 of Agriculture was held at the Council 

 Chamber at 12 noon on Monday, the 3rd 

 August, 1908. 



His Excellency the Governor presided. 



There were also present :— The Hon'ble 

 Mr. Hugh Clifford (Colonial Secretary), 

 the Hon'ble Mr. W. H. Jackson, the 

 Hon'ble Mr. S. C. Obeyesekere, Sir 

 Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, Capt. 

 Curling, A.D.C., Dr. J. C. Willis, Messrs. 

 J. Harward, G. W. Sturgess, R. H. Lock, 

 A. F. West, C J. C. Mee, Francis Daniel, 

 Edward Cowan, M. Suppramaniam, and 

 the Secretary. 



Business. 



(1.) Minutes of the previous meeting 

 held on May 4th were read and con- 

 firmed. 



(2.) Progress Report No, 40 was pre- 

 sented and adopted. 



(3.) Dr. J. C. Willis presented the 

 report of the Special Committee on 

 School Gardens and Agricultural Educa- 

 tion, which H. E. the President said he 

 would consider when it came before him, 



(4.) The Secretary (in the absence of 

 the writer) read a paper by Mr. A. 

 Dissanaike Mudaliyar and Retired Pre- 

 sident, V. T., Salpiti Korale, entitled 

 " The Village Cultivator and Paddy 

 Cultivation." His Excellency spoke at 

 length on the paper, and was followed 

 by the Hon'ble the Colonial Secretary 

 and Mr. Obeyesekere. 



(5.) Mr. A. F. West, Acting Govern- 

 ment Entomologist, read a paper on 

 "Vermin Destruction." 



(6.) The writers of the two papers 

 were accorded a vote of thanks. 



PROGRESS REPORT XL, 



Membership.— Since the last ordinary 

 meeting held on May 4th, the following 

 members have been enrolled : — Alfred Bawa, 

 Allan Drieberg, Cecil C. Harding, Clement 

 R. Ingleby, C. Sri Kanta, V. S. Kanaisa- 

 pillai, the Managing Director of the Lanka 

 Agricultural Co., Ltd., W. Hunter, L. B. 

 Fernando, R. D. Carson, and E, Abdul 

 Hamid Didi, 



