Minrellaneona 



278 



[Septemrer. lfWlS. 



month. The Government Veterinary 

 Surgeon has kindly helped with his ad- 

 vice, and I am sure he will gladly tell 

 you what ought to suit your require- 

 ments if you consult him. 



Termites Attacking Young Coconut 

 Plants. — I note that you have tried 

 saw-dust and salt, and also planting of 

 Colocasia antiquorum in the same hole 

 as the nut, but having not found either 

 satisfactory, I shall be glad to hear 

 later how the application of a coat 

 of tar to the seed-nuts has answered. I 

 would advise you trying castor cake 

 when planting out. White-ants object 

 to it strongly, and it will benefit the 

 young plants. If you can get Margosa 

 poonac you will find it even more effica- 

 cious. 



Tomato Disease.— The black spot 

 fruit disease is caused by a fungus (Gla- 

 diosporium lycopersici). The spores 

 gain entrance into the fruit through 

 minute cracks or punctures on the skin. 

 The use of raw manure likely to prove 

 too forcing and cause cracking should 

 be avoided, as also excessive watering. 

 Allow the plant free ventilation and 

 spray at intervals with Potassium sul- 

 phide solution, made by dissolving one 

 ounce of the sulphide (liver of sulphur) 

 in a quart of hot water ; then make up 

 to two and a half gallons with cold 

 water. Give the plants liquid manure. 



Poultry Fancier.— The usual way of 

 testing eggs is by holding them in a suit- 

 able appliance against the light of 

 a candle. If fresh, the egg will appear 

 quite clear and almost transparent. If 

 incubation has begun, a dark spot will be 

 visible which increases with length of 

 incubation. A rotten egg appears dark 

 in colour. Another method is to place the 

 egg in a solution of salt (2 oz.) in water 

 (1 pint). If new laid, the eggs will sink 

 to the bottom; if one day old, it 

 will sink below the surface but not 

 to the bottom ; if three days old it will 

 stand just below the liquid ; if over three 

 days it will float on the surface; if 

 two weeks old only a little of the shell 

 will go below the liquid. The older the 

 egg the lighter it is, and hence the less 

 will it sink in the solution. 



V. P.— The "Aerator" is stocked by 

 Messrs. Brown & Co. For garden work 

 you could get nothing better for keeping 

 the surface soil loose and free of weeds. 

 The price is somewhere about Rs. 7*50. 

 The "Planet Junior" machine is intended 

 for rather more extensive work ; but all 

 these appliances are calculated to help 

 in keeping soil in tilth — a condition 

 rarely seen in Ceylon. 



Sugar-Cane Vinegar.— A lady corres- 

 pondent writes from upcountry inquiring 

 where she could get some of this vine- 

 gar, having read about it in Miss 

 Gordon Cumming's work on Ceylon, from 

 which the following passage is taken : — 

 "Possibily some of the many victims 

 of jungle fever in other lands may be 

 disposed to try the simple remedy des- 

 cribed in a letter to the Editor of the 

 Ceylon Observer. The writer states 

 that his stalwart brother had from 

 repeated attacks of fever dwindled to a 

 mere skeleton, when a fakir came to 

 his tent and offered to permanently cure 

 him. His materia medica were of tlie 

 simplest, consisting only of a flat piece of 

 iron and a bottle of sugarcane vinegar. 

 The former was made red-hot, and the 

 vinegar was poured over it — the patient 

 inhaling the fumes. This operation 

 was repeated only a second time, and 

 from that day forward, in the thirteen 

 years up to date of the letter, the sufferer 

 never had a return of fever, and quite 

 recovered his health." I have succeeded 

 in procuring some of this vinegar from 

 Mr. D. A. Jayasinghe, sugar planter of 

 Nagoda, in Galle District. Will any 

 one who could furnish further testi 

 mony as to the efficacy of the treatment 

 referred to kindly do so ? 



orrespondence. 



ROSBLLB : ITS CULTURE AND USES*. 



Kudat, B.N. Borneo, 20th July, 1908. 

 Sir,— Referring to the article on 

 " Roselle : Its Culture and Uses" in 

 "T.A. & Mag." for April last, on page 

 316 reference is made to the cultivation 

 of the plant in India for fibre. Could 

 you kindly inform me what the yield 

 per acre of fibre averages, the value per 

 lb., and the method and cost of treating 

 it. 



As it is very difficult to place a new 

 fibre on the market, I should be glad to 

 know whether it has beeu under cultiva- 

 tion for any length of time, what quan- 

 tities are produced, and where it is 

 chiefly sold. 



I presume the machinery for extract- 

 ing the fibre could be obtained in Calcutta, 

 if not at Colombo. 



Yours faithfully, 

 PLANTER. 



[Watt, in his Dictionary of Economic 

 Products of India, says :— 



Fibre. —The stems yield a good, 

 strong, silky Fibre, the Roselle Hemp of 

 Commerce, obtained by retting the twigs 

 when in flower. The process is deser ibed 



