Miscel laneous. 



380 



[October, 1908. 



incapacitated by a sharp attack of 

 malaria while in the Bintenne country, 

 but is now at work again in connection 

 with the cultivation of chena land. 



Mr. L. A. D. Silya has been working 

 on similar lines in the Province of 

 Sabaragamuwa, through which he has 

 made a detailed circuit. He has since 

 been employed in giving instructions 

 in the transplanting of paddy. 



With the sanction of the Director. 

 Royal Botanic Gardens, the Foreman 

 and Seedsman at the Government Stock 

 Garden is about to visit the Kegalla 

 District to start bee-keeping at two 

 schools where swarms have already 

 been secured. Improved hives have 

 been provided from the funds voted 

 by the Society for this work. 



Application for Seeds and Plants from 

 abroad. — A number of applications have 

 been received for seeds of paddy, cacao, 

 shade trees, leguminous plants, &c, 

 from Manila, Jamaica, Sumatra, the 

 Solomon Isles, Mozambique, Papua, and 

 Washington. 



Indian Corn and Cluster Siveet 

 Potatoes.— An order has gone forward 

 for these with a view to introducing 

 them to local growers if found suitable 

 to the localities in which the crops are 

 raised. 



Rice Hullers.— Messrs. Jossop & Co., 

 Calcutta, have forwarded for the infor- 

 mation of the Society circulars dealing 

 with hand power rice hullers and " ele- 

 mininators." They report well of the 

 machines. The eliminator has the 

 capacity to deal with the output of about 

 four hullers, and is valued at Rs. 240, 

 less 10 per cent, discount ; the huller and 

 aspirator, dealing with 60 to 80 lb. per 

 hour, is Rs. 350, less 10 per cent, dis- 

 count, 



Apiculture.- Mr. Chas. Gray of Coo- 

 noor, writing on Sepetember 12, says :— 

 "I note in your report of the Ceylon 

 Agricultural Society, in the June num- 

 ber of 'T- A'., that apiculture is being 

 largely taken up. It is possible that a 

 large quantity of propolis is removed 

 from the hives of the Italian bees- 

 May I ask if you can procure some for 

 me ? I am prepared to buy it by the 

 pound, up to a certain limit. I may 

 mention that I have been a subscriber 

 to your journal for some years past. 

 I refer to this as I see you object (and 

 rightly too ) to help persons who can 

 benefit from the excellent work done by 

 your Society, and for a small sum, and 

 yet will not join as members." 



Tobacco Committee.— The report of the 

 proposed tobacco experiment in grow- 

 ing and curing tobacco for the foreign 

 market will be presented by the Sec- 



retary to-day, and a resolution em- 

 bodying the recommendations therein 

 made will be duly moved. 



Sprays for Plants. — Sample lots of 

 Cooper's VI. and V2, solution for insects 

 and fungi on plants have been received 

 and are being given a trial, so far with 

 excellent results. Further details re- 

 garding these preparations will be given 

 in a later report. 



C DRIEBERG, 



Colombo, October 5, 1908. Secretary. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



By C. Dkieberg. 

 H. E. A. — The subject of alkaline soils 

 and the means of improving them came 

 up before the Board not long ago. You 

 will find Mr. R. W. Smith's paper and 

 Dr. Willis' remarks reproduced in the 

 pages of the Magazine of the Ceylon 

 Agricultural Society for June last. The 

 memorandum below, which gives further 

 information on the subject, is taken 

 from a circular issued by the Central 

 Agricultural Committee of Madras : — 



"As may be seen from one of the 

 Agricultural Ledgers on ' Reh,' a cer- 

 tain Moahmedan agricultural officer in 

 Northern India converted worthless alka- 

 line land into fertile land by enclosing 

 it with a fence and manuring it plenti- 

 fully by picketing on the land a very 

 large number of milch cows purchased 

 for the purpose, the milk of the cows 

 being sold daily and the cows themselves 

 being sold after a short period when 

 the land had been materially improved. 

 Plentiful addition of green manure 

 would have the effect. The fencing of 

 alkaline land, so that it became covered 

 with thick natural herbage, which 

 would otherwise have been grazed by 

 cattle, has also led to the material im- 

 provement of such land in Northern 

 India." 



Again, from Balfour's " Cyclopaedia of 

 India " it may be seen that crude nitrate 

 of lime, called chikna kalar, may be 

 applied with benefit to alkaline land ; 

 indeed, it is a sovereign remedy, im- 

 mediate and certain in its effect on 

 alkaline land. If the refuse scrapings of 

 raw hides (Tamil javvu) available at 

 tanneries or margosa or other oil cake in 

 fine powder be mixed with powdered 

 limestone and kept well exposed to the 

 air under shelter for about a year or 

 longer, being frequently stirred, nitrate 

 of lime will be plentifully formed. 

 Under the head " Manure " the process 

 of deriving nitrate of lime from the 

 carcases of dogs which are killed in 

 towns is explained. Again in the Kistna 

 and Godavari deltas, alkaline land is re- 

 claimed by the plentiful addition of 



