November, 1908,] 



Miscellaneous' 



EXPERIMENT PLOTS. 



The "American Farmer" says that 

 down in Oklahoma farmers are forming 

 " acre clubs," each member taking 1 acre 

 for an experimental crop, doing his best 

 with it, and, when the season is over, 

 reporting his experience, inclusive of 

 mistakes, and describing his methods. 

 This is the most practical form of agri- 

 cultural education, ard the plan might 

 well be adopted elsewhere. Pew far- 

 mers are so skilled in agricultural 

 science that they cannot learn some- 

 thing from their associates. The Okla- 

 homa plan is a kind of extension of the 

 experiment station, a reproduction in 

 miniature of the individual farm of the 

 principles governing the stations. It is 

 a most excellent idea, and, if gener- 

 ally carried out, will prove of great 

 educational benefit. 



( If the same plan were adopted by the 

 farmer members of Queensland Agri- 

 cultural Associations, the educational 

 benefit would no doubt be universally 

 recognised.— Ed. " Q. A. J." ) Queens- 

 land Agricultural Journal, Vol. XXI., 

 July, 1908.) 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Papaya.— The demand for papain, or 

 dried papaw juice, is steady if it is not 

 increasing. According to Merck's Re- 

 port (May, 1908) the substance known as 

 papayotin, is prepared from it by a 

 special process of purification, and has two 

 to three times the therapeutic activity of 

 papain. Both were till lately employed 

 to further digestion in the alkaline 

 intestinal juice, as pepsine is only active 

 in acid gastric fluid. Favourable results 

 have been reported of the trial of papa- 

 yotin in cases of cancer. A new papa- 

 yotin preparation, " pepsorthin " is re- 

 commended as a digestive as well as 

 gastric and intestinal disinfectant. 



F. de. M.— The Society is just about 

 to issue a leaflet containing definite in- 

 structions in the matter of transplanting 

 paddy. Copies of these could be had 

 on application to the Secretary. Some 

 think that the preparation of the field 

 ^J* 11 ? . metnod of cultivation presents 

 difficulties. This is not the case, and 

 indeed the only difference between 

 this and the ordinary method of culti- 

 vation is that a well-prepared nursery 

 about rs the extent of the land to be 

 sown must be prepared, and sown 

 about a month before the transplanting 

 has to be done. ° 



Light American Machines.— In reply 

 to enquiries about the disc harrow 

 and cultivator, referred to in the last 

 issue's leader, Dr. Willis is good enough 

 to state that these implements are to 

 be obtained from Messrs. Frost & Wood 

 Smith's Falls, Ontario, Canada. It 

 would of course be necessary to plough 

 the land first to render it loose enough 

 for these machines to get a start, after 

 that they alone need be used. After 

 the rains are over in the North-Central 

 Province, say in February, they could 

 be seen at work at the Experiment 

 Station, Maha-illuppalama. 



Bitter Gourd.— Mr. M. G. Perera 

 Horticulturist of 145, Bambalapitiya has 

 grown this fruit, known botanically as 

 Momordica charantia, and used as a 

 vegetable, to extraordinary perfection 

 A specimen forwarded to this office 

 was found to be 14 inches lono- and 

 7 inches in circumference. Has anyone 

 beaten this ? 



Mango Weevil. — The Director of the 

 Colombo Museum has been good enough 

 to refer me for an account of this 

 interesting insect to Lefroy's " Insect 

 Pests of India." In the beetle stage it 

 is found hiding in the bark of the tree 

 and here remains till the advent of' 

 the truit season, when it lays its eggs 

 in the flowers or young fruit. The 

 grub, which is subsequently hatched out 

 appears to develope at the same rate 

 as the fruit. It burrows in the kernel 

 of the seed as the mango grows, and 

 pupates inside the fruit as it ripens 

 becoming a beetle, which, when the 

 mango is dead ripe, is ready to emerge 

 from tne stone and eat its way through 

 the pulp. It thus happens that when a 

 ripe mango is cut the weevil walks out 

 of the seed. These weevils are verv 

 common in the North of the Island The 

 remedy, according to Lefroy 'is to 

 destroy all infested fruit and also to kill 

 the_ weevils found in the bark after the 

 fruiting season. As the weevils some 

 times also occur on the ground, the soil 

 should be thoroughly cultivated under 

 tne trees to destroy them. It is further 

 suggested that the bark of the trees 

 should be washed with a strong solution 

 of kerosene emulsion. 



Gugul.— This is a gum resin (known 

 as Indian Bdellium) produced by Baf. 

 samodrendron Mukxd, a close ally of 

 B. Berryi, the common fence-plant of 

 the North, known as Mul-kilivai. Gugul 

 is highly esteemed for its medicinal 

 properties, and is found in local bazaars 



