November, 1909.] 



448 



Miscellaneous. 



these world-famed gardens afford a rich 

 held for observation and study, whilst to 

 the tourist the Peradeniya Gardens offer 

 attractions in the matter of splendid 

 flowering trees and shrubs which ex- 

 perienced travellers state are difficult to 

 meet with in any other part of the world. 



The large number of scientists and 

 others interested in botanical subjects, 

 in addition to tourists, instance the use- 

 fulness and popularity of the gardens, 

 and present a striking example of the 

 great value of such institutions in all 

 tropical countries. 



The rich collection of economic and 

 gorgeous flowering trees contains many 

 specimens of large size and fine pro- 

 portion. 



The arrangement of the gardens is 

 such, that the formal parts do not mar 

 the appearance of the informal sections, 

 and the visitor will find something of 

 interest on all sides. 



The attractiveness of Peradeniya is 

 much enhanced by the "Mahaweliganga" 

 or great sand river which encircles a 

 large part of the extensive grounds. 



The Director, Dr. J. C. Willis, to whom 

 I had letters of introduction, was absent 

 from Peradeniya during the ten days I 

 spent in the district, but every opportu- 

 nity was afforded me by the Assistant 

 Director, Mr. R. H. Lock, for acquiring 

 the information desired as well as seeds 

 and plants. 



The Acting Curator was untiring in 

 his efforts to make my visit a success, 

 and it was largely due to his kind 

 personal co-opeiation that I secured 

 such a fine assortment of plants and seeds 

 at Peradeniya. 



Mr. Kelway Bamber, Chemist, attached 

 to the staff, personally afforded me much 

 valuable information on rubber, tea, etc., 

 and to other officers I was indebted for 

 help on matters of agriculture and 

 kindred subjects. 



To Mr. W. Austin Goodman of the 

 firm of Walker & Co,, Kandy, I was 

 deeply indebted during my stay in the 

 neighbourhood for personal facilities 

 afforded in the matter of visiting various 

 rubber, tea, and cacao properties. 



Mr, Goodman had to direct the erection 

 of tea, rubber and other machinery, and 

 in the carrying out of his duties I was 

 invited to accompany him long distances 

 in his motor car, and thus was enabled 

 to see a great deal more of the country 

 than I otherwise could have done in 

 the time at my disposal, in addition to 

 obtaining a practical insight into rubber 

 and tea machinery. 



Government Experiment Station, 

 Peradeniya.— The Assistant Director 

 accompanied me over this place and 

 explained the several trials which were 

 being conducted. 



A considerable area is under old 

 established cacao, in connection with 

 which the application of such manures 

 as Sulphate of Ammonia and Nitrate 

 of Soda are producing very beneficial 

 results on the growth and yield of the 

 trees. 



The disease known as Canker is doing 

 considerable damage to the cacao trees, 

 and cutting out of the affected parts is 

 being constantly attended to. Lessen- 

 ing of the shade trees is having good 

 results on the cacao. 



An affection of the cacao pods known as 

 " Helopeltis " is also troublesome. It is 

 said to be caused by a mosquito punctur- 

 ing the soft outer part of the cacao pod. 

 The insects are sought after and des- 

 troyed, which proves the only practical 

 method for keeping the pest under 

 control. 



The cacao trees generally yield good 

 crops and many are very prolific, 



A plot of one year old plants of the 

 new rubber Manihot Dichotoma is 

 doing well. 



Tea cultivation is a prominent feature, 

 and manuring with artificial manures 

 and green dressing is being carried out. 



Castilloa elastica, the Central American 

 rubber is flourishing, A large plot of 

 well-developed trees being of a tappable 

 age. 



An arrangement was made whereby 

 five hundred selected pods of the "For- 

 astero " variety of cacao and fifty pods of 

 "Old Ceylon Red" were obtained for 

 East Africa. The beans were washed and 

 partially dried, and several thousands 

 placed in cases to germinate on the 

 voyage. In order to ascertain the best 

 kind of material in which to pack cacao 

 beans so as to stand a long transit with 

 the least injury to their vitality, a 

 portion of the balance of the seed was 

 placed thickly in layers in biscuit tins, 

 each layer being covered with dry 

 powdered chaicoal. The lids were packed 

 on the tins, which were then placed in 

 an ordinary case for shipment. 



The remainder of the cacao beans were 

 placed similarly in biscuit tins, but the 

 packing material used was ordinary 

 brown soil of a gritty nature. 



On examining the seeds after arrival 

 at Mazeras, five weeks after they had 

 been in the tins, it was found that 

 practically all the beans packed in dry 

 powdered charcoal were dry and dead, 



