January, 1009.1 



71 



Miscellaneous. 



could not get the manure into the country 

 quick enough ; and the effect of manuring 

 on the general agriculture of the country 

 was that, four years ago, the price of straw, 

 etc. , in Egypt was nearly double the price 

 that it is at the present day, as the increase 

 of crop owing to the beneficial action of 

 the manure put a larger quantity of pro- 

 duce on the market. Some people might 

 think that this would result in no benefit to 

 the cultivator ; but that would be a mistaken 

 id«a, as artificial, manures applied carefully, 

 in the correct proportions and the correct 

 manures to the correct crops, seldom give 

 less than 100 per cent, on the cost of the 

 manures. The natives of Ceylon know 

 nothing about manures, but that is not to 

 their discredit. Only 10 years ago in Great 

 Britain there were very few farmers who 

 knew anything about artificial manures. 

 Some people have the idea that manures 

 are very flexible quantities : this is also a 

 fallacy, as a manure has only a definite value 

 andean only give a definite increase, and this 

 increase to a large extent is dependent on the 

 right manure being put to the right crop. 



Dr. Willis — referring to what Mr. Mc- 

 Call had said— remarked that he had been 

 round the districts where at present artificial 

 manure is unknown. Some said they knew 

 nothing about it and some said once manur- 

 ing was started they must go on with it. 

 That was of course true. It was an essential 

 condition to progress in anything. He 

 said it had been pointed out, and the 

 suggestion he thought was a sound one, that 

 it would pay in the long run if the Par- 

 ent Society in Colombo were prepared 

 to supply local societies with small quantities 

 of selected manure for trial in the districts. 

 That might be tried on the lines Mr. McCall 

 spoke of. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



G. E.— The Centre of Agricultural 

 Education in the Madras Presidency is 

 Coimbatore, where'there is a College and 

 a farm of 450 acres. Apply to the 

 Principal for syllabus. The course is a 

 three years ' one. 



W. de S.— The cultivated anatto bears 

 a pink flower, but there is also a white 

 variety. It is the former that is 

 commonly cultivated, but the white 

 flowered variety is found semi-wild in 

 India, the natives believing that it is 

 indigenous. The principal use of the 

 dye is for colouring butter and cheese. 

 It is usually dissolved out with olive oil. 



Tomato.— The following system of 

 manuring tomatoes is recommended by 

 the Queensland Agricultural Journal 

 2 parts nitrate of soda, 2 of bone meal, 



3 of kainit, 4 of superphosphate. Apply 

 1 oz. per sq. yard weekly, slightly cover- 

 ing, from the time the plants are estab- 

 lished till the fruit has set. 



Danicha. - This is an Indian name for 

 Sesbanea aculeata, which is well thought 

 of as a green manure and is also a fibre 

 plant. It is closely allied to our 



Katurumurunga " and is being grown 

 experimentally at the Government 

 Stock Garden. 



B,— The author ot "The French Garden" 

 is C D. McKay, f.r.h.s. He describes 

 the work as " A diary and manual of 

 intensive cultivation." The book can 

 be consulted in this office. 



P. E. P.— No, the cherimoya will not 

 do at Colombo elevation, so that you 

 may not grow this delicious fruit in 

 your own garden. 



M. G.— The Coorg is a much smaller 

 orange than the Nagpur. The latter is 

 more after the style of our best King 

 oranges. 



" Chow Mcellier."— This is being tried 

 at the Cover nment Stock Garden. The 

 plaut belongs to the cabbage family. 

 Its value is as a cattle food. 



Gardener.— Have you tried bone 

 meal? I would recommend your giving 

 up heavy applications of cattle manure 

 for a time, as the orange trees have 

 most probably had enough of nitro- 

 genous food and want more of phos- 

 phate for fruit formation. 



THE LITERATURE OP TROPICAL 

 ECONOMIC BOTANY AND AGRI- 

 CULTURE. 



Sceond Series. 



By. J. C. Willis. 

 We propose to go on publishing this 

 literature, which we find is regarded as 

 very useful by many correspondents 

 scattered over the world, and begin to- 

 day a Second Series. 



While at first these lists were con- 

 cerned almost purely with economic 

 botany, they have gradually had other 

 subjects added to them. The date of 

 each new heading may be ascertained 

 from the dates of the articles mentioned 

 under it, and no attempt has been made 

 to go back. 



Mr. Lock, who will act for me during 

 my absence, having undertaken to keep 

 up the lists of literature, there will not 

 be the same gap as there was in 1902-3, 



