Correspondence. 



flavour. In Tamil it is known as " Punai- 

 pudukku." 



T. D. S. DHARMASBNA. 



[These native names, which are new to 

 us, should prove useful for collection of 

 seed-— Ed.] 



THE "JAFFNA" MANGO 



Jaffna, 19th December, 1908. 



Sib, — I send you a small article re 

 " Mangoes" ; if you consider it to be 

 useful information please publish it in 

 your next issue and oblige. 



C. M. SINNAYAH, 

 (Article.) 



Sir,— I have noted your editorial 

 remark on my article on " Mangoes in 

 Ceylon " published in your issue for 

 November last. My suggestion was 

 based on the information contained in a 

 price list issued by De & Co., Seedsmen 

 of Calcutta. This Company advertises 

 the sale of ''Japan Mango" grafts and 

 also of "Java Mango" grafts. That 

 kind known in Colombo as "Jaffna 

 Mango" is known here by the name 

 " Colombo Mango." As Java belongs to 

 the Indo-Malaya regions, I presume that 

 the so-called " Jaffna Mango" originally 

 came in from Java. — C.M.S. 



[The so-called Jaffna Maugo is extremely 

 like the Alphonse of Bombay, but a 

 detailed study of the numerous mangoes 

 is required, a work which would occupy 

 a botanist for months.— Ed.] 



ORNITHOLOGY: A SUGGESTION. 



Demodera, 29th Dec, 1908. 



Sir,,— I think some description of the 

 birds of Ceylon (with illustrations 

 if possible) would be of great interest to 

 a very large number of residents aud 

 others, and might aid your circulation. 

 Where original notes are not possible, 

 extracts from Legge's books (which are 

 beyond the reach of most of us) would 

 be most acceptable. 



Animals might also be included, also 

 reptiles. 



H. B, T. BOUCHER. 



[I should very much like to include 

 articles on Birds and other Animals, but 

 unless I copy out"Legge" etc,, do not 

 know how to get them. Can you suggest 

 any one who would write ?— Ed.] 



[January, 1909. 

 TILLAGE AND SOIL FERTILITY. 



Mocha, Maskeliya, 3rd Dec, 1908. 

 Sir,— I enclose a cutting from the 

 " London Times" of 2nd November for 

 insertion in the " T. A." if suitable. 



R. MACLURE. 

 (Article.) 



From the prominence given to experi- 

 ments in manuring it might be inferred 

 that the crop-producing capabilities of 

 the soil depended entirely upon the ferti- t 

 lizing materials it received. To form 

 such a conclusion, however, would 

 be to arrive at an erroneous con- 

 ception of what constitutes good farm- 

 ing. The judicious use of both farm- 

 yard and artificial fertilizers is a vital 

 factor in profitable arable farming, but 

 at least equally important and far-reach- 

 ing in its influences is the tillage ot the 

 laud itself. It is a fact, recognized by 

 most of the leading farmers, though 

 overlooked by an equally large 

 number, that thorough cultivation not 

 only exercises as powerful an effect upon 

 the welfare of the crops as the manures 

 applied, but also directly controls the 

 results obtained from the manures- 

 Yet our agricultural colleges in their 

 experiments both on the college farms 

 and at the scattered experimental areas 

 under their supervision confine their 

 attention almost exclusively to the use 

 of manures. 



DEFECT IN EXISTING EXPERIMENTS. 



The apparent neglect of influences 

 affecting the physical coudition of the 

 laud is in some degree unavoidable. It 

 is not always convenient to carry out 

 tillage investigations, few of the col- 

 leges having the facilities and equip- 

 ment necessary for work of the kind. 

 The defect, in fact, is more the fault of 

 the State than of the educational insti- 

 tutions, in denying them the funds 

 essential for such inquiries. It would 

 be unfair to the teaching establishments 

 to conclude that they were indifferent 

 to, or ignorant of, the influences of 

 efficient cultivation. As a rule they 

 appreciate the beneficial effects of a 

 well-prepared tilth as fully as the most 

 enlightened farmer, but although they 

 endeavour to impress the point upon 

 the students in the class room, they sel- 

 dom possess the opportunity for demon- 

 strating the truth of their teaching on the 

 field, aud herein lies an imperfection in 

 our agricultural educational system that 

 must be rectified if we are to hold our 

 own with countries in which the land 

 and the claims of those who derive their 

 living from it receive more adequate con- 

 sideration. The Americans are far ahead 



