Miscellaneous, 



462 



[May, 1909. 



The Teacher, boys' vernacular school* 

 Kankaniyamulla, reports that he sowed 

 two measures of paddy in a nursery on 

 August 20 and planted out the seedlings 

 25 days after. The crop was gathered 

 on February 5 and realized 98 measures, 

 or 49-fold, in spite ot its having suffered 

 somewhat from the attacks of rats and 

 birds. The school boys assisted in the 

 experiment. 



Drought-resistant Paddy from Burma. 

 —This paddy was distributed among 

 the following centres : — Anuradhapura, 

 Chilaw, Delft, Hambantota, Jaffna, Ka- 

 tana, Katunayaka, Kegalla, Kurunegala, 

 Mannar, Mullaittivu, Nattandiya, Trin- 

 comalee, Vavuniya, Wauni hatpattu, 

 and Puttalam. 



A report of the failure of the last 

 paddy crop comes from the Marawila 

 district, with a request for assistance 

 with seed paddy. The matter is receiv- 

 ing attention. 



A useful pamphlet on paddy cultiva- 

 tion and manuring has been issued by 

 Messrs. Freudenberg & Co., and can be 

 had free on application. The contents 

 are instructive, and copies received from 

 the publishers have been distributed 

 among Branch Societies. 



Seeds and Plants. — Through the cour- 

 tesy of the Director of Agriculture, Beira, 

 four varieties of cotton (Champion Clus- 

 ter, Southern Hope, Bate's Big Boll, 

 anJ Allen's Long Staple) and six of 

 maize (Golden King, Hickory King, 

 Chester County Mammoth, Champion 

 White Pearl, Early Star Learning, and 

 Iowa Silver Mine) were received during 

 May, and distributed, 



Soy Bean.— This bean was imported 

 twice previously, but did not prove a 

 success. At the request of a member, 

 seeds of eight varieties were obtained 

 through the courtesy of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, and 

 are being tried in the Kurunegala Dis- 

 trict. They are named Mammoth, 

 Haberlandt, Tokio, Guelph, Itosan, 

 Brownie, Flat King, and Nuttal. 



Dhaincha Seed {Sesbania aculeata). — 

 Arrangements are being made, if pos- 

 sible, to get a fairly large supply of seed 

 of this green-manure plant. 



The Algaroba Tree {Prosoins juli- 

 jlora).— At the suggestion of a member, 

 seeds of this useful tree have been in- 

 dented for from Hawaii. A specimen 

 about six years old may be seen growing 

 in the Government Stock Garden. 



Alphonso Mango Grafts indented for 

 from India, and the usual stock of vege- 

 table seeds from England, for south- 

 west monsoon planting, are expected to 

 arrive early next month. 



Kekuna Nuts.— A report is awaited 

 from the coutineut on samples of this 

 oil-nut (Aleurites triloba), submitted 

 in connection with inquiries received. 

 Some seven or eight years ago an order 

 for this oil came from Russia, and was 

 executed with the help of the Superin- 

 tendent of School Gardens. So far as 

 could have been ascertained, it was 

 wanted in connection with the paint 

 trade. 



Yams.— What is generally known as 

 the Jaffna yam or King yam— a variety 

 of Dioscorea alata, purple when boiled — 

 is considered a delicacy by many, and 

 a good deal sought after. It is gener- 

 ally procured from the Northern Pro- 

 vince, as very little is raised in other 

 parts of the Island. To test the market 

 value of the yam a member grew some 

 100 vines and got a crop of over a 1,000 

 pounds, but, strange to say, he was un- 

 able to get a better sale for the produce 

 than for that of commoner varieties 

 more popular with the natives (such as 

 hingurala). 



A consignment of selected Ceylon 

 yams was despatched to Manila at the 

 request of the Director of Agriculture. 



The Yampee or Kush-Kiiih yam of 

 the West Indies (Dioscotea trifida) has 

 proved too delicate for the compara- 

 tively damp climate ot the Western Pro- 

 vince. The vines grown at the Govern- 

 ment Stock Garden have all died out 

 in spite of attention given. 



Implements and Machines. — A trial was 

 recently made at the Government Stock 

 Garden by Messrs. Brown & Co. of 

 a Horusby mower for bullock-power, 

 recommended for cutting down weeds 

 in coconut plantations. In the absence 

 of woody-stemmed weeds it did its 

 work satisfactorily. 



Messrs. Walker, Sons & Co. have on 

 view a varied assortment of English 

 and Indian implements, which are worth 

 inspection by those who are in search 

 of suitable ploughs, &c. 



White Aut Exterminator.— The Gov- 

 ernment Entomologist reports:—" White 

 ants are easily exterminated by the 

 machine imported for that purpose and 

 now sold by Messrs. Gordon Frazer 

 & Co., Colombo, for R^. 75 each. They 

 have proved very successful, and the 

 extermination is complete." 



Oil Mills.— There is a prospcet of 

 Messrs. Walker, Sons & Co. exhibiting 

 and demonstrating the working of a 

 Donaldson's patent oil mill (referred to 

 in last Progress Report) at the next 

 Agri-Horticultural Exhibition at Galle, 

 to be opened on June 10. Members 

 will thus have an opportunity of judg- 



