August, 1911.] 



161 



Miscellaneous. 



is yielding a secbnd crop (after the 

 drought), which promises to be even 

 better than the first. 



Tobacco. 



Mr, van Leenhoff's report on the 

 tobacco experiment at Maha Illup- 

 palama comes before to-day's meeting. 



Reports on samples of the tobacco sen* 

 to Germany and India are disappointing- 



The want of rain during April, May, 

 and June greatly delayed planting in 

 connection with the experiment being 

 carried on by the Dumbara Tobacco 

 Syndicate, but the latest reports are 

 favourable. 



Cigars made from native Dumbaia 

 leaf, properly selected and rolled under 

 expert supervision, have been most 

 favourably reported upon on the 

 Continent. 



Messrs. Freudenberg & Co. have about 

 2| lb. of imported Alcasian tobacco seed, 

 which they are prepared to give to 

 members of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society at 60 cents per ounce. 



Fruit Culture. 

 During May, June, and July a large 

 number of fruit plants, chiefly grafts, 

 were distributed to members. In addi- 

 tion to the varieties usually imported 

 from India, durian plants from Singa- 

 pore, grafted mangoes from Jaffna, and 

 budded Washington Navel oranges 

 from Australia were also supplied. 

 Grafting is being carried on through the 

 Government Stock Garden, and grafts 

 of the best local varieties of mangoes 

 will be available for distribution next 

 year. 



The grafted plants distributed three 

 or four years ago are reported to be 

 fruiting in different parts of the Island. 

 The June " Tropical Agriculturist " 

 contains an illustrated account of the 

 Hon. Mr, Seneviratne's fruit garden. 

 Specimens of the Raspuri mango from 

 this garden fully came up to expect- 

 ations in regard to size and flavour. 



Fruit growing is receiving special 

 attention at the Baudaragama and 

 Weragoda experimental gardens. 



A small quantity of seeds of the Bell 

 Apple (Passiflora laurifolia) was received 

 from the Superintendent of Agricul- 

 ture, Fiji. 



There have been many inquiries for 

 the Cherimoya, but those who are 

 anxious to grow the tree do not realize 

 that it has a very limited range. Mr. 

 Macmillan (Curator of the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens) considers that about 3,000 ft. 

 elevation is the lowest limit of successful 

 cultivation ; while Hakgala is almost too 

 21 



high. Mr, John Tilly of Talawakele, 

 who sent some good specimens of the 

 fruit to the office, states that the Cheri- 

 moya does not thrive everywhere even 

 in his district, and though he has suc- 

 ceeded, others have failed to grow it. 

 He thinks it requires to be well sheltered 

 from wind for one thing. 



Investigations. 



In forwarding the subjoined report on 

 the wood and bark of Terminalia glabra, 

 Professor Dunstan, in a covering letter 

 says : " You will see that the material 

 has some commercial possibilities, and I 

 shall be glad to receive the large consign- 

 ment asked for, in order that they may 

 be more fully investigated." I may 

 state that the section of kumbuk wood 

 sent to the Imperial Institute was taken 

 off a tree in the Victoria Park, where the 

 soil is particularly poor in lime. 



" The sample of the wood and bark of 

 Terminalia glabra (' kumbuk '), which 

 is the subject of this report, was for- 

 warded to the Imperial Institute by the 

 Secretary of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society with letter No. 2,323 dated 

 August 23, 1910. The ash of ' kumbuk ' 

 wood has been stated to be rich in lime, 

 and it was desired to investigate this 

 point at the Imperial Institute. 



"As the barks of several of the 

 Terminalias are rich in tannin and 

 suitable for use as tanning material, it 

 was also considered worth while to 

 examine the bark of the sample from 

 that point of view. 



" The sample consisted of a small log 

 about 18 inches in length, forked at one 

 end into two approximately cylindrical 

 branches, measuring respectively about 

 5i and 4 inches in diameter. The cross 

 section of the log was roughly elliptical 

 and measured 7| by 9| inches. The 

 wood was hard, and consisted of a well- 

 defined heartwood of irregular shape, 

 surrounded by a pale whitish brown 

 sapwood from 1 to U inch in thickness. 

 The log was covered with a smooth, 

 thin, loosely adherent bark, grayish 

 brown externally, and showing a tough 

 fibrous fracture of bluish pink colour. 



" Wood. — The wood when burnt 

 yielded 1'60 per cent, of a white ash, 

 which was found to contain :— 



Per Cent. 

 Lime CaO ,.. 51 '56 



Potash K2O ... 12-97 . 



Phosphoric Acid P^Os ... 5-61 

 " These results show that the ash of 

 kumbuk wood is, as reported, rich in 

 lime, and if waste kumbuk wood is 

 available in large quantities for burning, 

 it could be utilized as a source of lime 



