August, 1911.] 



163 



Miscellaneous. 



" This resin from Gardenia latijolia 

 appears to resemble in its properties the 

 'dikamali' resin yielded by an allied 

 species, Gardenia gummifera (see Im- 

 perial Institute letter dated June 23, 

 1909). ' Dikamali' resin is still used to a 

 considerable extent in native medicine 

 in India, and was at one time, used in 

 veterinary practice in Europe, but its 

 employment as a drug iuEurope has loug 

 since ceased and is not likely to be 

 revived. 



" As regards the suggestion that the 

 resin might be used for varnish making, 

 it must be pointed out that the very 

 unpleasant and persistent odour of the 

 material would prevent its use as an 

 ordinary varnish resin. It is possible, 

 however, that the resin might be use- 

 fully employed in the Tropics for the 

 preparation of an outdoor varnish to 

 preserve wood from insect attack, and 

 it might be worth while to have a few 

 trials made in this direction in Ceylon. 

 The resin could probably be used in 

 solution in alcohol, or in a mixture of 

 turpentine oil and alcohol as a ' spirit 

 varnish ' for this purpose." 



Soil Examination, 

 A specimen of a curious black deposit, 

 a foot and a half in thickness, found 

 just below the sandy top soil in the 

 Ja-ela district, was sent to the Agricul- 

 tural Chemist, who reports that it is of 

 the nature of a finely-divided loam, and 

 that the reserve of humus and nitrogen 

 is large, while there is a large supply of 

 lime present, which keeps the soil sweet. 

 Magnesia is present in good quantity, 

 the potash in fair quantity, but the 

 phosphoric acid is rather poor. 



Specimens of concretions (said to be 

 brought to the surface by land crabs) 

 found on the fields near Karavetty in 

 the Jaffna peninsula and submitted for 

 examination to the Agricultural Chemist 

 are said to consist of 47*5 per cent, 

 calcium carbonate and 52 8 per cent, in- 

 soluble matter, with traces of magnesia 

 and iron oxide. 



Live Stock. 



With a view to making a beginning in 

 the improvement of the notoriously 

 degenerate cattle of the Jaffna peninsula, 

 I placed myself in communication with 

 the Principal of the Coimbatore College 

 of Agriculture, through whose kindness 

 I was able to secure a young bull of the 

 well-known Kangayam breed of cattle. 

 In a letter tne Principal says : " I con- 

 sider him a typical Kangayam, and his 

 sire, the farm bull 'Mapillai ' (see ' Agri- 

 cultural Journal of India,' V., Part IV.), 

 has proved himself an exceptionally 

 good &tock-getter." The letter is accom- 



panied by a sheet of particulars of the 

 breeding: of the young bull. The cele- 

 brated Kangayam cattle are not animals 

 commonly found in Kangayam, but are 

 specially bred by the Pattagar of 

 Palaiya Kollai and a few others, who 

 give very special care to the preserv- 

 ation of the strain. The cattle are strong, 

 active animals, with compact bodies, 

 particularly adapted for draft, and being 

 of moderate size should prove suitable 

 for crossing with our native stock. 



Reporting on a recent invention of an 

 identity mark (patented as "Electric") 

 for cattle, the Government Veterinary 

 Surgeon says that, though it is an im- 

 provement on the well-known method 

 of fixing metal tabs on the ears, one 

 must catch the animal to read the mark, 

 which is a disadvantage. 



In view of the poisonous character of 

 certain Cape and Indian species of 

 Crotalaria and their harmful effects on 

 cattle, reference was made to the 

 Government Veterinary Surgeon as to 

 whether local species, so common as 

 weeds, are known to do any harm. Mr. 

 Sturgess reports that he has not noticed 

 any disease in Ceylon similar to that 

 observed at the Cape as due to the 

 eating of Crotalaria. There is an affec- 

 tion with somewhat the same symptoms, 

 but in addition there is a breaking out 

 of abscesses in various parts of the body. 

 This is traceable to an organism (Stre- 

 ptothrix), which gains access to the body 

 through wounds, generally either a sore 

 neck or the sores on the feet in hoof-and- 

 mouth disease. 



Plant Pests. 

 In reply to an inquiry as to what 

 extent Aspidiolus destructor damages 

 the coconut palm, the Government 

 Entomologist reports as follows:— "Aspi- 

 diotus destructor does not appear to 

 occur in sufficient numbers in Ceylon to 

 cause any serious injury to coconut 

 palms. Its natural enemies— Lady-bird 

 beetles and minute parasitic Hymenop- 

 tera — seem to keep it in partial check. 

 If, however, anything should occur to 

 arrest these natural enemies, it is quite 

 possible that the Aspidiotus might be- 

 come a dangerous pest. The species was 

 first described from Reunion Island, 

 where it was said to be menacing the 

 coconut plantations with complete des- 

 truction. The same insect was reported 

 to be a serious pest of the coconut palm 

 in the Laccadive Islands some fifteen 

 years ago." 



Replying to a query as to whether the 

 Pocket Gopher or Pouched Rat occurs in 

 Ceylon, the Government Entomologiit 

 writes ;—" The 'Pocket Gopher' or 



