August, 1911. 



165 



Miscellaneous. 



have been shown are high in praise of the 

 material ; it has remarkable strength, 

 and is very good in other respects. There 

 is money to be earned by the cultivation 

 of the eri silk cocoons, A clean sample 

 should realize from 75 cents to a rupee per 

 pound to those who rear and sell. As 

 castor leaf is easily picked up in the 

 villages, the eri cocoons can be produced 

 at a small cost. If the cocoon is wbite 

 and free from stain and dirt, it will 

 command the highest price in the Euro- 

 pean market. In order to produce a 

 clean and white cocoon, our plan is to 

 cut open the cocoon on the fifth day 

 before the chrysalis removes its outer 

 skin, which often causes a stain. Each 

 cocoon is cut open with a pair of scissors 

 and the chrysalis thrown out to the 

 fowls. It is a simple operation, and can 

 be done by children. This plan, how- 

 ever, may offend the prejudice of some. 

 One of the great advantages of the eri 

 cocoon is that one can allow the moth to 

 escape without the necessity for destroy- 

 ing the chrysalis ; where the above plan 

 causes offence, the chrysalis may be 

 allowed to escape. The stained cocoon 

 will, however, fetch a lower price. 

 What merchants in Europe object to is 

 not as much the stain as the dirt, which 

 easily attaches to such cocoons. In 

 some markets the merchants usually 

 allow 5 per cent, dirt in calculating the 

 price of the cocoon ; but the European 

 merchants are very strict, and when 

 they receive the cocoons, they have 

 means by which they can calculate the 

 percentage of dirt, and this they deduct 

 from the price. Those who send eri 

 cocoons to the Salvation Army school at 

 .Peradeniya should, as far as possible, 

 see they are free from dirt. We separ- 

 ate the white cocoons from the brown. 

 One reason why the white cocoons are 

 preferred by the manufacturers is they 

 are more easily dyed. The brown 

 cocoons generally realize a good price. 

 In order to secure the whiteness of the 

 cocoons, the best plan is to place the 

 worms in layers of crumpled newspapers 

 in a basket for spinning their cocoons. 

 We have found this very effective. We 

 bale the cocoons according to their 

 quality. Those that are white and 

 quite clean go in one class. Those that 

 are partially clean go in another. Those 

 of bad colour go in a third. A trained 

 silk reeler is due to arrive in Colombo 

 from Bangalore in a few days. We 

 have a considerable quantity of the 

 mulberry dry cocoons ready to be reeled 

 at Peradeniya. He has been trained to 

 manipulate the new Japanese machine 

 which arrived some time ago." 



The informatien herein contained de- 

 serves to be widely disseminated, and 



goes to indicate that a village silk- 

 rearing industry is not so remote a 

 possibility as some are inclined to think. 



Miscellaneous. 



A correspondent raised the question 

 whether paring and burning as practised 

 and believed in by native cultivators 

 cannot be replaced by some other treat- 

 ment with the same advantageous 

 results, to which the Organizing Vice- 

 President replied ; " The burning des- 

 troys the animal life that feeds on the 

 nitrifying bacteria, and cannot in 

 practice be replaced, though formaline 

 can be applied (with great care) to 

 produce a similar result." An experi- 

 ment with a view to ascertaining the 

 action of such disinfectants on the 

 soil is referred to under the head of 

 Investigations. 



In reply to an inquiry, the Government 

 Agricultural Chemist reports that the 

 average nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 

 potash contents of coconut mill poonac 

 are nitrogen 3'2 to 3'6 per cent., phos- 

 phoric acid <> to 9 per cent., and potash 

 •25 to "4 per cent. 



Seed of Lippia repens recommended 

 for lawns was received from Mr, Luther 

 Burbank, but failed to germinate. 



There has been considerable specula- 

 tion as to the possibilities of introducing 

 into the drought stricken areas of Ceylon 

 the famous "rain tree" of Peru, which 

 has been " written up " in some of the 

 English magazines. A number of letters 

 asking for seeds were received in the 

 office from persons who were not aware 

 that the tree credited with the property 

 of producing rain was one of the common 

 roadside shades, known in the vernacular 

 as Ingasaman, and botanically as 

 Pithecolobium saman. With a view to, 

 if possible, ascertaining the grounds for 

 the extraordinary reports about the 

 tree, 1 placed myself in communication 

 with a correspondent in Peru, who 

 transmitted some interesting inform- 

 ation. It may now be taken as proved 

 that the tree possessing the properties 

 claimed for it is a myth. What probably 

 gave colour to these reports is the strong 

 excretion of water, through hydathodes, 

 as found in Fuchsia, Trophceolum, 

 Alchemilla, and Colocasia,and most not- 

 iceable in tropical forests. According to 

 De Candolle, Cwsalpinia pluviosa is the 

 nearest example of a rain tree, possessing 

 as it does the power of excretion to a 

 very marked degree. 



C. DRIEBERG, 

 Secretary, 



August 14, 1911, 



