November, 1911.] 



459 



Miscellaneous. 



I have been engaged in preserving 

 under bag seed from selected plants of 

 this year's crop. 



I put forward the following points in 

 favour of continuing the work : — 



(1) We should by the end of the 



season possess tobacco seed — so- 

 called Sumatra— partially accli- 

 matized, at any rate to the 

 extent of three seasons' growth 

 in Ceylon. 



(2) We should, as a result of two 



seasons' selection of seed under 

 bag, have made some progress 

 towards obtaining a fixed local 

 type of Sumatra plant. 



(3) We should find out what quality 



of leaf could be produced, when 

 the crop is grown in the season 

 of the year most suitable for 

 the production of thin leaves. 



(4) A detailed account of expenses 



could be kept, and it would be 

 instructive to compare the cost 

 of labour when the crop is grown 

 under irrigation as hitherto, 

 with the cost of labour when the 

 crop is not grown under irri- 

 gation, as would be done in 

 the proposed trial. 



If undertaken, the experiments would 

 of necessity not be on a very large scale ; 

 however, some 25 acres could be dealt 

 with. 



It may be put forward that we should 

 be no better off than in the first trials, 

 as we should be unable to ferment the 

 tobacco. I think we should be distinctly 

 better off. For one thing the leaf, if it 

 is finer and thinner than last year— and 

 it is expected it will be — would not 

 require a very high temperature. 

 Further, the greater humidity of the 

 atmosphere which we should be experi- 

 encing at the time when fermentation 

 would be going on ought to enable us to 

 obtain a sufficiently high temperature. 



It must be remembered that last year's 

 crop was undergoing the process of 

 fermentation at the season of the year 

 when the atmosphere is as dry as pos- 

 sible, when a searching wind is continu- 

 ally blowing, and when there is practi- 

 cally no dew at nights, with the result 

 that it was impossible to put the cured 

 leaf into the staple in a sufficiently 

 damp condition for any sort or ferment- 

 ation to be set up. 



I would suggest also that plots be 

 grown, of about half an acre each, of 

 other kinds of tobacco, if seed can be 

 obtained, including some cigar filler 

 tobacco, such as Cuban. Observations 

 could be made as to the suitability or 



otherwise of the soil and climate for the 

 proper growth of such tobaccos. Seed 

 could be preserved ui Jiei bag, so that 

 in the event of any variety showing 

 marked good qualities in the green leaf, 

 a trial on a large scale could be made 

 with the tobacco later on. 



Now the crux of the whole situation 

 is whether the Agricultural Society 

 would be prepared to contribute, say, 

 Rs. 400 monthly towards the working 

 expenses. The labour vote of the 

 Experiment Station is quite inadequate 

 for me to attempt to carry out experi- 

 ments with a crop requiring such 

 constant attention as tobacco, while at 

 the same time carrying on trials in con- 

 nection with cotton, paddy, rubber, 

 soya bean, &c. 



If you approve of these suggestions, I 

 hope you will use your influence towards 

 obtaining the necessary funds. As the 

 time is now imminent when a start must 

 be made with the work, I hope a favour- 

 able decision will be speedily arrived at, 



A number of my former tobacco 

 coolies are now in Jaffna, and they are 

 only waiting to hear that tobacco culti- 

 vation is to be continued to come back 

 with fresh coolies. 



G. HARBORD, 

 Supdt., Experiment Station. 

 Maha Iluppalama, September, 1911. 



CASUARINA HEDGE. 



The illustration in the present issue 

 shows a hedge of Casuarina equisetifolia 

 at the Government Stock Garden, The 

 plants are about five years old, and 

 have been dwarfed by continuous 

 trimming, so that the hedge has not 

 been allowed to exceed 2 feet in height. 

 The seeds of the Casuarina are very 

 minute in size, and need very careful 

 propagation. They should be raised in 

 shallow boxes, and when the seeds 

 have become established, they should be 

 picked out and put about an inch apart 

 into fresh boxes before being finally 

 transplanted to their permanent situ- 

 ations, where they should be planted a 

 foot or 15 inches apart. Care should be 

 taken not to allow the plants to become 

 spindly, and bottom shoots should be 

 encouraged by early trimming, so that in 

 a year or so a dense growth with a sur- 

 face like a scrubbing brush may be 

 secured. The Casuarina does well 

 along the seaborde, and those who have 

 visited Madras will recall the hedge 

 along the Marina quite close the sea, 



