October i, 1889.] Supp/ement to the "Tropical AgricitUunsi. 
carried on, the need of proper fencing is very great for 
separating the animals into small herds as necessity 
demands for grazing and other purposes. 
The kind and disposition of fei.cs w'il. <k pei.d on the 
natural surface, situations of road?, watereou ves, 
climate, the inequalities of suiiaee, la<_ uaturj of the 
soil, the supply of water, and the course of husbandry to 
be followed. 
Among the various means of fencing in land in 
Oeylon are the hedge, ditch, wall, and paling. 
The ditch is the best on low flats, wet land requiring 
much drainage. The hedge might be combined with 
this : for after making a ditch round the land, sticks of 
Erandu, Belipatta (Hibiscus Tiliaceus), Pattaugi 
(Cacsalpina Sappan) G-odapara Williuia BetUsa), 
Andara (Dicrostachys Qmevea), Weraniya (Hedyotis 
friicticosci), Erithryna Indica and Murunga (Moringa 
ptcryyosperma), may be used.- 
The planting of the hedge should be done in Apri 
aud May. The live-sticks should not be kept too 
loiig after being cut from the parent tree as they might 
thus lose their growing power. 
Live-fences. — The sticks should be planted from 8 to 15 
inches apart, and poles or long sticks of any kind should 
be tied cross-wise to the planted sticks. This is to prevent 
the sticks growing in any but the perpendicular 
direction, for once they get rooted at an inclination it 
would be difficult to get them straight again. The 
side branches should be lopped, while those nearest the 
root should be left to grow. This pruning of the side 
branches will cause them to send out new shoots trom 
their extremities, and this repeated trimming will 
make the hedge so thick as to fill up every interstice 
from top to bottom. The main stem should be left 
untouched till it reaches the required height, after 
which it should be kept at the necessary elevation by 
occasional pruning. In this way maybe got the per- 
fect hedge which it is said should be able to " turn a 
fly and a cow." The leaves of these hedges may often 
with advantage be used for manu-ing the land. 
Head-fences— la this country dead-fences are more 
abundant than live-fences. Iu some villages while a 
part of a field is being cultivated for the Matia harvest 
the rest lies fallow, to be cultivated for theYala har- 
vest, and the two are separated by the former being 
fenced in. As soou as the crop is secured the sticks 
are pulled up and stored in the shade or under water 
tilllUey are required again. By following this method 
the stick can be utilized for 3 or 4 years. 
/W/><ys.,— This is another means of protecting the 
laud and is geuerally adopted by estate owners, aud 
especially on sugar-cane plantations. It is a mistake 
to take any aud every sort of wood for this purpose, as 
durability should be a special quality in the sticks 
used. Oood kinds of timber such as Millet, IVeli-pcnna, 
Boh rra, or Wil-aratti. 
If the above kinds are not easily procurable, less 
durable varieties will have to be used, but after point. 
iug the ends of the stakes the precaution should be 
taken of charring the end as a preventative against 
decay. The stakes should be driven about 1 foot 
deep, by a mallet, into a hole made by the foot-pick, at a 
distance from one another not exceeding 5 to 6 feet. 
When planted 15 inches below ground they will make 
the fence stand 3 feet 3 inches high. Rails for fixing on 
to the stakes may be made from the hardest part of the 
kitul tree (Caryota urens), a tree split into eight parts 
would serve the purpose. To give additional strength 
to the fence, the rails should be placed on the face of 
the stake, next the field, and the ends of the rails 
should not all meet and be nailed to one stake ; for 
instance, if two ends of the top rails meet at one stake, 
two ends of the middle rails should meet at a 
second stake, and the two end of the lowest rails 
should meet at a third stake. Nor should the stout 
ends of the rails be nailed together even after being 
thinned flatwise. The upper edge of the lowest rail 
should be 9 inches from the ground, of the middle 22 
inches from the ground, while the highest rail should 
rest on the top of the stakes. The nails for nailing on 
are called " stout paling nail, having a length of from 
3 to 3| inches." 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ONION. 
The onion is a member of the genus allium of the 
great lily family (Liliacea) which yields such a great 
variety of fragrant flowers. The common onion, of 
whicn there are a great many varieties produced by 
cultivation and crossing, is known to Botanists as the 
allium cepa. The native country of the onion has not 
been exactly determined, some supposiug it to be Egypt, 
and others India, iu both of which it has been cul- 
tivated from the remotest times. The part chiefly used 
is the bulb, but the tender leaves are also used. As 
a flavouring ingredient in cookery there is no vege- 
table production equal to it. There is no civilized 
nation on the l\ice of the earth that does not use 
one or other of the many varieties of the onion. Even 
savages seem to understand the value of it. In Ceylon 
the onion is chiefly used as a condiment, also for pick- 
ling, but it is said that in Spain and Portugal a raw 
onion with a piece of bread often forms the only dinner 
of a working man. 
The onion is highly nutritious, and is considered by 
the natives to be efficacious in cases of nervous 
prostration, as it is supposed to possess the property of 
giving a tone to the worn-out system in a short time. 
The alimentary aud medicinal properties of the onion 
are due to a large quantity of nitrogenous matter aud 
an acrid sulphurous volatile oil. An onion baked under 
hot ashes and mashed with a little cow's ghee makes 
a useful emmolient and stimulating' poultice for 
suppurating boils, &o. Made into a decoction with the 
leaves of " gotu kola " Hycb'ocotyle Asiatics it is a 
household remedy for worms in young children. 
Our supplies of onion are derived from India, but 
