June 2, 1890.] Supplement io the "Tropical Agriculturist." 
867 
every part of the fruit were used in'medicine by the 
Romans. 
We are told that the rind of the fruit together with 
the bark of the tree was in use in some parts of Germany 
fur dyeing leather of a red colour. Coming to England 
we find that the Pomegranate was first cultivated in that 
country in the year 1548 during the reign of the eighth 
Henry. Lord BBcon recommends wine made from the 
Pomegranate for complaints of the liver. He fays' 
let it be taken in the morning with a lit'le sugnr, and 
into the glass in which the wine is taken put a small 
pieoe of citron-peel, and three or four whole cloves ; let 
this be taken from February to Maroh. 
In the East the Pomegranate has been held in the 
highest estimation both as a medicine and as a dessert 
fruit. The Persians make a kind of sherbert of the 
rinds with the addition of cinnamon. In Ceylon it is 
officinal in the Native Pharmacopia, and the expressed 
juice of the fruit is given in cases of fever &c. to allay 
thrist. 
The dried rind of the fruit makes a very good ink, 
and in our village home many many years ago we 
children used to collect the rinds of the fruits we ate 
to be made into ink after drying with the help of a few 
rustynails and soma vinegar according to the recipe 
of an old servant ! 
The cultivation of tne Pomegranate is very easy. The 
usual mr>de of propagation is by layers, or young plants 
may be raised from seed. Proper pruning is necessary 
to get a good crop of fruit. The flowers are produced 
at the ends of the young branches, and the object of 
pruning is to remove the weak shoots and allow th 
strongest to flourish. Aba. 

BRINJAL CULTIVATION. 
By V. Kumabavelu. 
This plant is largely grown in the tropioal parts of 
India, and also to some extent in Ceylon. It belongs 
to the natural order Solanaceas. The most important 
food-producing plants <f 11 is rrr'trr the Potato, 
Tomato, Gooseberry, and Chilli, which last is used as a 
condimeDt in all curries. The poisonous species of the 
above order are, Tobacco, which produces nicotine; 
Night shade, which gives atropine; Henbane, which pro- 
duces hyoscyamine, and many others. Some of the 
varieties of brinjal are the egg-plant or Aubergine 
(Solanum Melongena), Solanum -Jackquinii, which bears 
prickly leaves, and brinjal proper, which bears fruits 
of from 12 or sometimes 15 inches long, and are 
largely met with in Ceylon. The fruits of the last- 
named kind are generally of a purple or blue colour. 
There are other varieties of less importance called 
by different names in Sinhalese and Tamil, which are 
hardly worthy of mention here. The different varieties 
may be distinguished from one another by the 
shape of their fruits and leaves. 
The egg-plant or Aubergine derives its name from 
its fruits, which in colour and shape resemble an egg. 
It is supposed that this species of briujal was intro- 
duced from foreign countries to Ceylon, and is now 
cultivated larfely in vegetable-garden cultivation. J^. 
has alternate, lobed leaves, and bears blue flowers. 
Solanum- Jackquinii differs from Aubergine in the small- 
ness of its fn its, and it has also very prickly leaves. 
Kich loamy soil with a thorough drainage is best 
suited for the cultivation of brin jal. It would be better 
if the soil is exclusively set apart for this purpose < 
^ut it can al c o be cultivated in rotation in paddy 
fields, if the crop is raised in such fields but once a 
year. The cultivation of this plant in rotation greatly 
improves and enriches the soil for paddy growing' 
Dry seasons will give a better crop than wet, especially 
when cultivated in paddy fields. Amongst the causes 
of the unproductiveness of this crop, the presence of 
too much of water and the application of fresh dung 
hold a prominent place. 
The soil should be ploughed and brought to a fine 
tilth. Deep ploughing is necessary in this case. If 
there be any difficulty in ploughing, it will be better 
to dig with the mamoty ; but digging is more costly, 
being about three times as dear as ploughing. 
After bringing the land to a proper tilth, it should be 
manured with well-rotted farmyard manure. Trans 
planting is indispensable after the land is brought 
to a proper condition. For this purpose, the seed 
should be laid in a nursery, five or six weeks before- 
hand. A certain method of knowing the quality of 
the seed is by sowing a few of them in a small bit of 
prepared land, and seeing how many plants are pro- 
duced by them. If the seed be good 4-5thtbe number 
will spring up The months best suited for planting 
brinjal are January for the Northern and Eastern Pro- 
vinces, April for the Western Province, and August 
for the Central Province. Care should be taken to 
avoid as much as possible the rainy season. The young 
plants should be transplanted from two to three feet 
apart. Farmers usually plant some green vegetables 
in the intervening spaces between brinjals, especially 
when the plants are much apart from each other. 
The after-culture and management of brinjal consists 
in occasional watering, manuring, weeding, harrowing 
&c, whenever required. 
A pale, greenish or sometimes brown insect found 
on the undersurface of the briojal leaf destroys the 
leaves of the young or sometimes old plants. The 
insect possesses a sooty appearance. Its aspect is very 
much like the larva of the famous tea bug. The 
best means of destroying this nse is to throw cold 
ashes over the leaves of the plant. This has been 
found practically to be an excellent way of destroying 
the pest. 
Brinjal is eaten for the most part in the ourried 
state. Solauum-Jackquiuii is used by native doctors 
as a remedy for eruptions, worms, throat-aches, &c. 
MINOR INDUSTRIES. 
By W. Abthue Db Sii.ya. 
Ceylon possesses, as is admitted on all sides, a 
variety of raw materials which could be made use of 
