142 
^upplemmt to the " Tropica? Af//u'ru}f,rr!st:' [August 1, 1893. 
the death of the animals, would impart any 
noxious properties to the meat after the cattle 
are slaughtered. The alkaloid daturine occurs 
in datura as well as in henbane (UyogcyamuH 
Niffer). It is described as bitter, very poisonous, 
and as strongly producing dilatation of the pupil 
of the eye. We have not heaid of any tests by 
which the presence of datura poison in the sy.steni 
can be ascertained. It is, as has been hinted, 
almost impossible to detect the presence of 
the leaves or leaf stalks in the stomach of an 
animal, owing to their being of such a suc- 
culent nature and occurring in so intimately 
mixed a condition with the pulp of grass. 
But the fact tliat cattle can be poisoned by 
datura leaves deserves serious con.sideration. It 
behoves stock owners to ensure careful e-vamiu- 
ation of the grass tliat is supplied to tlieir cattle, 
and to destroy all datura plants (for it is rather 
a common weed, and is, moreover, found springing 
up in Mauritius grass plantations) found in their 
gardens ; while we must look to our cliemical 
analysts and pliysiologists to discover some tests 
for the poison, and some definite port-mortem evi- 
dences which would go to j)rove that death was 
due to the poison. 
Professor Wallace, in his book on India, 
in referring to intentional poisoning of 
cattle by the natives, makes the following 
statement : — " It Cpoisoning) is usually accom- 
plished by throwing tl)e leaves of some species 
of datura, or a plantain leaf spread witli arsenic 
to a cow which is perliaps tethered out at pasture." 
Let us hope that our natives are not drawing 
upon the wisdom of the Hindus, and that the 
suspicious cases at the Slaughter House are 
after all traceable to purely accidental causes. 
HORSE-BREEDING. 
The Indian authorities hold out every encour- 
agement to the ryots to carry on horse-breeduig. 
The department entrusted with the work of 
encouraging breeding operations, has established 
depots in various places where they keep 
selected stallions, so that the horse owners 
may avail themselves of them. This is not all 
that is done, for in addition to the depots there 
areafew central stations or breeding farms entirely 
under the control of the officers of the department. 
These officers also periodically visit the villages 
and examine the mares in the possession of the 
owners, as to their fitness for breeding purposes, 
and brand them accordingly ; for great care is 
taken not to allow undesirable animals to be 
bred from diseased or deformed dams. Each 
district has its Annual Horse Show, when prizes 
are awarded for such deserving animals as are exhi- 
bited by the villagers, and lectures and instruc- 
tions are given on the best method of treating the 
animals. 
The demand for horse-flesh is so great in India, 
especiallj' for Military and Police use, that a large 
number of animals have to be annually brought 
down from Arabia, Persia, the Cape and Australia ; 
and hence there is ample scope for profitably 
raising animals on Indian soil. 
What are the conditions of soil and climate best 
adapted for horse-breeding ? This is rather a 
general question, and one which cannot be satis- 
factorily answered offhand. It has, however, 
been found out, that locHlities favoured with a 
hard sandy soil or a gor>d loam with an undulating 
surface is the best adapted. When animaU are 
bred on lowlying moist ground they lose their 
spirit, whilst animals bred on ragged hillsides 
generally are stunted in growth. Another im- 
portant item necessary in a liorse-brw-ding dis- 
trict is a plentiful supply of fresh water. The 
question naturally otcuis to me whether hor8e« 
could not be profitably bred in Oyion, and 
if so, which system would commend itsqjf to 
our circumstances, there being two systems 
in vogue, l)reediiig farms where a large number 
of dams are kept, or the village system where 
the people keep a few mares. The last is 
no doubt the liest and the most feasible, though 
it is not the most profiiiible. The absence of 
professional advice in such cases does not slaud 
much in tiie way of the would-l)e breeder, for the 
attention and care which he could bestow ou the 
few animals belonging to him. and constant per- 
sonal contact with them, tend to produce better 
animali^, tliun when a whole stu<l is maintained 
though under professional supervision. 
The cost of breeding a foal may be summed 
up as follows : — 
(fi) The cost of the services of a stallion. 
(/j) The loss of the mare's services, say for 
three months. 
(c) Extra food for the mare. 
(fl) Extra food for the foal. 
ie) The risks of lo.sing the dam, or the 
fodl or bot h. 
(f) And the interest on the initial cost of 
the mare. 
It naturally follows that in order that horse- 
breeding may become profitable, the value of the 
foal produced should not only meet the above 
expenses, but also give a fair margin of profit for 
the trouble of the breeder : un.l under ordinary 
circumstances, this is effected. 
No one in Ceylon has paid sufficient attention to 
horse-breeding, though it would be seen that 
the climate ami soil in many parts of the Island 
are better adapted for the purpose than in India: 
and above all, iu many districts we hardly ever 
suffer from a scarcity of water during any part 
of the year. 
We cannot hope to make horse-breeding a 
general industry in which our goyiyas could take 
a ])art, for though in India the ryots do not find 
it at all a difficult work, the goyiyas will require 
ample demonstration as to the 'profits of an 
industry of which they know practically nothing, 
and will need to acquire a knowledge of the 
details of the treatment and care of an animal of 
which they hardly care anything about. Under 
these circumstances, it is 'left for those who 
know and understand to make a beginning. 
Bombay. w. A. D. S. 
{To he conti7iufd.) 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
With reference to " All Products' " note re- 
garding Sterculia Foetida, we may mention that 
there are no less than six member.* of the genus 
sterculia indigenous to the Island, viz., S. Foetida 
(S. Telambu), S. Urens (T. Kavali), ,S. Guttata, S. 
Balanghas, (S. Nava), and S. Colorata. The Kola 
nut tree is Sterculia acuminata which is not a, 
