August 1, 1893.] Bupplemeni to the " Tropical Agriculturist.''' 
U3 
native species : but a specimen can be seen at 
the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya. The 
seeds of iS'. Foefidn if eaten raw are said to bring 
on nausea and vertigo, but if roasted are edible. 
AVhetlier they possess any properties similar to 
those of kola has yet to be ascertained. The 
leave.? and bark are valued as remedial agents 
l)y the natives. There is no reason, however, 
why^'S'. Accnniinata should not be grown syste- 
matically in Ceylon, especially after Mr. T. 
Cliristy wrote as follows : — Should any of your 
(l)nily New!i) readers feel interested in this nut, 
and have at their command lowlying damp land 
in the Colonies, such as would e.xist on the 
shores of Ceylon, I would strongly advice them 
to cultivate the kola, as it is one of the most 
promising products of the future. Among the 
exhibits sent from Ceylon to the Imperial Institute 
was a case of kola-nuts. 
The K<tw Bulletin for February and March 
contains an exhaustive paper on I'alm Weevils 
in British Honduras. In it reference is also m<iJe 
to a disease of an obscure kind not due to 
insects, and known as " fever."' Mr. Fawcett, 
Director of the Botanical Department, Jamaica, 
is of opinion that the disease is due to an 
organised ferment which attacks the tender 
tissues. Firing the fibres at the base of the leaves, 
though the production of fruit is temporarily 
retarded, is said to be effectual in the early 
stages of the disease. The application of salt 
to the cabbage is believed by some to do good. 
The following is also recommended : 1 lb. 
bluestoiie, 1 lb. freshly burned lime, 0 galls, 
water. The bluestone should be of good quality 
and dissolved in the water ; the lime is slaked 
and stirred into a solution which is made up to 
the proper quantity with water. It should be 
used fresh and kept stirred, as the copper hydrate 
formed soon settles. It can be applied into a 
syringe or spraying pump to the cabbage. It 
is advised that the soil round the trees should 
be scraped away from the roots, and ashes 
together with some manure applied. 
The iStrait.'i Tunes of May 23rd gives an 
extract from the Education Report of the Inspector 
of Schools for 1892, in which reference is made 
to paddy growing. It appears that the natives 
plant seed from the same land for 15 or 20 
years in succession ; in fact, seed from the same 
land is sown year after year until the crop 
failed, when fresh seed was obtained elsewhere 
for planting. That for so many years, under 
this system of cultivation, there continued to 
be a crop at all, is, says the writer, probably 
due to the practice among Malay paddy growers 
of transplanting the seedlings and manuring the 
roots when doing so. The Inspector in question 
is at present awaiting reports of the result of 
cultivating with seed paddy obtained from new 
districts. lie hopes that the superior results 
from such a method will induce the paddy cul- 
tivators to always supply themselves with new 
seed, for, he says, " I have no doubt that tlie 
Malays are sufficiently alive to their own in- 
terests to follow this course for the future." 
The llbre of A m/i/iidoiia.r (order (iraniinea') has 
(jetfU sugjjasted as a source o£ pulp toi' paper- 
making, being tough, cohesive, and readily rid 
of the resin contained in the stems. Capital 
asserts tliat the fibre of Ajiurka oifers a field 
for exploitation equal if not superior to esparto. 
A report on some prepared fibre sent to a leading 
manufacturing firm in London places its suitability 
beyond doubt, and it now only remains to ascer- 
tain the probable margin. At present the fibre 
is used in India for making mats, string and 
rope. In Ceylon we have two species of 
Amphidonax, viz., A. Heynei (Zenkeria elegans. 
Trin.), and A. uhtmifoUa (Zenkeria obtusifolia, 
Benth). Thwaites mentions that the habitat of 
the former is B.atnapura, and that of the latter 
the Southern and Central Provinces. 
It is reported that the unsatisfactory arranage- 
ments by which the Agricultural Department of 
Madras has no independent status, as the result 
of which it appears " impossible for any honest 
desire to do good service in the direction of 
agricultural improvement to he fulfilled," is 
compelling Mr. Benson of Madras to retire. 
The present case recalls that of Mr. Robertson, 
who when he found his freedom of action res- 
trained " after he had been for a short time 
relegated to educational work, was driven from 
the country in disgusc." It is a matter for 
regret that the services of two such e.\:cellent 
officers should be lost to India, owing to the 
authorities refusing to relinquish a false and 
faulty policy. 
Salt is said to exist in such incalculably large 
deposits, that there is not the slightest appre- 
hension to be entertained of any succeeding 
generations finding themselves without the uni- 
versal seasoning. Thus for example, with 
reference to the rock-salt of Kohat we read of a 
stretch about 8 miles long, more than \ mile 
in width, and with an exposed thickness of 
1,000 feet, -one of a series of the largest known 
exposures of salt on the face, of the globe ; 
and further, hills 2(J0 feet high are sometimes 
formed of pure salt. 
There are several Schools for industrial training 
in the Madras Presidency, and in these engraving, 
carpentry, blacksmithy, tailoring, lacemakiug, 
embroidery and other handicrafts are taught. 
The Indian Agriculturist asserts that irrigation 
works in India are, both in size and completeness 
of arrangements, on a scale surpassing those 
of any other country. In 1890-1891 the area 
irrigated is computed at upwards of 10 millions 
of acres, the average value of the crop per 
acre varying from R2o an acre in Madras to 
R92 in Bombay. 
In 1892, there were in India 126 cotton mills 
with a capital of eleven crores, or taking the 
rupee at nominal value, of eleven millions 
sterling. These factories run 24,670 looms 
and 0,272,988 spindle.s, employing 112,(XX) 
persons. 
A resident of Nuriotpa, South Australia, has 
written to the local Press drawing attention to 
the drought-resisting untl stock-feeding proper- 
ties oi' tagttsttsle, or tree Uicorue, which wuij 
