t^e,b. 1, isn.] Supplement to the Tr 
■op ical A g riculturisty 
INDIAN JOTTINGS. 
Ail land here ia ploiiglied -with the native 
plougli, an implement not much superior to the 
Sinhnlese one. It prepares a nice seed bed and one 
cannot .see the reason why the plough is not 
more generally used in Ceylon in dry land cul- 
tivation. After the first ploughing the culti- 
vator uses a leveller to pulverize and level the 
soil. This leveller is made similar to the Ceylon 
one but with one exception, in that it has a 
concaTe sharp metal surface where it touches 
the ground, whereas the Sinhalese implement 
is simply a plank of wood. 1 am inclined to think 
that this plough and levell(?r are not capable of 
being improved to any great extent, far less of 
being replaced by any European ones, for the soil 
is often so shallow that a deep furrow would be 
most undesirable, and it is no wonder that such 
eminent agriculturists as I)r. Voelcker and Pro- 
fessor Wallace have agreed that the native im- 
plements cannot be replaced on most Indian soils. 
With the exception of one or two plants, 
such as the Eamle and Crotalaria, which are 
sown very thick, most of the crops are grown 
in systematic lines. It was not an uncommon 
sight to see even twenty to thirty acres of 
land planted with Indian corn, cholum or dhall 
in regular lines equidistant from one another; 
and even in the case of such small grain as 
the varieties of millet (Setaria, Panicuni, Pas- 
palum, &C.), the seed are sown in shallow furrows 
made about a foot apart. This system of growing 
plants has many advantages over the careless 
system of throwing seed broadcast. 
I must not omit to mention the manner in 
which the seed is sown in lines. Stretching a 
rope and making furrows with the mamoty 
would consume so much time as to make regular 
planting a tedious and almost an impossible 
task. AH the furrows are made with a plough, 
and just at the .time the furrow is being made 
the seed is dropped in by another contrivance 
attached to the plough. This latter is nothing 
but a long funnel ending at the share. The wide 
mouth of this funnel lies alongside the handle of 
the plough and the tube runs as far as the ground. 
The ploughman guides the plougli in quite a 
straight line, making a furrow of the required 
depth, and a woman, or a boy, with the bag 
of seed attached to her or his neck, keeps holding 
the funnel with one hand and dropping in the 
seeds, — -at the same time covering the furrow 
slightly with soil. 
The system of growing several crops in the 
same land in different lines has many advan- 
tages. It is said that the Jai)anese and the 
Chinese always follow this method. But in 
China and Japan the cultivator pays a deal of 
attention to manuring, whereas in India, manur- 
ing is a much neglected item in agriculture. 
Tlie fertility of the lands are kept up to a great 
extent by this system of growing a variety of 
crops. For instance, in a plot of liiml we meet 
with four crops, a line of cotton, one of corn, 
another of dhall, and the last of a fibre plant, 
day hemp. The four plants being distinct types, 
0 uot (;xl)aust the same elmeuta of pluut tood, 
« > ■ * 
while the leguminous crop serves as the nitrogen 
supplier to the rest. 
The average rainfall of the districts I was 
just speaking of was .said to be only 3o inches, 
but at the time I saw the place, the soil all 
througli had a line moist appearance. The na- 
tural rainfall being so small, the cultivators are 
accustomed to adapt themselves to the surround- 
ing conditions, and they have become adepts in 
the art of irrigation, without which instead 
of smiling fertile fields we will verj- prob- 
ably see a tract of waste land. 
Bombay, 28th Oct. 1893. W. A. D. S. 
ZOOLOGICAL NOTES FOR AGRICULTURAL 
STUDENTS. 
Sub-kingdom V. Mollvsca.— The Mollusca 
derive their name from the fact that they are 
usually soft-bodies (Lat. mollLs) though they 
generally possess a hard outer coverijig or "shell," 
and hence the term " shell-fish " applied to the 
members of this sub-kingdom. 
The following are the characteristics : animal 
soft bodied, usually with a hard covering or 
shell ; not exhibiting any distinct segmentation ; 
nervous system consisting of a single ganglion 
or of scattered pairs of ganglia ; a distinct heart 
and breathing organ may or may not be present. 
The sub-kingdom moUusca may be conveniently 
divided into two divisions : molluscoida and 
mollusca proper. 
Under molluscoida come (1) the Polyzoa, ani- 
mals forming compound growths or colonies both 
in the sea and in fresh water.s. They possess no 
heart, and the mouth of each member of the colony 
is circled by ciliated tentacles. The sea-mats 
and sea-mosses belong to this class. (2) The 
Tunicata, animals either simple or compound, 
enclosed in a leathery or gristly case, and pos- 
sessing an imperfect heart. The leathery inte- 
gument referred to is remarkable for the fact 
that it contains what appears to be nearly if 
not quite identical with " cellulose," the starchy 
body which forms the woody parts of plants. 
The Tunicata are commonly known as " sea 
squirts" owing to the power they possess of 
ejecting a stream of water when touched or 
otherwise irritated. The Tunicata are all maiine 
animals. (3) Brachiopoda, animals simple, en- 
closed in a bivalve shell, having the mouth 
furnished with two long fringed processes or 
" arms." To this class belongs tlie so-called 
" himp shells " so commonly found on the sea- 
shore. All the Brachiopoda are natives of the 
sea. 
The Mollusca proper may be also placed in four 
ela.«ses : (1) Lnmellibranchiata, animals having no 
distinct head or teetli, with the body enclosed 
in a bivalve shell, and one or two leaf-lik« 
gills on each side of the body. To this class 
belong the oyster, mu.scle and" cockle. (2) Gas- 
teropoda, animals possessing a distinct head and 
toothed tongue, a univalved or multivalved 
(never bivalved) shell, and moviug about citlier 
by creeping on the flattened undersurface of tiie. 
body ("foot") or (when swimming) by (inlike 
modifications of the same. To this class belong 
tliti whelk, ^)eri winkle aud tuail, {^6) i'teropoUa 
