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Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist." [March 1, 1894. 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
The Groverument dairy has just passed through 
troublous times, which came upou it with special 
severity after its unbroken period of prosperity 
since its establis)>ment. The epizooty commonly 
known as murrain appeared among the stock 
early in January and carried away a number 
of the stock belonging to the dairy. There is 
reason to hope that the plague has now been 
stayed, and it is a source of satisfaction that 
the majority of good milkers have escaped its 
ravages. 
A new class of students, consisting of IG boys, 
were admitted into the School of Agriculture 
on January ioth, when the school re-opened after 
the Christmas holidays. 
A new school, which is intended to be a centre 
of agricultural work, has been opened at Dip- 
pitigala in the Sabaragamuwa Province, and Mr. 
Alwis who completed his course at the School 
of Agriculture last year has been appointed the 
teacher. This is the fourth appointment of an 
Agricultural instructor in the Province, and 
shows the solicitude of the Government Agent 
for the welfare of the inhabitants of his domi- 
nions in which so much remains to be done in 
an agricultural way. 
It will no doubt delight the hearts of the 
members of the anti-opium league to learn that 
a quantity of the seeds of Palaver Somniferum 
sent to us from India for trial, totally failed 
to germinate. 
WORKING UP THE SOIL. 
The subject of ploughing is treated of in the 
following practical manner by Mr. G. H. Turner 
in the Southern Cultivator. In answer to 
the question why do we plough he replies : — ■ 
1. To bury a surface growtli of sod under the 
soil, where, by its decay, it will add its elements 
of fertility to the general stock of plant food 
already in the soil. 2. To kill weeds, thereby 
obtaining a clean surface, so that crops may 
enjoy undisputed and sole possession of the 
soiL 3. To thoroughly pulverise the soil, so as 
to make a perfect seed bed for the young and 
growing plant. 4. To break the crust after each 
rain, so that the land shall imbibe its full share 
of heat, air, and moisture. In preparing the 
land for the reception of the seed it is highlj^ 
important that the husbandman should know 
just exactly how to plough, but after the ground 
IS all prepared and the crops are planted it 
becomes doubly necessary to know not only 
how to plough and when to plough, but also 
why it is necessary to plough at all, and what 
we expect to accomplish by it. In whatever 
•manner the ground may have been prepared for 
the ctop, whether by ploughing deep or shallow, 
surface cultivation, oft repeated, should be the 
order of the day for any and all crops that 
have to be cultivated by ploughing and hoeing. 
■ This " suface cultivation " not only kills all 
grass and weedsi but, breakiog tbe cruets after 
each rain, opens up the soil to the air, allow- 
ing it to enter, to be absorbed by the soil, and 
to pass out from the soil freely. This loose 
surface soil is, in short, the lungs that enable 
both the soil and the roots of plants to breathe. 
This " breathing process " is not only of prime 
necessity to the healthfulness of the growing 
plant, but it is also essential to tliat iniportnDt 
process termed " nitrification," by vk^hicb organic 
nitrogen in the soil is changed into i nitrates, 
the form in which nitrogen is appropriated by 
plants almost e.xclusively. Nitrification requires 
a pretty high temperature, but in soils that 
contain a liberal supply of humus, and are stirred 
frequently with the plough cultivator or harrow, 
will go on rapidly in warm weather. Large 
quantities of land are so close in t«xture, so 
tenacious and air-excluding as to be almost 
barren (^this is the case with a great many of 
our p&sturesj, yet theee same eemi-barren boils 
contain, in their naturai state, inexhaustible 
quantities of plant food, often proving to be 
the strongest soils we have. This state of semi- 
barreiuifies is sometimes due to too much water, 
but still ofteuer to a lack of aeration of the 
soil, or, to make the matter as plain as possi- 
ble, a lack of lungs to breathe with. This 
" breathing process " can be brought about by 
drainage where the lands are too wet ; by deep 
ploughing on all soils that will stand deep 
ploughing, and thorough ploughing on any and 
all soils. Thorough cultivation, including sub- 
soil ploughing, harrowing, rolling, etc., unlocks 
the stores of plant food the soil contains. 
Where the ground is lumpy and cloddy it vt 
in too coarse a form to be utilized by the ro<Jte 
of plants ; no matter how rich in plant food 
these coarse particles may be, they must be 
thoroughly pulverised by frequent and thorough 
cultivation before they can be made available 
as plant food. The more frequent the cnltiva- 
tiou and the more complete the pulverisation 
of the soil the greater the quantity of plant 
food that is made available, and the more rapid 
and luxuriant will be the growth of the plants 
One" fact should always be borne in mind — namely, 
that plants do not eat ; they drink ; consequently 
no matter how voracious a feeder a plant may 
be it cannot eat clod, nor appropriate it to its 
uses in any manner. A clod is dead property ; 
worthless, unprofitable, good for nothing. Most 
men are inclined to complain when forced to 
pay tax on a horse that is dead and buried, 
or a horse that has been consumed by the 
flames. A clod is equally dead. 
We come now to what we consider to be the 
most in>portant reason of why we plough — 
namely, conservation of soil moisture, lo con- 
serve the moisture that is deposited in the earth 
by rains and melting snows, and even by dews, 
necessitates deep preparation of the soil previous 
to planting, so that the rains may be readily 
absorbed. When absorbed it must not be allowed 
to escape by evaporation; but if the full benefit 
of the winter and spring, rains are to be realised 
the moisture must be carried quickly down beyond 
the immediate reach of the evaporating influences 
of the sun. Stored deep in the earth, a perpetual 
reservoir, it is ready to be brought to the sur- 
face for the use of the growing plants when 
needed the " capillarjr action^ of the earth. 
