C40 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist? [March I, 1&9.">. 
and that a complete course in Forestry will be 
goon arranged for. 
In the early part of February the Superintendent 
of the School of Agriculture visited the Sabara- 
gamuwa Province and inspected the work of the 
Agricultural Instructors at Dippitigalla. Balangoda, 
Godakawela and Kolonne. 
A new Veterinary Colonial Surgeon in the person 
of Mr. Sturgess is shortly expected in place of 
Mr. Lye. resigned. Mr. W. A Be Silva, who was 
holding the acting appointment, will no doubt 
revert to his substantive post as Headmaster <>f the 
School of Agriculture. We take this opportunity 
of congratulating Mr. De Silva on the able and 
efficient manner in which he lias discharged the 
responsible duties of Government Veterinary Sar- 
geon, and welcome him back to the staff of the 
School where his services as a lecturer will be 
invaluable. 
The demand for manure in Ceylon is a healthy 
sign, inasmuch as it indicates tlmjb cultivators 
are alive to the fact that the fertility of the 
soil must be maintained. Apart from the com- 
mon commercial fertilizers such as bone dust, 
castor cake; sc. J there is a good market now for 
fish-manure, imported and locally prepared, while 
blood from the Colombo slaughter-houses and 
night-soil treated in Kami v are also being utilized. 
Of late we have seen people from South India 
going about offering such substances as cattle- 
manure dried in cakes, dry goat and sheep 
manure, and even ashes — all brought over from 
the neighbouring coast. The prices demanded 
per cwt. are R±00 for the first, R2-50 for the 
second, and El'50 for the third ! 
There would seem to be little prospect of the 
American Dewberry becoming established as a 
thirving fruit tree, as it has done in India. Mr. 
Nock of the Hakgala Gardens referring to it, 
says : — " The plants of American Dewberry raised 
from seed you kindly gave us are growing well, 
but none have flowered yet. We have some 
large plants from seeds from Eew which have 
flowered several times, but the fruit Kasbever come 
to anything. vVe have one specimen of English 
Blackberry which grows and fruits very well here." 
Some analyses of both milk and butter have 
been made by the Agricultural Chemist to the 
Government of India. The milk of a herd of Sind 
cows and of a herd of buffaloes at Poona was 
analysed night and morning on eight occasions 
during July and August 1893, and the average 
of these analyses was found to be as follows : — 
Cows' Milk. Buffaloes' Milk. 
4 A.M. 2 P.M. 4 a.m. 2 P.M. 
Water 86-66 85-53 82T4 82-13 
Butter fat 5-19 5-43 7"93 7 "73 
Casein 3-J3 2-95 4-09 4-03 
Milk sugar 5-31 5-40 5-05 5-31 
Mineral matter "71 '69 "79 '80 
100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 
in these analyses is, therefore, in accord with 
what was to be expected. The amount of fat iu 
the cows' milk is, however, distinctly higher than 
might have been anticipated as compared with 
the average yield from herds in Europe. 
RAINFALL TAKEN AT THE SCHOOL OF 
AGPJCULTl'RE 1)1' RING THE MONTH 
OF FEBRUARY. 
1 ... Nil 12 . Nil 23 ... Nil 
2 ... Nil 13 ... Nil 24 ... Nil 
3 ... Nil 14 ... Nil 25 ... -21 
4 ... Nil 15 ... Nil 26 ... U7 
5 ... -09 10 ... Nil 27 ... Nil 
(j ... Nil 17 ... Nil 28 ... Nil 
7 ... Nil 18 ... Nil 1 ... Nil 
8 ... Nil 19 ... Nil 
0 ... Nil 20 ... Nil Total ... 40 
10 ... -03 21 ... Nil 
11 ... Nil 22 ... Nil Mean... -014 
( .reatest amount of rainfall in any 24 hours on 
the 25th instant. -21 inches. 
Recorded by P. Van De Bona. 
PLAIN HINTS ON THE DISEASES OF 
CATTLE IN INDIA. 
Specific gravity 
Yield of milk in lb. 
1-0314 1-0297 1-0296 1-0292 
[-0 5-8 6T 59 
Buffaloes' milk has always been understood to be 
rich, and the high percentage of butter fat shown 
We should before now have acknowledged the 
receipt of a copy of the second edition of this 
useful work, revised and enlarged, with live 
plates. The author is Veterinary Captain Mills, 
the Principal of the Bombay Veterinary College, 
who, from his long experience of, and intimate 
acquaintance with, Indian cattle is more qualified 
perhaps than any other officer of the Veterinary 
Department, to offer advice on the subject of 
cattle disease in India. In the work, which 
consists of about 1-50 pages, the author treats 
iu a clear and concise manner with the subject of 
Indian breeds; selection of cattle; breeding and 
rearing; food and feeding: cattle-sheds; the 
structure and functions of the various organs of 
the body ; health and disease ; nursing ; preven- 
tion of disease and cinerators ; medicine and 
medicinal agents : contagious diseases ; diseases of 
the brain and nervous system: non-contagious 
blood diseases ; disease of the respiratory system ; 
diseases of the urinary and generative systems ; 
pregnancy, parturition and parturient diseases; 
fractures, accidents and diseases of external 
structures ; cattle-poisoning, meat and milk, 
cruelty to animals. The appendices consist of a 
reprint of the Madras Act No. 2 of 1886 for the 
prevention and spread of disease among cattle ; 
au account of Pasteur's method of preventive 
innoculation for anthrax; weights and measures; 
a table of dentition of cattle ; and finally a 
glossary. 
This enumeration of the contents is sufficient to 
convince one of the value of the little work, and 
how useful it would be to all owners of stock in 
India and Ceylon. Indeed, we would go to the 
length of saying that it should be in the hands of 
all owners of estates and of cultivators of the 
soil generally, as well as of revenue officeis and 
their subordinates. The book, which is priced at 
R3, has already been adopted as a text-book at 
the School of Agriculture. 
We make no apology for quoting the following 
reference to thi great scourge of the country, viz., 
cattle-murrain, rinderpest, or cattle-plague. The 
