April i, 1895.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
The loss in manorial matter is but small, as all 
the mineral substance remains in the ashes, and is 
chiefly restricted to organic material which may be 
supplied again at a moderate cost. 
The low price of the sngar cannot, of course, be 
changed by this island, yet its effects may be to 
some extent mitigated by lessening tbe cost of pro- 
duction by providing more and abundant labour at 
less cost, chiefly by making all the unutilized labour 
available for field work, so that the costly impor- 
tation of coolies might be suspended for some time. 
It must necessarily strike a visitor to the island 
as very peculiar that such large numbers of both 
coolies and natives, who apparently are not capita- 
lists, are seen to idle about everywhere, being neces- 
sarily "chupones" on the community in one way 
or the other, at the same time when labourers are 
every year imported at great cost. 
A law agaiust vagrancy as existing in other West 
Indian islands would seem to be the most appro- 
priate remedy and calculated to benefit largely both 
the island and the individuals themselves. 
By making this colony produce its own food, es- 
pecially rice, coro, and plantains, an important step 
would also no doubt be made towards lessening the 
cost of living and thereby of cheapening the price 
of labour all round without in any way lowering the 
standard of living to the labouring class. 
I have no doubt but that the spirit of progress 
so remarkable in this as in most other British colo- 
nies will quickly enough avail itself of all useful 
and practical information, the chief difficulty geuerally 
being to impart this latter in a comprehensible and 
interesting manner. In this connection I would beg 
leave to suggest that no doubt the Agricultural So- 
ciety here might do a good and useful work by 
instituting monthly public lectures in the different 
districts of the island, on subjects of agriculture, 
which lectures should be open to all, eveu to the 
humblest labourer, and that ought to be made com- 
prehensible and interesting by practical demonatra 
tions and simple experiments. Short practical tract- 
on topics belonging to planting and Nature in general 
might be distributed among the people in the islans 
and even the rudiments of rational agriculture be 
made an element of primary education as a means 
of fitting the growing generation for their future 
calling in a better and less unintelligent manner than 
at present, at the same time that a higher edu- 
cation might be made available to overseers and 
planters by the establishment of an agricultural school 
and model farm, There seems to be no reason why 
these various methods of advancing progress, which 
have proved so eminently successful in other parts 
of the world, should not, with proper modifications, 
be adopted also in this colony and thereby raise, 
both morally and materially, the standard of the 
whole community, especially of its labouring classes 
and thus, from year to year, increase the prosperity 
of this lovely and interesting island, which must ever 
remain an object of pleasant rememberauce to all 
who have had the good fortune of visiting its shores. 
Daily A'ec.'s. 
BOTANICAL AND USEFUL INFORMATION 
ABOUT TREES AND PLANTS. 
Ebony (Diospyros Elienum), S., Kaluwara; T., Karun- 
ka'i, Cnara, Acha. — The two latter names are given 
by Dr. Trimeu, but we have never heard them used 
in either the E.P., N.-C.P , N.P., or N.W P. It 
grows throughout the dry zone of Ceylon, in the 
lowcountry and is s ldom found over 500 feet eleva- 
tion. It likes a well-drained soi', and will not grow 
where it is 1 able to be flooded. It attains a height 
of about 00 feet and generally branches abjut 20 
feet from the ground, and uuder favourable circum- 
stances reaches 8 feet in girth. It fruits in October 
and is not a yearly seedei, the fruit is not edible, 
oven birds refusing it. Tbe heartwood is black, and 
the sapwood white, the baik being greyish black. 
Tho sapwood is always "peeled" off with an axe, 
soon after it is felled. It weighs about 70 lbs. per 
cub, foot. It has realized fiocn R36 per ton to BSlO 
per ton of late years, the average i ■. ' 
to R140 per ton. It is used for ornamental purposes, 
furniture, and other small articles, and is exported 
largely to China and Europe the larger lo?s going 
to Europe. There is a large quantity of Ebony 
growing in all the lowcountry, and there is no chance 
of the supply being exhausted, provided that proper 
care is taken, No satisfactory information^, as to 
the rate of growth is to be had at present, but there 
seems litt'e doubt that it is very slow growing. The 
water which has collected in a hollow ebony tree, and 
especially the sap which flows from an ebony tree when 
freshly felled, is much valued as a remedy for 
toothache; the natives rinse their mouth with it. 
Ebony shavings, mixed with Aralu (Ttrminalia 
chebida), Seenakarum (alum) roots of the talipots 
and karutali with one measure of water, are boiled, 
until the water i< reduced to J. Then they take 
off the water, let it cool, and rinse their mouths 
with it as a remedy for toothache. Ebony dust and 
sulphur is put in dog's food as a remedy for mange. 
Satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia), 8., Buruta ; T., 
Mutirai. — This tree also grows throughout the dry 
zone in the lowcoantry, it is more gregarious in 
its habits than ebony, and grows in crowds in cer- 
ta : n favoure 1 forests, where it attains a large size. 
It also likes a well-drained soil and will not 
grow in marshy land. It a'.tains a height of 60 
feet and sometimes branches very low down, and 
it is difficult to obtain long logs of this tree on 
that account. It sometimes measures as much as 
9 feet in girth, an 1 trees up to 6 feet in gin h are 
common. It seeds from May to July every year 
and seeds very freely. The Beeds are not edible. 
The seedlings like light and grow freely with al- 
most no shade at all. The wood is very handsome 
and of a yellow colour, and it is much prized for 
the above reasons and on account of its durability. 
It is used for ornamental works, furniture, &c, and 
also for telegraph posts a> d buildii g purposes. As 
a proof of its durabil ty we may mention that the 
satinwood sleepers used on the railway when it was 
made in Colombo, are still perfectly sound and in, 
use, after 30 years work. The usual life of a' 
creosoted pine sleeper is only 6 years. Satin weighs 
per c. ft. about 65 lbs., and will not float as a rule, 
but occasionally it does. It realizes from Rl to 
R2 - 50 per c. ft., and is exported to Europe and 
India. There is a large quantity available for fu'ura 
years, but formerly it was much overworked, and 
so there is not a large stock of good trees avail- 
able at present, and care will have to be exercised 
for some years to come. Gum exudes from any 
would in the bark and is used for mastic purpo*es. 
The Sinhalese mix Satin gum, Velata gum, 
Perunka;an, and Karum sethecum seeds together, 
pound tl em into a paste, and apply this paste ex- 
ternally for bruises. Tamils and Sinhalese shave 
off the outer hard satin bark, and use the inner 
bark for medicine, they pound it int) a pulp and 
apply it cold to wounds caused by the poisonous 
sp.kes of the "Tirikai," Sungan and other fishes. 
Charcoal used by native jewellers is made from 
this wood as it is of very superior quality. It 
grows quickly when young, and soon attains a fair 
size ; as regards its growth afterwards, no data are 
available. Flowered Satin is obtained from the same 
sqecies, but the timber from unknown causes is 
what is known as Jlou-ered. It is much handsomer 
and fetches a much greater valu >, namely from R4 
to R8 per cub. ft. 
Haimilla, ( Bern/a ammonilla), S., Halmille; T., 
Chamandale, Male and Kadamauakka. — Th-- last two 
Tamil names are given from Dr. Trimen's Catalogue 
of Ceylon Plants, hut we cannot accept them as correct. 
Tho first word " .Vale." should be Trincomslie 
mar am, which means Trincomalie wood, and 
is or was the Indian name for it. It is not 
so called in CeyloD. As regards Kadamanakku this 
is the Tamil name for the Mille ( Vitex altisnma), 
nor hive we ever heard it applied to the Halmille. 
This tree is also confined to the dry zone and 
is only to bo found in damp localities principally 
on river banks and low-lying lands which are perio- 
