702 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April r, 1895. 
dically flooded. It attains a height of about 80 ft., 
and has a long bole frte of branches, sometimes 
50 ft. in height, and in girth it sometime* ruta- 
puves 80 ft. It seeds prolifically iu Jane, July, and 
August, and seems to seed t-very year. The seed 
is not edible, the seedlings coma up freely in th« 
wet weather and suitable forest is often crowded 
with it in patch' s here and there. It likes light 
aid grow fast. It is one of the most useful 
woods in Cey'OD, is very easily worked and is light 
and pliable, of a light brown colour and takes a fair 
polish. It is used for carriage buiding. furniture 
and the staves of casks. It is used largely by the 
Indian Government in the arsenals. Prices range 
from Rl to 113 per feet. Export are principally to 
India. The forests of Halmille have been overworked 
in many parts, and it is now difficult to get trees of 
large size. Trees of small size are however abundant, 
and they require to be carefully conserved. 
Palu, (Minusops hexandra), 8., Palu ; T., Palai. — 
This tree ia confined to the lowcountry, and is 
scattered throughout the forests. It seems to grow 
in any sort of soil, and is only stunted and poor 
in size, when very near the coait. It grows es- 
pecially well in the Puttalam district, where it attain:.' 
a height of 70 ft and 12 ft. circumference. It se'-ds 
in May, June and July. Ths seed is a yellow berry 
(the size of a coffee berry), and when dried looks 
very like a raisin. The natives are extremely partial 
to it, and do great damage to the forest by cutting 
off large branches of the trees to gather the fruit. 
Bears and many other animals and birds are very 
fond of it. It is very sweet in flavonr, and is dried 
by the natives for sale as a preserve. Little is hno*n 
about the seedlings,as and they much resemble the 
seedlings of several other trees, and it is difficu t 
to distinguish them. The wood is dark red and 
very hard, weighing at least 80 lb, per c. ft. It is 
chiefly used for house building, piles for bridges 
and jetties and bridges planks. Palo tree are often 
found after they have been felled, of a speckly white 
and brown colour, instead of the red they usually 
are. This was supposed to have been caused by 
insects, but we have found that it is caused by 
water, which colleots in a hallow branch at the top 
of the tree and gradually rots the tree from top to 
bottom. The price varies from PI to R1'50 per foot 
It is largely exported to India for bouse building 
The supply is unlimited, unless orders increase very 
largely. No data about growth are to hand at present, 
but the general opinion is that it is very slow grow- 
ing. The bark is used medicinally by the Tamils 
in two ways : one for outwa-d application and the 
other for internal use. Tue bark is cut off the tree, 
and the old outside bark shaved off and rejec ed, the 
inner bark left is then well pounded into a pulp and 
the juice sqaeezedout. If for outward application the 
juice is boiled, and after it has cooled is at once ap- 
plied to wounds or cuts ; it is also used thus for 
rheumatism. It will not keep long as it becomes 
very hard in a short time. If for internal use, the 
juice is not boiled, but is mixed with gingelly-oil 
as a remedy for pains in the chest, brought on by 
falls, &c, &c 
Mille, {Vitex altissima), S., Mille, Sapu Milile 
T., Kad-amanakku, Mailai, Yinille. Dr Trimen we 
note calls this tree Kata-manakku, but the real 
derivation is from kad, jungl. ; amanakhu, castor- 
oil; hence wild castor-oil tree. It is called Vinille 
in 'Batticaloa only, so far as we can hea . We 
have never heard Mailai applied to this tree in the 
Northern part of the island, and shoud be inclined to 
consider Mailai simply a corruption of the Sinhalese 
Mille, This tree is scattered throughout the forests 
of the low country, but attains a larg, r size in the 
dry z°^ e tnan in the wefc ' * l has a sfcuntea a P" 
Deftrance as a rule, and branch- s frequently very 
low down. It is not easy to get long straight logs, 
but we have seen some 25 ft. Ions; in the Batticaloa 
district. Old trees sometimes attain enormous girths, 
of 18 ft. or so, these are invariably hollow. It flowers 
in July-August, and the seed ripens in October- 
NovtmW- The seed i? not edible. The wood is 
of firat-clasB quality, of a pale yellow color and very 
durable, as proved by the sleepers on the railway 
which have lasted 30 years. It weight? ab=ut 6'ill.s. 
per c. ft. The price is from K 1 to R 150 per e. ft. 
It is occasionally exported to India by natives. At 
regards ti e supply of Mille there are undoubtedly 
very large numbers in t ie forests, but owing to it« 
very bud habit of growth, it i? difficult to gel good 
logs, and if a large d-uiand for it sprang up. the 
supplv • ould soon fail. It is probably a slow growing 
tree, but ;io information is avai.able of a Mi'isfa'.-tory 
nature. It ia used largely for carts, for house build- 
ing and bridge planks. 
Notes md Comments. — As we de ire to lay the 
foundation for accura e knowledge about the timber 
trees of Ceylon, we would beg any ,>t our readers 
finding • rrors in our de cription of trees, or able to 
give furth-r information than we have given, to 
communicate with us on the subject, and we shall 
be very glad to receive any information about the 
following trees, a description of which will appear 
in our next- — 
Illoppai. 
Ranai. 
Kumbuk 
Margosa. 
Velam 
VARIOUS PLANTING NOTE8. 
Cubebs.— It is quite impossible to forecast the 
immediate future of the cubeb-market. We have 
little expectation that there will be any berious per- 
manent recovery in the price. In your place, we 
should be inclined to sell gradually, taking advantage 
if still possible, of the present movement. — Chenuit 
and Drui/ijist, March 16. 
A New India-kubbeb Thb-e in Madagascar. — The 
Journal des Mines states that the trade of the Island 
of Madagascar in 1892 received a decided stimulus by 
the discovery of a new India-rubber tree. The prin- 
cipal centres where this new product it> treated are, 
Parafangana, Vaugaindrano, Manaimbondro, Fort 
Dauphin, Andrahomby, and Cape St. Mary. At first 
the new product realised from three to six piastres 
per 100 lb. ; aided by competition, the purchase price 
very soon amounted to ten and then to 15 piastres. 
More than twenty piastres per 100 lb. is now paid at 
Fort Dauphin. The discovery of the new India- 
rubber tree has come very fortunately to relieve the 
Madagascar market, which was at such a law ebb, 
that the Tamatave houses were closing their agencies 
on the north-east coast, and the Americans suppressed 
their Majunga houses. This discovery is of the very 
greatest importance, it almost constitutes a com- 
mercial revolution. The trade formerly carried on 
between Faragaugana and Fort Dauphin was con- 
fined to a few products which were obtained only in 
small quantities. Merchants were almost completely 
disheartened, and had abandoned the market to small 
traders. Several of the latter possessed but a few 
hundred piastres at the end of from fifteen to twenty- 
years of hard work. At the present day they are all 
relatively rich, and it has only taken them a year to 
gain their thousands of piastres. At the time of the 
India-rubber fe^er, new houses were immediately es- 
tablished at Farafangana, Yangaindra, Manaimbon- 
dro, Andrahomby, Fort Dauphin, and also at Cape 
St. Mary's, bringing goods and money. The natives 
receiving large sums in return for their products, took 
upon themselves to purchase imported goods to a very 
large extent. As long as the working of the new rub- 
ber tree lasts, this state of things will continue. The 
probable duration of this working is estimated at only 
two years. 
/CLOSETS, Urinals, Night Commodes, Stables, 
V I Kennels, &c. should be lightly dredged 
(after cleansing) with Calvert's 15 per cent. 
Carbolic Powder, to destroy bad odours and 
to kill or keep away insects. — The most effective 
preparation. — In Jib., lib. and 21b. dredgers, at 
6d., Is., & Is. 6d. each, from Chemists and Stores. 
F. C CALVERT & Co., Manchester. 
