Magazine  of  tlw  School  of  Agriculture. 
45 
the  fibres  though  it  has  again  and  again  been  de- 
scribed as  of  excellent  quality.  Samples  were  sent 
from  India  to  Dundee  and  Leeds  for  trial  in  jute 
machinery,  but  the  result  of  such  trial  has  not  yet 
been  made  known. 
The  fibre-yielding  plants  of  Ceylon  are  numerous, 
but  no  final  opinions  hare  been  arrived  at  as 
to  the  value  of  the  fibre  of  such  plants  from  a com- 
mercial point  of  view ; for  their  preparation  in 
insignificant  quantities  in  isolated  places  by  rude 
methods,  and  as  is  generally  the  case  only  for  the 
manufacture  of  rope,  gives  us  li>ile  opportunity  of 
judging  of  its  merits  for  better  purposes.  In  this 
connection  the  remarks  of  Prof.  Goodale  in  his 
address  on  the  “ cultivated  plants  of  the  future,”  an 
abstract  of  which  appears  in  the  last  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society’s  Journal,  are  very  appropriate: 
— “ Countless  sorts  of  plunts  have  been  suggested 
as  sources  of  good  bast-fibres  for  spinning  and  for 
cordage,  and  many  of  these  make  capital  substitutes 
for  those  already  in  the  factories.  But  the  ques- 
tions of  cheapness  of  production,  and  of  subsequent 
preparation  for  use,  have  thus  far  militated  against 
success.  There  may  be  much  difference  between 
the  profits  promised  by  a laboratary  experiment, 
and  those  resulting  from  the  same  process  con- 
ducted on  a commercial  scale.  The  existence  of 
such  differences  has  been  the  rock  on  which  many 
enterprises  seeking  to  introduce  new  fibres  have 
been  wrecked.  In  dismissing  this  portion  of  our 
subject,  it  may  be  said  that  a process  for  separating 
fine  fibres  from  undesirable  structural  elements 
and  from  resin-like  substances  which  accompany 
them  is  a great  desideratum.  If  this  were  supplied, 
many  new  species  would  assume  great  prominence 
ar  once.” 
CEYLON  PRODUCTS  AT  THE 
IMPERIAL  INSTITUTE. 
We  are  in  receipt  of  a neatly  got  up  booklet, 
being  a Catalogue  of  Exhibits  in  the  Imperial 
Institute  from  Ceylon.  The  catalogue  was  com- 
piled by  Dr.  Trimen,  whose  services  in  connection 
with  shows  and  exhibitions  are  known  to  be 
invaluable,  and  who  must  have  been  sorely  missed 
while  the  collection  for  Chicago  was  being  made. 
In  the  preface  to  the  catalogue  Dr.  Trimen  says  : — - 
“ The  following  list  contains  such  products  of 
Ceylon  as  were  sent  in  for  the  Imperial  Institute 
by  the  Government  Agents  and  their  Assistants 
in  the  various  provinces  and  districts  of  the 
colony,  the  Planters’  Association,  the  Royal  Bota- 
nic Gardens,  and  a few  private  persons.... 
During  the  process  of  arrangement  many  gaps 
and  desiderata  have  become  apparent ; these  it  is 
hoped  to  supply  in  course  of  time.”  The  booklet 
consists  of  48  pages  containing  a list  of  1 ,404  lots 
of  specimens.  Of  those  interesting  from  an  agri- 
cultural point  of  view  are  first  the  items  included 
under  Class  I,  viz.,  raw  food  products  consisting 
of  313  specimens  of  cereal  grains  (mainly  varieties 
of  paddy  of  course),  14  specimens  of  pulses,  16 
of  other  edible  fruits  and  seeds,  4 of  edible  roots, 
31  of  spices  and  condiments,  and  10  of  mis- 
cellaneous food  products. 
The  Class  II.  comprises  5 specimens  of  exported 
drugs,  17  specimens  of  drugs  from  Jaffna,  and  260 
of  medicinal  plants  from  the  Central  Province. 
In  Class  III.,  raw  products  not  used  for  food  or 
medicine,  are  included  11  species  of  oil  seeds,  11 
of  gums  and  gum-resins,  14  of  resins  and  lac,  3 of 
caoutchouc,  16  specimens  of  dyes,  20  of  tan- 
ning materials,  57  of  fibres  and  ropes,  98  of  timbers 
and  cabinet  woods,  and  6 of  miscellaneous 
vegetable  products. 
The  mineral  products  under  the  same  class 
include  specimens  of  laterite,  granitic  gneiss, 
magnesian  limestone,  limestone,  sandstone,  quartz, 
coral,  coral-stone  and  lime,  iron-stone,  mica,  plum- 
bago and  precious  stones,  besides  kaolin  and  even 
“ 3 small  pieces  of  gold  ” ! 
The  coconut,  areca  and  palmyra  palms  with 
their  products  take  up  each  a section. 
Among  the  prepared  foods  and  estate  products 
generally  come  tea,  coffee,  cocoa,  pepper,  carda- 
moms, cinnamon,  cinchona,  arrack,  sugar  and 
jaggery  and  flours  and  starches. 
Under  manufactured  products  other  than  foods 
are  found  the  oils  (20  specimens  of  fixed  and  II 
of  essential  oils),  tobacco,  &c. 
The  main  object  of  the  Imperial  Institute  being 
to  further  the  commercial  interests  of  the  various 
Colonies  and  Dependncies  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  to  give  those  in  the  trade  in  England  an 
opportunity  of  judging  as  far  as  possible  of  the 
merits  of  the  various  products  by  means  of  the 
specimens  stored  in  the  Institute,  it  would  mani- 
festly be  an  advantage  to  maintain  the 
Colonial  Courts  in  an  efficient  condition  and  to 
make  the  display  of  products  in  London  as  per- 
fect as  possible. 
The  “ gaps  and  desiderata  ” mentioned  by 
Dr.  Trimen  will  no  doubt  be  supplied  before  long. 
SOME  USEFUL  SEEDS. 
Tokmari  is  a plant  found  growing  in  the  N.-W. 
Provinces  of  India,  and  is  botanically  named 
Lolemantia  Royleana,  its  old  name  being  Dracoce- 
pJtalum  Royleanum.  The  seeds  of  this  plant  when 
soaked  in  water  swell  up  into  a jelly,  in 
which  form  they  are  used  by  the  Mohamedans  for 
mixing  with  their  sherbets,  to  form  a cooling  drink 
in  hot  weather.  A writer  in  the  Indian  Agricul- 
turist mentions  that  the  mucilaginous  portion  of 
the  seeds  is  used  internally  as  a sedative  on  the 
mucous  membranes  of  the  respiratory  passages, 
intestines  and  bladders,  and  that  it  also  acts  as  a 
diuretic.  Native  physicians  of  India  prescribe  it 
in  cases  of  bronchitis  and  dysentery,  as  well  ns 
in  many  other  forms  of  disease.  In  the  form  of  a 
demulcent  poultice,  the  use  of  the  seeds  is  said  to 
be  rapidly  extending  in  the  treatment  of  hospital 
patients  in  North  India,  as  well  as  in  private 
practice  there.  For  this  purpose  it  is  asserted  that 
the  seeds  have  no  equal,  and  arrangements  have  been 
made  for  sending  samples  of  the  seeds  to  Europe 
for  experimental  trial.  In  Calcutta  they  are  sold 
at  R5  or  R6  per  maund. 
Sweet  Basil  ( Ochnum  Basilicrcni)  belongs  to  the 
same  order  as  Tokmari,  i.e.,  Lubiatae.  This  plant 
which  was  known  to  Pliny  and  oilier  ancient 
writers,  and  which  enters  extensively  into  the 
superstition  and  romance  of  Southern  Europe,  is 
now  naturalized  in  Ceylon.  The  seeds  of  sweet 
Basil  are  very  like  those  of  Tokmari,  and  also  swells 
when  wette  dand  become  coated  wTith  semi-trans- 
parent mucilage.  O.  Rasilicvm  is  closely  allied  to 
O.  Sanctum,  the  Sinhalese  Madurutala,  a well- 
known  medicinal  plant.  There  are  many  members 
