58 
Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
established,  agriculturists  are  advised  to  closely 
watch  the  market  for  dye  stuffs,  as  in  these  days 
of  constant  commercial  revolutions  the  revival  of 
the  trade  in  lac-dye,  safflower,  orchilla,  chaya, 
and  other  once  popular  dye-producing  substances 
may  possibly  be  looked  for.  There  is  of  course 
the  probability  of  aniline  dyes  being  produced  of 
such  a quality  as  will  ensure  freedom  from  any 
prejudicial  ingredient,  but  it  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  this  result  is  possible  and  how  the 
means  of  obtaining  it  will  affect  the  price  of  the 
dyes.  At  any  rate,  there  would  seem  to  be  a 
fair  prospect  of  the  fibre  and  dye-producing 
industries  being  widened,  and  proving  more  remu- 
nerative. 
We  are  now  on  the  eve  of  possessing  a techni- 
cal school,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  technical 
enquiry  will  be  directed  to  the  proper  channels 
and  will  aim  at  desirable  ends.  The  Eight  Hon. 
A.  J.  Balfour,  writing  lately  on  the  subject  of 
technical  education,  said  : — I venture  to  lay  down 
no  general  rule  about  the  advantages  or 
disadvantages  of  technical  education.  1 believe 
it  to  be  of  vital  importance  in  some  places  and 
some  industries  ; I believe  it  to  be  nearly  useless 
in  any  form  in  which  it  is  likely  to  be  applied 
in  other  places  and  other  industries.  Each  case 
must  be  considered  on  its  own  merits,  not 
simply  in  the  light  of  vague  generalizations,  but 
with  a close  scrutiny  of  the  practical  mode  in 
which  any  proposed  reform  would  work,  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  our  technical  instructor  Will 
possess  the  qualification  of  a technical  chemist 
and  botanist  in  addition  to  his  intimate  know- 
ledge of  machines,  and  will  arrange  his 
curriculum  with  a view  to  developing  already 
existing  industries  and  evoking  new  ones.  Then 
one  of  the  main  objects  of  technical  teaching  in 
Ceylon  will  have  been  attained. 
OCCASIONAL  NOTES. 
The  Indian  Agriculturist  has  begun  what  pro- 
mises to  be  a most  interesting  series  of  articles 
on  “ The  Agricultural  Problem  in  India,”  in  its 
issue  of  the  21st  January.  In  the  first  article  the 
“ then  ” and  the  “ now  ’’  of  Agriculture  in  India  are 
strikingly  contrasted,  and  theapathy  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  the  present  situation  deplored  and  censured. 
From  the  similarity  of  circumstances  in  India  and 
Ceylon,  the  series  of  articles  would  be  well 
worth  perusal  by  the  promoters  of  agricultural 
reform  in  our  own  Island.  The  first  article  at  the 
outset  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that  an  almost 
complete  change  has  taken  place  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country  during  the  last  half-century. 
Before  then  husbandry  was  conducted  on  the  self- 
sufficing  system  for  villages  or  groups  of  villages  ; 
the  possession  of  ample  waste  was  the  primary 
condition  of  prosperity,  the  villagers  then  being 
able  to  provide  themselves  with  unexhaested  land, 
— fresh  fields  and  pastures  new, — whenever  they 
felt  it  necessary.  Cultivation  was  kept  up  only 
on  the  best  land.  Each  separate  village,  or  group, 
was  able  to  raise  food  enough  for  itself,  and  the 
domestic  industries  of  the  village  provided  for  all 
the  other  wants  of  the  community.  The  ryot’s 
world  was  his  village,  and  inherited  experience 
sufficed  to  enable  him  to  deal  with  circum- 
stances as  they  arose.  Now  all  this  has  changed. 
Means  of  communication  within  and  from  without 
has  to  a great  extent  been  established ; trade  is 
active,  and  this  activity  is  felt  everywhere  in 
the  country  ; in  most  cases  more  produce  is  being 
raised  than  is  required  merely  for  the  support  of 
the  community;  husbandry  is  becoming  more  and 
more  a business.  But  the  ryot  has  not  changed  his 
system  with  the  times.  Open  field  husbandry  is 
still  very  general ; careless  and  extensive  tillage 
is  still  depended  on  to  provide  food  ; and  yoor 
land,  from  which  a precarious  produce  can  be 
obtained,  is  brought  under  the  plough.  With  these 
changed  conditions  the  population  is  increasing. 
Such  facts  as  these  are  pressed  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  those  entrusted  with  the  responsibility 
regarding  the  economic  condition  of  the  country. 
They  must  consider  that  the  population  of  the 
country  is  increasing;  that  the  population  is 
dependant  on  the  results  of  a precarious 
husbandry  : that  the  people  are  tied  and  tramelled 
by  inherited  custom,  and  now  find  themselves  in  a 
rapidly  altering  environment  to  which  they  are 
practically  unable  to  accommodate  themselves 
and  their  practice  ; that  the  common  system  of 
husbandry,  though  suitable  enough  to  self- 
sufficing  village  communities  at  a time  when 
ample  waste  land  of  good  quality  was  available, 
is  now  practised  on  land  that  has  been  severely 
cropped  for  long  periods,  and  that  has  in  most 
cases  been  reduced  to  its  normal  limit  of  pro- 
duction. These  are  grave  dangers  especially 
in  a country  where  droughts  are  of  frequent 
occurrence.  “ Have  any  among  those  who  are 
entrusted  with  the  duty  of  promoting  agricultural 
reform  and  improvement,”  it  is  asked,  “ shown 
the  slightest  sign  of  having  grasped  the  essential 
points  of  the  question  P ” 
We  have  to  thank  Mr.  Hoole  for  samples  of 
his  work  in  the  way  of  preserving  botanical 
specimens  according  to  the  simple  method  de- 
scribed by  him  in  our  present  issue.  Botanical 
students  would  do  well  to  try  the  method ; 
as  for  its  results  we  can  vouch  for  their  being 
very  satisfactory,  not  merely  in  the  case  of  simple 
and  compound  leaves  but  of  delicate  inflorescences 
as  well.  We  also  thank  Mr.  Alfred  Drieberg  for 
a specimen  of  a coconut,  divided  internally  to 
the  shell  into  two  chambers.  It  is  not  generally 
known  that  the  ovary  of  the  coconut  flower  is 
formed  of  3 carpels,  and  that  the  fruit  should 
therefore  if  no  suppression  occurred  be  three- 
chambered  instead  of  one-chambered  as  in  the 
ordinary  coconut  which  usually  matures  but  one 
seed.  The  two-chambered  coconut  presented 
to  us  is  an  instance  of  reversion  to  the  original 
type.  We  have  heard  of,  but  have  never  seen  a 
typical  three-chambered  nut. 
Herr  Bolle,  President  of  the  Royal  and  Imperial 
Agricultural  Society  of  Austro-Hungary,  who 
has  been  deputed  to  India  to  study  the  agri- 
culture of  the  country,  spent  a few  days  in 
Ceylon  on  his  w-ay  to  Calcutta,  visiting  some 
of  the  upcountry  tea  plantations. 
The  name  of  Mr.  G.  Rajapakse  was  inadver- 
tently omitted  from  the  list  of  prize  winners 
given  in  our  last  issue.  Mr.  Rajapakse  had  a 
creditable  career  as  a first  year  student,  winning 
the  Government  prize  for  Agriculture. 
