68 
Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
Ceylon,  to  the  Madras  Government : — The  Kittul 
tree  is  generally  most  prized  for  its  sugar 
and  toddy-yielding  qualities  in  Ceylon.  The 
collection  of  the  fibre  is,  as  a rule,  delayed 
until  the  tree  has  flowered  and  begun  to  yield 
sugar  and  toddy.  In  places  where  the  fibre  is 
collected  from  young  trees  three  or  four  years 
old,  the  fibre  sometimes  commands  a higher  price 
in  the  market,  but  the  tree  is  ruined.  The 
process  of  removing  the  fibre  is  as  follows : — 
The  fibre  collector  takes  a sharp  knife  and  climbs 
up  the  tree  till  he  reaches  the  base  of  the  “ crown  ” 
and  there  selects  a leaf  that  affords  a sufficient 
hold  or  footing  from  which  to  commence  opera- 
tions. The  fibre  in  itself  forms  a strong  connect- 
ing tissue  by  which  the  base  of  the  leaf  stalk 
of  the  palm  is  held  to  the  tree,  and  in  order 
to  support  the  leaf  is  closely  folded  upon  the 
body  of  the  plant  long  before  the  leaf  itself  is 
fully  formed.  The  operator  introduces  the  point 
of  his  knife  under  the  fibre  midway  between  the 
two  edges  of  leaf  stalk  and  severs  the  tissue, 
pulling  the  leaf  as  he  does  so  outwardly  and 
downwards  till  it  detaches  itself  from  the  tree. 
After  removing  as  many  leaves  as  wdll  yield 
mature  fibre,  the  operator  descends  and  proceeds 
to  cut  the  fibre  off  the  leaf  stalk,  and  the  whole 
is  then  picked  over  by  hand  and  combed  till  it 
is  free  of  any  woody  or  other  foreign  matter, 
and  finally  put  up  into  bundles,  each  about  2 
feet  long  and  4 inches  wide,  tapering  at  both 
ends  into  a point.  The  quantity  of  fibre  depends 
greatly  on  the  age  of  the  tree.  In  a young  tree 
that  has  not  flowered,  the  largest  quantity  appears 
to  be  present,  and  is  said  to  be  as  much  as  4 lb. 
when  clean ; but  again,  in  very  young  trees,  not 
more  than  6 feet  in  height,  a greater  quantity 
can  be  obtained  by  taking  all  the  fibre  round  each 
stalk-base  till  the  heart  or  “ cabbage  ” is  reached, 
but  the  quality  is  inferior  and  the  plant  is  killed. 
In  this  way  the  collectors  of  Kittul  fibre  (Kenddi) 
killed  a large  number  of  palms  yearly,  to  the 
great  loss  of  the  “ Wahampuriyo  ” (toddy  and 
jaggery-makers)  who  depend  on  the  Kittul  to 
afford  them  a means  of  living.  The  price  paid 
by  traders  in  Kittul  is  said  to  be  from  K9  to 
HI  2 per  cwt. 
A Bacteriological  Laboratory  is  about  to  be 
established  in  India,  near  Simla,  where  cattle 
disease,  especially  rinderpest,  will  be  the  main 
subject  of  research. 
The  following  is  a comparative  estimate  of 
the  proportions  of  the  most  valuable  ingredients 
in  1 ton  of  cow,  pig,  and  fowl  manure,  in  their 
natural  state  and  free  from  litter: — 
Con- 
Cow 
Pig 
Fowl 
stituents. 
manure. 
manure. 
manure. 
Potash 
7 
2 
. . 24 
Phosphoric  acid  6 
, . 18 
. . 41 
Lime 
6 
. . 33 
. . 47 
Nitrogen  . , 
9 
, . 13 
. . 87 
Here  is  the 
latest 
method  of 
preserving 
potatoes  in  France : Plunge  the  tubers,  before 
storing  them  away  for  ten  hours,  in  a two 
per  cent  solution  of  sulphuric  acid  in  wrater. 
.The  acid  penetrates  the  eyes  to  the  depth  of  about 
one-fortieth  of  an  inch,  which  serves  to  destroy 
their  sprouting  power;  it  does  not  have  any 
appreciable  effect  on  the  skin  of  the  potato. 
After  remaining  ten  hours  in  the  liquid,  the 
tubers  must  be  thoroughly  dried  before  storing. 
The  same  liquid  may  be  used  any  number 
of  times  with  equally  good  results.  A barrel 
or  tank  of  any  kind  will  do  for  the  treatment. 
The  acid  is  so  diluted  that  it  does  not  affect 
the  wood.  Chemical  analysis  shows  that  pota- 
toes treated  by  this  process  are  as  nutritious 
and  healthful  after  eighteen  months  as  when 
freshly  dug ; they  are,  however,  worthless  for 
planting. 
For  deficiency  and  acidity  in  the  taste  of  limes, 
oranges  and  pumeloes,  a liberal  incorporation  of 
demolition  mortar  with  the  soil  has  been  re- 
commended. The  experiment  was  tried  at  Lucknow 
with  gratifying  results.  Ashes  obtained  from  a 
brick  kiln  have  also  been  tried,  it  is  said, 
successfully. 
The  fibre  of  Sansiviera  Roxburghii  about  4 
feet  long  is  valued  at  from  £16  to  £20  per  ton 
in  London. 
In  a bulletin  issued  by  the  Louisiana  Bureau 
of  Agriculture,  and  dealing  with  the  analyses 
of  commercial  fertilizers  and  other  substances 
useful  to  Agriculture,  the  following  note  on  blood 
appears : — A waste  product  of  the  slaughter- 
houses is  found  in  the  market  in  two  forms, 
viz.,  dried  blood  and  red  blood.  The  difference 
in  colour  is  due  chiefly  to  the  difference  in 
the  temperature  employed  in  drying,  the  black 
blood  having  been  subjected  to  a much  higher 
temperature  than  the  red.  While  dried  blood 
contains  small  proportions  of  both  phosphoric 
acid  and  potash,  it  is  valued  chiefly  for  the 
nitrogen  it  contains,  the  proportion  of  this 
element  varying  from  8 to  16  per  cent.  The  red 
blood  is  the  more  finely  divided  of  the  two 
varieties,  and  has  been  found  to  be  more  prompt 
in  it  action.  An  analysis  of  a sample  forwarded 
contained  1’24  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  9 '94  of 
nitrogen. 
Says  the  Indian  Agriculturist: — After  prolonged 
research  and  experiments  in  Pasteur  s laboratory, 
M.  Chamberland  is  reported  to  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  no  living  germ  of  disease  can 
resist  the  antiseptic  power  of  essence  of  cinnamon 
for  more  than  a few  hours.  It  destroys  microbes 
as  effectively,  if  not  as  rapidly,  as  corrosive 
sublimate.  Even  the  scent  of  it  is  fatal,  and 
M.  Chamberland  holds  that  a decoction  of  cinnamon 
ought  to  be  taken  freely  by  persons  living  in 
places  affected  by  typhoid  or  cholera.  There  is 
nothing  new  in  all  this.  In  oldest  known  medical 
prescriptions  for  infectious  diseases  cinnamon 
was  a prominent  ingredient,  and  it  was  in  great 
request  during  the  plague  of  London.  There  is 
no  reason  for  doubting  that  the  physicians  of 
those  early  days  were  as  familiar  with  its 
medical  properties  as  with  its  odour. 
It  is  not  generally  known  in  India,  says  a 
Bombay  paper,  that  the  castor  oil  plant  is  avoided 
by  mosquitoes.  In  Egypt  it  is  planted  about 
houses  to  drive  them  away.  A still  better  plan 
for  towns  is  to  have  the  young  plants  in  pot 
and  bring  them  indoors  for  a day  or  two  at^ 
