81 
Magazine  Of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
beneficent  Creator  has  apportioned  to  each  clime 
those  things  most  necessary  for  its  well-being, 
and  that  the  puny  efforts  of  man,  however  based 
on  scientific  skill,  can  never  come  up  to  His 
work.  But  that  thought  should  never  deter  the 
benefactor  of  the  human  species, — agricultural  or 
horticultural — from  attaining  what  perfection  is 
possible,  from  bringing  to  one  clime  the  flowers 
and  fruits  of  another. 
The  same  writer  delivers  himself  thus  on 
the  subject  of  Sugarcane  Cultivation : — It  has 
been  put  forward  at  various  times,  that  the 
cultivation  of  the  Sugarcane  is  unprofitable. 
The  reason  adduced  for  it  is,  that  cane  grown 
in  Ceylon  is  wanting  in  the  “ saccharine  consti- 
tuent,” which  distinguishes  it  in  other  lands, 
and  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  product 
is  mere  fibre  and  watery  matter : to  which 
assertion  I have  many  things  to  say  per  contra. 
The  two  kinds  of  cane  known  and  seen  and 
grown  in  Ceylon  are  the  white  or  pale  yellow, 
sometime  green  streaked,  and  the  dark  purple, 
and  I allow  that  it  is  very  noticeable  that  some 
of  the  white  species  are  often  devoid  of  saccharine 
matter,  and  are,  so  to  say,  watery  or  contain  more 
water  than  sugar  in  their  cells.  And  the  wild 
Sugarcane  seen  growing  in  profusion  in  all 
our  mountain  valleys  by  the  side  of  streams 
and  watercourses,  and  Often  in  the  lowcountry, 
have  scarcely  any  sugar  in  it  at  all,  say  not 
two  parts  of  sugar  in  one  hundred  of  fluid  matter, 
and  therefore  useless  for  sugar  boiling,  however 
excellent  for  fuel,  when  dry.  I am  certain  of  one 
thing,  that  if  Sugarcane  has  been  cultivated  for 
sugar  boiling  in  Ceylon,  it  has  been  inefficiently 
and  carelessly  done,  and  those  who  attempted  it 
have  either  done  it  on  too  large  or  careless  a system, 
or  have  not  had  the  patience  to  persist  in  it  in 
preference  to  other  or  mo:;!  seemingly  certain  in- 
dustries ! We  all  know — have  seen  and  have  tasted 
Sugarcane  of  both  the  above  species  in  our  own 
Island.  1 have  for  one,  and  have  seen  splendid 
specimens  grown  in  all  our  Eastern  Province 
estates,  gardens  and  chenas,  and  every  bundle 
brought  for  sale  is  devoured  with  avidity, 
being  almost  “sickly  sweet,”  thick  with  sugary 
matter,  and  capable  not  ouly  of  excellent  but 
marvellous  results  if  skillfully  handled.  We  see 
in  every  direction  the  juices  of  the  Ceylon  palms 
made  or  boiled  into  splendid  jaggeries  or  sugary 
substances,  and  I’ll  stake  my  reputation  that  the 
toddy  is  not  half  so  sweet  as  sugarcane  juice, 
which  is  fifty  times  as  sweet  and  viscid.  With 
the  millions  of  acres  available  for  SugatCane 
cultivation  in  Ceylon,  in  the  shape  of  marshes 
and  morasses,  rice  banks,  and  alluvial  soil  in 
every  direction,  why  is  hot  the  experiment 
fairly  tried,  if  not  by  private  individuals  by 
Government  ? who  would  foster  a grand  industry 
and  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  country ! Why 
indeed ! 
The  Superintendent  of  the  School  of  Agriculture 
spent  part  of  the  Easter  vacation  in  travelling 
across  the  Deccan,  enquiring  into  the  progress 
of  dairying. 
Mr.  II.  D.  Juanis,  an  old  boy,  is  at  present 
employed  at  the  Asylum,  superintending  the 
gardep  cultivation. 
Mr.  W.  A.  de  Silva,  at  present  in  Bombay 
hCaded  the  list  at  the  sec6nd  professional  ex- 
amination of  the  Veterinary  College,  besides 
winning  a valuable  special  prize. 
THE  KADAMBA  TEEE. 
This  tree  (the  subject  of  an  article  in  a late 
number  of  the  Indian  Agriculturist),  is  indigenous 
to  Ceylon,  and  is  known  among  botanists  as 
Anthrocepfialus  Cadama,  (the  Kadamba  of  the 
Tamils).  It  has  an  erect  stem  with  many  branches; 
the  flowers,  which  have  a peculiar  sweet  smell, 
forming  a small  globe.  The  fruit  is  about  the 
size  of  an  orange : this  is  eaten  by  the  poor 
natives  in  India,  while  the  leaves  are  given  to 
cattle  as  fodder.  The  bark  is  considered  to  be 
of  great  value  as  a febrifuge  and  tonic ; its 
taste  is  bitter  and  astringent.  The  fresh  juice 
of  the  bark  is  applied  to  the  fontanelles  of 
children  when  that  soft  portion  of  the  head  sinks ; 
at  the  same  time  a small  quantity  mixed  with 
cumin  and  sugar  is  given  internally.  The  juice 
of  the  bark  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of 
lime  juice,  opium  and  alum  has  been  applied 
with  great  benefit  round  the  orbit  of  the  eye  to 
subdue  inflammation.  The  tender  leaves,  when 
applied  in  the  form  of  a paste,  resolve  glandular 
swellings,  and  the  large  leaves  prove  an  efficacious 
remedy  for  eczema.  A decoction  of  the  leaves 
is  used  as  a gargle  in  cases  of  apthfe  and 
stomatitis.  The  fruit  is  considered  to  be  cooling, 
a destroyer  of  phlegm  and  impurities  of  the 
blood.  The  wood  of  the  Kadamba  tree  is  of 
great  economic  importance,  is  soft,  yellow-coloured 
and  even-grained,  weighing  about  40  lb.  per 
cubic  foot.  It  is  used  for  building  purposes  in 
Assam,  and  may  be  used  as  material  for  beams 
and  rafters,  being  also  good  for  joiner’s 
work.  In  Calcutta  it  is  one-third  as  cheap  as 
mango  wood.  Kadamba  trees  grow  wild  through- 
out India,  and  are  principally  used  for  fuel. 
The  closely-allied  Manjal-Kadamba,  the  kolon  of 
the  Sinhalese  ( Adina  Cordifolia)  and  Nir-Kadamba 
or  Chelembe,  the  Helamba  of  the  Sinhalese, 
( Stephegyne  parvifolia ) are  sometimes  used  by 
carpenters  in  Ceylon.  The  wood  of  the  former 
is  extremely  fine  and  like  that  of  the  box  tree, 
being  light  and  durable,  though  it  does  not  stand 
damp  well ; it  is  used  in  Bombay  for  planking  for 
the  floors  of  houses.  The  former,  which  is  of  a 
light  chesnut  colour,  fine  and  close-grained,  has 
also  been  used  for  flooring-planks,  packing  boxes, 
and  similar  purposes. 
ZOOLOGICAL  NOTES  FOE  AGEICULTUEAL 
STUDENTS. 
Sub-Kingdom  IV.  Annulosa. 
Division  2.  Anarthropoda.  This  division  in- 
cludes the  Spoon  worms  ( Gephyrea ),  the  ringed 
worms  {Annelida),  and  the  arrow-worms  {Chceto- 
gnatha).  The  members  are  characterised  by  an 
elongated  worm-like  body  composed  of  similar  or 
nearly  similar  segments.  Passing  over  the 
spoon  worms,  which  at  present  are  of  no  import- 
ance, we  find  that  the  Annelida  include  the 
leeches  {hirudinea)  characterised  by  the  possession 
