Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
83 
alone  since  April  in  this  year,  and  that  the 
industry  there  is  still  a new  one  capable  of 
improvement.” 
The  author  of  the  Bulletin  (W.  A.  Symonds) 
particularly  refers  to  the  extraordinary  depth  to 
which  the  roots  penetrate.  Their  length,  he  says, 
is  commonly  supposed  to  exactly  equal  the  height 
of  the  stem.  “ Not  till  they  reach  the  water 
under  the  earth  do  they  stop  in  their  downward 
search  for  moisture,  and  it  is  thus  that  the 
palmyra  is  enabled  to  withstand  the  drought 
of  the  driest  months  in  a tropical  clime.  Hence 
it  follows  that  although  a palmyra  will  grow 
in  a stiff  clayey  soil,  and  even  in  stony  tracts 
of  country,  a deep  loose  soil  is  of  all  soils  the 
best  adapted  for  the  growth  of  this  tree.” 
-<► 
A VISIT  TO  THE  POONA  DAIRY  FARM. 
The  Poona  dairy  is  situated  at  Kirkee,  about 
3 miles  from  Poona  town.  It  is  as  all  dairy  farms 
in  the]  Bombay  Presidency  are,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  J.  W.  Mollison,  m.r.a.c.  and  s., 
who  is  also  lecturer  on  agriculture  at  the  Poona 
College  of  Science.  To  the  dairy  is  attached  a 
farm  on  which  the  superintendent  raises  fodder 
crops  for  the  dairy'  stock.  Panicum  maximum 
or  Guinea  grass  (our  rata-tana) — which  is  not 
one  of  the  crops  commonly  cultivated  in  the 
district — is  being  successfnlly  raised  by  means 
of  irrigation.  The  grass  is  planted  out  on  ridges, 
and  the  irrigation  water  is  led  along  the  furrows. 
By  this  method  of  cultivation  the  land  is  able 
to  be  kept  clean  without  difficulty.  I observed 
that  the  bushes  were  not  permitted  to  grow 
to  anything  like  the  proportions  they  attain  to 
with  us, — the  grass  being  mowed  when  com- 
paratively tender.  Guinea  grass  is  sold  at  the 
rate  of  150  to  200  lbs.  for  the  rupee,  and  40 
lbs.  is  the  ordinary  allowance  for  a milch  cow 
per  day.  Another  crop  raised  on  the  farm  is 
Medicago  sativa,  the  English  lucerne  or  South 
American  “alfalfa.”  This  too  is  cultivated  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  is  sold  at  the  rate  of  from 
120  to  150  lbs.  for  the  rupee,  and  it  is  not 
thought  advisable  to  allow  a milch  cow  more 
than  10  lbs.  per  day.  [My  experience  of 
lucerne  cultivation  in  Ceylon  is  very  similar 
to  that  of  Mr.  Nock,  whose  report  I saw  on  my 
return  from  Poona.  I first  tried  to  raise 
the  crop  from  seed  received  from  Sutton,  but 
the  growth  which  stood  out  a whole  year 
was  unsatisfactory.  Next  I obtained  seed  from 
the  Bombay  Presidency,  and  the  result  of  my 
experimental  cultivation  of  a small  plot  was 
eminently  satisfactory.  I have  seen  lucerne 
grown  around  Bombay  and  at  Poona,  and  I 
think  that  the  growth  at  the  School  of  Agri- 
culture is  equal  to  that  in  the  Bombay  Presidency, 
while  if  anything  our  plants  have  a greater 
inclination  to  stool.  The  soil  here  is  the 
notoriously  barren  cinnamon  sand,  and  a special 
bed  had  to  be  prepared  with  a due  admixture 
of  mould  and  lime,  but  I am  looking  forward 
to  raising  lucerne  with  less  trouble  on  parts  of  the 
old  Model  Farm  grounds.  Unfortunately,  lucerne 
is  liable  to  the  attack  of  a fly  (which,  however, 
so  far  has  done  hardly  any  damage),  while  it  has 
been  found  in  Poona  that  excessive  wet  causes 
the  roots  to  become  diseased.] 
Teosinte  ( Reana  luxurians)  is  also  grown  in 
Poona.  Its  cultivation  was  fairly  successful, 
but  the  young  shoots  were  found  to  spring  slowly 
from  the  root  stumps  and  appear  less  vigorous 
each  time  a “ cut  ” was  made. 
Dolichos  Bijlorus  (kollu,  horsegram  or  Madras 
gram)  has  been  grown  on  the  farm  as  a fodder 
crop.  It  is  known  there  as  kulthi.  This  Mr. 
Mollison  values  at  rather  a lower  rate  than  the 
other  fodders,  because  liberally  rationed  dairy 
cattle  reject  the  coarser  stems,  and  thus  some 
waste  is  caused. 
Sorghum  Vulgare  (Jowari)  is  much  cultivated 
in  India  for  cattle  fodder  ; one  variety  (Sundhia 
Jowari)  being  grown  in  the  cold  seasons,  and 
another  (Kadwal  Jowari)  raised  in  the  hot 
weather.  The  cultivation  of  the  latter  is  com- 
paratively expensive  as  a water  rate  of  R9  per 
acre  besides  cost  of  watering  has  to  be  included. 
I am  of  opinion  that  Jowari  could  also  be 
introduced  as  a fodder  crop  here,  as  experimental 
plots  raised  from  seed  kindly  presented  by 
Major-General  La  Touche,  late  of  Ceylon,  showed 
a healthy  and  vigorous  growth.  At  Kirkee  I saw 
the  real  Lathyrus  Sylvestris  which  Mr.  Mollison 
pronounced  a failure  in  his  district.  The  plants 
were  totally  different  from  those  we  raised 
from  seed  imported  from  Italy.  Some  R20  were 
paid  by  the  Poona  farm  for  their  seed,  while 
we  got  ours  at  R5  per  lb.  I may  mention  that 
I was  convinced  before  I left  for  Poona  that 
we  had  been  supplied  with  the  wrong  seed, 
and  Dr.  Trimen,  to  whom  I submitted  some  of 
our  plants,  declared  the  growth  to  be  that  of  a 
Pisum. 
In  the  hot  weather  all  cultivation  has  to  be 
carried  on  by  irrigation.  Where  the  water  supply 
is  drawn  from  the  canals  a rate  lias  to  be  paid, 
otherwise  well  irrigation  has  to  be  resorted  to. 
The  water  is  drawn  up  from  the  wells  in  leather 
bags  by  bullocks  walking  forward  down  an  in- 
cline and  back  again  up  it.  The  arrangement 
of  ropes  attached  to  the  water  bag  is  such  that 
the  man  in  attendance  on  the  bullocks  is  able 
by  manipulation  of  the  strings  to  empty  the  bag 
when  it  reaches  the  surface, 
(To  be  continued.) 
SOME  WILD  PLANTS  OF  OUR  CINNAMON. 
GARDENS. 
1.  Wrightea  Zeylanica. — (Sin.  Idda ; Tamil, 
Vedpalai.)  This  is  a small  milky  shrub  belonging 
to  the  natural  order  Apocynacete  and  is  very 
common  in  the  Cinnamon  Gardens.  It  looks  some- 
what like  the  tea  plant  at  a distance.  The  leaves 
are  oblong,  acuminate,  smooth  and  bright  green 
on  each  side.  The  white  flowers  which  have  a kind 
of  silky  tuft  are  largely  collected  for  offering  at 
the  Hindu  and  Buddhist  temples.  The  pods 
contain  a silky  wool  which  is  useful  for  stuffing 
cushions.  The  bark  is  astringent  and  bitter  and 
also  deemed  a febrifuge.  An  infusion  of  the  bark 
is  given  by  the  vederalas  in  cases  of  chronic 
dysentery. 
2.  E.cacum  Zeylanicum. — (Sin.  Giruhiriya.) 
This  is  a species  of  gentian.  It  rises  to  a font  or 
two  in  height,  and  looks  very  beautiful  with  its 
bright,  blue-purple  flowers.  The  stem  is  square 
and  erect, and  the  upper  leaves  enclose  the  flowers 
