84 
Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture . 
in  pairs.  The  whole  plant,  and  especially  the  root 
is  very  bitter  and  is  devoid  of  astringency.  It  is  a j 
powerful  tonic  and  febrifuge.  In  short,  it  may 
be  remarked  that  this  herb  has  probably  the 
same  virtues  as  the  yellow  European  gentian 
(gentiana  lutea),  and  it  may  be  that  we  seek  at  a 
distance  what  lies  at  the  very  threshhold  of 
our  doors. 
3.  Cuscuta  refer  a (Sin.  Agamula-netiwela.) 
This  is  a parasitic  leafless  creeper  which 
preys  on  the  Cinnamon  bush  and  belongs  to  the 
same  family  as  the  “dodder.”  The  Sinhalese  name 
means  “ a creeper  that  has  no  beginning  or 
end."  The  Tamils  call  it  Muda-kottan,  and  con- 
sider it  a specific  for  cuts,  fractures  and  dislo- 
cations. Wonderful  stories  which  try  one’s 
credulity  are  told  of  the  power  of  this  plant  to 
make  flesh  adhere  and  cure  wounds,  and  the  re- 
markable success  of  some  native  doctors  in  surgical 
treatment  is  attributed  to  the  secret  use  of  this 
plant.  One  thing,  however,  can  be  said  with  cer- 
tainty about  its  virtues,  the  mucilaginous  juice 
has  a very  soothing  effect  when  it  is  applied  in 
the  form  of  a poultice. 
4.  Acalypha  Indica. — This  is  a common  annual 
herb  with  greenish  flowers  belonging  to  the 
natural  order  Euphorbiacese.  It  is  called  Kup- 
pemenia  by  the  Sinhalese  and  Tamils.  It  is 
reported  to  have  a peculiar  effect  on  the  cat  which 
has  sometimes  been  noticed  to  play  about  with 
great  fondness  round  the  plant.  A decoction  of 
the  leaves  has  laxative  properties  and  the  root  is 
a cathartic. 
5.  Hemido.smus  Indicus. — This  plant  is  known 
as  iramusu  in  Sinhalese  and  nannari  in  Tamil. 
It  belongs  to  the  order  Asclepiadese,  and  is  a 
perennial  with  a thin  woody  creeping  stem  and 
small  lanceolate,  smooth  and  shining  leaves 
streaked  with  white  along  the  midrib.  Its  root 
is  long  and  slender,  with  few  ramifications, 
covered  with  rust-coloured  fragrant  bark  which 
keeps  its  odour  even  after  drying.  The  root  is 
popularly  employed  all  over  the  Island  as  a 
substitute  for  sarsaparilla  (smilax)  and  is  very 
highly  spoken  of.  Its  diuretic  property  is  very 
remarkable.  It  also  acts  as  a diaphoretic  and 
tonic  and  increases  the  appetite  while  it  purifies 
the  blood.  The  taste  and  smell  of  the  infusion 
of  the  root  are  balmy  and  sweet.  It  has  been 
used  with  the  most  decided  benefit  in  numerous 
cases  of  the  description  in  which  sarsaparilla  is 
generally  given,  and  indeed  it  is  said  that  the 
activity  of  this  medicine  is  much  more  decided 
than  that  of  sarsaparilla  itself. 
E.  T.  Hooee. 
INDIAN  JOTTINGS. 
I was  on  the  lookout  for  some  time  to  see 
whether  the  papaw  which  was  some  time  back  in- 
troduced to  the  Island  and  mentioned  in  your  last 
by  “ All  Products  ” is  grown  in  Bombay.  So  far  as 
I have  seen  it  does  not  seem  to  be  cultivated  here,  j 
and  papaw  trees  do  not  thrive  so  well  in 
these  parts  as  they  do  in  Ceylon.  It  is  rather  i 
surprising  to  see  that  papaine,  the  new  product 
from  the  papaw,  has  not  given  any  stimulus  to  the 
growth  of  the  tree  in  Ceylon.  From  the 
prices  which  were  offered  for  the  article, 
papaw  cultivation  would  have  seemed  to  be 
a paying  investment.  No  doubt  the  pjepar- 
j ation  of  the  juice  required  a little  knowledge  and 
I practice,  but  then  some  technical  knowledge  and 
practice  are  required  in  the  preparation  of  all  plant- 
ing products — tea,  cocoa,  cardamoms,  cinnamon, 
&c.  However,  the  only  reason  I could  see  for  its 
not  becoming  popular,  is  that  the  attention  of  the 
agriculturist  in  Ceylon  is  centred  in  the 
products  which  are  “ booming ” just  now,  and 
there  is  no  time  for  cultivators  to  look  about. 
The  betel  leaf,  Chavica  betel  is  now  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  important  antiseptics  and  you 
had  a full  notice  of  it  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Magazine.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  betel  or 
Pan  leaf  as  they  call  it  here,  is  of  a very  inferior 
quality  in  Bombay.  The  pale  crushed  thin  leaves 
exposed  in  the  markets  would  be  despised  even 
by  the  poorest  in  Ceylon.  However,  its  con- 
sumption is  great  here  as  it  is  in  Ceylon. 
Perhaps  if  the  leaves  could  be  properly  packed  and 
shipped,  the  Ceylon  betel  cultivator  would  find  a 
profitable  market  out  here.  If  arrangements  are 
made  with  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  a cargo  would  take  only 
three  days  from  Colombo. 
Bombay  is  famous  for  its  mangoes  ; there  are  now 
and  again  very  superior  fruits  offered  for  sale, 'but 
the  general  run  of  the  fruit  on  sale  here  at  rather 
exorbitant  prices  never  reaches  in  quality 
our  Colombo  “ Jaffna  ” mangoes.  Some  one  should 
try  to  ship  mangoes  to  Bombay  from  Colombo, 
even  at  the  risk  of  “carrying  coals  to  Newcastle.” 
If  coal  is  dear  at  Newcastle,  there  is  no  reason  why 
it  shouldn't  pay  to  send  it  there  from  some  other 
places ! 
By-the-bye,  anyone  visiting  Bombay  would  have 
obesrved  that  the  tea  which  is  retailed  here  is  mostly 
rubbish.  Sometimes  one  cannot  actually  make  out 
whether  a sample  of  cheap  tea  is  tea  or  some 
other  powdered  dry  leaf.  Such  stuff  sells  largely 
here,  and  the  retail  dealers  no  doubt  are  making 
immense  profit,  their  lowest  price  being  about  fifty 
cents  a pound,  and  that  too  for  what  I am  inclined 
to  call  dry  “leaf  mould.”  A pound  of  tea  sold  from 
seventy-five  cents  to  a rupee  in  Colombo  cannot  be 
had  here  for  less  than,  I believe,  two  rupees.  This 
is  all  the  work  of  the  retail  dealers,  and  the  poor 
workman  and  those  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  high 
prices  for  good  ordinary  teas  must  be  satisfied  with 
the  rubbish  they  get.  While  writing  of  tea,  I do 
not  know  whether  you  remarked  how  a paragraph 
in  a number  of  your  Magazine  of  last  year  has  gone 
round  the  papers  of  the  world,  of  course  with 
modifications  to  suit  the  different  readers.  The 
paragraph  I refer  to  was  one  contributed  by 
“All  Products  ” about  croton  plants  being  grown  on 
tea  estates,  and  the  purgative  effects  produced  by 
drinking  certain  teas.  I read  the  same  paragraph  in 
more  than  one  of  the  Indian  papers,  months  after 
it3  appearance,  and  last  though  not  least,  under  a 
separate  heading  in  the  Scientific  American  of 
New  York. 
More  than  once  I was  told  by  ignorant  natives 
that  the  tea  plant  was  to  be  found  growing  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  city,  and  some  innocently  inquired 
how  the  leaf  was  so  nicely  prepared  in  Ceylon. 
The  description  of  the  plant  which  they  gave  me 
was  very  unlike  that  of  the  true  bush.  At  last  I 
