144 
Supphment to the "Tropical AgricuUurist." [Aug 1, ]900. 
all over India, the bulk of the consumption 
entirely escaping duty. Tliis is mainly due to 
the fiict that it would be impracticable to hold 
a man responsible for the existence of a wild 
plant growing within a certain radius of his 
hut., and it would be impossible to prohibit 
Iiim gathering, from such a plant, and this 
daily quantity used by himself and family. 
This is precisely the state of affair? whicii 
prevails over a great part of India, and, indeed, 
on the lower slopes of the Himalaya and up 
to an altitude of 8,000 feet, tlie plant is often 
so plentiful as to be extensively used as bedding 
for cattle. The greatest difficulty exists, there- 
fore, in regulating the consumption of bhang, 
but practically no such difficulty exists with 
regard to ganja and charas. The last mention- 
ed narcotics can be produced only from the 
cultivated plant, and the consumption can 
therefore be regulated by law. The Kxcise Act 
provides that licensed persons may cultivate the 
plant, prepare the narcotics, and retail these 
to the consumer. The right to vend is sold 
by public auction, a person purchasing thereby 
the sole riglit, for one year, to all or so many 
of their shops in a district. Any person otliar 
than a licensed dealer, having in his possession 
more than a very small quantity at one time 
is liable to prosecution and fine- Tliis system 
of farming the wholesale and retail shops exists 
all over Indiii, Madras being an exception to 
the rule, since in South India no revenue what- 
ever is credited to Government from these drugs. 
Specimens of the fruit and leaves of a 
tree were sent to me early this month with an 
enquiry as to the use to which the parts of 
the tree could be put. The tree was kindly 
identified by the Curator of the Eoyul 
Botanical Gardens as Polyalthia Coffecides, 
known in Sinhalese as Omara and in Tamil as 
Nedunnarai. It ia described by Trimen as an 
inhabitant of the dry low country forests, but 
extending up to 1,500 ft. It is found occurring 
near Kandy at Haragama and Anuradhapura. 
The flowers are borne from Junuary to March 
and are apple-green in colour. The leaves which 
are shining and undulate are very character- 
istic, and resemble those of the coffee tree. The 
tree belongs to the Anona family and is rather 
ornamental in appearance, being j hence found 
planted to some extent in gardens and on road- 
sides. The only use to which the tree is put 
appears to be for fibre got from the bark. 
Another species known as P. langifolia is useful 
in many ways to the people of India, according 
o Dr. Watt. 
A correspondent from Matara writes ; — " I send 
you a shrub used largely in this part of 
the country in dyi ig rushes, of which mats are 
made, and called Weltkaha, The leaf when 
boiled with sapan wood produces a bright red 
colour. Bombu or Bombi, as you know, is a 
timber tree which produces a bright orange 
colouV. The leaf is mixed with matured 
jakwood to extract the dye which our Buddhist 
priests steep their robes in. Is it Symplocos 
«pecio«!i, Roxb ? Both the above trees grow wild 
but I venture to think the produce will be found 
marketable if only made known in Europe." 
Welikaha is Memecylon capitellatum. (L.) 
(Melastomacese). It is also known among the 
Sinhalese as Dodankaha. Dr. Trimen speaks of 
the tree as one of the best marked species of 
memecylon, and ea-^ily recognized by the leaves 
alone. The wood is s lid to be hard and strong. 
As regard its use in dying, Trimen Sfiys that 
the leaves turn ornnge-yellow when dried and 
afford a yellow dye. I have observed the leaves 
being dried in the sun on mats near AmblangodOi 
Ti.is is one of tlie dyes mentioned in the enquiry 
regarding the dyeing of materials used for 
making baskets, mats and hats, and the possibility 
of improving native methods of dyeing, a matter 
which is receiving the attention of the Ceylon 
Delegate at the Paris Exhibition. 
Keferring to the dye of M. eapitellaltum and 
other sjiecies, Dr, Watt has the following:— 
The leaves are employed in South India for 
dyeing a "delicate yellow lake," In conjunction 
with myrobolans and sapau-wood, thoy pro- 
duce a deep red tinge much u<ed for dyeing 
grass mats, and also good for cloth. Samples 
experimented with by Mr. Wardle give "a 
yellow colour to wool, eri silk, and bleached 
Indian tasar with a tin mordant, wool being 
dyed the deepest colour."' Mr. Wardle writes: 
" 'i'hey possess scarcely any tamiu ; on tasar silk 
without a mordiint,they give a nice clear but light 
brown colour. There is a pretty yellow tinge on Che 
e i silk." In another passage he adds : '■ This dye- 
stuff produces good light colours, but would not be 
of much use in the dye-house, owing to the 
very small amount of colouring matter it con- 
tains." The flowers are employed hy native 
dyers as an adjunct to chny-root for bringing 
out the colour in preference to alum. By 
themselves they produce evanescent yellow. 
iiymplocos splcata, referred to by my Matara 
correspondent is Bombu or wal bambu. I 
have net heard it also called "Bombi " which 
is the native name of Litsea chinensis. The 
fomer belongs to Styracete and the latter to 
Lauraceae (the cinnamom family). The wood 
is described by Dr, Trimen as light, white and 
close-grained, but liable to split, and tiie bark 
is said to afford a dye, Ferguson in his " Timber 
Trees" speaks of Bombu as a common tree 
from the coast up to 7000 ft. It is said to 
be a very conspicuous object when covered with 
its snow-white flowers. I am obliged to my 
correspondent for the information with reference 
to the use of Bombu with jakwood ;dye' in 
colouring the robes of the priests of Buddha; 
I have been lately struck by the tejidency of 
much divided leaves to revert to the simple type. 
My observations have been limited to the leaves of a 
plant belonging to Aracese which is normally much 
divided and con-isting of as many as eight distinct 
segments, but which I find in various stages- 
of reversion to the simple cordate type so common 
among the arncese. 
I have a few cocoa tree? in my gardeij 
bearing fruit, On a tree in the same garden 
