70 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist'' [July 1, 1902. 
sets up any exclusive claims of superiority arising 
out of secret methods of preparation. 
The highest claim a manufacturer should make 
regarding cocoa is that having expressed the 
expressible oil, he is content to leave Vi ell alone. 
It vpere vain to attempt " to paint the lily or guild 
refined gold " ! 
« — — 
SEEICULTUKE. 
In cur last issue we had something to say 
about the ijroposed introduction of Sericulture as 
a village industry. The Indian Ar/riculturist for 
June in referring to the encouragement which 
Hia Excellency the Viceroy of India is giving to 
industrial work, goes on to give an account of 
the progress made vfith Sericulture, Axjparently 
the rearing of silkworms exactly suits the tastes 
of the Indian peasantry,, to judge from the 
manner in which Sericulture has been taken up, 
not casually but on sound scientific lines; and 
this fact should give encouragement to those 
who are endeavouring to popularise silkworm 
culture in Ceylon. Tlie following extract will 
give an idea of the progress of Sericulture in 
Bengal ; — 
The Government of Bengal, acting in con- 
junction with the Bengal Silk Committee, have 
done useful work iu introducing improved 
methods of rearing silkworms, and the industry 
has now been placed on a sounder footing. Tlie 
chief evil which threatened to destroy the 
industry was that of diseases .'iffectiiig the 
silkworms. The principle disease is known as 
pebrine. It is hereditary, affecting the blood of 
the worm and has the effect of killing the worm 
attacked when just about to spin its cocoou- 
Imxjressed by the wonderful results secured on 
tl:e continent by the adoption of the Pasteur 
system of silk rearing and disease prevention an 
effort was made to introduce it into Bengal. The 
Silk Committee consists of representatives of three 
European firms in Berhampur, and the C.'>llector 
ex-officio. At the outset of the Committee's oper- 
ations they were not particularly successful but 
persevering in their efforts to see the Pasieur 
system given a fair tiial, they now liave the 
satisfaction of witnessing their labours attended 
by more satisfactory re-ults. The Government 
of Bengal contributed E- . 3,000 annually towards , 
the experimental work that was being cariied on, 
and this year the grant has been increased to 
Es. 6,000, on condition that the Committee raises a 
similar sum. 
Incredible though it may sound, there is no 
doubt that, especially in the Malda District, 
where the people are more intelligent, the Pasteur 
Fystem is practised with excellent results by mere 
peasants to whom the microscope and bacteria 
were but a short time ago unmeaning terms. 
Starting then with the female moth that has 
been placed in a position to lay fertile eggs, these 
eggs hatch out in about a week, and the worms 
are carefully taken by the rearers and placed on 
big bamboo trays. The worms are fed on mul- 
];>erry leaves for varying periods according to the 
time of year, as !ong as forty days iu t'.e nld 
weather, until tho expert rearer by tlit-ir ;[ -ar- 
ance judges they are about to spin a coco' n. At 
tliis stage the worms are placed ou a sj.i v ii.g 
ivay caXltid i\, chandraki, wliicli has ritiiniTi,' . :o:n 
the outer edge of the centre in fpiial form Jittle 
hedges of wicker-work some three inches a;)art. 
Five hundred or i-ix hundred worms are accjm- 
modated on one of these traj's, and here th-y soon 
start to work, spiuniug around tliemselves wliat 
proves in their case a shroud of silk. 
On the moth hatching out and beiiiu' re idy to 
lay egg-', it is placed by the rearer iiisidL; w ^ulall 
circle of tin with a piece of paper uiulerniiai: i\ ou 
which it lays its eggs. Pebrine being ;i here- 
ditary disease it foll,i,vs that the egL,'s of healtiiy 
moths only should bo I'etained. To ileterniine the 
existence of disea-e in the blood of tht; la j.h the 
microscope has to bo brough"; into reqiiisitin i and 
the fungoid growtlis are so niark-^d that with a 
little prelitninary training it; is apparently easy 
to distinguish between the healthy and u ih.ealthy 
motlip. In the case of the l itter lioth ej:J.'^ and 
moths are burned or buried vi'itliout lo-s nf time, 
eggs of the moths free from disease alone being 
retained. 
In addition to the microscopical examination 
of seed the Silk Committee have built three rear- 
ing-houses. The results have so far been most 
satisfactory. The produce of silk per unit of 
cocoons reared at Chondonpur has been 40 per 
cent, greater than tliat of native reared cocoons. 
One of the houses which the Committee is build- 
ing will be divided into two compartments, one 
having ruby, and the other violet coloured glass 
windows. The use of ruby glass excludes the 
actinic rays, and worms raised under this condi- 
tion are said to develop more perfectly than when 
reared in the ordinary vmy. The object of the 
violet glass is to destroy microbes inimical to the 
health of the silkworms. 
All this goes to show that' Sericulture in India 
hsa come to be a regular •' business," And wliy 
should this not be the case in Ceylon also ? 
CASTRATION 
[by b. avallis hoare, f.r.c.v.s.] 
T.lie operation of castration appears to be 
regardedas one of vast importance in veterinary 
surgery. Nearly every ])ractitioner fancies himself 
an expert on the subject, and proclaims that 
his metliod is superior to all others. Sime, N' ith 
an exaggerated idea of their own skill, tell us 
that so successful are tliey at the work th^t no 
colt ever dies as the result of their oi)eratiou 
At one time, in the simplicity of youth, we used 
to regard such individuals -A-itli awe, and a 
touch of envy at tiieir success and our misfor- 
tune when a case slipped ilirouirh our Angers, and 
we got the credit of slaying the animal. But as 
years rolled on we gradually learned that these 
succesful men had similar experiences to our own, 
with this difference, however, that in our c;ise 
we attributed the cause of death to the operation, 
in their case it was a calamity resulting from 
some disease that was lurking in the system 
