Ian. U 1903,] 
THE TROPICAL AaRICULTIfRIST. 
for thas conserving the water nature provides, 
will be realised during a period of scanty rainfall. 
Tlie fronds of a coco-palm are so arranged as to 
thoroughly protect the surface of the ground 
round the tree, where the rootlets abound, from the 
direct rays of the mid-day sun. The arrangement 
of the froudu also prevent rain-water reaching the 
shaded portion ot the ground. Hence the wise 
provision of nature to counteract this, by the 
spout-like shape of the butt-ends of the fronds, 
As I said before, the aim of the planter should be 
to prevent the water provided by nature going to 
waste, by tilling the surface of the soil round the 
trees. ^• 
A LEECH IN A DOG'S NOSE : WANTED 
ITS EVICTION. 
Nonpareil, Ohiya, Nov, 23. 
Dear SiB,— Can any of your many readers 
tell me how to get rid of a leech which 
has got into the nose of one of my dogs ?— 
It has been there four days now and all 
my efforts to get it out have been un- 
successful.— -The Tamil name for this parti- 
cular kind of leech is " neere-utta," but of the 
Enghsh name lam ignorant. With apologies 
for troubling you,— Yours faithfully. 
A. D. A. 
[We first heard of the trouble Ceylon 
leeches give by creepings into the nose of 
cattle and dogs when they stoop to drink 
at a stream, by a still more peculiar 
experience: the little child (3 or 4 years) of 
a Haputale planter- the late Mr. Mitchell of 
Kelburne— in playing beside a small stream 
got a leech into its nose ; but for some 
time the parents did not know what was 
the cause of the bleeding, the high fever 
and crying of the little one. Fortunately, 
Mr. W. H. Wright, who was then pioneer- 
ing in East Haputale, came the way and soon 
• discovered the cause and he proved it by 
taking the child into a dark corner when the 
leech popped out enough for Mr. Wright to 
seize and wrench it away. This is as we re- 
call the story told us at Kelburne, alas, so 
long ago as March 186.5 ; but if we are wrong 
the veteran planter now on his Mirigama 
coconut property, will correct us. Let 
"A. D. A." then throw a cloth over his dog's 
head and watch if the leech does not obtrude 
sufficiently to enable it to be pulled away. 
There are no doubt other remedies which 
may be mentioned by correspondents, but 
the efficacy of the above plan has been 
repeatedly proved.— Ed. T.A.] 
No. II. 
Colombo, Dec 3. 
Sir, — A successful way to extract a leech 
from a dog's nose, even on a rainy day, is to 
introduce a strong solution of common salt 
into the nostril occupied by the cruel intruder. 
The dog will sneeze him off, 
US US." 
No. III. 
Colombo, 28th Nov. 
Dkar, Sir, —Might I suggest a good piiicli of 
snuff, suHicient to make the dog sneeze. — Yours 
faithfully. C. H. 
No. IV. 
Kotahena, 29th Nov. 
Sir— In reply to the inquiry by "ADA" 
of Nonpareil, Ohiya, in your yesterday's issue 
for evicting a leech from his dog's nose, I would 
recommend him to use an injection of vinegar 
or a solution of salt as prescribed by Dr. E J 
Waring, m.d. P. C, O. 
No. V. 
Nov. 80. 
Dear Sir,— In answer to "A.D.A.'s" query 
in your issue of 28th November as to how 
to extract a leeoh from a dog's nose:— 
Keep the dog in the hot sun a short time. 
Then bring hiin into a cool room and dip 
his nose in a vessel of cold water, and with 
a handkerchief adjusted between the fore, 
finger and thumb, you will be able to spi-ag 
the leech firmly and he's got to come. 
Yours, &c., PLANTER. 
GREEN TEA AND BLACK: THE TURN 
IN THE TIDE. 
Nov. 26. 
Dear Sir, — I really don't think the pro- 
spects of Ceylon Tea— I will not go so far 
as to say British-grown Teas— were ever 
brighter. I say so with recollection of the 
time when the average price was double 
what it now is. Then, there was the appre- 
hension of a rush into the enterprise, since 
sadly fulfilled ; and then we had not learnt 
the teachings of adversity, so helpful to 
thoroughness and economy. And the change 
has been brought about, within a few months, 
by a process as simple as that which has 
immortalised Columbus' egg ! It was just 
like the Britisher. He knew there ware Green 
Teas and Black ; and he knew the Yankees 
(like some others !) were wedded to Greens ; 
but they must be conquered not coaxed ; 
the Black must be poured down their throats. 
But Jonathan is as tough a customer as 
his cousin -John Bull ; and we have had to 
give up the idea of force. And how many 
markets have not the British lost in manu- 
factures by not consulting the wishes and 
needs of the buyer, as the Americans and 
the Germans do ! 
Take my word for it, in the next year or 
two our Green Teas will play such a part in 
the markets of the world, as to lay the 
ghost of over-production at least for a 
decade— may be for ever. Thanks to Ruther- 
ford's keenness, we have been spared an 
increase in the Cess; and in 190± Greens 
will need no crutch, .and it isn't from 31r. 
Black they will ask a helping hand. Bxit 
tributum ! And when that happy day dawns, 
let us think kindly of a Firm which has had 
more hard things said of it than any in 
the Tea business. For is it not Finlay, Muir 
& Co., who gave the fillip to Greens by their 
improved process which has enlisted an 
army of inventors- who laid, in fact, Col- 
ombo's egg at Ambewatte !— i'ours, 
