576 
Sn/pplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist'- [Feb. 2, 1903. 
do rot turn their attention to the study of the 
medicinal virtues of Ceylon plants, when so much 
can be done through the technical knowledge 
they possess, to develope ^the -vegetable resources 
of the island. 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
We have had enquiries as to the English 
equivalents of the Indian weights in connection 
with the treatment of cattle, referred to in 
Indian works. We, therefore, give below the 
equivalents in avoirdupois weight. 
1 Tola.. .. 6|^'jdrs. 
5 Tolas 1 chittack 2^oz. 
16 Chittacks 1 seer 2^^' lbs. 
40 Seers 1 maund 82^ lbs. 
Maunds 1 ton. 
According to the Chemist and Druggist plants 
are able to take up arsenic when it occurs in 
the soil or the manure, und may be present in 
measureable quantities in the early stages of 
succulent growth, but in no case is the faintest 
trace of arsenic found in the fruit or seed of any 
plant, so that there would appear to be a selec- 
tive power in plants by which the aroenic, even 
if present, is rejected from the reproductive 
organs. Still, there is the possibility of arsenic 
being consumed where vegetables are eaten 
in the green state as is lettuce, water cress, 
and the like. 
. Professor Marshall Woodrow, late of the Indian 
Botanical Service, gives the following as the 
probable Etymology of " Jak," Artocatyusintegri- 
folia, in the Gardeners' Chronicle : — " That appel- 
lation was probably given by our early voyagers 
from the resemblance between its top outer 
covering, studded wilh raised points, and the 
Jack Coat-o£-arms used by soldiers in mediaeval 
times, and it is more probable that after months 
of salt pork and beef, our sailors enjoyed the 
rather fulsome flavour of the massive fruit, and 
gave it the name most familiar to them." 
Another Ramie fibre boom is predicted as a re- 
sult of the invention of the " Faure " decorticator 
described as a strong and cheap machine suitable 
for hard work on plantations, and working eco- 
nomically and effectivefy. The Ramie Congress 
held in Paris last year passed it as being all 
that is required. A large demand is expected 
for decorticated fibre, and the cultivation of the 
plant is advised. The American and French 
Governtnents are pressing its cultivation hard. 
So writes Mr. H. A. Carter of Manchester to 
Capital. 
The comparative strength of our common fibres 
is given in the following table, from the results 
of several experiments with a three-strand one- 
eighth inch cord : — 
lb. 
Cocos Nucifera stood a strain of 244 
Hibiscus Cannabinus 290 
Sanseviera Zeylanica 31fi 
Gossypium Herbaceum 346 
Agave Americana 362 
Crotalaria Juncea 467 
Calotropis Gigantea 5-52 
StereuUa rupestris is the name of the so-called 
" bottle tree" of Australia, wheve the stem is said 
to be invaluable as a fodder during drought. 
The tree is allied to our Telambu (<S'. fatida) 
and Nava {S, Bakmghas.) 
The Japanese system of well boring would 
appear to be as desirable an introduction to Ceylon 
as to India. The Kazusa or artesian wells of 
the Japanese, by which they carry on the whole 
of their rice cultivation, amounting to tens of 
thousands of acres, ore sunk to great depths at 
a comparatively trifling cost. A complete work- 
ing outfit for sinking is calculated to cost about 
Rs, 200. 
The last Veterinary Journal contains the 
report of the Director of the Pasture-Institute, 
Annam, on the Epizootic among cattle in the 
Malay Peninsula. The conclusions arrived at by 
M. Carrongean are : (1.) The Epizootic is not 
rinderpest, buf, bovine pasteurellon or hremarrha- 
gic septicseuria. (2.) It is manifest in three 
principal forms: (a) subacute or septicaeuric, (6) 
acute, with various local modifications, (c) chronic. 
3. They are all due to the same microbe, viz., 
an ovoid organism of the germ pasteurella . 
(4.) The microbe varies in virulency. (5.) The 
possibility of preventive inoculation is hopeful. 
M. Carrongean says that the pseudo-rinderpest 
destroys more buffaloes than oxen, whereas in 
true rinderpest the reverse is the case, a large 
percentage of buffaloes recovering. He mentions 
Younger, Galtier and Nocard as confirming this 
view, and quotes the last author to the following 
effect : "A disease that destroys a large number 
of cattle and but few oxen is not true rinderpest. ' 
According to the Lancet, the substance known 
as Seriein, which forms 20 per cent of mulberrj' 
silk and gives to silk material its peculiar and 
delightful character, has been formed by synthesis- 
and in this way an important step towards 
the artificial manufacture of silk has been made. 
The Times of India has an interesting letter 
on the Sewnge question and the various 
methods of treating sewage. We learn that the 
manufacture of pondrette, or night soil mixed 
with ashes is carried on by a number of Mofussil 
Municipalities. At Poona the industry brings in 
an annual income of half a lakh of rupees. At 
other centres the application of night soil direct 
to the land in deep or shallow trenches on the 
Meagher system has been found to answer 
satisfactorily, and in part of the N, W. the me of 
