692 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Apml 2, 1900. 
known manuring expert should have an 
Elwood Helmet presented to him by Ceylon 
proprietors, on which the following words 
(page 74) might be lettered in gold : — "That the 
present crop in Ceylon could be increased by 
one-third or more there is little doubt, and 
this without the employment of very ex- 
pensive, though perhaps somewhat, stimula- 
ting manures. But what would be the effect 
if new markets and demand did not keep 
up with the supply 2" 
In these days of so many subscription lists, 
terribly costly though they are, I however 
don't mind adding my mite for this charit- 
able object, the gold lettei'ing of the Elwood 
Helmet to be presented to our manuring ex- 
pert.— Yours truly, 
i 17O,O00,000LB EXPORT. 
"HAS CEYLON THREE ROBINS?" 
Dear Sir, — My question is in the heading. 
Tennent's " Natural History," page 241, 
speaks of " the rich and melodious tones of 
their clear and musical calls. In the eleva- 
tions of the Kandyan country there are a 
few, such as the robin of Neura-ellia 
(Pratincola atrata) and the long-tailed thrush 
(Kittacinela macrura) whose song rivals that 
of their European namesakes ; but far 
beyond the attraction of their notes, the 
traveller rejoices in the flute-like voices of 
the Dayal-bird (Copsychus saularis) called 
by Europeans in Ceylon the ' Magpie 
Robin.' This is not to be confounded with 
the other popular favourite, the Indian 
Robin (Thamuolia fulicata) which Edgar Lay- 
ard said "is never seen in the unfrequented 
jungle, but always near the habitations of 
men." Who will describe for me then the 
distinctive appearance of each bird, in 
simple clear language so that I may 
identify the 
(1) Indian Robin. 
(2) D<ayal bird or Magpie Robin. 
And (3) the Robin of Nuwax'a Eliya. 
and oblige— Yours truly, NEWCOMER. 
[We quote as follows from Legge's big 
book on tV-ylon Birds : — 
(1) Indian Robin.— -Thamnolia Fulicata (The Black 
Robin). Adult male. Length 6'2 to 6'4 inches ; vring 
3-0; tail S-f) ; Jris brown; bill, legs and feet, black. 
Entire body, except ihe abdomen, glossy blue black, 
this, with the under-tail coverts, is fine chesnut ; 
wings and tail coal-black; a large patch on the 
wing formed by the lesser and median coverts, white. 
This familiar little bird is a geueral household fa- 
vourite ip Ceylon, frequenting the vicinity of human 
dwellings, perching on walls and roofs, resorting even 
to the verandahs of bungalows. In the Northern and 
Eastern parts, where it is abundant, and, likewise in 
many portions of the interior, it is by no means 
restricted as Layard suppesed, to the neighbourhood 
of houses, but is found in all open rocky places, in 
newly burnt clearings, and in cultivated chenas, and 
in the Central Province it affects stony patnas and 
bare hill-sides. It is most animated in its move- 
ments, carrying its tail erect and jerking it up with 
a corresponding strutting down of its wings when 
giving out its pretty warble. It passes much of its 
time on the ground, darting about after flies and 
insects, and moving hither and thither with a shoi;t 
jerky flight. It consorts in pairs, but the young 
brood remain a long time with their parents, thus 
forming after the breeding season a little troop of 
three or four. 
(2) CoPsvcHHs Saularis. (The Magpie Eobin.) 
Adult male. Length 8 0 to 8 5 inches ; wing 4 0 to 
4-1; tail 3-5. Iris dark brown ; eye-lid neutral browp ; 
bill black ; legs and feet plumbeous brown or blackish 
leaden, claws black. Head, neck, chest and npper 
surface with the scapulars glossy blue-black; quills 
and tail black; secondary wing-coverts, outer webi 
of tertials, under surface from the chest, under 
wing-coverts, three outer tail-feathers entirely and 
the next pair, except on the inner margin pure 
white; thighs white, black posteriorly. The white 
wing-coverts and outer webs of the tertials form a 
broad longitudinal band on the wing when closed. 
The Blagpie Robin is universally distributed 
throughout the whole island up to an altitude of 5,500 
feet ; there is no spot in the lowconntry, save the 
solitudes of the damp southern and western forests, 
where it may not from time to time be observed. 
(3) The Nuwaea Eliya Robin.— Pratincola Atrat*. 
(The Hill Bush-chat.) Adult male. Length 5-9 to 6-2 
inches; wing 3-0 to 3'25 ; tail 2 25 to 2 4. Iris hazel- 
brown ; bill, legs and feet black. Above and beneath 
coal-black, slightly brownish on the lower part of the 
breast; tips of the rump-feathers, and all but the 
terminal portions of the tail. coverts, the median and 
innermost feathers of the greater wing-coverts, to- 
gether with the centre of the abdomen and under 
tail-coverts, white. Not unfreqnently one or two 
white feathers about the nape exist, and the amount 
of this colour on the rump and lower parts varies 
somewhat. 
The Hill-Chat is only an inhabitant of the upper 
mountains and even there its limit is markedly 
defined. 
ROUND THE WOULD FOR CEYLON TEA.: 
IN THE FROZEN J^ORTH. 
Mount Stephen, Rocky Mountains, Jan. 27. 
Dear Sir, — The last time I wrote you was on 
the banks of the Atbara River squatting on the 
sands under the piercing rays of a tropical sun, 
with my faithful Soudanese servant "Hassan " in 
attendance, and Teck making a feed on rushes 
before taking his master back to Berber. 
As I now write the surroundings are soraewhat 
different. Here I am seated in the Canadian 
Pacific Railway Pullman Car " Montaiaa,'' whioh 
forms part of the train, which with two engines 
is slowly creeping up the steep goi:ges xyi the 
Rocky Mountains wliich are covered with nnow 
many feetdeep, and the thermometer forty degrees 
below zero. Id an hour we hope to be at Mount 
Stephen Station which is 5,296 feet above the sea ; 
the highest point in Canada as yet reached by the 
iron horse. At this time of year few passengers 
cross the Rocky Mountains, today I am the only 
oecnpantof the jPuUman Car, which has sleeping 
.accommodation for thirty-four passengers fitted jip 
with electric light, steam ; pipes to regulate the 
heat, large smoking room, lavatories, &c,, These 
cars are so heavy, and well balanced, that even 
when running at a high rate of speed, I have no 
difficulty in writing with my typewriter. Leav- 
ing San Francisco on the 21st inst. by thelNorthern 
PaciHc Railway,, a distance of 1,500 miles which 
is covered in three days and three nights brings 
you to Vancouver, the Western terminus of the 
Canadian Pacific Railway. The growth of this 
city which now numbers" 26,000 inhabitants, bas 
been very rapid, and only dates back to 1886. Tlie 
city has many fine stone buildings, streets are ,lit 
by electric light, and paved with wood blocks and 
asphalt. Electric caiile cars run to all parts, and 
past the doors of the twelve banks which this new 
city can boast of. 
