SxippJeynent to the " Tropical Agriculturist.''^ 
139 
growing as a weed in gardens is the Datura wliicli, 
as is well known, is also poisonous to stock. 
We understand that it is intended in future not 
to sell the Goveinment Dairy calves, as usual, by 
public auctiou in Colombo, but to offer them for 
sale at provincial towns situated in the remoter 
districts. We doubt if this plan will work suc- 
cessfully, fcr as far as the Governmeut Dairy 
is concerned it will be a disadvantage. In 
Colombo the highest values are naturally reulized 
for stock, so that the Dairy as a commercial con- 
cern will not gain anything by taking the risks of 
conveying its cattle to great distances and exposing 
them for sale in places where it is not to be expected 
that there will be very keen competition. Accord- 
ing to present arrangements the sales are held in 
Coloir:bo at seasons w hen most people of any stand- 
ing in tiie provinces are in the capital, while those 
•who uie unable to be present can always depute 
the auctioneer or some other agent to make pur- 
chases for them as is commonly done. It is not to 
be expected either that the smaller native cattle 
owners will purchase Sind calves and keep them for 
a couple of years to be afterwards used for breed- 
ing purposes. Take Kurunegala, for instance, 
where it is intended to hold the first sale. 
The best known stock own-rs in this district 
have found it convenient to make their pur- 
chases in Colombo. The new arrangement pro- 
posed would, w'e suppose, be welcomed by these 
gentleman who \vould get their Sind stock brought 
to their very doors and made available to them 
at prices that with no doubt be lower than 
wluit they have hither ;o paid. 
As we said befoi'e, it is the more wealthy 
cattle owners who wi-U purchase Dairy cattle, 
and they can, however far away they may be, 
arrange to purchase their cattle in Colombo ; indeed, 
Sind animals are now found in ^'egombo, Chilaw, 
Henaratgoda, Kurunegala, Yeyangoda, Matale, 
Lindula, Ohiya, as well as in the Southern Trovince. 
The solution of tlie problem under jiresent con- 
ditions in Ceylon is for Government to purchase 
the calves from tlie Dairy whenever an auction 
sale is held, and supply them to the Agents of 
Provinces to be used for the benefit of the locality, 
or Government might authorize the Revenue 
Officers to purchase one or more bulls, each to be 
kept for the use of the poorer cattle owner in the 
provinces. By this plan the Dairy as a commercial 
concern will not suffer, and the proper parties will 
be beuetitied by having some means of improving 
their stock provided for them. 
Keferriug to an advertisement to supply bread- 
fruits plants from Ceylon, the Queensland Ai/ricid- 
turul Journal say< : " So it would seem that the 
bri-ad-fruit has touudiis way to the west of us, and 
is bei'ig turned into capital," as though its introduc- 
tion i.s sometliing compfiratively new, when indeed 
the tvi-e is one of the commonest found in gardens 
and has been long natur.ilized in the Island. 
Specimens of the common cattle tick of Ceylon 
have been sent to Queensland, ana it has been 
found that the parasite is identical with the Austra- 
lian tick which cause-- so much trouble there. A tick 
found on Ceylon goats is said to be new to 
Australia. The usual treatment for ticks is 
applying a solution of coconut oil and salt (unre- 
tined salt being generally used) and washing the 
cattle afterwards. 
We have seen an excellent sample of plantain 
fiour made by the head clerk of the Auuradhapura 
Kachclieii. As the fruit grows well in the 
N.-C. l*rovi;ice and meaiis of transport is dillicult, 
it would be a good thing if the flour could bo 
manufactured so as to niake it a paying business- 
Spcimens of the flour have been sent to England, 
America and the Continent for information as to 
the market for the product, with reference to 
which we shall have more to say in a future ifsue, 
MILKTXG EXPERIMENTS. 
Much diversity of opinion exists amongst expert.s 
as to the intervals that should elapse between 
milkings to secure the richest remits- It is 
asseited, too, that the hours at which cows are 
milked exercise an influence not only on the 
quantity, but on tlie quality of tlie milk — its 
richness in fat. Some recent experiments made 
in France show that the longer the interval between 
the milkings the more the fat in the millc dimin- 
ishes. When a cow is milked three times a daj', 
the milk of the morning is always less rich in 
fatty matters than that of the midday and evening 
milkings. This upsets the idea which many- 
possess that the longer tlie interval the richer the 
milk : in fact, it is quite the reverse. The result 
of milking trials almost invariably indicate that 
the butter far. ratio is greater in evening milk than 
it is in the morning supply ; and tliete is always a 
longer interval between theeveningand themoruing 
operation than between the morning and evening. 
It seems, also, that the more equal the intervals 
the better it is. A German breeder has ascer- 
tained that with two milkings per day o3 lbs. of 
milk were reqired to make 1 lb. of l)utter, but that 
when the milk was taken from the cow in three 
operations, extending equally over the day, a 
similar quantity of butter could be made from 28.\ 
lbs, of milk- The difference is found to be less strik- 
ing, however, with newly-calved cows than those 
which have been in profit for a moi e or less longer 
period. It is, therefore, advisable to replace the 
two milkings by three if the best quality milk is 
required. Of course, it will be necessary to see 
that the animals haye plenty of good and suitable 
food if they are expected to yield more and better 
milk. There is another advantage in frequtnt 
milking ; it gives ease to the cows, more especially 
when they are naturally heavy milkers ; and fur- 
ther, it tends to develop the dairy propensities in 
young cattle, and predispo.^es their offspring to a 
greater secretion of milk and becoming higher class 
dairy stock. 

GREEN RUBBER. 
From the Tropenpflanzer (Organ des Xolonial- 
wirschafllichen Ivomitees, Berlin) we take the 
following note on ''Green Rubber": — ^Mucii has 
already been written on tlie extraction of gutta- 
