294 
Supi^Umeni to the ^' Tropical Agriculfurist.'' [Oct. 1, 189B. 
KEXUNA OIL. 
The dcmaiid ilmt comes i iom abroad fur Kulcuna 
oil is one that should hn widely made known 
throughout the villages where tl)i-i tref, which 
is so known in certain parts of the Inland, 
occurs. 
It is curious !hat the Kekuiui tn-e fr»ni which 
the oil is got (botanically known as Aleurites 
triloba) is an introduced planl, while nuolher 
tree also known as "KHkunu" (botanically 
C'anarium Zeylanicum) though indigenous to the 
Island is much less ccinnionly met with. The 
two trees, of course, belong to distinct orders, 
and it is better to disliiiguish the fonucr by 
calling it '' lel-kekuna," or oil-kekuna, Tlie oil 
as is well known is prepared by villagers fer 
burning purpos^es, but we have seen a g0(jd deal 
of the nuts ruriniiig to waste on I he groutul. If 
the fact were made known to the Natives that 
both nuts and oil have a marked value, there 
•would be a possiljility of our meeting the large 
demands from abroad, and the villagers would 
at the same time be able to benelif. theniselvej. 
Mr. Frederick Lewi^, of the Forest l^ejuirtment, 
•who must be lookeil upon as an authority in 
these matters, has given it as his oiiinioii that 
if a sufficient demand for the oil sprang up it 
is possible thnt it would pay to plai>t the tree 
which grows so well and so freo'.y, and which 
also affords a wood n,-ed for tea-boxes. The 
oil is very suitable for i-onj) making and cloth 
dyeing as well as purposes connected \\ ilh t!ie arts. 
A large order — no less tlian a ton or orer 200 
gallons — has been received through the Imperial 
Institute, with the prospect of furtlier orders, 
while eiicpiiiies have also come from America, 
so that native dealers would do well to encourage 
villagers to extract Kekuna oil, 
« 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
Dr. Bernard Dyer's paper on "The Analysis of Soil 
ni a Guide to its Fertility,'' which we take from the 
last Tolume of the Royal Agiicultural Society's 
Journal, will prove intens'ing reading to 
many. It shows how arbitrary aie the standards 
that have been so long used in chemical analyses 
of soils, and also how unreliable, not to mince 
words, must have been many of the sr-fa''e ! com- 
plete (and exjiensive) analyses of soils as a guide 
to their fertility. 
We acknowledge with thanks (he receipt of the 
Eeports of the Roiliamstead Field Experiments for 
1897, and also for 1898, with jilans and summary 
tables, also a number of pamphlets by Sir John 
Lawes and Sir Henry Gilbert re^jrinted from the 
Royal Agricultural Society's JournaJ. These papers 
will be valuable for reference in the School 
Reading Room. 
Referring to the distinction between plantains 
and bananas, Di-. Watt says: — The fruic oi the 
cultivated varieties of tlie plantain are sometimes 
poj)ularly distinguished by the names of banana 
and plantain, according to whether iliey are 
eating raw or coctked. These names are, however, 
very loosely applied, some calling any round and 
plump fruit '' banana," others making a distinction 
in f^ize only, tlie smaller being " banana," the large 
plantain. It is however, advisable to reject the 
arbitrary di.-tiiictiou which has arisen between the 
names, and to call all alike by the commoner 
name, [ilantfin. This opitiion of an accepted 
authority should settle the much-vexeJ question 
about the two names and the grounds for the 
distinction. It would appear that distinction is on« 
without a difference, and the sooner it is done 
away with the belter. 
Among tlie cshilnts at the last Frait Flower 
Sho-.v, held at tin* Scliool of Agiictiltwfe, was a 
sample of patMy, labelled "Tuhip Sarabn, a kind 
that weevils do not bore." W'e are unfortunately 
unaljle to identify the e.\hibilor (K. A. Perera), but 
have not given up hopes of tindin;; out hisaddreits, 
so as to be able to elicit further particulars reg.ird- 
ing his exhibit- It would be interesting to dis- 
cover any reason that is assignable for this immu- 
nity of a p.irticular v.ariety of ])addy .against wee- 
vil, if it he re:i!ly the case tliat the injects avoid 
the i)addy. It may possibly be I he case that 
there are other varieties of paddy which are alto 
inherently immune against weevil pests, and if so, 
it would be useful to have a list of them all. The 
Selection of weevil proof paddies may bit one 
solution to the diilicilty, which has caused ho 
much trouble of laie, in keej.ing ofiF weevil from 
stored grain. It is well-known that certain 
vaiieti<!S of crops are more liable to Xta pjeyed 
upon by pests than others; this is particularly' tha 
case as regards fungus i)ests, and « e now have l usi- 
proof wheals and phyl<i.\ora-proof grapej as 
instances of jilants that are immune. S-lecti ,iu and 
hybridisation may yet give us a v.e'.-vil-])r )of 
paddy ! 
AVe have already referred to the new branding 
medium, and the following is an extract of a letter 
received from t!;e Secietary to the " Gibson Patent 
Brand Comjiany, Limited," to \\ liom we wrote some 
time ago: — "The Company have, pending the 
arrival of supidies of the patent brand, been giving 
demonstrations before farmers in different parts 
of the Colony (Queensland), Arrangements are 
being made for introducing the brand into all 
cattle-producing countries, and will very shortly 
be given effect to. The brand is being taken up by 
the Government oilicials, and. it is expected that it 
will supercede tire braiijliiig. The cost is about 
l^d. per head." 
We welcome the announcement of the appoint- 
ment ol Mr. Kelway Bamber as Agricultural 
Chemist to the Ceylon Planters' Association. 
Though his duties are limited, we do not doubt 
that much benefit to the Color,y must result from 
our being able to count amo:;g our residents for 
some time to come so distinguished an autLority 
on tropical soils as Mr. Bauiber, 
The Colony is about to lose the services, tem- 
porarily in the one case and permanently in the 
other, of two able and u.-eful public servants, by 
the depature from Ceylon of Mr. AV. 10. Davidson, 
the Jlayor of Colombo, and Mr. E. O. Walker, 
Director-General of Telegraphs. Mr. Davidson, 
since his advent to the capital, has been using his 
