522 
Supplement to tJu " Tropical Agriculturist." [Jan. 2, 1S30. 
box and tails lapping in centre. Do not squeeie 
up the tobacco in the hand in bulking or packing. 
— Queensland Agricultural Journal. 
A NEW PLOUGH. 
Ploughing has been rendered impossible on 
certain lands owing to the occurrence of tree 
stumps and boulders, but the inventor seems to 
have overcome these difficulties, as the following 
cutting referring to the "Stump-Jumping Plough ' 
proves' — "We (the Agricultural Journal ot Ciipe 
Colony) learn that a Stump-Jumping plough which 
Messrs. Halse of Carnarvon have imported from 
Australia is found to be a great success. It is 
a large and powerful imjilemeiit. It covers a 
widlh of 6 feet and can be «et to plough 10 
inches deep, but at this depth it requires 18 
good oxen, and they go but slowly. It was 
thought possibly the depth and resistance of the soil 
to be moved would prevent the plough " jumping," 
but it works as steadily as an ordinary plough 
till it conies in contact with a bouUK'i, when it 
jumps and passes over it. The inipl-rnent has 
been put to severe tests, which no set giing 
plough would have borne, but up to the end of 
several day's work not even a share has been 
broken. As such large areas of our soil contiin 
lumps of iron stone and other boulders and roots, 
which smash up ordinary ploughs, all trials like 
the above are interesting, and the result may 
encourage the use of stump-jumpers for breaking 
up new land." This new plough should, it strikes 
us, be also useful in tropical cultivation in working 
up land newly opened for perennial crops. The 
power required to work seems to be a serious 
objection, but we fancy the difficulty could be 
got over by the employment of elephants as 
ploughing animals as is done in the Kurunegalla 
district. 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
Rhea or China grass is the subject of the Agri- 
cultural Ledger, No. 15 of 1898, i.«saed by Dr. 
Watt, Reporter on Economic Products to the 
Government of India. It covers no less thin 129 
pages, and, as may be imagined, the subject is very 
exhaustively treated. 
The writer's conclusions will prove very dis- 
appointing to all who have been interested in the 
cultivation of the plant, particularly to patentees 
of machines and methods of treatment of the fibre. 
Regaiding the latter Dr. Watt says: " Aclicapand 
effectual machine or process is as much a desidera- 
tum now as it ever has been." What have Messrs. 
McDonald, Boyle & Co., and the many other 
companies and individuals with similar interests 
say to this authoritative opinion ? 
The Planter (Calcutta) referring to the failure 
of agricultural education among the cultivating 
classes, attributes it to the undecided character of 
Government action and the absence of inducementa 
to attract the better educated natives. It expreasM 
no surprise that the majority of students who join 
Agriculturol Schools should look to Oovernment 
for employment, and believes that the only 8olu> 
tion to the problem of how to reach to cultiv&ting 
classes is to educate those who from circumstances 
and po.sitiou would later on be able to help others 
and so contribute materially to the weukli and 
prosperity of the country. We entirely agree 
with this view. 
The Professor of Dyeing of ITorksliire College 
Leeds reporting on the bark of Ceriopi Candol- 
leana, one of the mangroves so wellknowu in 
Ceylon, said that the burk extract behaves, as 
regards its dyeing properties, in a similar manner 
to a good quality of catechu. With indij^o when 
the latter is applied in a ferrous sulphate (copperas) 
vut, the extract combines with the iron and 
produces a grey colour, which in conjunct! jn with 
indigo blue gives bliick. The extract, says Prof. 
Hummel, " would certainly be of value to dyera." 
The Kew Bulletin for August refers to the 
Florida velvet bean. Dr. Wutt is quoted iin saying 
that "the young tender pods are cooked and eaten 
as a vegetable." At any rate we ourselves ha?e 
found the seed when boiled most delicious and 
delicate. Reference is made to another varie'y of 
M. pniriens, with jet black seeds, cultivated aa 
a rotation crop on Mauritius sugar e -fates and 
called "Pois muscate." This vmieiy i-i also 
found in Ceylon — the fruits forming longer clusters 
containing more fiuits than the true Florida bean. 
This Mauritius black (referring to the seed) is 
described and figured in the Queensland Agri- 
cultural Journal for August. 
The Kew Bulletin for August last contains a 
note on Lemon grass under the name Andropogon 
Jiardus. The latter, however, is the name of the 
grass producing the citronella oil of commerce, 
while lemon grass oil is the product of .-l. citratut. 
The Director of Gairdens and Forests Singapore, 
thinks thiit many other plants (beisdes citronella 
and lemon grass) yielding volatile oils are worthy 
the attention of the distiller, most of which are 
well known in Ceylon: Vertiver (cusciis) Andro- 
I)ogoii muricatus, Patchouli, Blumea balsanii- 
fera, cassia, clove, nutmeg, ocimum, Artabotrya 
cananga &c. 
Of sugarcane pests two borers are well-known. 
One, Diatraea sacchari (Plialsena sacchar.ilis) is of 
New Worldorigin, though not now entirelv confined 
to it, and is common in Tropical Americo and the 
States, while it is reported by Cotes to be foand 
also in India. D. striatalis is said to be an Old 
World species, and has not been recorded in airy 
part of the new. Its present area of distribution 
includes Ceylon, Mauritius, Java, Singapore, 
Sumatra and Borneo, and it is said to have been 
introduced into Mauritius with sugareanes from 
Ceylon in 1848 and so spread in the East Indies. 
