March 1, 1899.] TflE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
HOW EXETER DEALS WITH SEWAGE. 
Coloml-o, Eel). 20. 
Sir, — Tiie enclased cutting from tlie Daily Mail 
of 13tli Jiinuary, " AJ.^rol>luin Solved," kas been 
sent to us by a public ofiicer now in England, 
who still retains liis interest in Ceylon all'airs, 
.ind is, I think, deserving of a prominent place 
in an early issue of the Ub-server, ami the atten- 
tion of our Municipal Council lor.s. Will you give 
it publieati:)n and draw attention to it and oblige? 
—Yours faithfully, PKUGKESS. 
[The system has already been described in our 
cohiiiins, but we quote the concluding portion of 
the extract before us :— 
The whole scheme is so sinipls that the inventor has 
had some difficulty in pei-suiding some scientific men 
of its merit,?. TheL'cal Government Board has how- 
ever, 
Al'TEIi AN EXIIAUSTIViS INQUU'.Y, 
sanctioned a loan for the treatment of the whole of the 
city's sewage on the new principle, so that tlie official 
mind may be said to have been convinced. 
Deputations from all parts of the kingdom, as well 
as from abroad, have visited the work'.', with a view to 
the adoption of the system in their towns ; indec', so 
nurr.erons has this class of visitors been that the path 
leading to the meadow in which the works are situated 
has bee;i christened " Deputation Walk." 
Having been in constant and successful operation 
for over two years, the system is to bo regarded as 
having passed the experimental stage, and as being a 
serious fiictor in the administrative economy of com- 
munities, large or small. 
Of course the method has been patented, but author- 
ities are likely to look upon the payment of a royalty 
as a highly satisfactory method of getting rid of the 
nightmare of sewage treatment. 
No doubt Mr. \V. £. Davidson has brought back 
tlie very latest reports on the subject. — Ed, T.A.] 
WlilTE ANTS V. BIRDS' NESTS SOUP. 
Dear Sir, — No doubt many of your readers are 
aw.aie that white-ants {Termites) in the grub state, 
especially the large, and adijjose "queen," are still 
considered somewliatof a delicacy by Tamil coolies. 
Apparently, however, they are not in such favour 
now as they have been in former times, when, land 
being not so much cultivated as it is now, white- 
ants were encouraged to multiply, their "nests" 
being, it seems, often gi\en as marriage dowries, 
and looked upon as valuable property. 
Ditt'erent tribes of Africa, Asia and Australia 
have each their own particular insect-delicacy, 
but the white-ant is invariably held in the highest 
esteem with all. That these winged creatures, 
when properly cooked, have a relish which is all 
their own, is evident from the fact that European 
Missionaries and Inishmen have been known nob 
only to partake of them, but actually to regard 
them as a delightful treat. Dr. Livingstone, 
while once taking a meal on the banks of the 
Zonga, was visited by an intelligent native chief, 
who was ollered .'ouie preserved apricots. Asked 
as to whether there was anytlmig in his country 
that would e<iual that, be said, "Ah! did you 
ever taste white-ants? Well, if you had, you never 
could have desired to eat anything better." 
The best time to collect while ants, according to 
an Australian paper, is in " the swarming sea'-on, 
wiien they are about half an inch long, as thick 
as a crow(|uill, and very fat." Then they are 
said to m.ike a plea-ant dish when nicely roasted, 
resembling graiiis of rice. There seems to me no 
rt'ason why ibis apparently dainty and iiistoric 
dish shoulil not find more favour in Ceylon, 
especially with globe- trotters who go to China 
and Japan for a feast of slimy birds' nests in tlie 
torni of a soup. — Yours faithfully, E. 
CEYLON CUCKOO AND JUNGLE CROW. 
T,,. o ,^ -Bentota, Feb. 18. 
crw. T: ! \- '1".V of your numerous readers 
gise information relating to that most e.xtra- 
;»ainary bird, the Ceylon Cuckoo (Kolia of the Sin- 
halese). I distinctly heard one this morning mute 
usny°X 1' t^'"""'°" -""'^ thought it molt' un 
usual. Are they not migratory? I was under the 
.nipressi.nr that they ^i,it I about Apdr'aid 
depart again in September; but the natives here tell 
e they are here a 1 the year round, but a!e 
SI enb during the tune of their laying and 
while other birds are hatching their egr^s Can 
s nne '"''t ^'l'^ '^'^ ^'le reason why 
some are speckled IS owing to the ash-dove hatch- 
ing tlie eggs, llns cannot possibly be ; for I once 
sbot a pair of which the cock bird was speckled 
hlblT-'"'. two could not have been 
1 cttched in two different nests. Another query • 
bull ' ne^-^fl' 't (^^i'^'^kula in Sinhales^e) 
build nests? I never came across one or heard 
of one in all my wanderings in the npcountry 
as well as the lowcountry. -Yours faithfully ^ 
INQUIRER. 
[The Koha or Indian Plaintive Cuckoo (Cucu- 
his Passeriuus) IS we learn from Captain Vii - 
cent Legge's i^ook on Ceylon Rirds, miaratorr 
but It Goes not make its appearance at the saine 
ime all over Ceylon. In Trincomalee ?t Ims 
been known to appear in October, in the Aripu 
dis rict in January; in the Gaile Disti c 
and \\estern Province in December. la 
these latter districts it does not appear in ^reat 
numbers: It is a lover of a dry climate. "The 
Plaintive Cuckoo does not lay mucli claim to 
such a title in Ceylon, as"^ it here is one 
of the most silent of birds : its notes are son 
posed to be chiefly uttered in the breecUng .L\a 
It frequents open scrubby lands or plains dotted 
with jungde; when disturbed it tlie's fron one 
low bush to the other ; it moves abo t 
much i„ the early moi'nin. amr;venin" 
It lays Its eggs in the nests of Wren-Warb' 
lers tire Yellow-eyed Babbler and the cS-backed 
Shrike. M.ss Cockburn is said to be the onlv 
person who has identified its eg^s, which are of 
but''spa^^!e?y?''' ^"'^ ^1"^"^'^ ^^''"^^Y 
The Carrion or Jungle Crow (Corvus cnlminatus) 
IS described by Legge as building its nest in the 
ork of a top bough or at the bases of coeonu? 
fronds entirely concealed from si<»ht below TM^ 
a large structure of sticks and twigs, lined with 
line roots, hair or wool ; the nest^is ofte Cl 
s ragg hng, but is on the whole very little lar'er 
than that of the Corvas splendens. -Ed. T.A.] 
Governmi^nt Quinine SAi.irs.-The Italian 
Government made quite a stir recentiy by nronos 
ing to monopolise the sale of quinine the same as 
it does tobacc^, matches, salt, &c. The bill read 
as follows : For public and hygienic reasons the 
Minister o In.-ianee is empowered to furnish to 
the general public sulphate of quinine by means 
of the vendors of dutiable articles. The Milpliate 
of quining shall be supplied to the vendors in 
herinetically sea ed gl.ass tubes, each containing 
one gramme. Upon each tube shall be placed a 
stamp ot the value of 10 centimes (two cents), 
which shall be the .selling price of the tube. 
Vigorous action by prominent pharmacists in the 
leading cities have stopped the matter for the 
time at least. — iVat-i. Druggist. 
