i\rAV 1, Ib99.] Sitpplement to the Tropical At/riciilturht.*^ 
811 
111 Bombny it is now provided that all cnn- 
diclales for tiie stnfl: of Inspectors of rillar;e 
Rocords must qiiulily by passing a course in 
agriculture. I cannot jiut tliofe views into better 
general terras than those adopted in the following 
two Resolutions adopted at the Simla Agricul- 
tural Conference: — 
Fe-olutioii XL — It is highly desiruhle that the 
claims of men trained in Scientilic Agriculture 
io ajipointmeiits in the Eevenue and C'og.'i.'ite 
Dcpaituieiits sliouhl he as freely recnguised as 
those of men trained in Luw, Arts and Engi- 
neering. 
Ee>ohitioii A'll.—That where appoinlraeiits in 
the Rt'vonuei and Cognate Departmetits are made 
on the lesults of competitive examinations. vScian- 
liCic Agriculture should be included as an optional 
or necessary subject in the examination course." 
These remarks of Dr. Yoelckor liave, to our 
mind, a most important bearing on the question 
at if sue in Ceylon. 
It. is common enough to licar the remark that 
the School of Agriciilnire is a failure. And why? 
The answer, we think, is bicuse the Govern- 
ment do not recognise the factors which are 
iiece>sary for the success of the .'chool. One 
important factor has been iiulicated in the passage 
extracted from Dr. A'oelcker's reporr, namely, that 
Government s'lould utilize the agents which have 
been provided by them for the spread of agricul- 
tural kntwledge among the masses, and to belp the 
cultivators in the rural districts. 
In this connection we might quote from a letter 
received from a Tamil gentleman, referring to the 
circumstances of the Tamil distric's. "Headmen, 
such as Irrigation Vannias, Pattu Vannias in the 
Eastern Province, and Maniagars and Adigars in 
the Xdrthern Province should lie draw n from among 
thofe who have had a training in agriculture. I 
say this wiih good reason, since everything con- 
nected with p.;ddy cultivation is under the control 
of the-c (iflScers. How well a trained man could 
serve iii such appointments will be seen when I 
refer to the duties of such headmen. 
The headman, as a responsible officer, has to 
convene meetings of cultivator" and discuss with 
them ,-uch questions as the extent of land which 
could be irrigated, the kind of paddy to be sown, 
the method of sowing to be adopted, and other 
agricultural details of a practical natuie, In short, 
lie is the authorised guardiati of paddy culti- 
vation. Where else could a man with an agri- 
cultural training better prove his utility than 
in such a sitinition, invested with authority 
sufficient to influence and control the cultivators 
in their practical operation*. Why, the power 
for good he will be able to exert will le immense." 
These remarks are on all fours with those of Dr. 
Voelcker, though written with reference to Ceylon. 
Theie are some who would say, the iitea is 
sound enough, but the School of Agriculture does 
not turn out men suitable for such appointments. 
And the reason is because the students at present 
ut the school are drawn from a class that have 
no Hopes of attaining such jiositions, Given the 
pio>pects, and the proper class of men will be 
attracted. 
There is one other point wo would wish to 
refer to before abandoning this subject tor the 
present, and that is the importance of witleaiag 
the scope of the practicil side of an agricultural 
training (now totally lost sight of) by, among 
other metliod^i, taking the students about to see 
iu acuial practice the work which they have 
been taugiit tlieoreticallj- or by small object lessons, 
and to appreciate the defects and excellences of 
agriculture in practice. Tiiis is a detail which is 
acknowledged to bo of the first importance in 
a tecimical training, and forms part of the course 
in all agiicultural schools .ind colleges, whether 
in the West or the East — with Ceylo.i alas I as a 
solitary exception. 
But we have written enough for the present, 
and -we conclude with the hope that such im- 
portant points as we have touched upon in 
thi.s article will not be lost sight of by the 
Commission at present sitting. 
TEE JAK TREE. 
We are indebted to the Hon'ble W. T. A. 
Edwards, M.P., of Mauritius, for a copj' of the 
annual report on the work carried on at the Station 
Agronomique in that Colony during the year 1897. 
The report is very full and interesting, and we 
would acknowledge its receipt with many thanks. 
Most interesting to us, however, are the chemical 
analyses of many vegetable products familiar 
enough in this Colony, and for the present we shall 
refer to the noies on the Jak Tree {Artocarprus 
integrifolia). The tree is referred to as an 
e.\cellent shelter against wind, a vigorous grower 
and supplying valuable timber for carpenter's 
work. The leave* are spoken off as good food for 
cattle, while the fruit is used both as food for 
human beings and for cattle. The seed and fleshy, 
sweetish" pods" are edible, but the remainder of the 
fruit— that is almost half the total weight — 
consisting of the en\ elope properly so called, and 
the core, is excellent food for cattle and swine. 
Each fruit weighs from 10 to SO kilos ; the 
tree is therefore kighly productive. 
The entire fruit yields a proportion of 
Rind and core ... ... 54-5 
Pods 130 
Seeds 82-5 
Fruit complete 100 0 
The composition in 100 parts is given as 
follows . — 
Envelope. 
Seed. 
Podss 
Water 
82-30 
62-40 
73.50 
Mineral matter 
0-97 
1-28 
l'I8 
Cellulose 
2 07 
2-99 
0 61 
Fat 
0 49 
O'lo 
008 
Xon-Nitrogenous 
substances * 
13-04 
37'41 
L'3-49 
Nitrogenous... 
1-13 
5-77 
1-19 
10000 
100 00 
1 00-00 
• Containing Saccbaria* 
13-51 
matter 
5-72 
