RO^lCVUrVHRU PflGflZIfiE. 
COLOMBO. 
Added as a Supplement Monthly to the " TBOriGAL AGRICULTUEIST" 
The following pages include the Contents of the Agricultural Magazine for 
February : — 
Vol. XV.] FEBRUARY, 1904. [No. 8. 
THE EDIBLE " EOOT CKOPS " OP CEYLON, 
HE onion Alhum Cepa) is 
cultivated in Ceylon only to 
a very small extent, though 
it is very largely used 
vJf^m (^t^ throughout the Island in the 
yw^J W^^^ preparation of the daily food 
rr^'^' ^e:. '-^^^!^ !] of the people. Small selec- 
ted tubers are planted in 
vrell-prepared land in well laid out beds. The 
plant requires much water, and the growth of an 
on ion crop is attended with a deal of trouble and 
labour, as it does not thrive well in Ceylon soils. 
Seed is nowhere used, and the crop is always 
grown from tubers. 
Allium sativum, Sing, Sudulunu, is hardly 
grown as a crop anywhere, though a few tubers 
are occasionally planted in garden plots. The 
tuber used in Ceylon is imported from India, and 
is used in very small quantities as a condiment, 
but there is a large demand for it as a medicinal 
agent among Wedarales as well as in private 
households. 
The roots of Nymphea lotus. Sing, Olu ; dug 
from ponds and marshy places where it grows 
in abundance, is used for preparing a starch. 
They are dug, cleaned up and sliced and dried 
in the sun, and then pounded. The starch obtained 
from them is used in the preparation of congees and 
cakes which are employed as a "sick diet." Olu is 
believed to be an excellent alterative and a demul- 
cent. The roots of iVym^Aea s^eWa^a, Sing, Manel, 
aud those of Nelu7nbium speciosum, Siug, Nelun, 
plants growing in marshy places and tanks are simi- 
larly used. Asparagus faleatus. Sin. Hatawariya 
which grows in jungles and uncultivated place'?', 
givesalargecropofsucculentrootswhich are usually 
from a quarter to half an inch in diameter and 
four to eight inches in length, cylindrical in shape 
with tapering ends and of a creamy white in colour. 
The starch from the dried roots is used in medicine, 
and the fresh root is often pounded and prepared into 
congees with the addition of a little of rice. The dry 
root is also preserved in syrup and is a favourite 
article of diet. The root is believed to be very 
nutritious and is a demulcent and a good alterative 
tonic. No attempt has been made to cultivate 
tiie plant or to improve its productiveness, though 
it is quite evident that under proper cultivation it 
ought to form a very valuable article of diet. 
The succulent roots ol Cannaindiea, Sin.Butsarna, 
yield a very good starch similar to arrowroot. The 
plantgrows abundantly in Ceylon, but its roots are 
never put to much use. Under proper cultivation 
Canna ought to form a very useful crop and is 
fully worth cultivation. 
Clinogyne virgata, Sing. Getaohiwa, and Pkry- 
niumzeylanicum, Sing. Hulaukiriya, though found 
in many parts of the Island, and though the 
value of their roots is well understood, do not 
seem to be cultivated at all, Botii these plants 
yield tubers that contain a large percentage of 
starch. 
Next we come to Maranta arundinacea, the 
cultivated Hulankiriya or arrowroot plant of Cey- 
lon, This is large'y grown throughout the Island 
but never in large or extensive areas. The 
villagers grow small plots of it from a few square 
