716 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist." [April 1, 1904. 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
We have received through the kindness of the 
Under-Secretary of the Queensland Department of 
Agriculture a small stock seed maize. The seed 
was imported to Queensland from America, and the 
Tarieties which are the very best grown there are 
named (White) Forsythe's Favourite, Hickory King 
and Snowflake, (Yellow) Kansas Sunflower and 
Golden Beauty, We distributed Australian Maize 
seeds in the latter part of last year for trial in most 
parts of the Island, and reports as to results are 
now coming in. The varieties referred to above 
are, as already mentioned, ' he finest that can be 
procured, and as the quantity received is very 
small, we must perforce be niggardly in our dis- 
tribution, and must also request those who get 
the seed to give their best attention to the raising 
of their first plants and save all their seed for 
future use. 
Enquiries have been received by us as to the 
market and value of local ramie ribbons. It is 
not generally known that a number of landowners 
have been growing ramie on a small scale, and a 
the plant thrives and the preparation of ribbons is 
a comparatively simple process, there is naturally 
a desire to find a market for the stuff. In response 
to our request that a local firm should come to 
the rescue of small ramie growers, we have had a 
reply from a well-known mercantile house asking 
for fairly large samples to be submitted for 
quotations in London. We have called for such 
samples, and shall be pleased to find eventually 
that we have been the means of fostering the 
much-discussed ramie industry to some purpose. 
The Report of the Commission on the Government 
Dairy submits many suggestions for the improve- 
ment of that institution, and, among other 
recommendations, has the following under the 
head of "The Dairy Staff We feel that the 
Dairy requires constant supervision, and if we 
had not felt that it was imperative, if the Dairy 
was to be a real success, to move it from its 
present unsuitable site, we would have suggested 
that the Superintendent of the Dairy should be 
given suitable quarters on the Dairy grounds. As 
it is, we shall suggest in our final conclusions 
that if the Dairy is moved, it be placed under the 
resident supervision of a man as highly trained in 
agriculture as, for example, Mr. Driebei'g." We 
feel flattered at the high compliment that has 
been paid us, but apart from all personal consider- 
ations, we entirely agree with the Commissioners 
as to the need of a resident Superintendent. 
That there has been deterioration of the cattle 
imported from Sind is not to be denied, and one of 
the chief aims of the Commissioners has been (and 
the efforts of the management should be directed 
to the same end), to find out the reason of this, so 
that the cause (whether soil, food or other factor) 
may be discovered and the remedy applied. But 
one thing ia certain, and that is that the intro- 
duction of the Sind breed of cattle (for which we 
must take the entire credit) has been the chief 
element of success in the Government Dairy, and 
has proved a very potent factor in the improvement 
of the local bi-eeds. Anyone who is inclined to 
observe the fact can see the Sind strain spreading 
fast through existing breeds, whether among estate 
herds or the ordinary draught cattle plying about 
town. 
We have just received a letter from a friend in 
India asking for a few pounds of cofl'ee seed for 
experiment in Orissa. We are only too anxious 
to oblige our friend, but there is the danger of 
sending coffee disease with coffee seed, the same 
reason which has prevented our getting sugar- 
cane seed from Australia. 
EAINFALL TAKEN AT THE GOVERNMENT 
STOCK GARDEN FOR 
MARCH, 1904. 
1 
Tuesday 
•44 
17 
Thursday 
... Nil 
2 
AVednesday ... 
•72 
18 
Fiiday 
.. Nil 
3 
Thursday ... 
Nil 
19 
Saturday 
... Nil 
4 
Friday 
Nil 
20 
Sunday 
... Nil 
5 
Saturday ... 
•9 
21 
Monday 
... Nil 
6 
Sunday 
Nil 
22 
Tuesdaj- 
... Nil 
7 
Monday 
Nil 
23 
Wednesdiiy 
... Nil 
8 
Tuesday 
Nil 
24 
Thursday 
... Nil 
9 
Wednesday... 
Nil 
25 
Friday 
... Nil 
10 
Thursday ... 
Nil 
26 
Saturday 
... Nil 
11 
Friday 
•4 
27 
Sunday 
... Nil 
12 
Saturday ... 
Nil 
28 
Monday 
... Nil 
13 
Sunday 
•63 
29 
Tuesday 
... Nil 
14 
Monday 
Nil 
30 
Wednesday 
... Nil 
15 
Tuesday 
Nil 
31 
Thursday 
... -02 
16 
Wednesday ... 
Nil 
I 
Friday 
... Nil 
Total iu....3'll 
Mean in.... '10 
Greatest amount of rainfall in any 24 hours 
from 4th to 5th = '9 inches. 
No. of days in which rain fell — 6 da/s. 
C. DRIEBERG. 
THE EDIBLE "ROOT CROPS" OF CEYLON. 
Innala {Plectranthus tuberosus) is a favourite 
tuber grown throughout the Island, but never 
on a large scale, for Innala thrives only in 
gocd soils. In poor soils it is extremely un- 
productive, and may sometimes never yield a 
single tuber, though the plant itself may grow 
and thrive. The small round corms that are 
produced vary in size from a quarter of an 
inch to an inch in diameter, and are covered with 
a few root hairs. They contain a large percentage 
of starch. The tubers are much superior to 
potatoes in flavour, and always fetch a higher 
price than most of the other ' roots' produced in 
the Island. Innala is planted out in beds about 
3 feet by 6 feet, well raised over the ground 
and manured. The plant is propagated from 
cuttings. The cuttings are usually obtained from 
plants raised by putting down a few tubers 
early in the season. They are planted with their 
leaves on, about a foot apart, and the surface 
