April 1, 1904.] Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist," 
719 
Cdating'to the fourth plapjue of Moses in 1491 B.C.) 
with the definite knowledge of tlie present 
day, when the researclies of the entomologist 
and the pathologist are showing the importance 
of the part played I'y winged insects in tlie 
etiology of hiiman diseases. Interesting examples 
are furnished from ancient to modern times, 
and reference made (o the curious gusano worm 
described by Dr. Folker of Guatemala and 
Glossina palpalis, whicli plnys so important a 
role (as demonstrated by Col. David Bruce) in 
sleeping sickness; while the writer submits the 
case of a Imman ecto-parasitic larva which he 
himself brought to light, and was identified by 
Mr. Ernest Austin of the British Museum as 
AucUmeromyia lutesla. 
It has been customary to class all ep'zootic 
and highly fatal poultry diseases as " fowl 
cholera," but what is now distinguished as Bird 
Plague (Peste Aviatie) has lieen demonstrated 
by Piof. Cenlauni de Ferrara and Gavonuzzi 
to be quite distinct under careful microscopic 
examination and tests which need not be referred 
to here. From a practical point of view, how- 
ever, there would seem to be little satisfaction 
to be gained by the discovery of a new 
-disease, or rather the imposing of a new name 
to a fatal malady which differs little in its 
virulence acd amenability fioni fowl cholera. 
Indeed this would seem to be a case of a 
distinction without very much of a difference. 
The treatment for Mycotic Gastro-Enterites, 
caused by damaged food or drinks, as the result of 
the action of mould, fungus, and micro organisms, 
is thus set forth by Mm. Dechambre et Curot : — 
The suspected food must be at once stopped. 
The fermentation in the intestnies counter- 
acted with 15 to 20 grammes Naphtho!, and got 
rid of by enemas and purgatives, and bicar- 
bonate of soda given. Alasonniere recommends 600 
grammes of wtiite mustard seed in an electuary. 
PASTURE LAiN'U ABOUT COLOMBO. 
The following interesting report by Mr. J. B. 
Carrutherp, Assistant Director of the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Peradeniya, is interesting as indicating 
(in a general way, as Mr. Carruthers admits) 
the character of pasture land in the so-cilled 
"Cinnamon Gardens" of Colombo, and therefore 
of the bulk of the pasture available to Colombo 
cattle. The report is also interesting ns affording 
a means of comparison of the composition of 
pastures here and abroad : — 
At the request of the Dairy Committee I visited 
the Dairy Farm and pastures on September 14 and 
examined the racecourge from a feeding value 
point of view. The soil is practically pure snnd, 
with almost an abseuce of humus. The herbage 
is very mixed ; nearly all the plants are stunted 
and growing much less vigorously than they Would 
do even on poor soil. The feeding value either for 
milking purposes or beef is almost nil, and I 
should imagine that the gentle exercise the animals 
get in search of food has more eft'ect on them than 
the food they obtain. 
Very few plants seems to have risen from feed 
recently ; most of the grasses and other plauts 
have spread vegetatively, i.e., by means of running 
stems or spreading roots. The poorness of the 
.«oiI offers little chance for seedlings to grow 
successfully. This gives a patchiness to the 
character of herbage. Most of the common plants 
in the field are not of good feeding value, but the 
following are the grasses and other plauts that 
form the food in the pasture : — • 
Isch<Bmum avistatum, L,, gives probably the 
most food of any plant in the pasture, and is con- 
sequently the most eaten. I observed more signs 
of this grass being nibbled than in the case of any 
other. The comparative absence of flourishing 
heads of this plant aUo shows that it is eaten 
down. 
The grass Era(/rostis stmophylla^ Hochst., is 
next in point of view of abundance, but is not 
sufficiently leafy to give much food. Another 
grass of the same family, Eragrostis amabilig, 
Wright, is fairly abundant ; it is a very small 
plant, giving hardly any food, and is not eaten 
much, if at nil. Its flowering stalKs are common 
over the whole area. 
Fcmicum repens, L., " Etora " of the Sinhalese, 
is a valuable food grass, and though it is not 
common in the field, it gives a good bite, and is 
eaten down whenever it occurs. 
Paspalum lonffiflorum, Retz , a very small-leaved 
and diminutive grass:, is one of the most abundant, 
but even when growing luxuriantly it has no 
feeding value, as it grows only about 8 inches 
high, and in the racecourse it is dwarfed to a 
smaller height than this. An Anthistiria — the 
species of which I have not yet had time to examine 
— probably a dwarfed form of Anthistiria trenmla, 
Jsees, the Sinhalese "pinbarutana," gives a certain 
amount of food, and for its size is of higher value 
in the pasture than most of the grasses. 
Eremochloa ^eylanica, llochst., is fairly abaudaut, 
but has little, if any, nutritive value. 
Andropogon aciculatus, Retz., "tuttari" of 
Sinhalese, is a good feeding grass, but in the race- 
course field forms less than 5 per cent, of the whole, 
so cannot be said to take much part in the pasturei 
Paotis latifolia, Ait., the grass with a bottle 
brush-like flower of a metallic hue, is fairly 
common, but gives no food and is rarely eaten. 
Of the plants other than grasses, the most im- 
portant from a feeding point of view is Desmodium 
tfifiorum, D.C., the "hiu-undu-piyali" of Sinhalese, 
but in the field in question, owing to the poorness 
of the soil, this plant, which has a creeping habit, 
seldom gets more than \ an inch high, and con- 
sequently does not afford a " bite." I could not 
find signs of Its being eaten. 
The sedgy plants belonging to the families 
Cypems and Fimbristylis are abundant, especially 
in the damper parts, forming about 20 to 25 per 
cent, of the herbage on the whole pasture. I 
noticed that these had been pretty generally eaten, 
aiid this fact is alone a sign of the poverty of the 
pasture, as these are as a rule the last to be eatea 
by stock, I 
Tiie herbage on the racecourse proper is con- 
siderably better than that in the centre. This is 
due to the fact that road scrapings are applied, 
and also that weeding goes on. Cue plant, how« 
