858 
THE TROPICAL AQEICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
NOTES FROM THE COCONUT DISTEICT, 
NORTH-WESTEEK PROVINCE. 
COCONVT DEETLES— SOIL-COVERINGS, AND 
MANURES. 
Marawila, May 17th. 
Coconut Planters — seem to be much concerned 
about means to capture the red beetle. From 
India comes the fermented castor cake suggestion. 
There is no special virtue in castor cake. A 
chatty of tlie fermented stuff under each tree over 
a large area, will be raiher a tall order. If 
coconut planters aie observant, they will find the 
red beetle to be nocturnal in itshabits. It makes 
its appearance at night fall. Fires at intervals 
will attract the beetles to their destruction. 
Another habit of the beetle is its being attracted 
by any stuff that is fermenting, not necessarily 
castor cake. Wide-mouthed chatties ab intervals 
over an affected area with toddy, will attract and 
capture beetles. From the Straits came the sug- 
gestion many years ago, to use green mangoes 
pounded and mixed with water and placed out in 
the field in any vessels. Planters can suit them- 
selves by observing for a short time what fer- 
mented stuff most easily procurable will attract 
beetles. Coconut-water, too, ought to answer. In 
rainy weather the vessels will have to be pro- 
tected from the rain. When an affected tree is 
cub down, personal attention will have to be given 
to see that the affected parts, whether trunk or 
branches, are carefully split open, and all beetles, 
grubs and coccoons are destroyed, and a large 
bonfire made of the remains. 
The last number of the "Agricultural 
Magazine" contains a very interesting and valu- 
able paper by Mr, Carruthers on the pasture 
land about Colombo. His remarks are confined 
almost entirely to the pasture available on 
the Race course and the Dairy Farm for tha 
cattle at the Government Dairy, The special 
qualification of M;. Carruthers for the task to 
which he was appointed at the instance of the 
Dairy Committee, was that he acted in a similar 
capacity in England. He givei a list, unfor- 
tunately without the Vernacular equivalent, of the 
gras.^es and other plants that form the herbage of 
these plots of pasturage. 
By a strange coincidence, just before reading 
this paper, I was thinking of asking through 
your columns whether the authorities at the 
Botanical Gardens or of the Stock Gardens, 
could not suggest any kind of grass that could 
be made to grow on the silver, white sand 
that occurs in some of the coconut-planting 
districts. A covering of grasses would not only 
protect the soil, but would afford pasturage for 
cattle. I will thank you much on my behalf 
and on that of my brother planters who are 
similarly situated, to obtain advice from the 
authorities I have named, as to what could be 
made to grow on white sand so as to give it a 
green covering, Will it be necessary to first 
cover the soil over with some vegetable matter 
Bucb as decayed fibre dust ? 
MANURIKG QRAPS LAND. 
The magazine has another article of much 
Interest to coconut planters, " The manuring of 
grass land." It refers, of course, to pasture land 
on English farms, but should be followed on 
coconut estates with light soils and from pas- 
tttrage[sm;h as Mr Carruthers reported on. There 
are many estates with a breed of cattle other 
than the hardy Sinhalese variety which seema 
to thrive best where there is least pasturage 
available. The late Mr Chas. De Soysa was the 
largest and most successful breeder of Indian 
and English cattle. These are yet to be seen in 
carts transporting produce from the many 
estates he owned. Other rich land-owners, such 
as the de Mels, Pierises, Sir Harry Dias, 
Bandaranayaka Mudaliyar and -others, also suc- 
cessfully bred large varieties of Indian cattle. 
On estates with a heavy and rich soil, the 
necessity for manuring the pasturage, which is 
usually good, may not bean absolute necessity, 
but on estates wiih soil and pasturage such 
as Mr Carruthers describes, if cattle are to be 
kept in good condition and without deterioration, 
the manuring of the pasturage becomes abso- 
lutely necessary. Not a particle of the manure 
applied will be wasted, as what is not taken 
up by the grasses will be quickly appropriated 
by the roots of the coconut bree. My observa- 
tion on an estate where the pasturage was very 
scanty, was that since the systematic appli- 
cation to it of artificial manures, the pasturage 
has increased and covered the ground. This is 
owing to the finer particles of the manure being 
blown over the soil in the process of application 
to the coconut trees. The manures suggested are 
superphosphate and nitrate of soda, or basic slag 
and nitrate of soda ; kainit, too, is recommended 
either with basic slag or superphosphate. Heavy 
dressings of nitrogenous manures should be avoided 
as they induce the growth of coarse grasses and 
kill out the clovers. 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
Coconut Beetles.— Coconut planters will 
be interested in our correspondent's notes 
from the N,-W. Province. Various sugges- 
tions are made for exterminating the red 
beetle, and opinions of planters on these and 
any other likely remedies will be gladly re- 
ceived. Our correspondent also asks for in- 
formation regarding suitable grasses for 
growing on the silver sand common in cer- 
tain districts. There are very few grasses, 
we believe, that will take kindly to this dry, 
porous soil ; certain weeds,, however, we 
have noticed flourishing in it and it is prob- 
ably that there are one or two grasses which 
will grow in such localities; Even if such 
grasses are not good enough for fodder, the 
green covering for the soil is beneficial. We 
shall be pleased to publish planters' opinions 
on the matter. 
Albizzias attacked bt A Pest.— It was 
recently reported from the Kelani Valley 
that Albizzias were being stripped of their 
leaves by an insect pest, which (when the 
leaves fell) next proceeded to attack the 
tea beneath. On enquiry of a leading 
Keliini Valley planter, we learn that the 
the only pest known to go for albizzias is a 
small green caterpillar, which is very plenti- 
ful at some seasons of the year and almost 
denudes the young trees of their leaves. It is 
very bad at some times ; at other seasons it 
is not tound at all. It is said to be the 
small yellow butterfly that lays the eggs. 
Our correspondent does not think they do 
any harm at all and, as they disappear in a 
short time, it is nob worth worrying about* 
