154 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculiunst." [August i, 1891. 
the matter of ploiighing. The usual course 
adopted where the surface soil overlies one of 
extremely poor character is to use a subsoil stirrer 
"which, while it moves and loosens and, through the 
agency of water, aerates the subsoil, does not at 
the same time bring it to tlie surface. 
Dr. Voelcker hints that tlie result of the use of 
an English plough vrill be tliat the furrow slices 
will be baked as hard as brick. The rule adopted 
in ploughing up paddy land with the improved 
implement is to plough v.'J/en the land -is dry, about 
six weeks before the usual ploughing time. The 
dangers of putting a heavy implement on stiff wet 
land, and ploughing deep, are well known, but 
given that such land is well drained and dry, 
" baking" of the furrow-slices, or the " poaching" 
of the land need not be feared. 
It is of the highest economic importance that 
the cultivator should improve and add to liis soil 
by working to a proper depth and not merely 
scratching the surface of hie land. While advan- 
tage is taken of silt brought on to the land by 
irrigation water, it is a palpably weak system 
which wilfully neglects the improvement of land, 
and solely depends upon irrigation waters (that 
are liable to fail) for a few inches of transported 
soil. 
We shall look forward with interest to the 
official report of Dr. Voelcker, to see whether he 
will give any well-grounded reasons ( which he has 
hitherto failed to do) for the statement he has 
made that there is no room for improvement in 
native agriculture in India and Ceylon in the 
matter of ploughing: for this statement is directly 
opposed to the results of experiments both in the 
Empire and the Island. 
— — ' 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
We have to acknowledge with thinks the receipt 
of the July number of the Eichmond College 
Magazine. Among other interesting matter is a 
column of curosities, in which mention is made of 
the insectivorous Drosera, amphibious fish, and 
the phenomena known as " fish-rain." Drosera is 
not uncommon in the marshy portions of the 
Cinnamon Gardens of Colombo, — as is also the 
I'itcher, another insectivorous plant. Darwin 
has described both these, and noted experiments 
made to test their power of digesting animal 
matter, in his work on insectivorous plants; but 
the insectivorous nature of these plants has quite 
lately been questioned by some scientists. The 
fall of fishes, apparently from the clouds, is an 
instance, of the " pr!Bter-natural rains " whicli have 
caused great consternation among ignorant races. 
Other examples of praeter-natural rains arc " blood 
rain " and " black rain," due to the solution of 
very fine desert or volcanic dust that has been 
carried into tlie ujjper regions of the atmosphere, 
" yellow rain " or " sulphur shower " due to the 
presence of the pollen of the Scotch fir, " wheat 
and manna falls " resulting from wheat or esculent 
lichens being carried away by hurricanes, wliich 
have also caused falls of fish, frogs and molluscs. 
It is recorded by Geikie that many thousands of 
herriTigs fell near Edinburgh in 1817; and that 
similar showers took place near Loch Leveu in 
1825, in Ro.ssshire in 1828, and in Ulva in 1830. 
These are all due to the effect of strong winds. 
Tin? fad that tliese liurricanes are generally 
accompanied by thunder and lightning may 
account for the fact mentioned by the writer of 
" a few curiosities" that some ignorant races 
connect these "fish-rains" with electric phe- 
nomena. By curious coincidences falls of manna 
are said to have taken place at Ooromiah during 
a famine in 1829. and again at Herat while that 
place was being beseiged. 
In the Nineteenth Century for June, Prof. Huxlej' , 
in a postscript to his article entiled " Hasisadra's 
Adventure," refering to the " overthrow " of 
Darwin's theory as to the origin of coral-reefs, 
which, according to the Duke of Argyll was 
patent to every unprejudiced person, goes on to 
say that he has recently become acquainted with 
a work, in which Dr. Laugenbach, a really com- 
petent authority, thoroughly acquainted with all 
the new lights which have been thrown upon the 
subject during the last ten years, pronounces the 
judgment; firstly, that some of tht facts brought 
forward by Messrs. Murray and Guppy against 
Darwin's theorj^ are not facts ; secondly, that 
others are reconcilable with Darwin's theorj" : 
and, thirdly, that the theories of Messrs. Guppy 
and Murray " are contradicted by a series of 
important facts." In an early issue of this 
Magazine we noted the two theories of Darwin 
and Murray as to the origin of coral reefs and 
islands. Darwin has been thought by many to 
have assumed toomuch when he premised a general 
subsidence of the sea-floor : Mr. Murray's theory 
depended on facts elicited during the celebrated 
voyage of the Challenyer, — facts which did not 
support the "general subsidence" of Darwin. 
When, however, so competent an authority as 
Langenbach avers that some of these facts were«oi 
facts, and that the theories of Murray and Guppy 
are contradicted, by a series of important facts, 
it would seem likely that modern geologists will 
think of shifting back tht ir belief to Darwin's 
theory. 
Mr. T. B. Kehelpanala furnishes the following in- 
teresting notes regarding the well-known Muturaja- 
wela fields: — The name Muturajawela literally sig- 
nifies royal-pearl-fields ; and the place has been long 
associated with fertile paddy lands. Tradition 
says tliat the name owes its origin to the following 
incident. A Sinhalese kijig owned these fields in 
days of yore, and daring his proprietorship, a 
cultivator — for reasons not veiy evident — sowed 
the land with the husks of paddy from the 
Kalavita or threshing-floor. Contrary to all ex- 
perience a)ul expectation, the ears of corn, instead 
of bearing at least paddy, carried strings of pearls 
on the panicles. The cultivator, overjoyed at the 
strange result of his experiment, went with all 
speed to his Sovereign and communicated the 
fact to his Majesty, who accompanied by his nobles 
lost no time in inspecting the field in question. 
All saw and were struck dumb witli wonder at 
the sight. The late Mr. Advocate Muttiah gave 
me a very good explanation of this parable, which 
he thought was intei.ded to show the extreme 
fertility of the Muturajawela fields, that were 
capable of producing, witu a sowing of a 
quantity of seed that was hardly appreciable, a 
harvest as valuable as pearls. A part of these 
lands is now under paddy, and notable among the 
cultivntor* is Mr. Jacob 'de Mel. This enterpris- 
