September I, 1891.] Supplement- to the ^' Tropical JgncuUmist,'^ 
22t 
III the same way a bottle of wine half filled and 
corked, anc laid 011 its side will always have 
tlie cork moist. I think it may be safely 
ns.snmed that a nut planted in its natni-al or 
horizontal position, will in course of time germi- 
nate more successfully and produce a .better and 
more vigorous plant than one which is planted 
vertically or in an unnatural position. 
So much for the po.sitiou of the coconut when 
planted in the ground. 
It will be found that the selection of large 
vigorous nuts for the formation of a nursery 
requires great cousideration. The nut should be 
well matured, but not too much withered or 
shrivelled up. 
Nuts Avhich have remained long in store should 
not be selected, and the ijest should be chosen 
from large quantities freshly picked; If possible 
those nuts should be taken to gradually form a 
nursery, which have fallen of themselves and 
have not been picked. On an estate of 300 or 
350 acres, from 2 to 300 nuts will drop from the 
trees in 2i hours, or in one day and one night, 
and 250 nuts will be quite sufficient to plant out 
one large nursery bed, and this process may be 
repeated till 10,000 nuts have been laid 
down. 
The nurseries should be well watered, about 
twice or three times a week. The soil should be 
kept moist but not flooded or drenched with 
water, particularly wlien the sprouts begin to 
appear, as water lodges in the eye which is some- 
what hollow and sometimes rots the young sprout. 
It is well, to keep the nursery clean^ as dirt 
attracts Avorms and beetles, which not only attack 
the sprout, but the tissues of the nut as well, 
E. Athebton, 
(To hecontmued.) 
1» -. ^. 
NOTES FROM A TKAVELLER'S DIARY. 
1 had lately the pleasure of visiting the Happy 
Valley Industrial and Reformatory Schools. It is 
too soon yet I think to 3 udge how far such Insti- 
tutions Us this will be a success and benefit to the 
Island. They certainly deserve to succeed, for 
the work of reforming juvenile offenders is in, 
itself a most noble and bold undertaking. A 
great many of the iioys who are taught here are, I 
believe, orphans, and they are therefore at the 
sole disposal of the Wesleyan Mission, under whose 
auspices the Institution is conducted, 
Opinions differ as to what are the best industries 
that sliould be taught in our Industrial Schools. 
Some people think that local industries should 
be taken up and encouraged, while others 
think that foreign industries should be 
introduced and adapted to local circumstances. 
This ([uestion will no doubt be soon settled, as the 
Colombo Technical School, which is likely to be 
opened nt no distant date, is expected to teach 
just those industries which our boys should 
loam. 
Carpentry, Shoeing, Printing, Blacksmith's work, 
and Agriculturtj arc some of the industries at 
present taught at Happy Valley, livery body 
will agree that a knowledge of agriculture in all 
its branches will l^e of much practical Itenefit to 
the youth of Ceylon. Sheep-rearing, dairy-farm- 
ing, and horticulture are some of the branches of 
agriculture to Avhichattention ispaid at Haputale, 
Avhile experiments have been made in vitttu- 
culture, cotton, tobacco, paddy cultivation, &c. 
Cotton, I am afraid, Is not likely to be of any 
success in this part of the Island. Speaking of 
cotton, 1 must repeat here my advice that it should 
be grown together with ,some other crops. There 
are many practical planters who agree with nie in 
this view. The so-called success of cotton has 
been the case in only one out of a dozen experi- 
ments. Whether the failures recorded are due to 
bad seed, bad cultivation, or climate, has yet to be 
ascertained. Until then it will always be safe 
to grow cotton with some other crops. 
The Agricultural Instructor attached to the 
Happy Valley Industrial School is, I believe, paid 
by Government. The question is where will the 
boy,s of the Institution go when they become 
men, and what will they do.^ As 1 have said 
before, a great many of them, if . I am not mis- 
taken, are at the sole disposal of the Wesleyan 
Mission, and the autliorities of this institution Avill 
therefore, I believe, see that the young men are 
placed in good situations. Wn may reasonably 
expect that some of them will be sent 
out to colonize, and when this has been accom- 
plished, and when the lands which have been 
lying idle for hundreds of yeai's under some of 
the best tanks in the Island are brought mider 
cultiA'ation by trained boys from Happy Valley, 
we could then say that this institution has been 
of real benefit to the Island. 
RICE CULTIVATION. 
The Madras Agricultural Department has pub- 
lished the more interesting and useful parts of a 
monograph on rice cultivation in Italy, Avhere, 
though the traveller never expects to see fields of 
waving paddy, a good deal of attention seems to 
be given to the growth of the crop. 
Rice is supposed to have come out of Orissa, 
and hence its name Orysa iSativa. The earliest 
mention of rice is found in the tragedies of 
Sophocles, and it is supposed to have been first 
introduced into Europe by the Greeks of 
Alexandria. The Museum of Agriculture at Rome 
is said to contain 347 varieties of rice collected 
from all parts of tlie world. 
There is a good deal in this Italian monograph 
said in praise of deep plougliing, and among its 
advantages are mentioned increase in feeding 
area, destruction of weeds, increase in retentive 
power for water, and minimising of danger from 
drought. It is further stated that deep ploughing 
increases the outturn by about 9 bushels of paddy 
pel acre^ that is of course where the substratum 
is not of a sterile nature. 
The section on soils and manures contains 
much useful matter. Rice is said to 
require soils rich in potash and nitrogen, not 
wanting iu phosphoric acid and not rich in lime. 
It is stated, however, that different varieties affect 
^om ricU auU some comparatively poor soil,*, As 
