November 2, iSgi.] 
Supplement to the Tropical Agviculitivist''' 
373 
insisted ou by our local authorities will not only 
be a measure iu the interests of public health, 
but also in the interests of agriculture, inasmuch 
as while such a measure will be a deterrent of 
milk adulteration, it will necessitate a more 
careful and rational system of feeding and 
generally managing milch cows with a view to 
the production of wholesome and nutritious 
milk, aud indirectly raise up a better milking 
breed. 
« 
BY HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES, 
Dr. Taylor, the popular writer of Science Gossijj, 
has been lecturing on the Ingenuity, Sagacity, 
and Morality of Plants, and in speaking of 
the insectivorous plants, has referred to the 
Drosera or Sundew and the Nepenthes or Pitcher 
plant. Of the former there are three species in 
England, and no less than forty in Australia. 
There is more than one variety of Drosera in 
Ceylon, but the commonest would seem to be 
D. Burmanni. On the 43-acre block of land 
lately added to the School of Agriculture, there 
is a large i)lot right behind the school thickly 
covered witli this species of Drosera which is 
not uncommon in the wet parts of the Cinnamon 
Gardens. In his lecture Dr. Taylor referred to 
the Pitcher plants of the Malay Archipelago, the 
pitchers of which he said were so huge that 
sometimes they held half a gallon of water. He 
also mentions that small birds frequented these 
pitchers to drink, and after having imbibed the 
liquid within were prevented from getting out 
by two large pointed spikes, and Avere ultimately 
drowned. The Nepenthes of Ceylon (N. distella- 
toria) known as Bandoora-wel among the Sinha- 
lese is a much smaller variety than the Malayan 
plants. The long tough stems are used by the 
natives for tying fences, and quite lately I was 
applied to by a medical man for a few of the 
fleshy imderground stems, the juice of which he 
was anxious to experiment with on warts which 
are said to be removed by the application in 
a day or two. There is, not far from the School 
of Agriculture, a large patch of pitcher plants 
which have been freely drawn upon by guides 
and boys who sell flowers and foliage to strangers 
visiting our island, 
When a minute fragment of meat is placed 
on the leaf of a Drosera, the tentacle-like glandular 
hairs of the plants bend over to grasp the in- 
truding morsel, and a peculiar digestive fluid is 
formed as a result of the contact — just as the 
gastric juice in the human stomach is secreted 
■when food enters that organ— and this fluid 
effects the solution of the meat, which is then 
absorbed. Substances, whether solids, gases, or 
lic|ui(ls which contain nitrogen, only give rise 
to such l osults. The insectivorous or carniverous 
)ihiu(s, siiys Durwiii, can even extract nitrogenous 
matter t'runi pollen, seeds and bits of leaves. 
Dr. Masters writing about these plants says: 
" The rati<male of this mode of obtaining nutri- 
tion seems .soniewhat analogous to that in the 
root, where also the acid fluid with which the 
Cell-wall is permeated, wlien it comes into contact 
with the particles of soil, determines their solu- 
tion, aud reuders tlittui fit for absorption into 
the plants. Pi-actically this admittedly excep- 
tional mode of nutrition by the leaf might seem 
of little moment, but it is probable that in the 
future, direct nutrition by this means will be 
shown to be of much greater importance than 
it appears to be at present. In any case, the 
fact that ammonia-solutions and ammonia-vapovir 
are absorbed by leaves with increased manifes- 
tations of vital activity renders this mode of feeding 
a matter of some consequence to the agriculturist; 
and the escape of ammonical vapour from the 
muck-heap may not after all be the wastefxil 
operation it is usually supposed to be — that is, 
if tlie circumstances are such that plants can 
avail themselves of the exhaled vapour." 
Melastoma (M. Malahathricmn), a plant very 
common in cinnamon land, is known as Bowitteya 
or IJatakaloowa among the natives. The 
fruit which is both astringent and sweet to the 
taste, dyes the mouth black, and this fact 
it is that ha,s" given to the plant the names 
of Melastomfi (of Greek origin) and Katakaloowa, 
both signifying black-mouth. 
Keena, or more correctly Guru-keena (Calo- 
j)hyUum tomentosum) is a tree belonging to the 
same family as the Domba (C. inophylluin), and 
like it contains a good deal of oil in the seeds. 
This oil is extracted and used in the Eatnapura 
district, among other parts, for burning. Tne 
tree is to be found in the neighbourliood of 
Colombo, and the timber is utilized for building, 
while the bark is used externally in native medicine 
to dispel swellings, and for dislocation and bruises. 
Sera (said to be derived from the Malay word 
Sireh) which is so favorite a flavouring agent for 
curries, is the lemon-grass so largely^ cultivated 
in the Southern Province. It was at one time 
thought to be identical with citronella grass, 
and both were supposed to be cultivated forms 
of mana grass. The three are now distinguished 
under the respective names of Andropagon citra- 
tus, A. nardns, and A. martini. Both lemon-grass 
and citronella oils are exported from Ceylon, and 
are used by perfumers for scenting soaps and 
pomatums, the latter also entering largely in 
the composition of Eau-de-cologne. 
Mana grass or patana grass is used as thatch 
for huts and as litter for cattle, while a new use 
has lately been found for it in the manufac- 
ture of tea boxes. Cattle eat the grass when it 
is young, but it is said that the milk, butter, 
and even the flesh of cattle consuming it acquire 
a peculiar flavour imparted to them by the 
grass. The occurrence of patanas was considered 
by the Kev. Mr. Abbay to be due to the out- 
crop of a quartzite rock-formation, the disinte- 
gration of which results in a soil which is too 
poor to support a forest growth. This theory 
is however by no means genei'ally accepted. 
■ In the lL»mh>ld Register of September 18th 
is given the experience of a lady, of the tendency 
of a twining plant to turn towards a support 
placed near it. The support or pole, we are 
told was on the side away from the light, and 
the phenomenon of the plant turning towards it 
is said to have been difficult to uccoiuit iox 
