694 
Supplement to tjie'' Tropical AgncuUumt." [March 1,1892. 
plement is in reality a pestle and mortar 
made of wood. Tliis is commonly iised by 
the natives, and a modification of the first- 
mentioned implement as well as the second are 
used also for smashing rice and for pounding 
it into flour. 3. Another system of husking is 
to_ pass the paddy througii a small pair of 
millstones or cylinders of the same shape, made 
of hard wood, set on end and grooved on the 
working surface. The distance between is re- 
gulated, so as to remove the husk by friction 
without breaking the grain, the grain and the 
chaff being afterwards winnowed. After husk- 
ing in this manner the inner skin covering the 
grain has to be removed by pounding in a mor- 
tar. This implement is a modification of the 
stone mills used for grinding paddy and 
gram for feeding horses. The greater portion 
of the paddy prepared for the market in India 
is said to pass through a steaming and soak- 
ing process before being husked, to facilitate 
the removal of the husk and minimise breakage. 
The paddy is steeped in water for 48 hours, 
and is then put into another vessel with a 
small quantity of Avater and placed over the 
fire ; just sufficient water is used to merely 
steam the contents. After this it is dried 
thoroughly in the sun for two or more days and 
then pounded in the mortar before mentioned. 
It will thus be seen that all three process are slow 
and tedious ; but with the use of a modern hul- 
ling machine, the thrashed paddy has only 
to be put into the machine, and it is delivered 
clean rice. Our poor paddy cultivators cannot 
of course be expected to purchase patent 
machines, but their wealthier brethren might 
well import a few and set then up in central 
places, so that the goiyas round about may 
benefit by them. A huller alone can be pro- 
cured from America for £16 13*-. 6d. 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
On another page will be found the beginning 
of a list of names of the varieties of paddy 
grown by the natives of Ceylon. Some of these 
are no doubt different names for the same 
variety, as has been found to be the case with 
the large number of specimens of paddy stored 
at the School of Agriculture. Of these a collec- 
tion of 240 distinct varieties have been made 
up for the Imperial Institute. The list which is 
being given in this Magazine furnishes the largest 
number of names we have been able to Collect; 
and for that reason it will be of some interest. 
A parciel of seed has reached us from Brisbane, 
having been sent for experimental cultivation. 
The seeds which are those of a salt-lnish (most 
likely Artlplcr Hpoti</iomin) are as small as 
mustard seed, but fiiittisli, and are contained in 
a spongy covering. The salt-bushes are used as 
fodder, and are sjx^ciully suited to dry saline 
soils Ihi^ only specimen indigenous to Ceylon 
hiMug A. ri'])('ii,x meiitif)ii(Ml hy Tliwaites as occur- 
ring in tli(^ north of tin; island. A. uponr/iomm 
is described as being iiacMciilarly good for she(!p 
I»astiire. A. 'Nauimvlnrium is one of th« tallest, 
most fattening and wholesome of the salt 
bushes for slieej) and cattle. Slusep feeding 
oa it uro said never to Ijo ali'ected by 
liver fluke, and to get cured it suffering from 
the distorma worm and other allied parasites. 
A. Halimoides, a common dwarf shrub in Aus- 
tralian deserts, is also a good forage x^lant, while 
A. Vedcnrimn is described as the most fat- 
tening and most relished of all these salt bushes, 
holding out in the utmost extremes of drought. 
The seeds wliich have reached us from Bris- 
bane have been sown and have germinated well, 
but the seedlings look very weakly, it may be 
owing to the excess of moisture they have been sup- 
plied with since they have been put into the ground. 
A very catchy " advertisement has been 
appearing in the Ceylon Times, referring to 
Lathynis Syloestris, which is being grown experi- 
mentally in the School of A.griculture grounds. 
Since our note about this fodder plant in our 
last issue, our hope in the success of L. Syluestris 
has not inci-eased. The plants that have come 
up in good soil are looking by no means 
flourishing, and do not seem as though they 
were going to survive the two years after 
which they would be fit for cropping. Only two 
plants, specially cared for in a flower pot, with 
the object of securing a blossom, can be de- 
scribed as vigorous growths. Those planted in 
a sandy soil have all died out. Considering that 
the extravagant theory of Mr. Keeves, as to plants 
deriving all the elements of their food (both 
combustible and incombustible) from the at- 
mosphere, was founded on the fact that Lathyrus 
Syluestris flourished apparently independently 
of what the soil contained in the way of plant 
food, it seems strange, to say the least of it, 
that this "air plant" should need so many 
luxuries in Ceylon. 
The Keiv Bulletin for October and November 
last contains a paper on Chinese fibres. Abuti- 
lon A vicenna, an annual, belonging to the order 
Malvaceae, produces a fibre which is sometimes 
found to be as much as 15 feet in length. In Ceylon 
we have six species of Abutilou, viz., A. Polyan- 
drum, A. Asiaticum, A. Indicum, A. Gmveolens, 
A. Crispum, and yl. Muticum {A. Tomentosum). 
These are all spoken of generally by the Sinhalese 
as Anoda, a name which, however, properly 
belongs to A. Asiaticum. A. Leschenaultianum 
also occurs as a weed, but is it doubtful whether 
it is indigenous to the island. A. Indicum 
which yields a strong fibre that can be worked 
into roj)es, is known as the country mallow, 
and is used medicinally in the same way as the 
English mallow. A Folyandrmn also yields a 
long silky fibre resembling hemp. The product 
of ^4. y4i)jcewM(5 is known as Chinese ute. 
Corchorus capsularis is another-fibre-producing 
plant of China, belonging to the order Tiliaceae. 
It is found in Ceylon together Avith C. Olitorius. 
C. fJrticwfulius, C. Fascicularis, C. Tridens, and 
C. Acutanyuls. C. Capsularis is the plant which 
produces Indian jute. Besides the gunny bags 
made from the bark, the stems of the plants 
themselves are used for charcoal for gunpowder, 
fences, basket-work, and fuel. Drury mentions 
that the fragments of the stem which are cut 
ofl' nearest the root are shipped to America from 
Calcutta for paper-making, preparing bags_ and 
such like purposes, and even for making whisky. 
