698 
Supplement to the ''T ical AgncuJtuiist." 
[March i, 1892. 
1 on 
Months. 
■Kaliitliera\vi 
loi 
Ratahandiram . . 
n 
Siuluhantliram . . 
5 
1 0.5 
Sudiikarael 
5-5§ 
'10 4 
Sudu Ratawi . . 
5 
"lor 
Kalukarael 
'H 
i> 
136 
Mahabamkottel . . 
J TOT 
'Ivaluboraluel 
r, 
■T 00 
loo 
■Podisulawi 
5 
139 
Kalukerawi 
4 
14U 
Siidukarawi 
r, 
J 41 
Ivalukarawi 
• . 5 
Karawe 
. . r> 
1(0 
J 4o 
Kalu Gires 
■") 
144 
Sudu Gires 
. . r> 
145 
Kaluliambuheeneti 
5 
146 
Siiduhambulieeneti 
5 
147 
Heenpanneti 
r, 
148 
■ Fodikaluheenete 
4 
149 
Ratuheeneti 
4 
150 
• Gambodaheeneti 
4 
(To be continued.) 
FRAGRANT PLANTS. 
Many plants belonging to the order Labiatcc are 
characterised by a pungency and odour (not 
always pleasant) about their leaves. Among fra 
grant or aromatic English plants of this order 
may be mentioned Lavender, Mint, Peppermint, 
Pennyroyal, Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, Savory, 
Sage, Palm, Rosemary, Wild Thyme and Sage 
" Of the family Ocm?<m (belonging to this order) 
we have in Ceylon, O. t'«w«/»rt (Heen-talla) and 
O. Basilicum (Sweet-Basil) are common about 
native gardens, O. Gratissima (comnwn in the 
warmer parts of j,tlie Island), 0. Slnnve (not com- 
mon), and 0, Sanctum (Holy Basil), known as 
Madooorootalla among the Sinhalese, who use 
it much • as a medicine and for keeping away 
insects (madooroo). And these are more or less 
fragrant and aromatic, and some (as the first two 
mentioned) are used for seasoning dishes. The 
family Plecthranthus includes P. tuberosum (innala) 
the tuberous roots of which form a 'delicious 
aromatic vegetable. 
Coleus aromaticus is the Sinhalese; kappra- 
walliya. Ro.xburgh says that every part of the 
plant is delightfully fragrant, and. that the leaves 
o.re frequently eaten with bread and. ,butter. 
C. Barbatus also possesses a strong butmot dis- 
agreeable .smell ; its roots are pickled and eaten by 
the natives of Bombay. 
Patchouli (Fof/ontemon ■ Patchouli), of i which 
Drury says : — " The odour is most powerful, more 
so perliapsthan that derived from any othenplant," 
is not unfreciuently met with in Ceylon, rt;hough 
not indigenous to the Island, but P. Ileyneanus, 
which is. indigisnous and common enough, is 
proliably. merely a variety of P. Pat- 
chouli, and is known among the Sinhalese as 
gaiig-kolang-kola. Othfjr varieties of Pogoste- 
mon found in ('eyloii are P. rupfsfris and P. 
reJlexHH. The leaves of Patchouli, ])owdered and 
put into bags, are said to prev(!nt clothes from 
being attackcil by moths ; l)y the Arabs the leaves 
arc used for st idling inatrass(!H and jtillows, as 
it is thought to be ellicacious in ])reventjng 
(•oritiigion and j)rolongiiig life ; it is also used, in 
India lor mixing witli tr)l)acco. Ti|i' esisential oil 
was at one time very valuable, but the scent 
seems to have gone out of fashion somewhat. A 
small quantity of leaf is even now exported 
from Ceylon. 
general~1tems. 
Mr. P. B. Kehelpannala writes:— The Eramadu 
or Erabado, also known as the Indian Coral 
tree (Enjthina Indica ) is useful in many ways 
to the natives of Ceylon. In the north of the 
Island the leaves are used as food for cattle, 
but .in the Sinhalese provinces they are only 
given to calves and rabbits. The leaves are 
also pounded with coconut, turmeric, kc, and 
the juice expressed from the mixture is used 
medicinally to prevent parasitic attack, and 
for this purpose is applied to the naval of new- 
born calves. The leaves are even eaten by the 
poorer cla.sses, in the form of a dry curry. Stumps 
of the tree are u.sed for live fences, while the wood 
of the trunk, though by no means durable, is 
used in constructing dwellings. The tree is 
grown as shade for cocoa, and as betel and pepper- 
vine supports. The tree begins to blossom about 
the time of the New Year, and this fact is referred 
to ill _ Sinhalese poetry, for instance : Auruddut 
Kittui, Eramadu mal-ut Kuppei ; " The year is 
close at hand, the fiowers of the Eramadu 
are budding. By subjecting the seeds to pres- 
sure an extract is got which is used as an 
ointment fhat is applied to sprains, and is also 
recommended in cases of wasp-bite. It is said 
that the wasp when he drinks the sweet nectar 
of the bright and attactive scarlet fiowers, gra- 
dually loses its vital powers and ultimately dies. 
• In Nature fov November 5th, 1891, Mr. W. B. 
Hemsley, reviewing two German works on coast 
vegetation, says, on the authority of Mr. C. B. 
Clarke, that in such localities the "milk" 
(coconut waier.^) of the coconut is so salt as to 
be undrinkable. 
Australasia imports annually nearly 20,000 
tons of rice, worth £250,000. 
Professor Wallace, in his address on Egyptian 
Agriculture, states that the chief crops are cotton 
(" by far the best paying crop '"), maize, birsem 
( Trifolimn A lexandrinum), a kind of large-growth- 
ed clover with a white flower, beans, wheat, and 
bai'ley : Sesame (sesamum or gingelly P,) sorghum 
vulgare (Tam. cholum), sugar-cane, and rice are 
also grown : and potatoes have been lately in- 
troduced and found to be a great success. 
Cattle are very fond of the tender parts of 
the dhall plant {QajanuH Indicus) both in a 
green and dry state. The dry stems are said to 
be excellent fuel and well-adapted for producing 
fire by friction. The leaves rubbed with pepper 
cleanse the gums and are also giveu in tooth- 
ache. A drink is also made from them and ad- 
ministered to small-pox patients. 
The stud bull at the School has had a bad 
time of it with an attack of foot-and-mouth 
disease, but with care the valuable animal has 
ecovered, and the disease was kept away from 
Mr. Jayawardene's milking stock, 
