15 ° 
Supplement to the '•'■Tvopical Agriculturist j 
[August I, 1890. 
cliaracter of a cross-section is more or less de- 
parted from, for, owing to the excessive growth 
in the neighbourhood of the cracks, induced by 
reduction of the pressure on the cambium, tlie 
tree shows a striking protuberance on that point. 
THE PLOUGH AND DRAUGHT ANIMALS 
One great objection raised at first to the use of 
the Improved Plough in paddy cultivation was 
that the weak and puny cattle commonly used 
by our farmers could not draw the hea\ y iron 
implement. But this objection has been in a 
large measure met by the introduction of light 
ploughs, such as the “Vitis” and the “ Cingalee ” 
made by Messrs. Howard & Co. at Bedford, 
and the “ Indian Ryot ” and “ Patent Pipe ” 
ploughs by Messrs. Massey & Co. at Madras. 
These ploughs, while they retain the mould-board 
&c. essential for the inversion of the soil, are 
much in keeping with native taste in jjoint of 
lightness, and in having a single handle so as to 
admit of being worked without an extra driver. 
But still native farmers will complain that the 
draught animals find it more tiresome to draw 
these new ploughs ; and this is not to be wonder- 
ed at when we see that the work done by the iron 
])lough is more thorough by far than that done by 
the wooden village ploughs or rather cultivators. 
But this state of things naturally suggests that 
improvement is needed in the other direction as 
well : — I mean in the draught animals. And how 
is this to be done ? 
1. The importation of stronger foreign breeds 
of cattle might be suggested. But this can only 
be done by rich farmers who can afford the pur- 
chase and upkeep of these animals. 
2. Again we might obtain better draught 
cattle by crossing our country ones with some 
suitable foreign breed. This can be done even l)y 
Idle poorer class of farmers, provided they can 
get the opportunity of crossing their cows with 
superior breeding bulls belonging to their richer 
neighbours. Such bulls are not, however, so com- 
mon here as they ought to be ; and this method of 
obtaining improved draught cattle could only be 
effected gradually. Some of our rich native land- 
lords have indeed, I am aware, imported good 
strong foreign cattle, and the services of 
their breeding bulls are, I believe, readily lent 
wlien applied for. But as yet this sort of 
improvement is being carried on only to a very 
limited extent, and there seems no likelihood of 
its being extensively adopted in the near future. 
.‘I. While the two pi’evious methods of obtaining 
sujjerior draught animals are very good in their 
]jroper place, it is easier by far, and is practicable 
i) y both rich and poor alike, to make the most of 
(he animals which are to be had at jiresentin our 
country, and which are already in u,se. 
The ini))roved plough demands a greater draught 
as it turns over file soil ; and therefore the cattle 
should be fed with good nourishing food so as to 
nerve them uj) for (lie work. Korage crops must 
be grown ; and fodder mu.st bo suitably preserved 
for dry weal her. 
All animals used in breeiling stock for draught 
j) iiq)OS(>s should be carefully selected and ]>ro- 
perly fell. 
lmpro\ement is also jio.ssible in the method the 
animals are yoked to the plough. It has been 
suggested to me by a European Government 
official in Jaffna that the animals should be yoked 
so as to place the line of draught more hori- 
zontally, as in the case of the harnessing of 
horses. This method of yoking would balance 
the weight properly on the body of the animal, 
and enable it to use its full force in effecting the 
draught. This would be es])ecially true in the case 
of the buffalo. It has no hump ; and it is very 
clear that when provided with a collar such as is 
used for the horse, the buffalo would draw the 
plough much better than it now does. Of course a 
little extra training might be necessaiy then. In 
China the plough is drawn by a single buffalo or 
ox harnessed in this manner. What might we not 
exi^ect then from a pair of huge strong village 
buffaloes when their draught power is economized 
in this w'ay to the best advantage !■' 
Haputale. E. T. Hoole. 
(To he continued. ) 
[The force “ absorbed ” by the different parts 
of an ordinary swing plough has been calculated 
as follows : — 
Resistance by Share & Coulter . . 44 per cent 
Sole-friction . . 15 „ 
Friction on land side, i.e. on 
cheek plate . . . . 35 „ 
Mould-board . . . , 6 „ 
The directions of resistance are in 3 planes: (1 ) 
Perpendicular as in cheek-plate, (2) Horizontal 
as in sole, and (3j Curved, following surface of 
mould-board. — Ed.] 
NOTES FROM A TRAVELLER’S DIARF. 
The cultiA'ation of cocoa, in districts where 
the tree thrives, by natives who have the land, 
is a commendable industry. In Lower Dumbara, 
for instance, the natives go in a good deal for 
cocoa-growing. A full-grown tree 'vrill yield on 
an average nearly Rel a year, and three 
hundred trees will more than supply the wants 
of a family possessing an acre of land. 
Now that coffee is allowed to grow under less 
artificial conditions than it used to, the trees 
(and particularly those growing under shade) 
look quite robust, and are not affected with 
leaf disease to any appreciable extent, while a 
splendid crop of berries is generally to be seen. 
In fact some jiroprietors are planting coffee, and 
I have seen the old discarded pulping machines 
being brought into requisition once again. 
My attention -was drawn to a tract of paddy 
land Imrdering the Rattota road, about 3 miles 
from Matale, and reputed to have very fertile 
soil. At the time I visited the place, the ground 
was almost completely covered over with a growth 
of weeds known in Sinhalese as Peti-tliom, the 
botanical name of which is Cassia Occidentalis. 
The plant belongs to the order leguminosce, and 
it struck me that it was more than jirobable 
(from the fact that the plants of this order have 
the peculiar property of fixing nitrogen from the 
atmos] there and accumulating it in the soil) that 
the fertility of the soil may be due to the land 
lying jteriodicnlly fallow under a crop of these 
weeds. Peti-t/wra is commonly met with in 
most ]tarts of the Island, and if e.xperimejnt con- 
hrm my theory, it would be an ine.xij^nsive 
