488 
THr. rr^OPiCAL AQRiCULTURIST. 
[January i, 1891 . 
throw cold water over the school : bnt if the boys only 
worked quietly and persistently their labours rrould 
bear much fruit. (Applause.) The friccipal has re- 
ferred to a pupil who bad gone to the district of 
Walapane. Well I know of no one who is likely to 
do more good to that unfortunate part of the district 
than one who would instil into the poor people there 
some knowledge of agiioulture, end if he did that be 
would certainly accomplish more than what Government 
offioials and Colonial Secretaries had yet been able 
to achieve. In conclusion I have only to express the 
great pleasure it has given me today in taking part 
in the prize-giving this year. (Loud applause.) 
The Hon. Mr. J. J. Grinl inton followed, and in the 
course of a spirited address urged on the School the 
desirability of experimenting upon the system of trans- 
planting paddy. Ill some parts of the country this 
system was a success, while in other parts it was a 
failure, chiefly because in many cases transplanting 
took place at the wrong time and the plants died. 
He hoped that the matter would occupy the 
attention of the Principal and his pupils, for 
transplanting was carried on on an extensive 
scale with various other products, and ho saw no 
reason why they should cot carry out experiments in 
transplanting paddy, With regard to the remarks 
which fell from the President and Mr. Green that 
cold water was being thrown on wl-at they did by some 
people, he believed that these people were everywhere 
in the world, end tlie very men who had not lifted 
a finger to help them and had done all they could 
to discourage them would whenever they heard that 
sucoe.ss did attend their efforts, say “We told you so-” 
(Laughter and applause.) He counselled Iho young 
men not to trouble themselves about the criti- 
cisms levelled against them, but simply to work 
on steadily and success would assuredly follow. 
He was sorry to find that the Sinhalese natio i were 
not giving that attention to cultivation which they 
did in the ancient days. In tbo-e days their one 
ambition was to possess and cultivate the land, but 
now the majority of the young men en'y tried to got 
educated aud seek employment under Government on 
the smallest pittance. This, the speaker said, was 
what ought to be discouraged; ai d he thought the 
best thing for our young men to do was to put their 
shoulders to the plough and to give their attention to 
agriculture. (Applause). In addition to agricultural 
knowledge a knowledge in mercantile matters was al.so 
indispensable. He would instance the case of those 
gentlemen in England who weie trained to 
agricultural pur.suit.s in preference to a berth 
under Goverament, and he maintained that if the 
young men only considered the advantages to be 
gamed from a knowledge of agriculture, they were bound 
to succeed in life, lu conclusion the speaker pro- 
ceeded to advocate technical traiaieg. The School 
was only in its infancy aud they had heard of the 
success which had attended their efforts; and if success 
had attended efforts where difficulties had to be 
surmounted before, he had no doubt that a school for 
technical education would also meet with success. 
(App'ause. ) Without technical education the School 
could not prosper, and ho would be very giad if 
ttcinical education was brought to the very doors of 
the natives, (Loud applause.) 
Mr. H. W. GiiEiiN roferiing to Mr. Grinlinton’s 
remarks regarding the system of transpliuting said 
that that was the first thing he started with, as it was 
thesyatera which brought out the be.4 returns. In 
Ubina and .Ja))an this system of transplanting brouglit 
enormous folds, and even transplanting in the .'audy 
hoil at the hack of the room resulted in a yield of 
5'jfi-fold. Another great advantage in favour of trans- 
planting was that iO measures sufficed to plant out 
an acre of land whereas the jicople usually used two 
or two and a half or three Im hols an acre, The 
system too couhlalso bo carried by means of a nursery 
in one corner of llio field, and during a period of 
drought ihe cultivator would be able to water this 
.mail piece of grmnd from liis chatty and thereby to 
tide over the la-riod of drought without being starved 
h\pplause). 
The Peesidf-nt said that in bringing the pro- 
ceedings to a clo ,6 he wished ..!1 the pupils 
a succe.ssful career. He might mention that in con- 
nection with the eleven students who had left the 
institution for the various provinces, the fact that five 
had been employed by private parties indicated that 
they had shown an independent appreciation of the 
worth of the School. (Applause.) 
Three ahearty cheers having been given to Sir E. 
Noel Wlker for presiding on the occasion, followede 
by rounds of cheering for the Principal and the 
visitors the gaUi-riog adjourned to the green, where 
litht refreshments were partaken of; the Band of 
the C. L. I. V. treating the people to some exoelle-nt 
music. 
* - - 
A Gigantic African Comranv.— We believe (says 
Saturday’s Liverpool Journal of Covnnerce) it is in- 
tended to float a very large company for the purpose 
of developing the resouroes of West Africa. The 
capital is to be placed at ten millions sterling, and 
amongst the likely promoters are the Duke of 
Westminster and Mr. Stanley.- — A. F. Fress. 
How TO Select Bananas. — A fruit-buyer said to 
me the other day — “ Very few buyers know how to 
select bananas when purchasing them by the 
bunch. It’s a very simple thiny. Look at the 
thick end of the branch on whicli the bananas 
hang. If it is green the bananas will ripen slowly 
and lusciously and will be of good flavor. If the 
end of the branch is black the bananas them- 
selves will blacken after a day or two and will 
ripen too fast and rot. Even if they are plucked 
the day after they are bought, and eaten, they 
will bo mushy end the flavor will not be good.”— 
Jamaica Gleaner. 
Bug on Coffejs. — M r, Ja.s. D. AVatsoii tvill 
not find Ceylon planters to agree with him in 
making light of green bug. He write as follows to 
a Bangoon paper: — 
The coffee pests are only two in number and they 
are termed in plain language — “Black Bug’’ and “Green 
Bug.” But they have never been looked upon as 
great enemies to the coffee trees, and planters know 
well that wet seasons bad to do with their production 
more than anything else. But I have never found a 
good handful of quicklime, thrown on the trees early 
in the morning, to fail, and the bug left the trees 
as they’ came. Of course, the quicklime or caustic 
lime” must be applied when the dew is on the trees, 
and this could always be carried on up to 8 a.m., 
and 300 or 400 coolies get over a good acreage in the 
course of that time. 
Kifdeked Safkastic. — The Fouchoxo Echo, referring 
to the poisoning of a tea party in England, the 
poisoning being traced to corrosive deposits in the 
urn, says:— “Worse and worse. AVe never did 
t’nink well of Indian tea, but little did we suspect 
that there was actually poison in the cup. Here is 
a ease where, owing to the accumulated deposits in 
the urn used for the purpose of making the tea, one 
hundred peisons were poisoned by it! It is too 
shocking. That the tea used by the benevolent 
lady could not have been of China growth is amply 
proved by the fact that the Chinese never clean out 
their teapots, be they metal or earthenware, for the 
reason that a long-used teapot, never cleaned, is 
known by experience to add svveetness to the brew. 
Such a misfortune as the above would never have 
occurred had China tea been used. Its purity is a 
guarantee against such mishaps. Any deposit left is 
well known to be perfectly free from deleterious 
matter. No doubt the benevolent Miss White and 
the British publio at large will run away with the 
idea that the deposits of all tea are poisonous. 
Poor China 1 it is a fresh case of the innocent 
suffering with tho guilty.” 
