535 
January i, 1891.] Siipplctnoii to the “ 'I vopiceil Agykiiltiiyist." 
«?!&icaciou.s in eases of malarial fever. It is said 
tliat this plant surpasses even (piinine in this 
respect. 
Tlie cultivation of the suntlower for the ])iir- 
pose of obtaining oil has been attempted in 
Ceylon, but not with much ,succe.s.s. The plant 
grows well in many parts of the Island, and it 
is wortli while making further experiments not 
only for the sake of the oil, but for ntlising its 
other products more fully. If such experiments 
are attended with success, the plant ought to 
p:»,'C a paying garden crop. 
It is said that this plant serves as good fuel, 
and that it has been used for heating stoves. Per- 
haps this new use might induce some to make 
further trial whether it could be cultivateil 
with profit. 
^ 
Wi'ES PROM A TRAVELLER', S DIARV. 
Andiyagala was the place 1 mentioned last in 
niy notes. About o miles’ journey, from this 
place, brought me within sight of the Kahi-Balalu 
Wewa, which presented an appearance which I 
did expect. The tank was almost dry, the sluices 
having been opened to irrigate the fields below. 
A great i^art of the thick forest which once 
covered the bed of the tank i.s still there, devoid 
of its green foliage. The fallen leaves and the 
felled trees were lying beneath the shallow water 
emitting an odour peculiar to the <lecomposition 
of vegetable matter. The following inscription 
appears on a granite slab at the main or the 
Ydda-Ela sluice: — “This sluice, originally con- 
structed in the reign and by order of King Dhatii 
Sen, about A. D. 4(10, was, after many centuries of 
neglect, rebuilt in the reign of Her Alajesty (Jueen 
A’ictoria A. D. 1886." 
The very existence of the town of Anuradha- 
pnra seems to depend on this tank, without 
which most of the other tanks in the vicinity 
will be dry, and paddy cultivation, in consecpience, 
will have to be abandoned. It seems a pity 
that a permanent sujiply of water cannot at 
present bo maintained in this tank. The natives 
in the vicinity have a peculiar aversion to drink- 
ing well water. They say the tank water tastes 
better. There seems to be some truth in this, for 
1 found that in most cases the well water had a 
brackish taste. 
The town of Anurailhajiura, which was, at one 
time, oneof the most thickly-populated cities in the 
East, looks now more like an ill-keiit Park than 
anything else. The jdace is interesting botauically 
ns well us arclueologically. Interesting water 
plants and ferns ami trees of various descriptions 
could be seen here. The, oldest historical tree in 
the world is also hen', but it now seems much 
<iegencrated. The town has a small Botanical 
(larden. Several varieties of cotton have been 
tried, anil the l‘lgy]>tian variety seems to thrive 
well. 
The j)addy-tields at Anuradhajmra are i|uitc a 
sight worth seeing when under crop. Some of 
them were the best t hat 1 evei- saw. ICxtraordi- 
nnrily high yields has always been the ri'sult of 
judicious cultivation ; coconuts and jilantain also 
seem V) thrive well here. 
Most ofthe tanks inthe interior villages were al- 
most dry, and at a place called Mahadiwnl-wewa, 
near Madawadchiya, I saw a splendid crop of 
paddy in a dried portion of the tank. This sort 
of cultivation is called in Sinhalese ‘ Kawnla 
IVepirtoia.’ The yield is very high owing to the 
exceptional fertility of the soil ; but the super- 
stitious belief of the iieople is that the “demon” 
has an aversion to eating this paddy and h« 
therefore does not steal it ! 
BPILBIYG MATERIALS. 
SKCxroN' 1. SxONK (contivued). 
By a EactoiiV Apprentick. 
Decay and Dextnictiini op Stone . — The great 
agent of destruction to building stones is the 
damp or the water .supplied by the atmosphere 
directly or indirectly. The precautions to be 
observed are very simple. “ The first and fore- 
most rule is never to employ a porous absorbent 
stone in the ground, or in elveatioii ; unless inthe 
former case it be maintained constantly wet ; or 
in the second case, the absorjition of moisturi: 
from the ground be prevented by the interposition 
of some impermeable material. Porous stones 
should never be used for parts of a building 
where water may lodge.” Various other causes 
give rise to the decay and destruction, such as : — 
1st. O.xide of iron if allowed to remain in any 
notable quantities. :lnd. The crystalline sulphate 
of lime in conseipience of the sulphuric acid they 
contain, brd. The silicates and the sulphates 
of iron so often met with in building stones. 
.Decay and destruction of stone is also caused 
by nitritication which takes places near damp 
ground. 
“ Xot only does this nitrification throw off 
the minute and less adherent particles of the 
building materials, whether they be of stone 
or brick, but it is also able to detach any jmi- 
tecting coat which may lie put upon them if 
the adhesion of that coat to thesubacent material 
should not l.ie of a \ ery energetic nature. Let 
the adhesion be ever so energetic, if once the 
action of nitrification sh ould have been established, 
it must run its cour.se, and the amount of evil it 
is capable of producing will simply depend upon 
the quantily of organic matter originally con- 
tained in tile materials or susceptible of being 
alisorbed by them from the atmosphere.” 
Preservation of Stone . — It is always' advisable 
to guard agai 1 st any sort of decay setting in to 
a building stone, since to arrest its progress 
after it lia.s been once allowed to establish itself 
is impossible. 
The. following are some of the precautions 
observed to prevent stone decay : — 1. By painting. 
By the injection of oleaginous fatty or waxy 
matter. B. By washing the face with a solu- 
tion able to convert the material into an insoluble 
non-absorbent substance. 4. By filling in the 
pores of the stones with an insoluble material 
which should effectually exclude water. 
There are strong object ions raised against the 
jirocess of jiainting, as the oil eiiqioratcs and 
the stone become again exjioseil to the atmosphere, 
and so the jirocess has to be renewed. 
The second jirocess, namely, l>y the injection of 
oleaginous, fatty or waxy matter can only act 
