S66 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[February 2, 1891. 
act gave rise to a formal war between the Dutch 
and the Kandyans. In 1881, when the last census was 
taken, Mai wana contained 63 houses and 342 persons. 
Easapane does not now exist, apparently : at least 
it is not mentioned in the last census report. The 
name may mean ‘sweet drink,’ ‘sweet plain,’ or 
‘rose plain.’ 
By the time we had again embarked after our visit 
to the melifluous named Malwana, we were 
quite ready for breakfast, of which we partook as 
we glided gradually into deeper and broader water. 
It was a pleasant incident in our voyage that 
soon after we came in sight of the grand railway 
lattice bridge, the 2 o’clock train from Colombo 
to Kandy rattled over it. I was reminded of the 
period, now a quarter of century ago, when the 
first train (a holiday trial one) which crossed the 
original bridge was seen by me, also from the river. 
How much has railway communication done since 
then for the island, which water carriage and road 
trafiio could never have accomplished, in further- 
ing the progress of prosperity and enabling the 
country to bear and overcome adversity. 
P. S.~I find still one note of information 
obtained at Labugama unused. Mr. Gibson 
told us that on occasions of the annual, or 
rather periodical, migration of butterflies, he has 
seen the lake surface perfectly white with the moving 
masses of insects, while a number of “ large swal- 
lows” were actively preying on them. The butterfly- 
eating bird was probably the alpine swift, Cypselus 
melba ; or perhaps the Indian swift, Cypselus affmis, 
the W cBlicelaniya of the Sinhalese. 
Here ends the record of our pleasant and in- 
teresting ‘‘Holiday Trip to Labugama Lake ” and 
the return voyage down the Kelani from Hanwella 
to Malwana, and finally to the Bridge of Boats, 
the rpoollections of which vie in interest with what 
poetry has imagined in descriptions of Fairy Land. 
The Dutch student who scoffed at the earthly 
Paradise on the banks of the Kelani was a miserable 
misanthrope ! 
A NEW SOUKOE OF VANILLA. 
Vanillin is the odoriferous principle of vanilla, 
which from a previous paper our readers know to 
be the fruit of a plant called Vanilla aromatica. 
Vanillin exists in the vanilla pod to the extent of 
about 2 per cent. These pods used to be very 
expensive, but new sources of vanillin are being dis- 
covered, and it seems likely that the vanilla industry 
will soon be extinct. Vanillin, which is the only 
substance for which the vanilla pod is valuable, has 
been found in asparagus, raw beet sugar, and 
assafcetida; it likewise results from the oxidation 
of olive wood. On a large scale it is prepared from 
coniferin, a compound which occurs in the 
sap of the cambium of pine-trees. The latest 
source of vanillin has been discovered by Herr 
Sohneegans in the seeds of Rosa canina. These are 
extracted with ether : part of the ether is separated 
by distillation, and the residue is agitated with 
sodium bisulphite solution saturated with sulphurous 
anhydride. Dilute sulphuric acid is then added, 
and finally, after much washing and drying, a brown 
oil is obtained, which in a few days becomes a 
mass of crystals. Possibly the vanilla pod will find 
a new commercial rival in these Rosa canina seeds. 
— Grocer, 
♦ 
CABBAGE FOE BVJ'IR, 
The London Daily News has the following amusing 
ekit at the expense of the vegetarians: — 
The Vegetarian CongroHS has dispersed to the four 
winds of heayon, leaving upon the minds of some who 
take life seriously a sense of humiliation. All the other 
OoDgreeses have left behind them a pleasant impression, 
for they have given the race some ground for hope that 
it is getting on somehow — making, in spite of all its 
blunders, for righteousness. But if we are to helieve the 
Vegetarian Congress, we have not yet learned how to 
live. It makes short work even of the last shred of 
definition of himself to which man has clung — an 
animal that cooks its food. He cooks, certainly, but 
it is not food. Four or five millenniums have passed 
since the pyramid of Cheops first looked down on the 
Nile, and the Neanderthal man became dust myriads of 
years ago, and yet we do not know what is good for 
breakfast. Instead of doing our best to unravel that 
problem, we have been frying one another about theo- 
logical propositions. When the great problem is at 
length started, we find that the new doctors of the law 
differ as widely concerning our perishable bodies ns the 
old doctors concerning our immortal souls. “ What the 
Vegetarians want is to know what the right and proper 
foods are ” Such is the surprisingly innocent, naive 
observation made at the Congress by a vegetarian of the 
Nut-Eating Sect, Mr. Manning. In course of time there 
will be as many rival sects of Vegetarians as there are 
rival sects of theologians. Here are the Nut-Eaters, 
with Dr. Densmore at their Lead, proclaiming that grain 
food is as perilous to the body as beef and mutton. 
Starch is the heretical element, so to speak, in grain 
fold. But then comes Miss May Yates, an ornament 
of Vegetarian OrthoJoxy, and Miss Yates announces 
tb at outside whole meal there is no salvation. These are 
the two Schools, or Churches of the Vegetarian faith — 
the nut-esters and thegrain-eaters. But there are minor 
denominations, which borrow from either side the 
doctrines that seem to them most reasonable. There 
is even a mystic sect in process of evolution. Thus 
Mr. Jeffreys described, amidst rapt silence, to his 
audience in the Memorial Hall, how when he wanted 
bis thoughts to concentrate themselves upon the phy- 
sical world he “took cereals,” but “fruit” when he 
communed with the unseen. The President, Mr. A. F, 
Hills, is an out-and-out Mystic; “pulse,” quoth he, 
for muscle; “cereals ’’for brain, “ fruit ” for the soul, 
and nuts forth© mighty spirit of man. Dr. Densmore 
however nearly concedes the anti-vegetarian doctrine 
when he permits a diet of “ eggs, milk, or cheese.” 
If these be not animal substances what are they ? 
The English have conquer d the world on beef and 
bitter beer. Perhaps they ai tght have done it as well on 
pulso. We cannot tell ; but we do know what they have 
done on the other diet. Then there is this disquieting 
thought: At the British Association, Mr. Ravenstein 
argued that in two centuries the earth would be full; 
but that is not the question at issue — what we want 
to know is how the supply of nuts can be kept up for 
the consumption of this rapidly increasing human race. 
The practical conclusion is, that while the Vegetarians 
are trying to agree among themselves, we had better 
go on with our beef and mutton — but in moderation. 
The solid basis of truth in the Vegetarian doctrine — 
which we are glad to say is doing immense good in 
the world — is that English people eat far more flesh 
meat than is good for them. 
RUSSIA AS AN OUTLET FOR INDIAN TEA. 
To the Editor of the Home and Colonial Mail. 
SiE,— In the letter which you kindly inserted in 
your issue of Oct. 24th I promised to return to this 
rather interesting subject. 
Since that date ouc Ceylon competitors— always in 
the forefront of the battle — have clenched the matter, 
and sent out Mr. Eogivue (whom I alluded to in my 
previous letter, and who has since been over here 
to report progress) to commence a campaign in Eass’a. 
They have liberally subventioned him, and invited 
him— if he should find more money necessary, in 
order successfully to prosecute tbo enterprise — to apply 
to them again later on, and that he need not fear 
lack of support. 
I bad intended suggesting co-operation on the part 
of the Indian planting community with Mr, Rogivue’s 
