6o8 
Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist.” 
[February 2, 1891 
45. Zeheneria Umbellata, Aru. Sin. Xavadu- 
kekeri. 
Tins plant is generally found growing in wild 
places, but is rarely met with in cultivated grounds. 
It resembles much the C. Pubescens in its general 
characters, though the leaves of these plants look 
more succulent and a little larger in size. The 
fruits are larger resembling those of T. Cucu- 
merina, but have not the bitter jtrinciple of that 
plant. They are eaten when obtainable. 
The above-described varieties cannot strictly be 
reckoned as food products, as they are not much 
used as food. 
Rubiaceae. 
46. Sarcocephaliis Cordatus, Miq. Sin. Bakmi, 
Is a tree common in the warmer parts of the 
Island. It thrives generally in moist places, such 
as the banks of streams or ponds, and grows very 
high with many branches. The leaA’es are 
large, coarse, and rounded in shape with prominent 
nerves branching from the midrib to the margin 
almost at equal distances, but the general 
venation of the leaf is reticulated. The leaves 
and the epidermis of the soft parts of the stem 
are covered with coarse hairs. The infloresence 
of this plant is somewhat characteristic, the 
flowers being borne in a glomerulous capitulum, 
of the shape of a spherical ball. When the small 
flowers which have whitish yellow corollas open 
themselves, they give a most charming appear- 
ance to the tree. The compound fruits which 
are formed by these flowers also take a rounded 
shape. They are about the size of ordinary 
tomatoes. The fruits are covered with a dark 
brown epidermis with small black indentations, 
and consist of a yellowish fleshy mass which is 
hard and astringent when immature, and soft, 
and of a sweetish acid taste when ripe. The 
fruits are much eaten, and in some places they 
are sold in markets. A single tree bears a very 
]arge quantity of these fruits in a season. 
The wood of this tree is of some value as timber, 
and the bark and young leaves are used medi- 
cinally in cuts, bruises, sores, boils and dis- 
locations. 
WATEE-LIFTS. III. 
By Aba. 
The Double Mhote is an adaptation of the whim 
used in England for raising water and rubbish 
from mines, and in Australia for raising water 
for stock &c. It is said that the first machine of 
the kind was erected in India in the year 1869 
from a model obtained from Australia. Since 
that time it has been much improved, and the 
following description of the action of the machine 
as it now exists on the Saidapet Farm is taken 
from the “ Farm Manual, ” compiled by Mr. C. 
Beriaon, M.n.A.c., the former Superintendent of 
f;he Far^ ; — 
“ The wat/ir i.s rai.sed by two leather j;;mkets, 
similar to those in orditiarj’ use in other parts 01 
the Presidency; to each of these buckets is 
attached a rope which is fastened to a drum; 
one of those i.s coiled and the other uncoiled, as 
/me biick(;t ascends and the other de.scends ; the 
drum is fixed on a rotating sj)indle, to which is 
fixed at right angles the draught bar to which the 
bullock is attached ; the diameter and thickness 
of the drum varies with the depth of the well'; 
as a general rule, for all ordinary lifts the 
diameter of the drum may be equal to about 
one-fifth the number of feet that the water 
must be raissd ; the drum is placed about 6 feet 
above the ground in order to allow the rope to 
pass over the head of the draught bullock ; the 
spindle upon which the drum is placed is kept in 
its upright position by means of two beams, into 
which it is fixed, which cross each other at the 
middle, and are supported at the ends on posts 
placed opposite each other on the outer side of 
the bullock path. The bullock walks under the 
draught bar attached to a curred yoke, which 
turns on a swivel. In raising water the bullock 
tj.avels round the upright spindle, thus turning 
t he drum and winding one rope and unwinding 
the other. If the diameter of the drum is as 
suggested, circuits around the path will raise 
each bucket to the requisite height ; the bullock 
is turned round, facing the opposite direction, 
w'hile each bucket is being discharged, no longer 
time is required to do this than is needed for the 
bucket to discharge its contents.” 
There is a model of the Double Mhote in the 
School Museum also sent from Madras by my 
friend, Mr. C. K. Menon, of the Saidapet Farm. 
In my' previous article on water-lifts I de- 
scribed the Single Mhotewhich is in use through- 
out India. To compare the two machines it will be 
seen that the “ double ” will raise about 30 per 
cent more of water than the “ single ” at a saving 
of about 50 per cent of the cost of lifting. But the 
Double Mhote has not yet come into general use, 
owing probably to the poverty of the rj’ot. The 
erection of the Single Mhote is within the power 
of every ryot almost, while the double requires the 
services of carpenters, and the outlay of a sum 
of money not within the reach of many a one. 
NOTES FEOM INDIA. 
[Being translated extracts from letters by a 
Sinhalese Gentleman.] 
The ryots of India are a more industrious lot 
than our Ceylon goiyas. At present there is a 
drought, such as we are having in Ceylon, pre- 
vailing in Southern India, but while the Indian 
ryots are irrigating their fields by means of wells, 
our goiyas are crying over their withering crops 
without adopting any remedy to save them. 
The practice of irrigation by wells is well worth a 
trial on the part of the Sinhalese cultivator. The 
Indian ryots irrigate even their coconuts, plan- 
tains, (fee., when they suffer from want of 
moisture. 
The paddy cultivators in India systematically 
adopt “ transplanting ” with paddy, and there is 
no doubt that this method produces superior 
results to that of ordinary broadcast sowing. As 
I travelled by rail I observed hundreds of acres 
transplanted paddy. Why shouldn't the 
in more for transplanting P 
The peasant women of India are decidedly more 
tlevoted to agricultural work than our country- 
women. 
