May I, i8gi.] 
Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist: 
8i 9 
of a soil based upon the fulfilment of the con- 
ditions which occur in practice, as nearly as 
they can be attained. It i.s as follows ; — 
“Take a stout tiu or zinc box of '2 cubic 
feet capacity, that is 24 inches deep and 12 inches 
diameter eitlier way, and exactly lialf-way be- 
tween the bottom and the open top insert a 
division or diaphragm of perforated zinc, wliich 
will act as a false bottom. Cut out in one lilock, 
neatly, a cubic foot of the soil, and slip it, 
surface uppermost, into the upper part of the 
box, its bottom resting on the perforated liori- 
zontal bottom of the box. Bury the latter, level 
Avitli tlie ground, say, at tlie beginning of April, 
and let it remain till the end of September, 
when it will have received all the climatic in- 
fluence of the surrounding soil during Uiat period, 
including rain, which will percolate through it 
' and collect in the bottom part of tlie l)ox, carry- 
ing Avith it all tlie ingredients Avliich have been 
dissolved. This solution is then analysed ex- 
haustively. As 12 inches of rainfall Avill pro- 
duce a cubic foot of liquid, there will probably 
not be suflicient room in the hnver part of tlie 
box for the full amount, Avhich may be double 
that or more, so that provision must be made 
for drarving it off from time to time, say, once 
a month. This can easily be done liy having 
a piece of ordinary gas-pipe leading from near 
the extreme bottom of the box up through the 
dia])hr,agm, and then through one of tAvo per- 
forations in an indiarubber cork, inserted air- 
tight in a common 10-gallon glass carboy, the 
other perforation be'ing fitted by another piece 
of piping, Avhich, on being sucked, produces a 
partial vacuum, and so the fluid passes OA'er 
from the box to the. carboy where it is stored. 
For convenience, the body of the carboy may 
be partially buried in the ground. It Avill give 
me great pleasure to place such an apjiaratus 
for trial on any land, if one of the members 
will be good enough to give me facilities for 
so doing, and to analyse the ])i'oduct. The in- 
gredients found should bo calculated not only 
to jier cent, of the soil, but to lbs. per acre, 
and compared with the amount of each of these 
removed from the same area of soil under favoiu- 
able circumstances, by such cro^rs as are intended 
to be groAvn. Of course, the full amount dis- 
solved out will not be aA'ailalfle for plant food, 
perluips not one-half of it ; but nevertheless, 
the results are a measure of the amount of the 
ingredients rendered soluble and assimilable, and 
conse([uently of tlu> chemical value of a soil. 
“ Methods of analy.sis luised upon the solubility 
of the essential ingredients in acid.s, more or 
less dilute, ai’e arbitrary, and not to be trusted, 
ns the conditions are totally different from tho.se 
under AA'hich a soil gives u]') its useful con- 
stituents during plant groAvth.' 
And yet Mr. Tatlock considers, — and h<! thinks 
that every agriculturist and chemist, Avho has 
given hi.s best attention to the .subject Avill 
agree Avilh him in this,— that no chemical ana- 
lysis of a soil, howGA'cr carefully cariied out, 
and hoAA'ever exhau.stive it may l)c, can b(! of 
the same value for ])ractical ]>urposes, as field 
experiments Avith A’ariou.s manures, system- 
atically curried out by the tanner himself on 
his OAVii land. This, be says, is simjily a method 
of ascertaining Avhat yill suit a portion of actual 
soil in a particular locality, and consequently, 
what Avill suit the Avhole of it ; and demonstrnte.s 
Avhat ingredients give the best results, in Avbat 
propotions tliey should be employed, how they 
should be applied ; Avhether together at the .same 
time in a mixed state, or sejiarately, and at 
different times ; and finally, it Avill show the 
cost in jiractice. Another advantage claimed 
for this .simple system is that it requires no 
knoAA'ledge of chemistry. I’roperly regulated 
experiments, or “trials” should be i^rt of 
the work of every farmer, in which a Avell- 
arranged series of tests should be well thought 
out, committed to jiaper, and carried out, the 
weighing of the manures, the seeds, and the 
products or crops being accurately recorded in 
a book kept for the purpose. 
The aboA'e remarks on the A'alue of analyses 
of soils, coming as they do from a professional 
chemist, cannot be said to be made from any 
intere.sted motives, and are Avell AA'ortby of 
serious con.sideration, Avhile too much value 
cannot be placed on the recommendation that 
each individual cultivator of the .soil should 
carry on his oavu “trials” and carefully note 
their results. 
(1 KNEKAL ITEMS. 
Mr. L. r. Jayasuriya, Schoolmaster at Eupnha, 
in sending a si)ecimeu of stone, Avrites : — This 
stone found in Ilupaha, Walapnna, is kuoAvn as 
Clarundagala, and is of three varieties, viz., 
Ivilgarunda, Kalugaruuda, and Kirigarunda. The 
folloAving is translated by Mr. H. S. Dias, of 
the School of Agriculture, from a communicatiou 
to the LaLi'iviklrcum newspaper, by Mr. 
Jayasuriya : — 
“ There is a stream in the village called Uda.- 
palata-Ru];)aha in Walapana Avhicli arises from 
a lake a little beyond Ragama, and floAAung for 
about three miles eastward, falls into Ruiias 
Oya near the village Rupaha. At a distance 
about 21 miles from its source the stream floAvs 
by the rock kuoAA-n as Garundagala or Garunda- 
pasana. The uatiA'es claim healing properties 
for this stone, and Brahmins come all the Avay 
from India in search of it, making pilgrimages 
such as are made to Adam’s Peak. The pilgrims 
generally stay a feAv days near the spot, and 
after having performed certain ceremonies, they 
carry aivay specimens of the stone as souvenirs. 
1 have been assured by tlie natives that they 
liaA'e used the stone as a remedy, and found it 
efficacious in many diseases, and in part 1 can 
corroborate this statement from my oavu ex- 
perience. It is said to cure the skin disease 
knoAvn as “ itch," and is used as a remedy for 
snake-bite, and for stomache-ache, and for in- 
ducing secretion of milk in females after con- 
finement, the stone being prepared for internal 
use by grinding some of it into a fine jiOAvder 
and mixing Avith lime juice. It is aA'errod that 
those suffering from itch have been cured by 
bathing in the A'ilgaruuda t>ya, and that ab- 
dominal pains have been cured by drinking OF 
ITS AVATKRS.” 
IMr. .1. T. de Silva, late of (he Agricult ui'nl 
School, Avriles: — i’asduu Ivorale, in tlu' Western 
rrovince, contaims a fairly largo uumber of vil- 
