Sept.  2,  1895.]  Biipplement  , the  ‘‘  Tropical  AgrioiUarifif:' 
215 
hardened  into  thin  slabs  l)y  the  niix.ai'e  of  a 
little  lime,  on  fried  into  cakes  after  being  mixed 
■with  flower,  sugar,  atul  coconut  scrajnngs.  The 
cabbage  or  terminal  bud  is  also  oaten.  The  seed- 
lings are  sometimes  eaten  cooked  a'  a vegetable 
or  made  into  ])icklos,  while  the  germinating 
embryo  within  the  stone  is  considered  a deli- 
cacy and  is  sometimes  reiluced  to  a Hour. 
Mr.  J.  W.  Mollison,  Olliciating  Director,  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  Dorabay,  supplies  some 
information  with  reference  to  the  uses  of  the 
tender  root  which  the  seeds  send  i own  at  Ihe 
time  of  germinating  : — Tiie  pahuyran  fruit  con- 
tains two  or  three  kernels,  and  if  these  ai’c  to  be 
eaten  raw,  the  fruit  has  to  be  plucked  before  it  is 
ripe.  In  thi.s  condition  they  are  sold  in  N.  IV'. 
India  at  12  for  one  anna  when  good  w -,ay  6 fruits 
per  anna.  Fallen  fruits  onlj^  are  used;  or  plant- 
ing in  order  to  get  the  radicle  to  be  n?ed  as  a 
vegetable.  These  radicles  are  from  9 to  12  inches 
long  and  1 to  I5  in.  diameter  at  the  tnick  end. 
The  seedligs  are  grown  a.s  crowded  as  possible  in 
the  nursery,  and  are  ready  for  digging  in  about 
four  months.  The  vegetable  is  generally  roasted 
before  it  is  offered  for  sale,  at  thereto  of  16  for 
an  anna.  Its  cultivation  in  the  Bombay 
Presidency,  says  Mr.  Mollison,  is  important, 
because  of  the  enormous  value  of  outturn  per 
acre,  and  because  it  might  l)e  economically  imi- 
tated elsewhere  in  India.  Nurseries,  however, 
are  seldom  larger  than  to  ixs  of  an  acre.  In  a 
nursery  about  60  fruits  are  ])lanted  in  a .scjuai'c 
yard,  and  these  may  produce  100  ) more  young 
tap  roots.  The  gross  value  of  yield  per  anna  at 
ordinary  market  rates  i.i  111,800,  but  if  the  veg(>t- 
able  is  dear,  the  outturn  per  acre  may  be  worth 
RdOO. 
^ 
DAIRY  PRODUCE. 
The  native  cow  as  most  of  us  are  aware  is  a 
very  poor  milker.  In  fact,  a Ceylon  cows  average 
yield  of  milk  per  day  is  hardly  over  three  to  four 
pints..  In  many  instances  the  cows  are  never 
milked.  The  coast  cows  (animals  of  Sonth  Indian 
breeds)  which  are  being  imported  to  the  Island 
yield  on  an  average  six  to  eight  pints  of  milk  a day, 
and  those  of  the  better  Indian  breeds,  notably 
the  Sind  breed,  which  has  been  introduced  , to  the 
Island  through  the  Government  Dairy  Farm,  yield 
on  a average  from  twelve  to  sixteen  pints  daily. 
Dr:  Parkes  in  his  Manual  of  Hygiene,  puts  down 
the  average  of  an  English  cow  to  be  20  to  26  j)int.s 
daily  and  occasionally  up  to  .60  pints.  Thus  it  is 
seen  that  the  milk  yield  of  different  breeds  of 
cows  varies  greatly.  It  has  also  to  be  iioted  that 
milk  differs  in  quantity  and  quality  in  different 
animals  under  different  conditions,  for  instance, 
the  age  of  a cow,  the  number  of  calves  produced 
by  it,  the  age  of  the  calf,  and  the  system  of  feeding 
the  cow,  has  much  to  do  with  these  variations. 
The  ridiculously  small  quantity  of  milk  yielded 
by  native  cows,  is  undoubtedly  due  to  neglect 
on  the  part  of  breeders  for  ages  past,  the  native  cow 
in  the  villages  being  considered  not  so  much  a 
milker, but  a producer  of  calves,  which  when  grown 
up  are  used  either  for  agricultural  work  ot  draught 
puri)ose-!,  .such  as  for  tiie  conveyance  of  loads  or 
for  trotting.  Again,  the  villager  requires  an 
animal  to  plough  his  fields,  and  any  small  sized 
animal  will  do  the  work  with  the  irvtive  im- 
plement. Such  is  tlie  demmid,  and  hence  the 
siq>ply  keeps  pace  with  it.  As  regards  dairy  pro- 
duce, lliougli  in  India  milk  and  gliee  are  highly 
prized  and  often  indispensable  articles  of  diet, 
milk  is  seldom  an  article  of  diet  in  the  villages 
here,  and  it  i.s  when  used  considered  more  or  less 
a luxury.  Gliee  again  is  mostly  used  in  medicine, 
and  coconut  imlk  is  often  considered  a cheap  and 
easuy  obtained  substitute  for  it,  wdiereas  in  India 
a natir  e w'ould  be  shocked  to  hear  of  the  substitu- 
tion of  coconut  milk  for  ghee,  for  he  can- 
not conceive  how  one  could  be  satisfied  without 
the  use  of  such  an  indispensable  article.  The  only 
form  in  which  milk  is  used  in  the  villages  is  in  the 
form  of  curds,  and  even  for  the  production  otthis 
cattle  owners  have  not  sufficient  encouragement,  as 
there  i.s  no  regular  demand  for  the  article.  It  is 
used  generally  on  special  occasions  (feasts,  &c.), 
I)ut  the  curd  obtained  from  cow’s  milk  is  considered 
to  be  inferior  to  that  obtained  from  buffaloe’s 
milk.  These  remarks  do  not  apply  to  the 
villages  in  the  vicinity  of  towns,  for  in  towns  on 
account  of  the  different  classes  of  inhabitants  and 
their  different  tastes,  there  is  always  a demand 
for  milk,  and  the  villager  is  ever  ready  to  meet 
it,  and  obtain  the  advantages  of  profit  thus 
offei'ed  him. 
It  is  no  smqarise  that  in  the  fight  of  the  above 
facts  that  dairying  has  not  been  an  industry 
among  the  (Sinhalese  villages,  and  a good  milking 
COW'  is  a rarity  among  them. 
In  India  the  native  consumes  tlie  produce  of  the 
dairy  in  a variety  of  forms.  First  and  foremost, 
the  gliee  or  clarified  butter  is  an  indispensable 
article  in  the  preparation  of  his  daily  food.  Tmk 
a bye-product  of  ghee-raaking  is  never  wasted  ; 
viawa  ovkhowa,  a sort  of  dessicated  milk  is  largely 
used  by  them  ; and  lastly,  curd  is  also  a favourite 
wdth  them. 
In  places  where  milk  is  turned  into  butter  and 
clieese,  and  tlie  bye-product  obtained  in  the  process 
of  butter  making,  .skimmed  milk  is  also  put  to  a 
variety  of  uses. 
The  conditions  prevailing  in  Cejdon  are  such, 
that  dairying  as  an  industry  will  be  more  readily 
adopted  in  the  vicinity  of  towns  rather  than  in  the 
villages. 
In  towms  there  is  ahvays  a demand  not  only  for 
pure  milk  but  for  its  products.  A large  quantity 
of  butter  is  annually  imported  to  the  island,  and 
with  all  that,  the  consumers  always  prefer  fresh 
butter,  and  are  prepared  to  pay  enhanced  prices 
for  the  article  they  prefer.  Dairy-farming  in 
yillages  close  to  towms  should  prove  a paying 
industry.  iVhen  millc  could  be  sold  in  a fresh 
state,  I, Imre  is  not  much  difficulty  in  carrying 
on  the,  trade  profitably,  but  ns  it  is  doubtful 
when  a large  number  of  persons  engage  in  the 
production  of  the  article  that  there  will  be  an 
equally  large  demand  for  fresh  milk,  itis  essen- 
tial that  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  manu- 
facture of  butter. 
A central  factory  where  a cream  seperator  could 
be  worked,  and  where  all  the  milk  in  the  district 
could  be  disposed  of,  would  be  the  best 
inducement  for  the  villager  to  pay  attention  to 
this  important  industry.  Under  such  circumstan- 
ces, when  they  are  assured  of  a ready  market  the 
inducement  will  be  sufficient  for  them.  A 
central  factory  need  not  cost  much  ; a Baby  Laval 
' can  be  had  for  less  than  E2-50,  and 
