498 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist. 
[Jan*  1,  1897. 
KAINI^'ALL  TAKEN  AT  THE  SCHOOL  OP 
AGRICULTURE 
DURING 
THE  MONTH 
OF  NOVEMBER, 
1896. 
1 
Sunday 
o7 
19 
Thursday  . . 
Nil 
2 
Alonday 
■72 
20 
Friday 
16 
3 
Tuesday 
•oo 
21 
Saturday 
U81 
4 
AVednesday  . . 
•38 
2-2 
Sunday 
126 
6 
Thur.sday 
•52 
23 
Alonday 
101 
6 
Friday 
•04 
24 
Tuesday 
Nil 
7 
Saturday 
Nil 
25 
AVedne.sday . . 
■15 
8 
Sunday 
■76 
26 
Thursday  . . 
■03 
9 
Alonday 
•86 
27 
Friday 
Nil 
10 
Tne.sday 
142 
28 
S'lturday  . . 
•08 
11 
AVednesday  . . 
•88 
29 
Sunday 
•31 
12 
Thursday 
4-80 
30 
Alonday 
Nil 
13 
Friday 
■08 
31 
14 
Saturday 
4^06 
1 
Tuesday 
Nil 
15 
Sunday 
■31 
— 
16 
Alonday 
Nil 
Total . 
20’38 
17 
Tuesday 
•65 
Alean . 
•65 
18 
AVednesday . . 
Nil 
Greatest  amount 
of  rainfall  in  any  24  hours  — 
on 
the  12th  day 
of  November,  4’80  inches. 
OURSELVES. 
The  pre.sent  issue  will  reach  oin  readers  during 
the  first  days  of  a new  A'ear  which  we  earnestly 
hope  will  be  one  of  prosperity  and  plenty  for  all  agri- 
culturists in  the  Island,  from  the  lordly  tea  planter 
to  the  humble  paddy  cultivator.  Every  year  while 
it  brings  with  it  fresh  knowledge  of  value  to  the 
cultivator  of  the  soil  also  makes  the  problem  of  how 
to  produce  the  best  quality  of  crops,  at  the  smallest 
expense  and  with  the  least  deterioration  of  the  land 
more  difficult  to  solve.  It  has  been  our  endeavour 
during  the  past  seven  and  a half  years  to  do 
what  we  could,  albeit  in  a small  way,  to  act 
as  a medium  for  cotiveying  to  those  who  have 
chosen  “the  most  healthful,  most  useful,  and  most 
noble  employment  of  man  ” all  such  information 
as  would  better  help  them  to  meet  the  difficulties 
which  they  have  to  encounter  in  their  attempt 
to  render  the  soil  subservient  to  their  own  and 
the  general  wants  of  the  community,  and  we  trust 
we  have  succeeded  in  doing  some  useful  work  in 
this  direction.  We  take  the  opportunity  of  thank- 
ing our  subscribers  for  their  sni)puit,  and  the 
local  press  fptits  encouragement. 
OCCASIONAL  NOTES. 
The  students  of  the  Forestry  School  returned 
from  their  tour  on  the  oth  December,  after  having 
been  away  nearly  si.v  weeks.  The  route  was 
from  Colombo  to  Kurunegalle,  across  country  to 
Dambool,  from  Dambool  lo  Nalande,  .Matale,  on 
to  Nawahq)itiya  and  Oalljotlde,  ending  up  with 
Ntiwara  Eliya  where  the  class  broke  up  and 
returned  to  Colomlio.  ' 'I'he  Conservator  of  Forests 
himself  accompanied  the  students  who  were  put 
through  a practical  training  in  foi-e.st  oj)erations 
besides  receiving  lectui-es  during  the  tour.  The 
weather  w'as  not  all  that  could  have  heen  desired, 
jjut  the  health  of  the  students  was  on  the  whole 
satisfactory.  We  understand  that  detailed  diaries 
have  been  kept  by  the  students  and  that  the  Con- 
servator of  Forests  means  to  have  the  best  of 
these  published. 
We  regret  to  hear  that  the  efforts  of  the  Assistant 
Conservator  of  Forests  of  Trincomallee  to  conduct  a 
Forestry  Magazine  have  not  met  with  success  owing 
to  a want  of  help  in  the  way  of  contributions 
from  the  members  of  the  Forest  Department,  and 
that  the  “Ceylon  Forester”  will  probably  cease 
to  appear  again  on  that  account. 
“Canary  Guano”  is  the  name  of  a new  “ com- 
pound manure”  a sam])le  of  which  has  been 
kindly  sent  us  by  Itlessrs.  Clark,  Toung  & Co. 
The  fertilising  ingredients  are  in  a very  concen- 
trated form  and  a very  small  quantity  of  the 
manure  goes  a long  way.  Canary  Guano  is 
specially  intended  for  garden  crops  and  should 
prove  very  useful  in  the  cultivation  of  vege- 
tables. 
The  Colonial  Veterinary  Surgeon,  Mr.  SturgesV 
left  for  Bombay  and  Karachi  about  the  middle 
of  December  in  order  to  select  and  purchase  a 
fresh  butch  of  Sind  Cows  for  the  Government 
Dairy,  lie  is  expected  back  early  in  January. 
Air.  Iloole,  Assistant  Veterinary  Surgeon,  whose 
station  is  Anuradhapura  is  attending  to  Air. 
Sturgess’s  duties  in  Colombo. 
Cattle  plague  has  been  working  great  havoc 
in  the  Northern  part  of  the  Island  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  season  reports  for  the  months  of 
October  and  November’. 
The  rainfall  in  December  may  be  said  to  have 
been  unprecedented.  In  some  parts  of  the  Island 
much  damage  was  done  to  crops  and  property 
and  traffic  was  greatly  impeded  by  washaways 
and  earthfalls. 
THE  FOREST  LAWS  OF  CEYLON. 
The  Pre.sent  Law  as  enacted  under  Ordi- 
nances No.  10  OF  1885  AND  No.  1 OF  1892. 
Chapter  I,  (Sections  1-.3,)  deals  with  the  Short 
Title  of  the;  Ordinance,  Repeal  of  certain  enact- 
ments and  fnterpretatioii  Section. 
Section  4.  Enacts  that  if  in  any  prosecution  or 
proceeding  under  the  Ordinance  a question  of 
title  should  arise  the  Court  or  officer  has  juris- 
diction for  the  purposes  of  the  prosecution  to 
try  and  determine  the  question  of  title,  but  that 
such  decision  shall  not  be  pleaded  in  bar  in  any 
Civil  Suit ; and  if  in  any  subsequent  action  bet- 
ween the  Crown  and  the  claimant,  judgment 
should  be  given  against  the  Crown,  the  forest 
shall  cease  to  be  reserved  from  the  date  of  such 
judgment. 
Reserved  Furesls. 
A preliminary  declaration  is  made  (Section  6) 
of  Avhich  the  object  is  to  intimate  to  the  public 
and  to  persons  interested  the  intention  of  Govern- 
ment to  ])r()ceod  to  the  constitution  of  certain 
tracts  as  reserv  ed  forests. 
This  declaration,  of  course,  must  specify  the 
limits  of  the  )>roposed  forest  otherwise  no  one 
can  tell  whether  he  will  be  all'ecteil  by  it  or  not. 
