]\lAY  1,  1897.]  Supplement  to  the  ^^Trop)icxil  Agricultural.'''' 
in  Ceylon  mentioned  in  Uigby’s  Fifty  Years 
in  a Crown  Colony,  vol.  ii.,  page  218;  the 
person  referred  to  in  the  extract  is  Mr.  J.l. 
Lorensz  (fatlier  of  Mr.  C.  A.  Lorenszi  who  was 
at  the  time  .\fagistrate  of  Matara.  “Diuiog  his 
tei'.nre  of  oftice  under  Government  he  made 
several  valuable  reports  on  the  agricultural 
conditio!!  of  that  part  of  the  Island  with  wliich 
he  was  more  intimately  familiar,  and  Bennett, 
in  his  Ceylon  and  its  Capabilities,  mentions  the 
fact  that  he  was  the  first  to  try  tlie  cultivation 
of  the  potato  in  the  Island.” 
We  are  glad  to  hear  good  accounts  of  .Tadoo 
from  the  .Superintendent  of  the  Victoria  Park 
to  whom  we  .sent  a bale  of  the  fibre.  Mr. 
Alwis  is  greatly  plea.sed  with  the  results  which 
have  attended  its  uae  both  in  germination  as  well 
as  ordinary  growth.  Among  other  plants  on 
which  the  fibre  wiis  trid  ferns  showed  up 
welt,  and  Jadoo  is  found  a particularly  suitable 
medium  for  orchids.  Ylr.  Alwis  used  the  libi-e 
with  a due  proportiDii  of  soil,  and  we  have 
ourselves  found  that  it  is  necessary  to  mix 
the  two,  as  when  pure,  .Tadoo  would  seem 
to  become  heated  at  our  temperature.  We 
would  again  remind  those  to  whom  we  have 
supplied  samples  of  the  fibre  that  it  must  be 
well  comminuted  before  use.  As  a mulch  for 
plants  grown  in  the  open  we  found  Jadoo 
answer  admirably  during  the  drought  that 
preceded  the  late  rains. 
Mr.  Cyril  Barber  who  received  his  training  at 
the  .School  of  Agriculture,  and  has  been  in  charge 
of  “ The  Grove  Ukuwella,  left  Ceylon  on  a 
holiday  trip  to  England  on  the  I4th  ultimo. 
He  returns  in  six  months. 
Mr.  F.  C.  Fernando  (son  of  Mr.  Austin  Fernando 
of  Colombo)  who  was  trained  at  the  School 
of  Agriculture,  and  afterwards  joined  the  Forestry 
School,  has  been  appointed  Forest  Guard  at  Anu- 
radhapuca.  Mr.  Fernando  had  a most  creditable 
career  in  both  the  Agricultural  and  Forestry 
Schools,  and  we  wish  him  all  success. 
The  following  is  a list  of  the  Agricultural 
students  who  were  given  appointments  in  the 
Forest  Department;  Messrs.  Dissanayake,  Tia- 
thonis,  Kcdippily,  Rajapakse,  Mendis,  Ratnayake, 
Fernando,  Handy,  and  Weerasuriya.  Messrs.  De 
Silva  and  Wijeyratne  have  also  held  acting 
appointments. 
We  have  heard  with  regret  of  the  death  of 
Mr.  J.  A.  Kodippily,  one  of  the  most  pu’omising 
of  the  students  who  were  trained  at  the  School 
of  Agriculture.  Mr.  Kodippily  was  an  officer 
of  the  Forest  Department. 
An  Agri-Horticultural  Show  was  held  at  Xuwara 
Eliya  on  the  26th  and  27th  of  March,  and,  from 
all  accounts,  was  a very  successful  exhibition. 
It  is  a matter  for  regret  and  discouragement 
to  find  that  the  Government  could  not  have 
seen  their  way  to  allow  agricultural  students 
the  modest  conce.s.sion  of  travelling  free  by  rail  to 
be  present  at  the  Show.  The  oftener  agricultural 
Shows  are  held  the  better  for  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  Colony,  but  we  should  wish  to 
see  a few  more  Shows  organized  solely  in  the 
interests  of  tlie  native  agricultural  indU'tries, 
on  the  lines  of  the  successful  Show  held  at 
Dalugama  some  years  ago  under  the  patronage 
of  the  late  Mr.  George  Wall. 
CHE  M ICAL  MANURES. 
Not  long  ago  one  r.f  the  local  papers  pointed  out 
the  evils  that  may  be  expected  to  arise  for  the  want 
of  proper  checks  on  the  sale  of  manures. 
Fertilizers  are  essential  for  successful  or  con- 
tinued cultiviition  of  any  j)roduct  whatevt'r,  hence 
in  purchasing  them  we  naturally  wisli  to  have 
.some  gnarantei!  of  their  jntrity  in  order  to  avoid 
disappointment,  afterward.  The  composition  of 
chemical  manures  may,  of  coursi',  difl'i'r  in  difi’enml. 
sainjiles  from  natural  causi's,  and  not  through 
the  interference  of  man.  If  the  lertilizing  |)Ower 
varies  with  tlieir  compo.sition  then  the  value  of 
manure.s  must  likewise  vary,  aiul  they  must  not  be 
expected  to  have  a lix(‘<l  price.  .No  country  is 
free  fi'om  the  unscrupulous  dealei',  who  taking 
advantage  of  the  good  faith  of  his  cusfomer.s,  sells 
hi.s  stuffs  at  a jirice  higher  than  tiedr  iictnal  value  ; 
and  if  this  deception  is  possible  in  other  forms 
of  merchandise,  much  more  so  is  it  in  the  manure 
trade,  the  quality  and  value  of  which  is  not  easily 
made  out.  In  spite  of  the  addition  of  sand, 
earth,  coal  dust  and  other  adulterants,  manures 
can  still  be  made  to  preserve  the  appearance, 
colour,  fineness  and  even  smell  of  pure  articles, 
though  these  mi.xtures  have  very  little  value. 
It  is  said  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  manure 
industry  artificial  mixtures  of  no  value  what- 
ever were  fraudulently  disposed  of  to  ignorant 
farmers.  Such  useless  substances  not  only 
caused  temporary  disappointment  and  failure  to 
those  who  depended  u])on  them,  but  brought  dis- 
credit on  the  real  stuffs  whicl!  the  fraudulent 
mixtures  were  intended  to  represent.  Those  who 
dealt  in  these  “frauds"  did  not  anticipate  that 
prejudices  once  formed,  particularly  among  thele.ss 
educated,  are  not  easily  eradicated,  and  tliat  they 
(the  deiilers)  were  helping  to  work  their  own  ruin 
as  well  as  that  of  the  manure  trade;  and  if  a 
check  had  not  been  placed  on  these  “frauds,”  it 
is  quite  possible  that  the  use  of  chemical  fertilizers 
would  have  been  entirely  abandoned  by  this. 
Wherever  agriculture  receives  the  protection  of 
Government,  as  it  does  in  every  civilized  country, 
there  are  special  laws  to  regulate  the  sale  of 
manures.  Ceylon  is  one  of  the  few  countries 
that  has  no  Government  institution,  which 
being  concerned  with  all  matters  agricultural,  can 
offer  to  give  a correct  opinion  and  valuation  of 
manures  at  a moderate  fee.  And  yet  we  have 
representative  members  of  Council  calling  for  the 
abolition  of  the  present  School  of  Agriculture, 
which  far  from  being  thus  threatened,  should 
be  aided  and  re-organized,  so  that  it  might  bring 
forth  the  same  e.xcellent  results  that  are  pro- 
duced by  similar  institutions  in  other  countries. 
What  could  be  e.xpected  from  an  institution 
which  has  no  funds  to  e.vpend  in  procuring 
draught  cattle,  carts,  implements,  manures,  seeds, 
plants  and  all  the  necessaries  for  making  a suc- 
cessful .\gricultur.d  School  ? The  wonder  is  how 
it  has  done  its  work  in  the  absence  of  all  these! 
But  to  return  to  my  subject.  The  purchasers 
of  manures  shoidd  not  p.ay  for  them  at  random — 
at  so  much  per  cwt.,  but  at  a certain  rate  per 
unit  of  the  important  ingredients  contained  iu 
