444 
Sujjplement to the “ Tropical A gricuUuristl 
[Dec. 1, 1897. 
corn and grains consists in the emploj^ment of 
■bisulphide of carbon. The quantity required, pro- 
vided the grain is kept in closed vessels, is 
very minute— not more than I3 lb. to each ton 
of grain — so that 8cf, is the cost of preserving 
a ton of wheat. Tlie bisulphide leaves no dis- 
agreeable taste or smell behind, and the quality 
of the grain remains unimpaired. When bags 
are used instead of the iron cylinders specially 
prepared for use in the bisulphide process, the 
protective influence of this chemical soon ceases, 
and a fresh application of the bisulphide must 
be made. In either case the liquid is aj>plied 
as follows. A ball of tow is tied to a stick 
of such a length that it can just be plunged 
into the middle of the vessel containing the 
grain. The tow receives the charge of bisulphide 
like a sponge and is then at once plunged into 
the sack or cjdinder and left there, the mouth 
being closed tightly. When necessary the stick 
may be withdrawn and the charge (1 oz. bisul- 
phide to 100 lb. grain) renewed. 
(Note by F. W. Cabaniss, Asst. Director of 
Agriculture, Burma, on the Prevention 
and Destruction of Black tteevil.') 
I have been trying for several years a number 
of experiments, with the object of finding a 
cheap and simple method of preventing the 
ravages of this weevil. I think that I have 
found it in the use of naphthalene powder. My 
method of using the powder is here given for 
the benefit of the grain dealers of Burma. It 
is best to place the nnphthalene powder at 
the bottom of the bin or bulk of grain. To 
accomplish this take a bamboo, about inches 
in diameter and long enough to reach from the 
top to the bottom of the bulk of grain. Punch 
the joints out of the bamboo, so as to be able to 
pass a stick through from one end of the bamboo 
to the other. Have the stick made to fit the 
cavity in the bamboo. Pass the bamboo, with 
the stick in it, down through the bulk of grain 
from the top to the bottom. Withdraw the 
stick, and drop into the top of the bamboo 
about half a teaspoon of naphthalene powder. 
The bamboo can then be drawn out, as the na- 
phthalene is safe at the bottom of the bulk of 
grain. If the bulks are large this should be 
done once to every 10 feet square of the bulk. 
Repeat the application every 15 or 20 days as 
the powder evaporates. 
The weevil that can leave the grain will do 
so, and those that cannot leave are killed by 
the odour of the naphthalene. I do not believe 
that naphthalene thus used can cause any injury 
whatever to grain. For seed purposes the germi- 
nating powers appear not to be affected in the 
least. For marketable grain the colour is not 
affected, and the odour will leave in a short 
time if fresh naphthalene is not applied to it. 
The quantity of powder used is infinitely small 
in proportion to the quantity of grain, and the 
powder is entirely destroyed by evaporation, so 
that for food purposes the effect is nil. 
Naphthalene powder can be procured at the 
Medical Halls in Rangoon at Rs. 2-8-0 per ounce, 
and a feAv ounces of it will be sufficient for one 
season for any grain dealer in Burma. 
[There are two species of weevil ( Curculionidae) 
belonging to the division Bhyncophora which at- 
tack stored wheat and other grain. One is 
Calandra (Sitophilus) Granaria, and the other 
Calandra ( Sitop>hilus) Oryzae. The former is 
found piincipally in Europe America and Canada. 
The latter which requires a high temperature 
iS chiefly confined to India and other liot climates.] 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
Good coca leaves yield '5 per cent or more 
of cocaine, but the average is less, and if fer- 
mented often nil. The London market price of 
cocaine in J uly 1897 was 9s. 3d. to 9s. 6d. per oz. 
Great care must be taken in the gathering, 
drying and preservation of cocoa, as its activity 
and value depend in a great measure on its 
mode of preparation. The leaves should be gathered 
as soon as they have arrived at maturity, at 
which period they are bright-green on the upper 
surface, and yellowish green on their under surface, 
and have an agreeable and somewhat aromatic 
odour. The leaves are gathered separately and 
carefully by hand with the two-fold object 
of preventing them from being crushed or 
bruised in the process, and also so as not to 
injure the young leaf buds which are left behind 
for the purpose of obtaining a second crop of 
leaves. They are then spread out and dried 
slowly in the sun. The operation must be per- 
formed with great care, for if the leaves be 
dried too rapidly, they lose their odour and 
green colour ; and if stored before they are 
thoroughly dried their colour is also changed, 
and they acquire a disagreeable odour and taste. 
Commercial coca either consists of the leaves 
more or less pressed together in compact masses 
or of the leaves in a loose state. In either case 
the leaves are not curved or rolled in any 
degree, but perfectly flat. The properties in the 
leaves are injured by transportation and often 
by keeping ; they should therefore be packed 
in tin-lined cases.— (J. F. Bailey in the Australian 
Tropiculturist.) 
Hygroryza aristata (Sin. Gojabba) is what is 
commonly known as “ wild rice.” It is an aquatic 
grass found floating on the surface of water 
or creeping on wet land. The grain, w'hich in 
India ripens in September, is there eaten by the 
poorer classes who collect it by sweeping the 
heads of the grass with baskets. According to 
Roxburgh, cattle are fond of the plant. We have 
not heard of the grain being consumed in Ceylon. 
There are three varieties of gingelly (Sesamum 
indiewn) from which oil and poonac are got, 
viz., the white, black, and red-seeded varieties. 
All are extremely rich in oil, but especially the 
first mentioned. According to analyses Dr, Leather, 
Agricultural Chemist to the Government of India, 
'white gingelly contains 48' 13 per cent of oil, 
black 46 'oO, and red 46'20 per cwt. of oil, 
while the percentages extracted by the country 
mill were 38T, 30-9, and 30 9 respectively. 
Artificial Indiarubber, the most recent pro- 
duct of the laboratory, which is a mixture of 
