*57 
August I, iSg*-] Supplement to the Tt^opical Agyicnlhmst.'' 
the India Kalbiis and Cains of the ftelds. Such a 
traveller, he says, “ fuses his orientation^ and 
admires what he cannot understand. Orientation 
is a snfllciently good word for argumentative 
gurposea, hut Mr. Oman is quite clear as to the 
need for iinprovenieut in agricultural affairs. 
There must be more knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of agriculture. The farmers must be 
“set thinking along correct [i.e. scientific] lines," 
and “stimulated to work out improvements for 
themselves by learning what is done elsewhere," 
besides learning the “possibilities of science in its 
application to agriculture." 
But agriculture is not all. Among other subjects 
which may usefully engage the attention of the 
educated community, there are: the introduction 
and accUiuntiaation of foreign fruit trees and use- 
ful plants: dairy farming ; bee-keeping; sericul- 
tme; and pisciculture. Mr. Oman has also a 
word to say on the ikumI for acenratejimshoi work- 
manship in reganl to pottery and work in metals. 
But itis time to bring thispapor to a close. Surely 
in all these matters, there is a great deal that 
we in Ceylon may prnHtably take a note of. India 
IS a vast country compared with Ceylon; yet even 
here there is room for industrial ))rngress which 
shall be, ns Mr. Oman quotes : — 
‘‘ Ituilt of furthoi'iince, and pursuing; 
Not of spent deeds, but of doing. ’ 
BKL,. 
AC4RICC LTU UAL LlTKR.\TlKirA.MON(i THE 
ANCIE.NT ENDIANS. 
( Voncludeil. ) 
liy IV. A. Dr .Silva. 
In the coiirseof the chapter on Ganlening in the 
Brihat-Sumhitn. referred to in my pre\ iou.s papers 
on the above suliject, the autlior gives certain 
prescriptions and methods to induce cultivated 
jilants to assume various forms which are abnor- 
mal to them. These instructions in other wonls 
intended to bring about certain monstrosities 
in plants, such as would make them more valuable 
as food products or ornamental shrub.s. To quote 
the writer : — 
“To prialtice fruits of a icry large size which 
are devoid of seed, souk the seed of the pump- 
kin, or of the briujal or of the snake-gourd .te. 
in the serum of th(> fish or hog and dry thegeed. If 
the seed be then sown in good soil and watered, it 
will bear fruits of very large size and without 
■seed." 
Again: " iMake cakes of a mixture of sugar, 
rice flour, and .\fahwa (fiiissiri TMlifo/ia) llow'er 
buds, and cover with the cakes the roots of fruit 
trees throwing earth over the parts. The fruits 
will grow without seed." 
It is a well-know'n fact that in most fruit trees 
fruits without seed and consisting wholly of 
pulp are met with. This end is sometimes gaineil 
by the ]iroce.ss of liig], cultivation, when the 
edible cellular tissues in the fruits ilevelop to an 
abnormal e.vtent. lyhile at the same lime the seeds 
tend to diminish in number and size, and finally 
to disappear. From this, however, it is at least 
clear that as seedless fruits are naturally met with 
in trees, and especially when under high cultiva- 
tion, it is not improbable that they could be pro- 
duced l)y artificial means. 
Among some rules for the cultivation of, orna- 
mental ])lantB is found one which is said to cause 
the production of mauy-coloured flowers in the 
white waterlily. "Thrust the root of the A'l/wno/a 
(white waterlily) into a solution of a variety of 
colours, soak the root of the plant in urine, ruli over 
it ghee and honey, and sow the seeds that are 
produced. They will grow and bearfiowors of the 
several colours in wliich the root of the original 
plant was soaked." 
Now 1 shall proceed to give a few startling 
examples of rules we find in this ancient agricul- 
tural work. 
To make trees grow like creepers : “ Mix 
together the Hour of rice, black gram, and of 
sesamum seed.s, with the flour of barley, dead or 
decayed flesh, and a small quantity "of water. 
.Soak the seed of the Tamarind in the mixture and 
e.xpose it to the smoke of the root of the turmeric. 
The seed when sown will grow as a creeper.” 
Again : — " Dig a p>it in the ground a cubit 
s<iuare and two cubits deep, and fill it with a 
solution containing the extract of the flesh of the 
fish. Allow the pit to dry, helping it to get rid of 
the moisture by menus of fire. Rub the sidc.s 
and bottom with a mixture of honey, ghee and 
ashes; fill the pit with the flour of black gram, 
sesamum .seed, and of barley mixed with earth: 
pour over the pit the 'fish-water,' and j.ound 
the mixture .veil till it becomes hard. Sow any 
seed at a depth of four inches and water it witii 
the ‘ fish-water.' The seed will grow ns a fine 
creeper, ivith tender leaves over terraces and the 
roofs of houses in a most wonderful manner." 
“If the plaintain," wears uexttold, "be watered 
with a liquid mi.xturo consisting of the flesh, 
and serum of man, the powdered tooth of 
the elephant and water, the tree will yield mango 
fruits." 
The phenomenon of the change of taste 
in some cultivated vegetables and fruits by the 
application of certain manures is not quite new, 
ns it has been found out by experience that when 
pig's dung is used in the growth of certain vege- 
tables, it imparts apeculiar taste to them. So in all 
probability the special compost which is advo- 
cated above might give the plantains a flavour 
resembling that of the mango. But here is a 
recipe that beats all previous ones: — 
“ Soak any .seed many times in human flesh and 
the oil of AnUulu (Alanffinm Hexupetalum.) dic- 
ing the seed each time. Take a ((uantity of earth 
in the hand, bury the seed in it, and pour water 
over it, the seed will grow that instant.’ 
Now such curious prescriptions and recipes as 
have been quoted in this paper are by no means 
peculiar to the ancient Indians. Dr. -A. M. Ros.s 
in the course of a paper on t‘ Medical Delusions" 
in the ".lournnl of Ilygeio-Thernpy" says, that “one 
htiinlred ami forty years ago Dr. Sydenham of 
England, called the ‘English Hippocrates,' pres- 
cribed the following dainties in which he was 
followed by the medical profession of England : 
Hop lice, viper's flesh, dried human flesh, the heart 
of a mole, crab's eye, the excrement of sheep and 
dogs, powder of burnt owls ami swallows, blood 
of black cats and white puppies, and ejiittle of 
reigtiiiig king." — (Sydenham » Praxis Medica jip, 
l.’il-l.j-t.) 
So that if eastern pundits advised the use of 
peculiarly composed fertilizers for plants over a 
thousand years ago, western physicians have pres- 
cribed still more startling remedies for human 
beings less than two lumped years ago, 
