October I, 1891.] 
Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist." 
291 
School of Agriculture is about to bo laid under 
cumbu. 
A siniill i(imntity of the seed of Lathi/rus 
Si/Ji-esIf iKUtv uxperimentnl cultivation at (be 
School of Agriculture, bus been indented for. 
Of Cholum ('iSbry/nort Vulijarv) there an; t wo 
varieties gro^^•n in South indin, Songuebolum 
and Arisicboluni. In the former the grain has 
many busks, in the hitler the grain is visible 
protruding over the busk. The former Variety 
which is raised for fodder mayor may not jirodiice 
oars. It principally follow.s cotton. Cbolum 
straw is wholly consumed without any port ion 
being rejected. The crop is reaped in 4 months 
close to the ground, the roots remaining or 
not, as the soil i.s hard or soft, in the 
ground. AI)out three cartload of 40 bundles 
each is .said to be a fair outturn of fodder. 
C'holum i,s grown as a grain croj) without rotat ion 
■where sand ]>redominates, and the grain of this 
Aruichotum i.s eaten by the poorer classes. The 
straw and chaff are given to cattle, but consump- 
tion of the grain by them is said to be attended 
■'vith distention of the stomach. The albuminoid 
ratio of cbolum straw is the lowest of all Indian 
foilders, but, says Dr. VanGoyzel, Chemical 
It.vaminer, Madras, “without further information 
as to the digestibility of the straw.itisuotpo.ssible 
in reference to the analysis of cbolum to e.vplain 
the high rejnite in wl'iich the fodder is hold, 
although in riaspect of the total amount of 
nutriment contained in it, it is supei'ior to all 
the other Iiulian fodder straws. ’ 
The Ayrictillurnl (razette of New South AVales 
declares that the value of Sorghum (Son/hnm 
iSacchnratum) for the food it furnishes to' man 
in the form of Hour from grain, of sugar, and 
of mollasses, and to animals in t he form of green 
fodder, ensilage or grain, has not been fully re- 
cognised. Its value us a source of sugar has 
been conclusively shown in the United States by 
e.vhanstive investigations, and the llnancial results 
of a number of sorghum sugar factorie.s, to be 
a highly commercial one. The plant also furnishes, 
in addition to sugar, a large (|uantity of syrup 
ol the best quality, seed, and other by-piroducts 
of commercial value. It is, in factj a plant 
■'vhich has been found to pay tire farmer to cul- 
tivate. Sorghum is said to succeed wherever 
maize will grow, and provided it gets a good 
stand in t\'o earlier part of the season, will even 
flourish during a drought far too severe for maize. 
Three to four crops cun bo obtained in a year 
from sorghum, which, whether in the form of 
green food or chopjied with straw, i.s very much 
relished by .stock. The clean aood, a.s food to 
man or animals, is fully equal in value to either 
maize or oats, and but little inferior to wheat, 
fl'ho average yield of seed may he put ilown at 
flO bushels per acre. 
SOMiS USEFUL EXOTIC PLANTS. 
1. The Ikmia Lutifolia. 
Among the plants which Mr. J. William 
of llenarutgoda has growm for sale, there are 
several very useful ones, wliich would readily 
flnd a home in the Island and prove to be 
highly remunerative. Among these is the 
Maluiwah tree {IlasAa lutifolia.) The genus Bassia 
is represented in Ceylon by a widely-growing 
and iweful timber live, the ft. tonyifolia. Apart 
from the uses to which the timber of this 
treo is put, wo liml the villagers making its 
fruits and flowers nrticle.s of food. The sweet 
syrup obtaiuoil by boiling the flower calyices 
is used liy the poorer classes in the interior 
villages for making certain sweets. It is believed 
that the hard cement which is met with in 
ancie.nt structures of Ceylon wa.s formed with 
the syrup of Mi, and the large forests of 
Mi trees which existed at the period would 
liave supplied this article to a large e.vtent. The 
/iaseiri lati/olia i.«, however, not indigenous 
to the island. This plant would ap- 
pear to be of very great economic value, 
and it is being at the present day in- 
troduced into many countries. It grows well 
in India, and the extension of its cultivation is 
contemplated bj' the Indian Forest Department. 
Tlio tree is a very handsome growth, attaining 
a height of from forty to sixty feet, and it 
thrives in dry stony soil, and in fact grows 
well in all soils at the soa-level and up to 
very high elevation, s. The tlower.s are used in 
di.stilling. a .spirit. very much resembling arrack; 
and a single treo bears from itK) to 400 lbs. 
of flowers in a season. On account of the largo 
pcrcciitago of .saccharine matter found in them, 
they are used as an article of food both for 
man and boast, apart from their value ns pro- 
ducers of spirit. The seed, like our country 
Bas.sin, the Mi tree of the Sinhalese, contain 
a large jiorcentage of oil, and this oil is used 
for lighting purposes and in the manufacture 
of candles and soap. The oil cake is also valued 
as a food for cuttle and a good fertilizer. 
Tlie timber of this tree is hard and .strong, and is 
used for carriage wheels, railway sleepers, &c., 
while a gum is obtainable from the bark. 
The cultivation of the plant pro.sents no dif- 
ficulties, and it recommends itself for growth 
in an.v plantation. It would be well it our 
Forest Department nl.so decided on planting the 
tree in the different districts of the Island. 
Not only will it be a means of adding to the 
food supplies of the villagers, but also ns a mentis 
of adding to the revenue. Besides, the extension 
of the railway system in the Island necessitates 
the importation of timber, and this fact should 
weigh with the Forest Department authorities 
in deciding, on the cultivation of such useful 
exotic timber trees ns the Mahawah tree. 
W. A. D. S. 
THE CULTIVATION OF THE COCONUT PALM. 
11 . 
Having selected the .seed nuts, they should ho 
])lanted in rows in a horizontal iiosition, suftlciently 
dee]) to ])roperly cover the germinating side, 
in beds, which .should be divideil by narrow path.s 
for conveuienco in watering. ^ The nuts are gene- 
rally ]>ut down in the nurseries ns close together 
as possil)le, — say with a four Anger breadth space 
between two. The beds may advantageoulsy be 
repared between two rows of palms, or in the 
