Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist.” [January i, 1892. 
blister it. If mixed with milk they will ciir<lle 
it. Cattle will not touch them. 
Chihuithi nvisi or rice consists of the bulbous 
roots of 11 seilge, cypenis bulbo.su.s, which are used 
a.s flour in times of .scarcity, and are eaten roasted 
or boileil. Some dry them in the sun, 
them into meal, and make hriaul of it, while 
others stew them in curries and other dishes. 
This sod^je is found growing freely in Uelft and 
the northern part of the island generally. The 
Chilanthi is sometimes roasted and carried for 
sale together with gram. Il has rather an aro- 
matic and not uuplea.sant flavour, and is al-o 
known as mu.salai |mllu. Through the kindness 
of the (iovernment .Vgimt of the fs’orlheru Pro- 
vince some plants and bulbs of this .se.lg(- were 
lately .sent to the Colombo School of .Vgriculture. 
The Sinhalese kalanduru {Chipmni ratunduK) 
very common as a trouble.some wee<l in cultivated 
ground also produces tubers which are use<l medi- 
cinally by the natives. This sedge is howeverdistin- 
gulshed iiy its broader leaves from ('. Hr.rnrtuchi/i'^ 
C. Iiidbiims. Thwaites puts the two down with 
tenuijiurm, and C. Pertemm ns varieties of one and 
the same plant. Ifrury refers to C. He.tri.due/ii/ux 
as very common in India, especially on 
sandy soils ; the tubers being sold in the bazaars 
and used by perfumers on account of their fra- 
grance. In medicine the bulbs are u.sed as tonic 
and stimulant, ami have heeu employed in treat- 
ment of cholera. In the first state they are given 
in infusion as a demulcent in fever, atrd als<* 
used to cure <lysentery and diarrhrea. Pigs are 
fond of the root and' cattle eat the sedge. 
Pertennix also ])roduces aromatic tubers, which 
are used in Imlia for perfuming the hair. 
Srane grass see<lH were sent last year fi>r trial 
at the Scliool of Agriculture and were referred to 
as those of “ Lemesuria grass.” The oflicial after 
whom the grass was named, when referred to, 
kindly sui)plicd its name, viz., I’nspalum Ctmin- 
oatum. This is the broad-leaved savannah 
grass or sour grass of llarbadoes, which, says 
Mr. William Pi'rguson, was snpiiosed to be intro- 
duced to Ceylon ns a usi'ful fodder, by whom he 
does not say. It is a creeping grass and spreads 
very rapidly, fmpiently taking the place of other 
grasses and killing tliein, ns is proved by the 
manner it has grown at the School of Agriculture. 
The natives of the llatnapura ilistrict seem to 
make the most of the materials available for mat 
making. The following are the native names of 
mat-making materials : — Talkola, polkola, minu- 
wnn, potukola, haiikola, hlnpnn, hewnn, okeya, 
kadmuwan, tunheriya, inilikola, watekdyn, hal- 
pan. 
Dorana-tel is an oil extracted from the 
Dorna tree ( Diptvrocarpux ylnniluldsii*) which, 
says Thwaites, is easily recognised from other 
dipterocarpi by the glandular pubescence on the 
under side of its leaves, which is at first pale 
yellow, then red, aTid in the old leaves nearly 
black. The oil wliich is extracted from the wood 
as in the case of bora (1). Zeijlaniirux) has a strong 
resinous odour, and is used by painter.s. It is 
also mixed with the “ milk ” of kirriw'el (Ic/ino- 
carpiix frufexcenx) to produce a glue wdiich is 
smeared over a wicker frame fastened to a long 
])ole to capture flies which injure the tender 
Iiaddy ears. 
ROVKR. 
(il-lMiRAIi ITEMS. 
The ISotanist to the .Agricultural Department 
of Xew South Wales in his report, points out that 
one of tile problems of the western district of 
the Colony i.s to conserve the autumn and 
winter rains for the ensuing summer, since, 
in an incredibly short space of time, much of 
the storage water has been lost by evaporation, 
the re.sult being lo.ss to agriculturists. The 
opinion of the llotani.st, which is also held 
by Baron von .Mueller, is that certain floating 
aipiaatic plants will check the evaporation of 
water during the summer months. In comiiaring, 
some fourteen years ago, two ponds, one covereil 
with .\zolla rubra, a .small floating aipiatic idant, 
ail the other almost covered with the leaves of 
Nymphena gigantea, an aquatic plant rooteil in 
the mud, he found that the water in the 
])ond where the Azolhi was growing kept beauti- 
fully cool, and held out during the summer 
months, while the other was almost dried up. 
Subsequent observations fully confirmed his con- 
victiou that nature really inti uded these small 
aquatic jilants to jirevent the evaporation of 
water, whether deep or shallow, in warm 
climates. The fruits of many of the.se plants 
abound in farinaceous matter, and are of enn- 
sidei’able economic value. The absorption by the 
roots, which are as fine as hair, from a quarter 
of an inch to .‘1 inches long, and the transpi- 
tiou by their leaves, are exceedingly small in 
comparison with the beneficial check these 
Jilants have on the evajtoration of water. 
Thousands of jilants of- Azolln are now 
being sent to the ditt'erent tanks in .New South 
Wales. Of the jilants recommended by the 
Bof.nnist to the dcjuirlment for checking water 
evajioratiou from tanks, the following are iuili- 
genous to Ceylon : Trapa bixjtinuxn, Lemma 
minor and L. jHilyrhiza, and Azolla pinnntn. 
Jethro Tull, who is known us the father of 
modern husbandry, and who taught the farmer the 
value of drill culture as well as that deep 
jiloughing and pulveri.sation of the soil render 
a much smaller application of fertilisers nece.s- 
sary, was born at Basildon iu Berkshire in 
1674. He was educated at St. John’s, Oxford, 
was called to the bar, becunie a bencher, and 
after being wedded to music for a time, made 
the “ grand tour” previous to his entering jiublic 
life, but on his return circumstances changed 
his purpose and ho devoted himself to agri- 
culture. “ His deeds, his triumphs," said Dr. 
Johnson of Tull,” were of the peaceful kind, 
with which the world in general is little 
enamoured ; but their results were momentous 
to his native land.” Sir John Lawes said of him 
“ he was a century in advance of his time.” 
Jethro Tull died in' 1741. 
