May I, 1892.] 
Supplment io the “ Tropical Agriculturist, 
873 
Euphorbiaceae, 
8:2. Aporosa Lindleyana, Buill. Sin. lvcl)oll:i. 
This i.s n troo growing in nncnltivafed planes, 
sometimos uttaining to 11 mefliura size bill often 
seen n.s a low shrub. The le.aves are ovate aiul 
entire, and have n shining green npipearanee. 
The tender leavo.s of this plant form a good 
vegetablo and are eaten made into enrries. 
' Tlie twigs are often used by native enltivators 
in shading small plants. 
W. A. Tin R. 
]3Ij.\CK SAxNI). 
The hlaek .sands which oeciir on llie .sea-, shore 
in some ]daces, are eompo.sed of titantiferons 
iron and magnetite — the in.soliihle re.sidne of smdi 
rocks ns ba.salt. Among other places, these sands 
are found in the Buy of Naples, Taranaki and 
New Zealand. 
Titaniferons iron ore (Ilmenite) an oxide of 
iron and Titanium, i.s black in colour, and occurs 
as a common acce.ssory mineritl in basalt and 
other allied igneoms rock.s. .Magnetite, fervoso- 
ferric oxide, is also black, magnetitic, and 
found ns an acce.ssory mineral in a very largo 
number of igneou.s roek.s, in some of whiehtas 
in basalt) it i.s often abundant. 
In 1868 the fact of the ocou’Tence of black 
sand around the Northern coast and the pos.si- 
bility of iron being remimernlively e.vtraeled from 
it, were brought to the notice of .Mr. (). Kus.sel, 
Government Agent of the. Northern Province, by 
the As.sistant Government Agent, .Mr. Massie. 
The^ former having communicated with the 
Hon bio theGolonial Secretary on the 6td>p‘Ct, a 
samplo was sent to the Gbamber of t'ommerce 
in order to ascertain it.s value. In the course 
of this ompiiry as to the commercial value of 
black sand, the .Master Attendant furnished some 
information from a Mr. Holliday of Calcutta, 
ifr. Holliday forwarded an analysis made by xMr. 
V<ahlie, (of the Chemical works at Calcutta.) who 
stated that the black sand contained :29'^ ot 
magnetic o.xide of iron consisting of % of 
the metal and 7 of o.xygen. No other metal 
was found to be present, and the. sand wnis 
said to resemble that of Canada and Now Zea- 
land, where, it was of value, and where restric- 
tions were placed on mining and digging for 
It. In Canada, where the black sand w.is found 
very pure and not mixed up wdtli silica and 
earthy mutter, gohl was a.ssocinted with it, and 
)t was stated lluit the occurrence of Idack sand 
indicated thn jiresenco of other melal.s. 
The late Dr. Koch, on being consulted, declared 
that no grajihite wuis present in the bl.'ick .sand, 
and that beside containing oxide of iron, it 
ahso contained black mercurial dust derived from 
gneiss or granite. He had not tested ipianti- 
tively for iron, but gave it ns hi.s opinion that 
he did not think there was sullicieiit iron pre- 
sent to pay cost of extraction. 
The ipiestion also aro.se n.s to where the hlaek 
sand which was so general, occurring as it did 
both in the North and , South coasts of the island. 
Came from; wdiether it was thrown up from the 
sea bottom or washed out by rivers from the 
land. Dr. Koch declared that it wois brought 
to the coast bj? the sea, being found generally 
in the vicinity of rocks, and was not, as sup- 
jiosed by some, carried into the sea by rivers 
from inland deposits. 
NOUTIIERN PROVINCE JOTTINGS. 
.\mong the fibre-producing trees of the northern 
province are: Thalai (Pnmlamie fnscwulariti), 
Atti (I'l'cu-'* f/lij7iu‘i-nia), inchn (Phnsnix zeylanica), 
.VI {Ficuk lleuyalensifi), Itti (ficu/t retusa), 
Maruvili {Cordia jmmica), Mural (Samiviera 
zeyUmicii), Erukalai ( Calotropis yiyantea), Vellam 
purri {Jlilictei'in Lwra), Vinnankn (Pterocarpua 
mherifoliiau). 
Other fibre-producing plants areVel-itti, Urali, 
Vedatal, Tekil, Velai, .\nnamanna, Kayaddi, Mara- 
illiipai. 
Pul-])nd<ly and pnll-rico are the grain of 
Pcmicuiti psibipadinni taken from ant nests where 
they have been stored after collection by the 
ant.s. Chilanthi rice con.sists ot the bulbs of a 
sedge ’yprenaua hiilboms). 
Tilhii wood oil is the product of the tillai tree 
(DipterDcnrpu.a fci'i'e) and tillai wa.x is a species of 
lac produced by the agency of an insect. Tillai 
wood tar is jirepared by burning dried chips of 
the wood of this tree ; it is purchased by toddj’- 
drawors to tar coconut and other palm trees to 
jirevont ants creeping into the toddy pots. The 
Tillai tree grows in marshy ground. Tilloi wood 
lav is a good substitute for ordinary coal tar. 
Palai oil is used like coconut oil, and there is 
a trade in this oil yet to be developed. The 
lioorer clas.ses go in crowds into the jungle in 
July and collect the fruit of the palai {Mimuttopa 
he.vandm) upon which they temporarily subsist. 
The expressed juice of the fruit keeps for 8 
or 9 months. The fruit is produced in abundance 
and is suitable for making jams and jellies. 
Margosa toddy is the sap which oozes from 
inargosa trees. It is said to be good for 
I heumatlsm. 
The honey of the large bee sells at about R6 
per gallon ; paddy and pepper are put into the 
lioney to prevent fermentation. The honey of 
the small bee is deficient in formic acid ; it does 
not keep well nor is it much used. 
Urupiray arrack is named after a village 
called Crupiruy. It i.s illicitly got from jaggery, 
toddy, ami vevel (Acacia Icucaphlaa) bark, and 
is of a white and red (coloured by barks) colour. 
U is much in favour. 
Mill coconut oil sells at about Rl'^fi per gallon; 
oilgol by boiling sells at d to 10 per cent higher; 
giiigelly, ilupai (8in. .l/ftiand margosa at Rfi 
jier gallon ; piinmii (Sin. /lowfw) and castor-oil 
lildO ]ier gallon; cow-gh«e at R(3 per gallon; 
Imfl’iiloegheo ut 111. 
Other animal oils and fats besides ghee, pre- 
jwred in the North, are fish oil got from the 
fat of fi.sh and used for mi.xing with resins fq 
