208 
CULTIVATION OF KICE IN CEYLON. 
ested in keeping up the excitement about them. 
Hardly a man can be found who does not ex¬ 
pect to have some for sale. Even if he doe3 not 
admit it, he thinks of it, for where is the man 
who has paid $5 for a pair who would not nat¬ 
urally have an eye to a few V’s for his own 
trouble and expense, to say nothing of a regular 
speculator in the trade. T. B. Miner. 
Clinton , Oneida Co ., N. Y. 
——— \ -►«-.-:--7 
GUANO—HOW USED IN VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, 
AND DELAWARE. 
Experiments by some of the best planters in 
these states, during the last three or four years, 
have demonstrated that the most economical 
application of guano is at the rate of 200 pounds 
per acre, sown broadcast, upon very poor land 
prepared for wheat, and plowed in, no matter 
how deep, upon which sow the wheat and har¬ 
row or plow in without disturbing the guano. 
In no case, fail to sow clover upon the wheat, 
the time for which varies from November to 
May, in the opinion of different persons, for the 
benefit derived from the guano to the clover and 
through that to the land, is of more value than 
the wheat, and the average increase of that is 
at least, five bushels to the 100 pounds of guano 
used. 
The great fertilising principles of guano are 
phosphate of lime and ammonia, which is very 
volatile and should not be exposed to the action 
of rain and sun upon the surface of the ground, 
unless mixed with plaster, or some other absorb¬ 
ing substance. Solon. 
-- J 
CULTIVATION OF RICE IN CEYLON. 
There are no less than eleven kinds of paddy, 
(rice in the husk,) cultivated in the low grounds 
some of them requiring four months to come to 
maturity, and these are generally sown in 
March ; others three months, and they are sown 
in June. One kind must remain in the ground 
as long as five months; while another, reared 
in very low grounds, comes to maturity in two. 
The growth depends so entirely upon irrigation, 
that the seasons for sowing, which vary accord¬ 
ing to the district and kinds to be sown, must be 
chosen when the streams are full, or when a 
sufficient supply of moisture during the period 
of growth is insured by a continuance of rain, 
either in the locality itself or in the heights 
where the streams rise. 
The lands used for this lowland cultivation 
can be sown from season to season ; but the hill 
paddy, of which there are also many kinds, will 
only grow on a soil which has for many years 
been undisturbed; and partly from its being so 
exhausting a crop, partly from the poorness of 
the land, each crop requires newly-cleared land, 
and is never sown oftener than once a-year. 
Any deficiency of requisite moisture produces 
a total failure of the crops, and no artificial ma¬ 
nure is ever made use of, the natural soil being 
assisted only by the ashes of the wood fires. It 
has been reckoned that, in the cultivation of 
hill paddy, the labor of two men will produce 
sufficient for the maintainance of three persons ; 
whereas in the low grounds, the labor of one 
man will support three, and often more.— Quar¬ 
terly Journal of Agriculture. 
Lemmon Grass. —Of the native productions of 
Ceylon, the most remarkable, and one we be¬ 
lieve to be found nowhere else, is the lemon 
grass, ( Andropogon sckcenanthus,) which may be 
seen covering almost all the Kandian hills, and 
is the best possible pasture for cattle—at least 
as long as it is young. This species of grass is 
very hard, and grows to the height of seven feet, 
and sometimes higher, and has a strong but ex¬ 
tremely pleasant acid taste. It derives its name 
from having, when crushed, an odor like that of 
j the lemon, so strong that after a time it becomes 
quite heavy and sickening, although grateful 
and refreshing at first. It covers the hills in 
patches—those, at least, that are not overgrown 
with jungle and underwood—and is to be found 
nowhere but in the Kandian district.— Journal 
of Agriculture. 
The Use of the Field Roller in Cultiva¬ 
tion. —We have often adverted to the great ad¬ 
vantages of the roller on sandy soils. But while 
we deem its use almost indispensable to good 
crops on sandy, porous soils, we must claim for 
it a great advantage on almost any soil. After 
the ground has been thoroughly upturned and 
pulverised, it requires to be partially compact¬ 
ed again to render it suitable to hold the roots 
of plants firmly and give them their fullest sup¬ 
port, and most rapid growth. Many farmers 
prefer to let their plowed fields rest some days 
after preparing them to receive the crop, before 
sowing, so as to allow of the earth settling well 
together. It is preferable, however, first to sow 
the seed, then settle the earth firmly around it 
by the use of the most approved kind of field 
rollers. 
-- 
Singular. —A cow belonging to Robert R. 
Briggs, of South Adams, Mass., brought forth a 
fine red calf about two weeks ago. In five days 
after, the same cow brought forth another calf, 
of a cream color. 
