The traditional still has acapicity of about 50kg and is made usually of steel or sometimes tin-lined copper. But the best metal to use is stainless steel. The still body is built over a brick and mortar hearth with a direct fire-heating arrangement. The chips, quills or quillings are packed into the still which is filled with three quarters water. The condenser tubes are usaully made of steel and immersed in a static water tank. A series of vessels made out of stainless steel collects the condensed volatile oil-water mixture which distils over form the still. The distillate at first separates into two fractions, one lighter and the other heavier than water. The distillation water is collected in large clay pots used again for the next distilaltion. A typical modern still is fabricated genially out of stainless steel. Usually it would consist of an external boiler, still body and a condenser using circulating water.
Harvesting of Cocoa
The tree comes into bearing in the 4th year. The fruit takes about 5 months to develop into maturity. The main harvesting period (
A harvest is possible every 7-10 days during the season. Pick only the fully ripe pods which are usually orange or yeallow coloured. If pod rot is prevalent, the fruits may be picked slightly earlier to prevent losses due to disease. Use a sharp knife to cut the fruit stalk. Exercise care when cutting, not to damage the flower cushions or bark as pod rot infection can easily spread through the wounds. A man can pick up to 1,500 pods per day.
Open the pods as soon as possible after picking, using preferably a wooden mallet. When pods are opened with a knife, some beans tend to damage. Collect the wet beans in gunnies or cane baskets but never in iron or copper vessels.
Labels: Agriculture
Importance of plants as a landscape material
Plants perform a variety of functions in the design of the environment. They are used as landscape materials, which define space, provide attractive foliage, flower, fruit, and or bark, and serve functional purposes. Properly used plants are one of the most important landscape materials used for the organization and definition of the outdoor space for human use and enjoyment.
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Spatial definition with plants means to create an interesting, functional and solid mass and void composition. The plants are the mass and the empty spaces are the void- Both planned for people. For example plants may define space in the landscape by serving as a canopy, an enclosure, a baffle a surface mass, or as a single specimen. Overhead branches providing an open space below create a plant canopy. An enclosure may be a shrub border, a high or low hedge, and a mass of shrubs or a baffle. A baffle is arrow of trees through which pedestrian circulation may flow, but yet the row serves as a partial enclosure or a screen.
The space created by the use of plants and other materials in the landscape is as important as the plants and objects occupying the space. Basically the formation of these spaces is what landscape Architecture is all about. The creation and design of out door space for people. This is not to say that the use of plants in the landscape is all of landscape Architecture. It is important to remember that in a mass or void planting composition the voids (spaces) areas important as the masses (plants) (Colvin 1997).
Labels: Agriculture
Harvesting of Cinnamon
The true cinnamon, also called Ceylon cinnamon, is the dried bark of Cinnamomum verum species belongs to the family Lauraceae. It is indig enous to Sri Lanka. However, the word cinnamon also denotes hark, of other species of Cinnamomum such as C. Cassia, C. burmanni, C. loureirii etc. The bark of those trees is inferior in quality to the true cinnamon. Cinnamomum verum is an evergreen tree with spirally arranged, broad laminated dark green leaves having palmate venation. The plant grows to aheightof 10-15m with astern, girthof 30 - 50cm under natural conditions. When coppiced from time to time it could be maintained as bush of 2-2. 5m height with multiple stems arising from its base. The flowers are small. Creamy and inconspicuous developing into dark purple ovoid one seeded berries, about 1.5-2.5cm long.
In Sri Lanka, cinnamon seems to have originated in the central hills where several species of cinnamon occur sporadically in places such as Kandy, Matale, Belihull Oya, Haputale and the Sinharaja forest range. Although cinnamonn cultivation is presently concentrated along the coastal belt stretching along from Negombo to Matara, it has also made inroads to the inland of kalutara, Ambalangoda, Matara and Ratnapura,. The extent under cinnamon in Sri Lanka is 15,500ha. Although, the bulk of cinnamon plantations is about70-80years old the sizeof holdings has been diminishing and only about 5-10% of the plantations are of sizeable extent ranging from 8-10ha
Sri Lanka commands about 60% of the world export market, and exports about 7,000 tonnes of quills and chips per year. Large quantities of cinnamon leaf oil and in increasing quantity of bark oil are being exported. Seychelles is the other country which produces sizeable quantities of cinnamon bark.
This prompts tillering. Normally, the harvesting of the mature sticks is done following the two rainy seasons after the new flush of leaves have hardened. At this time the bark peels off easily.
However, harvesting during other parts of the year can also be done and is being practised by some planters. But under very good management conditions, harvesting could be done more than two times per year. Such a practice coupled with split application of fertilizer can help to increase the yield. While harvesting, the tops and branches are lopped off and left on the ground to be used for leaf oil distillation. The sticks are collected and carried to the peeling shed. Peeling is done with a small round knife having a point on one side for ripping. After scraping the sticks clean of the corky tissues the peeler rubs them with a brass rod to loosen the bark from the hard wood. He then draws a longitudinal slit from end to end and works the knife between the bark and the wood till he has raised it about half inch wide. The stick is then turned and another slit opposite to the former is drawn by working the knife and the bark is detached from the wood in two halves. These barks are connected one inside the other until 106.7cm long quills are made Packing has to be done with great care using the small pieces of bark and chips obtained from the unpeelable bark from twigs to fill the inside of quills. These are then air dried on rope strands indoors till they are fit for handling.
In the above process of quill making, the final job in the handling consists of pressing in the edges of the out side piece wherever necessary and trimming the ends with pair of scissors. Quills are next arranged on rope strands indoors for indoor drying . Sun drying is not recommended as high temperature wraps the quills. A well made cinnamon pipe will be of uniform thickness, colour and quality. The edges should have been neatly joined in a straight line from end to end. The ends should resemble a tight roll of paper. The whole structure should feel firm and compact under thumb pressure. Quills are tied in bundles of 45kg each for easy handling.
Labels: Agriculture
Seed propagation of Cinnamon
Ripe fruits are collected from selected mother trees with desir able characteristics of,
a. erect stems with smooth bark
b. vigorous growth
C. easiness of peeling the stem bark
d. free from pest and diseases
e. good quality characteristics; sweetness, pungency and flavour.
This can be judged by tasting the bark and / or petiole - " the bite test."
The collected fleshy berries are left in heaps for about 2-4 days in shade to soften and rot. The pulp is then removed and the seeds are washed and air dried. The over fermented and partially filled seeds should be removed and the cleaned seeds should be sown without much delay as the viability will be lost if stored over a longer period. The viability tests conducted using sand medium indicated that within three weeks, it losses germination to about 40% and by 5th week the germination is about 5% -10% and there is a complete loss of germination after 7th week. The prepared seeds could be sown in three different ways depending on the method of establishment.
a. Direct seeding in the field
This method of planting consists of digging holes of 0.3m. cube at a spacing of 1.2mxI.2m filling the same with top soil and sowing 15-20 seeds per hole. In this system there will be undue competition between seedlings emerged and also they take much longer time to cover up the field. Poor establishment was evident due to undue changes in environmental conditions.
b. Seed-bed or cinnamon ball method
The raised beds of Im width and to a convenient length are made with adequate provision for drainage. The beds are cultivated upto about 30- 40cm depth and soil is loosen to get very fine soil structure as it helps
the seed germination and root development. The planting holes of about 4cm diameter and to about 4-8cm depth are prepared at 10cmx20cm using a peg. These holes are then filled with some fine structured soil and sow7-10numberof seeds and just covered with a layer of soil. The beds may be watered daily. The beds have to be provided with artificial shade. Germination of seeds starts in about 20 days. The shade should continue until the plants are about 12cm in height and there after removed gradually. When the plants are of about 3-4 months old, weaker ones may be removed leaving three vigorous plants in a planting point. Plants are ready for planting out in the field in 8-10 months time. Before uprooting the plants, the beds should be thoroughly watered and remove the plants with some soil without damaging the root system and made good root ball. It would be an advantage if this ball is supported with thick mud slurry. These balls can be transported to the field for planting.
c. Raising seedlings in the polythene bags
The seed maybe sown in polythene bags of 10cmx20cm filled with good potting mixture containing equal parts of top soil and well rooted cow dung. Seeds at the rate of 5-7 per may be sown and 3 vigorous seedlings retained in each bag after thinking out the weak ones. Plants are ready for field planting after 8--10 months.
The atkins diet menu is based upon protein diet to achieve weight loss. There are weight loss supplements for women in all the journals and magazines on health and nutrition the best supplements for weight loss are none else than a balanced diet and regular exercising. The hoodia weight loss supplements are relatively new in the market thus have not gained public trust. The tenuate dospan is not the best diet pill which is made available in the health shops.
Labels: Agriculture
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How to prevent colon cancer?
How to prevent colon cancer?
If you have colon cancer symptoms meet your doctor immediately. This is very important for the prevention of colon cancer. Symptoms of colon cancers are,
(Keep in mind colon cancers are symptom less in early stages)
In later stages,
- Thin stools
- Cramping
- Weight loss
- Blood in stools
To prevent colon cancer get a colonoscopy done.
This is very important if you are 50 years or more.
Take a balanced diet
It has been suggested that red meat increases the risk of colon cancer. Dietary fiber can prevent constipation and it is also protective against colon cancer.
Stop smoking
Carcinogens in the cigarette smoke can initiate colon cancer. Quitting smoke is your first step towards the prevention of colon cancer.
Stop eating processed food.
Most processed foods contain potential carcinogens and stop eating processed food really help to prevent colon cancer.
Counsel for genetic predisposition to colon cancer
Meet your doctor and talk about it if one of your close relatives are having colon cancer.
Exercise regularly to prevent colon cancer.
This will reduce the risk by 40%
