832 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May I, 1884. 



is rather steep, and has got a beautiful waterfall, 

 much resembling Devon loaUrfaU, and the soils in 

 the valleys are a great depth and a rieh chocolate 

 colour. Now we gozu from the great pass towards 

 Siam. Wo see the great Wwahla-bo mountain — almost 

 you would think you could shake hands with his 

 battlements. There is another large mountain towards 

 the south, but I do not know its name. I think 

 it must be "Mai-bhoora" pass, and perhaps may claim 

 that name. The route is irregular and hilly, and great 

 dales ; great mighty trees, a great number of 

 old Ceylon friends— na, mora, xoild bread-fruit, 

 kina, jak, wanarani, malaboda, dun, lots on the 

 edges,— sa^JW in fact, nearly all the Ceylon timbers 

 and a great many more t)iau I know as yet. 1 found 

 the wild " Yerba Mate " tree near the nver-edge and 

 lota of wild tea in the ridges, a few rubbers, lig variety, 

 and loaded with figs on the stem rieh in milk, a 

 thick creamy milk ; lots of sapanwood also near 

 the river and tidal creeks nearer Tavoy ; several 

 gamboges of the maugosteeu variety. We reached 

 the foot of the range in three marches from Tavoy 

 town, and computed tiie distance to be about 20 or 22 

 miles, perhaps may be a little more or less— cannot 

 guarantee distance well in the jungle ; in a thick, 

 dense wooden jungle, such as Burma is. 



The chief rivers are the Tenasserim and Tavoy : the 

 former is remarkable for its two sources, the one 

 rising in the north and tiowiug south to the Karing 

 village of Mtl-ta, where it is joined by the latter, 

 which takes its source about 8U miles due south of 

 the source of the first and flows north ; after unit- 

 ing, they flow due eastn ard, then turn south and 

 shortly enter the Mergui district. Tiie Tavoy river 

 has its source in the Ma Ulwi spur, and, flowing 

 southward through a narrow valley and ted by 

 numerous mountain torrents, falls into the sea at 'J'avoy 

 Point about 40 miles Ijelow the town of Tavoy ; it 

 is navigable for about 32 miles above the 

 town of Tavoy by boats not drawing more than three 

 or four feet of water. The low hills east of the town 

 of Tavoy and those at ishenny-dba-wai above and at 

 Pandaw and Ka-neh-bha-ree below, are all formed 

 of alluvium composed chiefly of gravel with 

 small boulders of sandstone, conglomerate and 

 quartz; this is again coveted with soil of the 

 same material decayed and oxidized. The plains are 

 composed of a still clay occasionally highly ferrugin- 

 ous. The soil near 'iavoy will require to be well 

 worked up, and from my own experience 1 know there 

 is great strength and all the qualities that tea, cacao, 

 caidamom, rubber and Yerba Mate and Liberian 

 cottec require, and no doubt "old King Coffee" will 

 flourish nicely in a proper situation. 1 have great 

 faith in good old Collea Arabica yet, and time will 

 prove this. Ceylon men, be kind to your coffee ; in 

 proper aspects and suitable soils do not despair, 

 Providence never means to ruin jou, no, never, only 

 to enlighten you and teach you never to trust to 

 one, but to many, anil enlighten you in your several 

 arts and callings; but be kind to the plant that gives 

 you the name ot a rollicking " cott'ee planter." 



Hy the bye, my report called down wrath on my 

 poor old head from several of the cflicials. Kow you 

 all know well that I never backbite a man, but will 

 tell anyone sharp to his face, should I have occasion 

 to, and make no ceremony about it, and the report 

 stands as 1 found it ; but with the very beet in- 

 tentions to all otiiciala— and 1 must say the whole 

 of them have been most kind and obliging to me 

 and all deserve my bett and v^•arm thanks lor the, 

 assistance they have given me, for their great in- 

 formation, and they have dragged me heie and there 

 to places of interest that 1 will write to you about 

 la_lci ou, — I remain, youis most respectfully, 



JAM lib 1). WAliSOi^, 



The Model Duke Estate, 

 Tavoy, British Burmli, lothAlarch iSS4. 



Dear Sir,— You will confer a favour ou me if you 

 will publish the enclosed copy of a letter from the 

 local Government to me, authorizing me to selcC land 

 near Tavoy. This will save me a great deal of time, 

 and will explain itself to all concerned, 



British Burmah, Land Rev. and Agr. Depart.. No 

 374-3SR. (Revenue.) . 



From D. Mackenzie .Smeaton, Esq., M. A. B.,c. s., Secret- 

 ary to the Chief Oommiosioner. 



To the Commissioner, Tenasserim Division, Moulmein. 

 Dated Kangoon, 13th Feb. 1884. 



Sir, — In reply to an enquiry made by the Deputy Com- 

 missioner ot Tavoy direct to this office as to whether it 

 is the intention of Government to let Mr. J. D. Watson 

 of Tavoy take up laud in that district for other intending 

 planters, I am directed to inform you that the Chief Com- 

 missioner has never forbidden such a course; on the contrary, 

 parties who have apphed to the local Government have 

 been told that they could make selections of land through 

 quahfled agents. 



2. — I am to explam that the Chief Commissioner de- 

 sires to encourage the utilization to some extent of the 

 hilly waste lands in the Tavoy and Mergui districts, and, 

 having this aim in view, he sees no reason why Mr. 

 Watson should not act for others, provided the Deputy 

 Commissioner is made fully aware by application direct 

 from the principals concerned that they have empowered 

 Mr. Watson fully, and that Mr. Watson holds document- 

 ary certiticates of agency, and provided the fees are paid 

 in advance. But seeing that the tract in which Mr. Wat- 

 son now desires to make selections is very different from 

 Nat-ya-doung, in a more popular tract, and close to the 

 people of the country and their cultivation and nearer 

 Tavoy, the Chief Commissioner cannot allow the same 

 rules, as to area at any rate, to apply to grants ot 

 such lands, nor can the Deputy Commissioner be per- 

 mitted to make any grants outside of the Nat-ya-doung 

 range, without a reference to you and the explicit sanc- 

 tion of the local Government in each case. 



3.-1 am to ask that Mr. ^\'atson may be called upon 

 to give a list of persons for whom he is authorized to 

 select and take up lands, showing acres sought and locality. 



4. — I am to add that the Chief Commissioner is only 

 anxious indeed to encourage bond Jide planters, but, now 

 thiit the scene is changed from.Nat-ya-douug to the vicinity 

 of Tavoy, the same liberty of ' choice cannot be allowed, 

 as it is the first duty of the Government to guard tho 

 rights of the people of the country. — I have, etc. etc., 



(Signed) G. O. Kynoch, for Secretary 

 Kevenue Department, No. 471-300. 



Dated Moulmein, ISthFeb. 1884. 



Copy forwarded to tho Deputy Commissioner, Tavoy, for 

 information and guidance. 



(Signed) C. H. Wheldon, 2nd Assistant, 



for Commissioner , T. D. 



Memo. No. 1,042. 



Dated Tavoy, 3rd March 1884. 

 Copy forwarded to Mr. J. D. Watson, for iuforinationr 

 and with :i request that he will send in a list of persons 

 for whfiiji he is authorized to act, as called in ^lara 3 

 of this letter.— (Signed) 0. J. Dkake, Deputy Com- 

 missioner, Tavoy. 



I notice that Ceylon men are iu a fix about germinat- 

 ing nutmegs: it 'sail bosh about them being boiled. 



The tip is this. Make iqi a bed near your bungalow about 

 fom" feet wide ; to one bushel of cow-dung, one of your 

 best soil, you can get leaf moidd if possible ; add half-a-biishel 

 charcoal pounded to a fine powder ; equal parts 

 any quantity of course according to the extent of your 

 nursery ; mix well together and put on to your bed four 

 inches deep ; put a stick on each side, and on the ends 

 a little lopping over to prevent wash, then put a rough 

 railing round about six feet high, and near enough to 

 keep out bares. Then put iu your nutmegs just as j'ou 

 get them, put them in an angle, .say about 50, the thick 

 end down. Cover only about A, the tliick cud tovercd, so 

 that you only sou the half of the back aud cud of the 



