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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 1883, 



A TKIP THROUGH SOME OF THE CINNAMON 

 (AND COCONUT) DISTRICTS, CEYLON. 

 Having had occasion during this month to pass through 

 some of oiu- favourite cinnamon districts on business, I 

 lay a few notes of my observations before your readers. 

 First in order of merit, though not in the order of my 

 visit, comes Goluapolsuna, the premier ciuuamon estate. 

 The extent of this magnificent property is 1,100 acres, 

 about a half of which is under coconut, not planted in 

 the usual style amongst the cinnamon, but in separate 

 fields alternating with cinnamon. This estate is superin- 

 tended by Mr. Raoul Piachaud, the oldest and most 

 experienced Cinnamon Planter in the island, whom I was 

 very glad to meet after a long interval, and who is looking 

 as buoyant and youthful as ever. As assistants he has 

 Messrs. Nicholas and Campbell, the former a son of the 

 Rev. Nicholas, and the latter a sou of the late Mr. A. 

 Campbell, of the P. W. D. The estate is in two divisions each 

 division being under the supervision of an assistant, andas the 

 worldng accomits and produce of each division are separate, 

 and the cinnamon is separately shipped, a spirit of healthy 

 rivah-y is fostered between the assistants to work econom- 

 ically, and tm-u out the best samples of cinnamon. 

 .The" quilliug of cinnamon here has gone as near per- 

 fection as possible; the average number of quills to a 

 pound of all the qualities reaches about 35, while minus 

 the 4th quaUty the number averages a.bout 45 to a pound. 

 Your readers, who do not deal in cinnamon, can form 

 some idea of the fineness of the quills, by being told 

 that the cinnamon sold to the Fort houses averages from 

 15 to 20 quills to the pound ! Everything may be overdone, 

 as I believe this is, for quantity is undoubtedly sacrificed 

 to quality. Work like that I have indicated takes a deal 

 of time to do, so unless the estate can command an 

 unlimited number of peelers, all the crop cannot be taken 

 in during the season, and the peelable sticks become 

 coarse. I suppose Mr. Smith, the rich and fortunate pos- 

 sessor of this splendid estate, does not mind this, as long 

 as his cinnamou tops the market. By the way, it is right 

 to mention that the rate of payment to peelers on this 

 property, as on Mr. Rajapakse's too, I believe, is higher 

 and very naturally than on the generality of estates. 

 While other estates pay 16 cents for the quilhng of the 

 first three qualities of cirmamon, and 12 cents for the 4th 

 quality, this estate pays 21 cents for what is termed superior 

 rmnamon, 19 tor the fii-st three qualities, and 12 certts 

 for the 4th quality. As the 4th quaUty of cinnamon on 

 this estate is about the thickness only of what is known 

 as 1st in the Fort houses, I conclude that the coarser 

 sticks are scraped, and the out-Uun of chips is very high. 

 The coconut topes belonging to this estate are very 

 highly cultivated. They are ploughed at intervals, and the 

 trees maiuirecl with bones, castor cake and cattle manure. 

 The question that natm'ally arises in one's mind is, why 

 should coconut trees be maum-ed with castor cake when 

 coconut poonac, a product of the tree, is available? I 

 cannot answer the question, for I have nothing to do 

 ■with the niauaijement of the estate. If, like the Horrekelly 

 estate and the estates of Messrs. Gabriel Croos and Akbar, 

 machinery were erected for pressing and combing fibre, 

 heaps of available manure could be had in the resulting 

 poonac and coir dust. And if the hundreds of acres of 

 swamp which intersect tlie estate be used for Paddy 

 cultivation, hundreds of cattle could be staD-fed under 

 the very coconut trees, with poonac and paddy straw, so 

 that not a particle of the valuable dung or urine would be 

 wasted. They will be applied tlirect to the trees, saving 

 the cost of application, all that is needed being plough- 

 ing to thoroughly mis the manure. The Decauville Rail- 

 wav, which can be easily laid down and worked, and as 

 easily taken up on this flat estate would be very useful to 

 transport crop, cattle-food, &c. That a go-a-head coffee 

 planter, with new-products on the brain, has something 

 to do with this estate. becom,es evident after seeing the 

 attempts made to grow the vario\is kinds of Rubber, Cacao, 

 Liberian coffee, &c. No part of this estate is suitable for 

 the growth of any of the products I have named, as 

 most of the estate" is sandy, and the bungalow is situated 

 on a cabook j^ll. through "the soil of which hardly any- 

 thing but the roots of large trees could i>enetrate. As 

 Oeara Rubber is said to grow anyKhcrc, perhaps the sandy 



soil, if it does not exactly suit it, will permit of its 

 growing. The Visiting Agent of this estate evidently be- 

 Ueved, without reservation, the wonderful growmg powers 

 attributed to Oeara Rubber when it was introduced, for 

 I see a water-logged swamp, more fit to grow the Sago 

 palm than Ceara Rubber, planted with this product. All 

 I can say of the plants are that they are growing. Perhaps 

 the Agent will triumphantly say that, after all he is not 

 as guUible as he seems to be; but the plants are as yellow 

 stunted and sickly-looking as plants could well be. You 

 may remember that Mr. Borron put some cuttings of 

 Oeara in a bare rock and heaped pieces of rock in them, 

 to see whether they would grow if pressure were on them. 

 Being disgusted that;the cuttings did not grow, he communic- 

 ated his disappouitment to the Observer. As I have to 

 notice the appearance of a few other estates before reach- 

 ing Negombo, I had better proceed. 



Kimbulapitiya, which adjoins Goluapokuna, is another fine 

 property. The old and venerable part-pronrietor of this 

 estate. Mr. Young, lately came by his death under very 

 pamful circumstances in Kandy. With that plucky spirit 

 which is the l>irthright of the Britishers, he indulged in a 

 form of exercise which hardly became his years. Though 

 repeatedly warned by his friends, he persisted in riding 

 a spirited horse, tdlhe was thrown down and died. This 

 property is under the supervision of Mr. Carry, a son of 

 the late superintendent, another old planter who cUed re- 

 cently. It does not appear to be so carefully worked as 

 its neighbour. If the superintendent took a leaf out of 

 the book of experieuce of his neighbours and went in for 

 high shade for his cmuamon, by topping off the low, over- 

 hanging branches of the large trees, it would add greatly to 

 the appearance of the estate, and to the growth of the 

 cinnamon under them. On looking over these old cinnamon 

 estates, one is struck with the utter absence of roads on them, 

 and wonders how efficient superrision is compatible with this 

 want. This estate is said to possess a splendid^ field of 

 coconut-palras, the nuts of which are said to be superior in 

 thickness of kernel to those of even highly-cultivated 

 Goluapokuna. 



Between Kimbulapitiya and Mr. John Carl Fernando's 

 estate, lie a few small pieces of low-lying cinnamon land 

 belonging to natives. The carefully trimmed and impreg- 

 nable (to cattle) cadju fence on Mr. Fernando's estate, ar- 

 rests attention. This style of fence is as cheap and effective 

 as one could wisii to have, and withal it is pretty. Cadju 

 nuts are planted along the line of fence about a foot 

 apart; when about a cubit high, the plants are bent down 

 and twisted one with another. Shoots are thrown out by 

 these, which in turn receive the same treatment, till you 

 get up your fence to the required height, when all that 

 is done "is to trim the fence. Through this fence no animal 

 larger than a hare can creep. I suppose this fence grows 

 best on sandy soil, as I have pUmted the nuts on soil which 

 is not sandy, aud two years' growth hardly reaches a cubit. 

 This estate has cinnamon aud coconuts growing together, a 

 mistake on poor sandy soil, and the look of the coconut 

 trees suggests that thorough draining has been too long 

 delayed. Perhaps better management than a conductor's, 

 although more e.-qieusive. would have assured better cultiv- 

 atiou. The few other large properties passed before 

 Negombo is reached, also suggest that sufficient importance 

 is not attached to thorough-drainage in low-lying and 

 swampy situations. Negombo is at last reached. The 

 appearance of the highly ornameutal street lamps is 

 striking. They supply a gi-cat want on dark nights. 

 The towni is clean, and trade appears to be brisk. 



From Negombo I must " hark back " to Heneratgoda, 

 as the joiu-ney I undertook was from that station to 

 Mahara inl.and, vkt Ekele. The first cinnamon estate 

 met with is Gallu, at one time a crack estate. It has 

 passed through strange vicissitudes. It was at an early 

 period in charge of that veteran cinnamon planter, 

 Frederick Schrader. It is generally believed that .Messrs. 

 Stevenson aud Lawrance made their money by this estate, 

 haWng bought it at a low figure, and sold it after a few 

 years' residence on it to Denis Aratchi, till then a eon- 

 "ductor on an adjoining estate belonging to the i\Ies.srs. 

 Armitage, for somewhere about £14,000. It was when 

 managing this estate that IMr. Stevenson first tried the 

 English market with chips. His effort met with succe.ss. 

 nud the high prices for ciuuamon then ruling so stimulate (J 



