3<5S 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November t, 1883, 



may quote Mr. Ledger's letter as follows, so as to place 

 his purpose in writing to us fairly before local as 

 well as home proprietors of Ceylon plantations;— 



"I see in Observer how it is suggested that fresh 

 seed of the ledgeriana cinchona should be obtained. 

 Well, although I liave left S. America I could point 

 out how the said seed could be obtained. I leave 

 here for Sydney, N. S. W.iles on the 13th instant. 

 Although 65 years old I am active and in robust health 

 and would like above all things to dedxate myself 

 to cinchona culti\ation — as manager of a cinchona 

 estate. I have some ^jratiica? experience. I am no 

 botanist ; neither have I chemical knowledge of 

 plants. Should any company or imvate party re- 

 quire my services as manager, I should be glad to go 

 to Ceylon as such for a term of 5 years. Conditions as 

 follows :— [The conditions can be learned on applic- 

 ation to this office.— Ed. T. A.'j Mr. Howard is of 

 opinion that my services in the manner indicated would 

 be acceirtable. Please address Mr. Charles Ledger, 

 Sydney, N. S. Wales, Australia, —Yours respectfully, 

 Lei>c;ek." 



Fresh seed of the best kinds from South America 

 for use in Ceylon and Southern India is a desider- 

 atum, even though Mr. W. J. Forsyth has come to 

 the East in order to get the seed with whicli he 

 is to commence cinchona cultiration in Central 

 America. Mr. Thomas Cliristy, of Fenohurch Street, 

 is at present the only agent available, and he 

 is doing good service through his collectors in Bolivia ; 

 but it is possible that couiidence in Mr. Ledger may 

 induce euquiiy of him as to the nature aud pro- 

 bable cost of thesupply he refers to asbeing obtain;ible 

 through him. 



will be given to anything practical, and no young 

 men will come to the school of agriculture for fear 

 of being "made coolies of." We trust this un- 

 kind way of foretelling failure may be belied, and 

 it is well that Mr. Green has endeavoured to dispel 

 tills fear by providing for a really high English 

 Education, as well as a more agricultural training 

 in the school of agriculture and if he (the Du-ector) 

 can further induce the Government to provide 

 that (after a few years' warniug) nobody 

 should made Mudaliyar or Muhandiram of a Korale, 

 unless he has some knon ledge of agriculture, then 

 we feel sure, the school will soon fill. It it fills aud 

 succeeds, the Director may make it pnrt and parcel of 

 the Royal College, though separate in buildings-Jike 

 "the modern side" now fo common iu gl^t schools 

 at home. Any way, if it fails the Direot(M|»3 clearly 

 done his best. And let the leaders of the^eylonese 

 remember that Government can then say : "You cried 

 out for Agricultural Education— we have offered it to 

 you. If you don't take it. why, don't complain of Gov- 

 ernment doing nothing any more." We are, however, not 

 vpithout hope of success, — and for the following among 

 other rtasiius : — We learn that the resultof Mr. Green's 

 speech at Kandy at Trinity College has been that 

 15 applicants have come foward for 30 ploughs, and he 

 is getting some of the light Swedish ploughs, over 

 from Saidapet, where Dr. Kobertson has after a long 

 trial reduced them to a minimum of weight and cost. 



TEA AT HIGH ALTITUDES. 

 It is au important fact that teas from "Tommagong" 

 estate, KanJapoUa, have realized excellent prices in 

 the London Market, such as s. d. 



Broken Pekoe souchong ... 2 1 per lb. 

 Pekoe souchong ... ... 1 2| ,, 



Broken mixed... ... ... 1 ,, 



Broken tea 9 ,, 



Dust 7 „ 



Wu bilieve the altitude of Tommagong is not under 

 6,500 feet. We know that on Portswood tea is doing 

 80 well at au elevatiou of fully 6,700 feet, that the 

 proprietor has ,-irranged for very considerable exten- 

 sions. Now if tia succeeds so well at such high 

 altitudes in Kandapolla, we do not see why itshould 

 not be equally successtul over most portions of Uva, 

 where the rainfall varies from 70 to 100 inches. In the 

 report of the Spnrg Valley Company, the statement 

 was made that tl e idauts grew but did not flush. Before 

 this experience is accepted as conclusive, we should 

 like to hear tlie results of piunings at different periods 

 of the year. We are very sanguine that Uva will yet be 

 as celebrated for its cacao and tea as it has been for 

 its coffee. The proved success of tea wi uld be a strong 

 additional argument for the extension of the railway. 

 Meanwhile it is clear that tea will grow and yield 

 well on tlie Uva side of Nuwara Eliya up to close 

 on 7,000 feet. 



AGEICULTUEAL EDUCATION IX CEYLON. 



We append the new scheme for A giicultnral Instruction 

 in Ceylon drawn up by Mr. Green, Director of Public 

 Instructicm. It has now been sanctioned by the 

 Executive Council aud it is well that our readers should 

 know exactly what is officially sanctioned. Many 

 people already say that Part II. of Mr, Green's scheme 

 will be a failure, because tliough the Native Agri- 

 eultural Society may agitate, yet no actual support 



Scheme pob Ageicuxtueai, Education ix Cetlon. 

 Past I.— Preliminao- Education iu all Governmcut Schools. 



1. Preliminary aud TheoretiLal AgricuUural Education shall be 

 provided in all Government Vernacular and .^Ja^tlo-Vernacular Boys' 

 Schools, by means of such text-book or lext-booto as shall from 

 time to time be approved by the Department of Ptlbliclnstrnction. 



The subject of Ain-iculture shall be compulsory for boys iu the 

 Standards VIII, VII, yi and V but any boy in any other Stand- 

 ard may take up Agriculture if he pleases. 



2. Teachers under training in the Kormal School shall, from the. 

 date upon wliich these rules come into effect, be rctjuired to pass 

 in the text-book or text-books mentioned in clause I ; aud such text- 

 book or text books shall form one of the subjects for the annual 

 December examination for certiticates now required for Goverumeut 

 school-masters ; and no 3overument teacher shall hereafter receive 

 the certificate of the Department of Public Instruction, unless lie 

 shall have been awarded at the above-mentioned certificate, examin- 

 ation not less than 25 per cent of marks iu Agriculture. 



Pakt II.— The Colomdo School of AciMCcxTuHE. 



.3. A si.i cial sohotil to be called "The Colombo School of Agricu 

 lure" shall be opened in .January 18S4. 



i. Vol- thn'ijrcsent, the Colombo School of Agricnlture will he 

 held at Colombo in tliat portion of the buildings of the Kormal 

 School heretofore .assigned to Anglo-Vernacular Student Teachers. 



5. The ubject of the Colombo School of Agriculture will be 

 to proviile a* superior and suitable education for the sons of native 

 gentlemen, and more especially land-owuers. "With this view the 

 teaehing will embrace:— (1) The higher branches of English. (2) 

 Mathematics. (3) Agriculture. (4) Botany. (5) Chemistry, 



The study of the Agriculture will be dixided ino :— 



(1) Theoretical -Agriculture, whichwilihetaufht by means of 

 lectures, text-books, and exauinatiou papers. 



(2) Practical Agriculture, which will be taught and illustrated 

 by practical lessons and experiments on a practising farm 



to be connected with Ihe School. 



6. The School of Agi'iculture shall be under the mni:3gamont 

 of the Department of Public Instruction. It will be immediately 

 presided over by the Principal, who shall be au English geuUe- 

 men duly yualilicd, with the assistance of uuder masters, native 

 or' othewise as occasion may require. 



7. .Vs a general rule no boy under sixteen years of age nor ovx- 

 ninctcen will be admitted to the School of Agriculture ; bnt eer 

 ceptional cases may be specially considered by the Director of I'ublic 

 Instrnction. Uoys'will hare to be tested by a preliminary examina- 

 tion before they are allowed to enter the School. 



8. Thirty boys can be ttiken as boarders under the immediate care 

 and supervison of the Principal. Out of these thirty .students fifteen 

 may be boarded and educateil at a reduced charge of li.) pet 

 meiisem upon the recopimeiulation of the Government Agent of the 

 Province in which Ihe .sfiulcut resides. I'or the remaining boarders 

 a monthly fee of lilO, which will include all eliarges of board aud 

 education, will be charged. A limited number of day-scholar^ will 

 also be admitted to the School of Agriculture; and for these a fee 

 of K2 per mensem will be charged. 



6. The terms and liolidnvs of the School of Agricnltnrc shal 

 be the same as those of the lioyal College. 



10. The course of instruction at the School of Agriculture shall 

 extend over three years, and shall be aivided into three singes. 



