S82 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[JUNt 2, 



issV 



ing for tea-clieata, that possibly the caja tree might 

 solve their difficulty. As there ie no likelihood that 

 the couteuts would exert auy strain on the sides of the 

 box, I am iuclined to think that it will be found 

 suffioieutly durable for all purposes — as much so, cert- 

 ainly, as that used by the Chinese, and as light. — 

 Yours truly, KAJJA, 



CEYLON PRODUCTIONS 120 YEARS AGO. 



6th May 1884. 



Deab Sib, — It may interest you to read what was 

 said of the present chief products of Cejlon 120 years 

 ago. I therefore send you a translation from J. C. 

 Wolfs' book. In his introduction he says he was born 

 at Meklenburg in 1730 ; he came to Cejlou iu 1749 and 

 was here till 1765. He wrote his account of Ceylon iu 

 German and it was translated into Dutch, but the 

 name of the translator is not given. He was chiefly io 

 Jaffna, and his title there sounds rather high in English. 

 "Secretary of State and Justice at Jafanapatnam." 

 His remarks on cotfee are not of much value, but show 

 that but little attention was paid to its cultivation in 

 those days. What be says about sugarcane may be 

 repeated now with ec^ual correctness. Sugarcane will 

 grow in Ceylon to great perfection as far as outward 

 appearance is concerned, and excellent sugar can be 

 made of it, but it oanuot be produced here at rates that 

 wUl enable the planters to compete with those of other 

 countries. Every attempt to do this has failed most 

 aignally. Since C. E. Layard first started sugar plant- 

 ing, fully a quarter of a million sterling has been lost in 

 the fruitless attempt to raise sugar in this island for 

 exportation : and he would be a bold man that would 

 try it again at his own cost. — Yours truly, CANNA. 



[We are much obliged for the translation, but we 

 have read Wolfs' book in English. — Ed.] 



The costly cinnamon grows here to perfection : no wheie 

 else is it to be found of such excellent quality. This noble 

 plant seems to thrive better in its wild state than under 

 cultivation. The ravens (crows), which readily eat the 

 red, sharp-tasting fruit of the cinnamon tree, are the 

 best sowers of the seeds, for they swallow them whole, 

 and distribute them all over in such a manner as causes 

 them speedily to strike root and spring up. Shooting or 

 otherwise killing crows is therefore forbidden under severe 

 penalties. The Hollanders export yearly nine thousand 

 bales of this cinnamon, each bale being 80 lb. net. They 

 obtain this produce for almost nothing ; a great deal more 

 might be harvested if the bark would be renewed, but 

 the branches from which it is peeled wither immediately 

 Itis thus easy to conceive that the growth is very rapid 

 seeing that the quantity yearly collected is so great. The 

 growth of this plant is not the same everywhere, but 

 varies according to the nature of the ground. When 

 allowed to grow, it becomes a good sized tree ; but the 

 larger the tree, the worse the bark becomes, and that 

 from large trees is only iit for the tlistillation of cinnamon 

 oil. The assertion that cinnamon bushes casta perfume 

 for a considerable distance around is devoid of foundation, 

 for I have frequently passed through woods of them 

 witho ut being able to discover the slightest odour. When 

 the yt!arly delivery takes place, all the cinnamon peelers, 

 who are called •' chelassen "* assemble, and each t)f them 

 receives the present of apiece of hneu (cloth). On thi.s occa- 

 sion they actaconiedy according to their fashion, whichisnot 

 without a certain degree of entertainment. 



Pepper grows here in some places pretty well, and has 

 much resemblance .to the •Solanurn Itynvstini didramara or 

 glyci/picri.^ (the longer the better) or bitter sweet. The 

 pepper-corus, grow, in bunches like grapes and are gathered 

 when ripe; the natives steep them in a mixture of green 

 pepper and \'iuegar, .and use the preparation as a remedy 

 for disorders of the stomach. Pepper does not thrive so 

 well here as on the Malabar coast near Cochin and Venezuela, 



I* Eaynal {Histoir^ des Eiahl. dcs Indcs, Tom. 1) says : — 

 " *rhe lowest class or caste arc ' chalias,' who are em- 

 ployed iu cuttmg cinnamon." 



although the system of cultivation is the same as that foP 

 lowed in Ceylon. 



Cardamoms will not thrive in Oeylon. It seems that the 

 soil is not suited to this plant. Its cultivation requires a great 

 amount of labour, and the labour bestowed on it is not re- 

 munerated. On the east coai>t of Java it succeeds better. 



The cotfee beans, on the contrary, answer better. They 

 grow on a bush two together iu a pod which opens of itself 

 when the beans reach maturity. The inhabitants of Oeylon 

 do not make the slightest use of this fruit. 



Tea and fine spices are not found here. Efforts have 

 been made to introduce them, but without success. The 

 same may be said of sugar; it can be grown as a rarity 

 well enough, but not in such quantities as are produced 

 in the Eatavian fields. 



LEAF DISEASE-NEW PRODUCTS, &c.— No. III. 

 Dear Sir, — In connection with my letter on the 

 above subject which appears on page 833, I beg to 

 tubmit the following facts : — That Indian Corn or Maize 

 (Zea Mays) which is so well known to the natives, 

 although its many uses are perhaps not, if cultivated 

 largely will be a useful article of food and possibly for 

 export also, and may be made an article of tr.ade. Ind- 

 ian corn from its size certainly contain^ more starch. I 

 have seen it pounded into grits and boiled, used as a 

 good substitute for rice. Indeed, I was once mistaken, 

 when in one of my journeys from Batticaloa to Kaudy, 

 I found I had run short of rice for the coolies, and 

 the people iu the madam or inn, where I also haltetl 

 (owing to continued rains for two days which delay- 

 ed my journey), I saw in a pot belonging to others 

 something which appeared to me to be some fine rice 

 boiled, and felt annoyed that the people should have 

 refused some to me when they had, and their pro- 

 testation that it w.as not rice did not convince me, 

 till I stooped down and peeped into the pot, took 

 some and examined for myself and found it was Indian 

 corn. Meal of equal quality and consistence as wheat 

 flour can be obtained from Indian corn for bread and 

 cakes, and Ceylon need not depend upon America for 

 the much vaunted American corn flour. There is cert- 

 ainly a charm in foreign importations, and they are 

 generally better prized than what is procured at home. 

 When divested of its husk by pounding, Indian corn 

 makes very good food for horses. It has been argued 

 that Indian corn cultivation exhausts the soil. I sup- 

 pose all cereals do. Even paddy is not sown in the 

 same field till after ploughing and manuring again. 

 Another important vegetable, which, although eaten in 

 form of salad or in soups, is not largely cultivated, and 

 is not thought to be good enough to be a good article 

 to be considered staple food is Bandaki (Hibiscui cs- 

 czilenta). This plant, although not classed amongst the 

 leguminous or Bean family, yet like beans it is also 

 a pulse, but far better, inasmuch as Bandaki con- 

 tains more albumen, which is the basis of all animal 

 and vegetable organisms. It could be boiled and eaten 

 in form of salad. The tender fruits, wheu boiled, 

 squeezed and strained, yield a thick syrupy liquor, 

 which, when mixed with sugar — some brandy and nut- 

 meg added— makes very good jelly for invalids, does 

 not however congeal easily, but by some efforts may 

 be made to harden to the consistence of moss jelly. 

 Invalids would prefer more liquid nourishment, and 

 Bandaki jelly is ea-iily taken. It is agreeable to the 

 taste, the braudy and spices make it very palatable. 

 Both of these vegetables can be ea'sily cultivated, re- 

 quire little manuring, their growth does not depend 

 upon the rains, they may be watered or irrigated morn- 

 ing and evening, thoy grow at all seasons of the 

 year. They may be made to yield at least three crops 

 in a year. The fibre of the Bandaki mny be used 

 for cordage. The wood and dry cast-off pods may 

 be used for fuel. There are, I think, two varieties of 

 the cultivated Bandaki, the short and stumpys and the 

 long and slender, the latter contains more albumen 

 and is preferable. SILEX. 



