September i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



215 



NEW FIELD FOR AGRICULTURAL 



ENTERPRISE ; 



THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS OF CEYLON AND 



"NEW PRODUCTS": FARMING, PLANTING 



AND HUNTING COMBINED. 

 European colonists having turned tlieir attention to 

 paddy (rice) cultivation and their attempts at Tissamaha- 

 rama in the Hambautota district having met with 

 an encouraging degree of success, there is some reason 

 whj public attention should be directed to other dis- 

 tricts presenting ample scope for the agricultural capit- 

 alist and pioneer. In the Wanni division of the 

 Northern Province for instance there are a large 

 number of abandoned tanks with good irrigable 

 lands lying below them which could be bought 

 outright from Government at the upset price of 

 RIO an acre and fees (say £1 sterling in all), or for re- 

 sponsible pioneers ready to invest, iirobably even easier 

 terms ou a deferred scale of payment could be got. 

 A group of tanks near each other and situated in 

 close pro.\imity to a main road might easily be selected 

 as the site of a farm, to which could be added any 

 extent of line land suited to the cultivation of new 

 products. The tanks in question are easily repaired, 

 nothing being required but the tilling in of the breaches 

 in the banks and the supplying of wooden or masonry 

 sluicea. lu respect of the latter, probably Govern- 

 ment would supply auy iron or carpenter work 

 required from the Colombo Factory, free of 

 expense. We are glad to learn that a demand for 

 such abandoned tanks and the adjacent laud is 

 now springing up among natives, and some applic- 

 ations have already been sent in to Government 

 for surveys with a view to purchase. As regards 

 means of communication the fine central road running 

 throu"h the province places Jaffna and Matale within 

 easy access of every part of the district we refer to, 

 and there are also numerous minor roads branching off 

 from the main thoroughfare into the adjoinii.g country 

 all of which are available for cart traffic. Sir 

 Wm. Gregory spent his surj)lus revenue — derived from 

 the coffee planting enterprise in the height of its 

 prosperity — very freely for the construction and im- 

 provement of roads in the north and east, and it 

 would be very satisfactory if European as well as nat- 

 ive acriculturists now demonstrated the benefit of 

 this investment of public money. 



The introduction of "new products" in the Wanni is be- 

 ing attempted by the Government, and an "Experiment- 

 altarm" 13 to be started next year nnder the direction 

 of Mr. C. A. Murray, one of the most popular Assistant 

 Government Agents in the service. The tew plants now 

 growing in tlie Assistant Government Agei.t's priv 

 a'e garden at Vavuniyavilankulam look well. Two 

 rubber plants show a vigorous life by their fast 

 growth and sturdy nppearance, and four Brazili- 

 an wax palm plants are about nine inches above 

 ground and look robus-t. The latter took about Kve 

 months to germinate, but under the system adopted at 

 Hultsdorf Mills this delay can be overcome in futuieex- 

 periinents The climate and soil of the Wanni however 

 ore more eepecially adapted for the growth of cotton and 

 tobacco, the latter product beinj; groan extensive^ in 

 nei.rly evn-y village in tlie district. New varieties are 

 being in'roduced, and if the t-rups are propeily cured 

 Wamii tob.acco tliiuk fin.! a reaay sale in Europe. 

 The district ought to be equally suited for rubber 

 cultivation on a large scale, and the chocolate (cacao) 

 plant should do well it once started by the aid of 

 irrigation. As regards health, from what we learn 

 we "do not think there is much to fear from the 



climate for European colonists who are ordinarily care- 

 ful of themselves. The fever which generally appears 

 among the people at the change of the monsoons is 

 of an ordinary type, yielding readily to treatment, 

 and it does not spread to any great extent. Finally 

 we may mention that throughout the Wanni game of 

 every kind abounds, so that lovers of sport can 

 combine agriculture with the pleasures of the chase. 



Vavuniyavilankulam is within 9.5 miles of the 

 railway terminus at Matale, there being reethousea 

 at Nalanda (l-l miles from Matale), Dambula (29 

 miles), Kekirawa (43 miles), Tiripane (57 miles), 

 Anuradhopura (71 miles), and the Jaffna mail-cart 

 makes the journey from Matale to Vavuniyavilankulam 

 in about '26 hours. As the North road is certain to 

 attract planting attention erelong, we may as well put 

 on record the authentic information respecting the 

 mail-cart and journey with which we have been fav- 

 oured : — " Mails are carried from Matale to Jaffna by 

 cart. Bullocks are used for the greater portion o£ 

 the way between Matale and Elephant Pass, from 

 whence there is a coach into Jaffna. There are a few 

 horse and pony stages on the road between Tiri- 

 pane and Vavuniyavilankulam. The bullock cart- 

 leaves Matale at 1 p. m., and reaches Anuradha- 

 pura at 6 next morning, Vavuniyavilankulam be- 

 tween 2 and 4 p. m. The distance from Matale to 

 Vavuniyavilankulam is roughly speaking ninety-five 

 miles. The accommodation is better suited to a smal 

 than a large man, for the seats are narrow ; but 

 I travelled in the bullock-cart fromDambuUa to Matale 

 on oue occasion, and was quite satisfied. Just now a 

 person may drive his gig or dogcart from Matale to 

 Jaffna perfectly — the road will be in perfect order the 

 whole way. Dar'mg the N, E. monsoon rains portions 

 of it are like paddy fields. The coach reaches Jaffna 

 at 1 1 in the morning of the second day. It leaves 

 Jaffna at 2 p. in. and reaches Vavuniyavilankulam 

 at 11 next morning, Anuradhapura at 6 p. m, and 

 Matale at noon next day." 



We are promised a full account of the experiment 

 under European auspices at Tissamaharama : who will 

 be the first to pioneer as Farmer, Planter and Sports- 

 man (combined) in the Wanni district of the North ? 



NORTH BORNEO. 



An announcement appeared amongst the shipping ar- 

 rivals of last week which claims a little more than 

 the mere passing interest usu>dly given to that portion 

 of a newspaper. It recorded the entry into this bar- 

 bour of the British ship "Arches" from Kudat, and 

 consequently the first opening of trade which, it can 

 scarcely be too much to predict, will before long con- 

 stitute an important feature in the commerce of the 

 East. British enterprize needs but a reasonable open- 

 ing to effect startling results ; and, iu this case, with 

 a country comprizing an area equal to th.it of Ceylon, 

 and only waiting cultivation and development of its 

 many latent resources to render it a mine of mai ket- 

 able produce of all kinds, it cimnot be said but that 

 the opening afforded is one from which most promis- 

 ing results may be looked for, and that at no distant 

 date. Few, if any of those now residing in this 

 island, and forming part of a community actively 

 engaged in business, poseesfing palatial dwellings to 

 live in, "nd enjoying institutions and advantages of 

 every kind, lealiz* the fact that, in IS-il, or s^iy only 

 forty years ago, the site of this large and busy town 

 was a bare rock, as free of huts (not to say 

 houses) and trees as the top of Kclle t's Hill or the 

 Peak now is. Yet what a hive of busy population 

 and centre of vast trade it has since become ! The 

 same may be said of the Model Settlement of Shang- 

 hai. Th-it port wns opened to trade on the 9th Nov- 

 emlier 1843, when the present British, American, and 



