5 86 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



[February 2, 1885. 



of the great Himapahura range of mountains above 

 Roltumbe and Bambarabotuwa, he says : — " I found 

 about the middle of the ascent a stratum of grey 

 granite, containing, with iron pyrites and molybdena, 

 innumerable rubies from one-tenth to a fourth of an 

 inch in diameter, and of a fine rose coior, but split 

 and falling to powder. * * * I c refully examined 

 all the miu rals which this stratum contained felspar, 

 mica, quartz malybdena and iron pyrites, and found 

 nil similar to those I had previously met with, ad- 

 hering to rough rubies offered for sale at Colombo. 

 I firmly believe that in such strata the rubies of Ceylon 

 are originally to be found, and that those met with in 

 the white and blue clay at Balangodi and Ratnapura 

 are but secondary deposits." And Sir James adds, 

 probably on Gygax' s authority :— " It is highly prob- 

 able that the finest rubies are to be found in the 

 abovementioned 9 rata, perfect and unchanged by de- 

 composition, and that they are to be obtained by 

 opening a regular mine in the rock, like the ruby 

 mine of Badakshan in Baetria, described by Sir Alex- 

 ander Burnes." 



I was very intimate with poor Gygax and frequently 

 accompanied him in his exploring excursions. He 

 constantly urged his reasons for recommending that 

 the search for gems should be undertaken on scientific 

 principles, but in those days we were all so certain 

 that we should make rapid fortunes by coffee-planting, 

 that it seemed absurd to think of wasting time in 

 auy other speculation. 



Although the opera ions carried on in the search 

 for precious stones are still of the same rude and 

 primitive character as they were at the time Gygax wrote 

 about them, yet their localities have extended very 

 considerably, and of la'e years they have been put 

 in practice on the sides of the Himapahura range. 

 About two years ago, native diggers flocked in large 

 numbers to Bambarabot iwa, spreading over a consider- 

 able extent of ground. Near Kekunagahadola, fully 

 a thousand were at one time congregated and were 

 hard at work digging pits and washing the excavated 

 earth. The pits are generally about 12 feet deep, and 

 the s; in ■ in diameter, as the rainfall is hpavy in this 

 part of the island the work of baling out the water 

 absorbs a large portion of labor. 



For obvious leasons the diggers keep the results of 

 their exertions very much to themselves, and no in- 

 formation that can be relied on is to be obtained 

 respecting the value of what they find. Speaking of 

 the same stratum alluded to in the above quotation 

 from Sir J. Emerson Tennant's book, Dr. Gygax 

 adds "that having often received the minerals of this 

 stratum with the crystals perfect, he had reason to 

 believe that places were known to the natives where 

 such min.s might be opened with confidence of success." 

 I cannot agree in this opinion, although I have no 

 doubt flint" there are mnny natives in possession of 

 experience that would be very valuable to a stranger 

 who might wish to commence the seirch for gems on 

 a regular system. 



The accompanying three sketches with the corre- 

 sponding outlines are intended to give an idea "f the 

 country which produces the greater portion of the 

 precious stones sent from Ceylon. 



No. 1 is taken from the Bulattota Pass, looking 

 towards Adam'B Peak. The distant range of mount- 

 ains to which Adam's Peak belongs is the Hima- 

 pahura. Ratnapura lies at the foot of the range to 

 the left, and Balangoda lies close under Pitigalkanda 

 to the right. 



No. 2 ^s a view of part of the valley of Bambara- 

 botuwa ; about the centre of the view is Kekunagaha- 

 dola, where the diggers have been assembled for nearly 

 two van iu large numbers. At firBt they were in- 

 terrupted by the authorities of Ratnapura, and much 

 law-business had to be got through, in which the 



diggers rather scored than otherwise, and the proceed- 

 ings of the authorities were somewhat mixed. Since 

 then an ordinance has been passed which regulates 

 the digging, the terms of which seem to be very reason- 

 able, and it is strange that the enterprize of search- 

 ing for precious stones has not been taken up by 

 capitalists on some recognized system. 



No. 3 is a digger's hut in the Hapugastenna forest, 

 on the right bank of the Weweldola. A guide from 

 the nearest village of Dehinoakanda, in pointing out 

 this stream, remarked in a general kind of way : — 

 " If anybody wants to find plenty of valuable gems, 

 let him turn this stream 'arid dig in the bed thereof, 

 and he will find them to a value beyond the dreams 

 of avarice, " or words to that effect. 



The above was written about two years ago, during 

 which period I have no information as to the gem- 

 ling enterprize. 



A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE STATE OF NATIVE 

 AGRICULTURE DURING 1884, IN CEYLON. 

 (From a Sinhalese Gentleman.) 

 The Paddy Crops of the " yala " season almost all over 

 the island, on which the natives mainly depend for their 

 supplies of rice during the year, were damaged at the 

 beginning of the year by the prolonged drought, and the 

 little left was further spoiled by the heavy floods which oc- 

 curred towards its close, and, but for the abundant harvest 

 gathered in 1883, there would have been a famine in many 

 districts. The importation of rice from the neighbouring 

 continent also prevented matters from taking a serious turn. 



Coconut Estates too suffered greatly from the drought and 

 large numbers ol tender nuts fell off, which will go to de- 

 crease the crops this year. The price, however, of 

 oil, copra, coir, etc., continued to be fair for some 

 months, especially when the usual " bumper crops " in the 

 middle of the year were taken iu, and in a little measure 

 helped to balance the losses occasioned by the failure of the 

 paddy crops. The value of these articles soon fell and are 

 now getting still lower. It is at this season (i. e. at the 

 two last pluckiugs) that the out-turn ot the nuts is gener- 

 ally small and with the low prices ruling at present, the 

 loss to proprietors will be considerable. 



Cinnamon Estates are not weeded as usual, and bring in 

 little to the owners. The price of the spice is very low, 

 and, when the peelers are paid 16 to IS cents a lb. for their 

 labor alone, the balance is inadequate to bear the cost 

 of production, leaving out of consideration that the pro- 

 prietors get little or no profit. Several large native owners 

 have actually begun to root out the bushes of this fragrant 

 spice and thus help on the old coconut tree, under whose 

 shelter help never fails the cultivator. Of course, if the 

 prices go up to an appreciable degree, there is still a chance 

 for this produetof time-honoured renown. 



Fruit Trees of all descriptions gave handsome returns every- 

 where, and the cry was " Too much jak," " Too many man- 

 goes," " Too many pine-apples," " Too many oranges," etc., 

 from every quarter, and, owing to the great number of steam- 

 ers, etc., coming to the harbour at Colombo, a brisk trade 

 has been kept on for many months. 



The Hoot Crops were fair ; but of dry grain little has been 

 cultivated since the forests in private hands are nearly 

 exhausted just now. and the Government do not allow any 

 " chenaing " on Crown lands. 



It 1s yet too early to make a forecast of this year's 

 " prospects," as cultivation of all kinds generally com- 

 menceswith the Sinhalese New Year, in April next. 



♦ 



TEA CULTURE IN CEYLON. 



As regards tea cultivation in the new Kelani 

 Valley district, we take the following from a com- 

 munication to our local daily contemporary : — 



" Kelan-i Valley Clearings. 

 Acreage of New £ states to be Planteb Mat-June, 18S5. 

 Name of Estate. Acreage. Owners. 



Pambagama ... ... 350 ... J. Kinmond. 



Yatiantota Co's Land ... 150 ... Yatiantota Co, 



Brasenose ... ... 60 ... R. Aspland. 



Wahakula ... ... 50 ... G.L.Alison, 



Total... 610 



