SspTKMBEft t, J885.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST/ 



ji^ 



give very full information, the result 01 personal enquiry 

 in the Matara and Batticaloa districts. As the details of 

 culti\'atiou ditfer in niauy respect-s in these districts, it is 

 necessary to give a short outline of the practice in each. 

 In Matara, one or more cultivators jointly undertake thu 

 tillage of a field. One at least of these men has gener- 

 ally a proprietory interest in the laud. There is no hiring 

 of coolies or money payments for any additioual require- 

 ments. The work is done ou the co-operative or Bee system, 

 neighbours mutually assisting each other without any special 

 remuueratiou, beyond a good meal provided by the individual 

 whose laud is being tilled. 



The cultivation of paddy has been so extended in the 

 Matara district, and the available land is so incessantly 

 under crop {two harvests being almost invariably taken 

 from the same land in the irrigated villages), that there 

 is little or no grazing ground left for cattle, and the 

 butfaloes especially have to be driven long tlistauces,* 

 some beyond Tangalla, some 15 miles away, for pa^rturage. 

 In consequence of this dithculty and the abundant 

 supply of labor, cattle are very little used anil the fields 

 are almost entirely tilled with the niamoty. The soil is dug 

 up and turned thret; times and then sown, and this 

 occupies a man about 4U days for an area of au 

 amtmam or 2;' acres. 



As the cattle are folded or driven away, there is no 

 fencing to be done, and watching too has been nearly 

 given up, as all the people live in gardens border- 

 ing the fields ; and there are no wild animals, such as 

 pigs or elephants, to be guarded against. 



Keaping an amuuaui e.\teut occupies a man 16 days, 

 and threshing and winnowing about 30 days for an 

 average good crop. Allowing a margin for coutiugeneies, 

 the cultivation and harvesting of an amuuam of land 

 in the irrigated villages of the Matara district require 

 90 days of a man's labor or 3l3 days+ per acre ; besides 

 an outlay of about 4 bushels of paddy for seed and 

 tools. 



I may here mention that Mr. Weeracoddy, in the 

 report of his experiment in Kegalla, gi\es 34 days per 

 acre as his outlay in labor, inclusive of certain perman- 

 ent improvements he had to rmdertake. 



In Batticaloa the arrangements for cultivation are not 

 80 simple, while the lauds are more extensive and a 

 smaller portion of proprietors cultivate their own lands. 

 There are two extensive harvests in each year, known as 

 tlie '• Munmari," which may be termed the winter crop, 

 and the " Kalawellamai," or Spring crop. 



For the " Munmari" it is usual to engage cultivators, 

 of whom one is termed the head field servant or 

 Blullakkaran, who has certain privileges and supervises 

 the other three field servants, or four in all, required 

 for an ext«nt of ten amunams. As the long drought 

 which prevails during the south-west , monsoon hardens 

 the ground, it i.^ usual to wait for the light rains of 

 September to soften the soil before beginning to plough. 

 The object kept in view in ploughing with the small 

 native implement (which is similar to that used in 

 other parts of the Island) is by frequently going over 

 the land to thoroughly pulverize the soil. The seed is 

 then sown broadcast without being germinated, and 

 left to spring up by itself under the influence of the 

 first rains, ploughing and sowing going on until stopped 

 by the heavy rains of October. A description of paddy 

 which takes six months to mature is sown at first, and 

 latterly one which requires four months. By this means 

 the most is made of the time favourable to sowing, 

 while the rush at harvest is reduced by the crop not 

 all ripening at the same time. 



Cattle are hired for ploughing, and payment made in 



paddy varj'ing (for a ten amunam extent) from six 



- amunams in the Southern district to four amunams in 



"'the Northern, where cattle are more plentiful in pro- 



' portion to the arable area. 



* In JIatara districts, in IS-S:.', the number of butfaloes 



was only 10,162, anil in the chief irrigated pattu, the 



Gangabodde, only l,SfX', or one to every 8 acres. In 



1 Batticaloa the number was 36,630 in 18S2 or about 1 to 



every 2 acres cultivated with paddy. 



t I find Ludovici in his rice cultivation estimates the 



, labor for cultivating an acre at very nearly the same 



I number of days. 



lu October and November the field servants complete 

 the fences and repair the ridges, &c. ; and ordinarily for 

 three months after this they have but little to do, beyond 

 sleeping at night m the watch-huts, though they are 

 supposed at intervals to patrol the fences. Their days 

 are practically free, and they can eug.age, if so inclined, 

 in other occupations, which will not take them too f.ar away. 

 As a fact, all grow plots of vegetables and tobacco 

 on the higher portions which are to be founil in every 

 Munmari land, besides shooting game, fishing and 

 collecting jungle products. In some localities they are 

 able in January to undertake the cultivation of lands 

 for Kalawellamai, especially in the Southern districts. 

 In March the reaping begins and tlie crop might be all 

 threshed out by the end of April, but in practice it ia 

 stacked and threshed out later at leisure, to admit of 

 the field servants taking part in the cultivation for 

 Kalawellamai now going on. 



For reaping, extra assistance is taken on, though not 

 invariably, and costs from three to five amuuams (for 

 ten amunams extent) according to locality ami tiie 

 demand for labor at the time. Threshing out the crop 

 is done entirely with buffaloes, which have generally to be 

 hired, and this operation costs from 2J to 4 per cent 

 of the crop in kind. 



Other charges, also paid in kind, are — the " Kuruvik- 

 karau " or bird-boy, who is employed to frighten off the 

 birds at the time of sowing and when the crop is in ear ; 

 also the cost of ploughs and manioties, Vattai Vidhan's fee, 

 &c.; these charges may be put down at two amunams 

 for every ten amunams extent. 



The cost of cultivation of an extent of ten amunams (or say 

 25 acres)* with four or six months paddy for the " Munmari" 

 thus amounts to an outlay (including seed paddy) of 

 about 26 amunams in gi'ain, anil the services of four 

 men for a period of 8 mouths or 1)60 days of a man. 



The Kalawellamai is sown between February and 

 May. The paddy generally used is of a kind which 

 ripens in three months and is germinated before sowing. 

 The lands cultivated for this harvest invariably lie low, 

 aud have been generally flooded during the rainy weather 

 of the north-e.ast monsoon. They are consequently much 

 softer and more muddy than Munmari lands, and are 

 trampled with buffaloes (costing six amunams) aud 

 tilled with the mamuty. The propoi tiou of field servants 

 required is also smaller, and three can undertake an extent 

 of ten amunams ; but ou the other hand more additional 

 aid is required in sowing and at harvest time ; while 

 the extra charge for reaping and threshing comes to 

 nearly 50 per cent more, viz., 11 amunams against 8 

 for Munmari. Then there are the usual charges for bird- 

 boy, tools, &c., amouuting to 2J amunams more. 



The crop is reaped and threshed between June and 

 August. The cost of cultivating ten amunams exteut or 

 25 acres for Kalawellamai amounts to an outlay of 32 

 amunams in paddy, and requires the labor of three field 

 servants for five months or 450 days of a man. 



In this district also no money wages are paid for 

 agiicultural operations, the regular cultivators being 

 remunerated by certain shares and perquisites out of the 

 crop. But if additional assistance is required for any 

 purpose, the ruling rate is a " Marakal" (a quarter of a 

 bushel) of paddy a day. At this rate the expenses of 

 cultivation in grain would average 13 bushels per acre. 



This result agrees fairly, though worked out independ- 

 ently, with a reply furni-shed to a Committee of the 

 Legislative Council, by Mr. Crowther, a proctor and land 

 owner at Batticaloa; in which the co.st of cultivating 75 

 bushels extent by hired coolies is given at 350 bushels 

 on grain, or about 13 bushels per acre. In another 

 estimate for cultivating 10 amunams in the customary 

 manner, Mr. Crowther provides for three field servants 

 and an outlay of 21J amunams of paddy (exclusive of 

 ground share or rent, and consumption paddy which 

 is an advance repaid at harvest time). 



• In Batticaloa district it is usual, according to season, 

 situation, &c., to sow from 2 to as much as 3J bushels 

 of paddy in an area of an Kuglish acre. I have accord- 

 ingly assumed .3 bushels to the acre as a fair average 

 proportion in my calculations. This makes the amunam 

 sowing extent the same as the Sinhalese districts. 



