722 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April i, r886. 



opeueil at Coconaila for the sale of these mills, and be- 

 tween December 1883 and March 1884, the total sales 

 iiiireascd to 169. Since then the sales had risen by 

 aliout luO mills, and the agents expressed the hope that 

 they would be able to place about lliO in the hands of 

 owners of sugar iihintations in the present season. 

 These results must be very gratifying to manufacturers 

 as well !i< to merchants in general, as with the new and 

 improved mill, the quality of sugar available for ship-' 

 m nt will not only improve, but the return to the grow- 

 rrs more encouragijig. The success with which the mills 

 of Messrs. Thompson and Mylue have been introduced 

 shows that, if growers obtain a fair article at a fair price 

 they will readily purchase it. The Beheea mills from 

 their simple constructiou, moderate price and the 

 facility with which they can be repaired, are likely to 

 bt'come very popular, and as they are largely used in 

 the Godavery and Bellary districts, the time is not dis- 

 tant when they will be introduced into other parts of 

 the presidency. With cheap mills, sugar-cane cultiv- 

 ation, which is now confined to a few districts, may 

 gradually extend. — Madias Utandtiz-d. 



OUR NATUKAL OOUKSE OF AGRICULTURAL 

 ADVANCEMENT IN CEYLON. 



(Cniilril'iiied.) 

 In a country so exclusively agricultural as Ceylou, 

 I have always maintained that every inducement should 

 he given to whatsoever will advance the cultivation 

 of the large areas of waste land throughout the island. 

 Cobbot maintained that the greatest benefactor of his 

 country was he " who could make two ears of corn 

 grow where only one grew before." The Ceylon 

 Government has spasmodically taken up the question 

 and shewn an interest in the restoration of a tank, 

 or in some high-sounding scheme. Whatsoever the 

 aim of our rulers, the result has been that large sums 

 of money have been spent, and, with one exception, 

 wc hear of no great advantage being gained. Eveu 

 were these numerous projects so often mooted carried 

 out, there would practically bo inbufficont resident 

 population to take full advantage of the benefits result- 

 ing from the outlay of these large sums of money, 

 and it would be found, as it has been already, that, 

 with the rc-toration of the tanks, there would be no 

 extension ot the cutivatiou of land. This of course 

 might be nut by offering inducements to Indian im- 

 migrants to settle. This, in these days of experiments, 

 at fir»t sight appears fea.sible enough. I am told that 

 water alone is necessary to make the largo wastes of 

 the northern half of our island expanses of growing 

 rice. In the Western, Southern, and Central Provinces 

 there already exists a poiiulation of varying stages of 

 industry, a people who are willing to roaui a reasonable 

 distance from their homes, and who will, if suthcient 

 inducement offers, invest their earnings in coconuts 

 at Chilaw or I'uttalam, or work a mine of plumbago .at 

 Kurunegala. A study of their habits shows a willing- 

 ness to enter any district subject to two conditions, 

 and these, it will be observed, are those held univers- 

 ally by n>ost wealthy natives— first, that the locality 

 cho.seu be accessible without any extreme labour ; and, 

 second, that it must have a resident population, or 

 such must be clo.se at hand. I need hardly add the 

 industry chosen must bear the test — Will it pay? No 

 unbiassed person could visit either Puttalam or Ohilaw, 

 or any of the large plumbago pits, and assert that with 

 liealthy inducement the natives of Ceylon are absolutely 

 idle or indifferent. The wealthy nativijs amongst us, ' 

 such as the Soysas, the Rajapakses, the Perieses, and 

 many others prove that capital and industry are to be 

 found; and it astonishes us that this class has not 

 been more largely consulted in all matters upon the 

 di-velopment of the island's resources. 



In the (.'entral Province, the European element has I 

 with varied success grown coffee, cinchona and tea, 

 resulting in a perfect system of communication between 

 it and the sea-borde, which again has been the chief 

 cause of the large areas of extended cultivation now 

 txistii.g in the tract of land fornung the triangle be- 



tween Colombo, Kandy, and Puttalam. Europeans have 

 not shewQ the same necessity for population and 

 acce.ssd„l,ty m the lands they have chosen ; for they 

 have entered wildernesses wholly uncultivated, and, in 

 a few years, dlustrated what Western euterpize and 

 mdustry may produce in converting them into pro- 

 sperous estates. In time, roads have brought these into 

 the network of civilization. 



It will, from the above, be ob.served that the natural 

 advancement of mdustry, especially where the- natives 

 are concerned, is progressive from the chief centres 

 ot mdu.stry and population. The native capitalist is 

 not likely to invest his money at the Giant's Tank 

 nor in the heart of the Wanni; yet he is wiUing to 

 go as tar as he can to look after his venture without 

 excessive exertion; neither does he appear to consider 

 property of value or desirable unless there be a resident 

 population. The extensive repairing of tanks by our 

 (.overnment would appear to have been undertaken 

 without a due consideration of the ways and means 

 tor their maintenance after restoration ; for, when 

 once repaired, the village soon reverts to its old somnol- 

 ent condition. 



I would urge that greater attention be paid to those 

 localities within the range of general enterprize, whether 

 European or native, and in this way gradually extend 

 the radius of operations ; instead of rushing to spots 

 beyond the reach of capital, industry, or intelligence 

 It would then benefit a larger number without bringing 

 capital beyond the reach of the most industrious and 

 euterpriziug, and would bv the progressive extension 

 ot communication bring the consumer and the producer 

 into close connection with each other. There appears 

 at first sight, a great advantage in Ceylou becoming 

 a large rice-producing country, and supplying itself 

 with that which it now imports in such prodigious quant- 

 ities, but a very casual study shews that the cost of 

 transport must always prevent the wide use of locally- 

 grown rice, until at least the population of the already 

 populous portions of the island has extended towards 

 those localities where rice can be advantageously grown. 

 At present, it can be more cheaply imported from rice- 

 producing countries and delivered, say, at Matale, by 

 rail, than it can be cleaned and brought up by road f'ronii 

 Anuradhapura. It doubtless is a very great temptation 

 to an ambitious Governor to restore a buried city, to 

 make a railway, or to repair a giant tank, with v^hich 

 in all time his name wi'l be associateil, far more than 

 to urge forward the natural progress of iudustrv and 

 enterprize in its natural channcds. The Western mind 

 does not choose to follow that of the Eastern ; yet it 

 is manifest that the progress this island ha.s maile, 

 apart from that of Europeans, has been almost wholly 

 within the vicinity of the three most populous provinces 

 of the island, and, judging from this is, it is m.ani- 

 fest that, by fostering and leading on in this direction, 

 more solid and permanent benefit must result than by 

 restoring and unearthing old cities and tanks beyond 

 the reach of capital and enterprize. The immeiiBe 

 extra expense entailed in working in these out-of-the- 

 way spots can only be compared to that of a military 

 force in the field in an unhealthy locality, to which, 

 at any price, every necessary of life has to be convey- 

 ed ; the cost of which must be three-fold, both in the 

 outlay of money an 1 human life, to what it would he 

 near at hand. — Local "Times." 



CORROSION OP THE LEAD LINING OP 

 INDIAN TEA CHEST.S. 

 will be remembered that some time ago 



It 



..... .^w »^.i..,..iui.i,3u vu.li. Bumc biiijtt ago a 



correspomionce took place between Dr. Voelcker and 

 Dr. Watt on the above subject, but their opinions 

 so widely differed, that the discussion left matters 

 in a more unsatisfactory state than before. The 

 Indian Tka AssuiiaTiON, then, very judiciously 

 took the matter up, and referred the whole cast- to 

 Mr. Pedlcr, the professor of chemistry to the I'r^sideney 

 College. That gentleman has since issued a lengthy 

 Report on the subject, which we will here refer to. 

 .Mr. Pedler is of opinion, and we think very 

 reasonably so, th^t the proper preliminary step should 



