848 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



fJWNE I, 1886, 



and the extensive orchards were fully more inter- 

 esting to me than the hop gardens. The season 

 for small fruits was past, and that for plums, 

 peaches, and apricots almost over, but enough re- 

 mained to test the quality, which with soil, climate 

 and cultivation so perfect could scarcely be other- 

 wise than first-rate. The rainfall here varies from 

 19 to 24 inches per annum, and with brilliant sun- 

 shine nearly all the year round, it need scarcely 

 be said, irrigation is necessary for heavy bear- 

 ing trees. Apples are the great stand-by here, 

 grown upon very small standards which for their 

 size bear enormously. I was now able to confirm 

 the estimates I made a few days ago, near Hobart, 

 »nd find that 450 bushels per acre is a good aver- 

 age crop, that by keeping the fruits for a few 

 months, an average price of 7s 6d is readily obtained, 

 that trees come into full bearing in six years, and 

 give paying crops fer about 10 years. The 

 small fruits, such as gooseberry, strawberry, Ac, pro- 

 ductive as they are, are not so remunerative, owing 

 to the high price of labour. 



I have now said enough of this pretty 

 paradise, and hive of industry, to show what 

 may be done under favourable conditions, 

 but sorry as I would be to discourage those in- 

 tending to migrate hither, they would do well 

 to bear in mind that all the best of the land is 

 already disposed of, that the cost of labour is al- 

 most prohibitory, and the import duties on necessaries 

 of life, such, that at present there is little hope 

 of reducing wages. That with oatmeal at 100 per 

 cent over home prices, there is little hope of im- 

 porting labour from Scotland, and with rice at 300 

 per cent above usual rates, Indian labor is out of 

 the question. That numerous estates at one time 

 employing 1.50 to 200 labourers are now worked 

 with one or two shepherds (this 1 have from what 

 I consider the best authority in the island), and 

 as a matter of fact, there are 24,.500 acres less 

 under crop now than there was 20 years ago, that 

 the imports and exports per head have declined 

 from £10 4s, 30 years ago, to £11 9s last year. 

 Still, all this is, I believe, curable in tim'; and there 

 must be a bright future in store for an island 

 BO enriched by nature and advantageously situateJ 

 as Tasmania, but it will take many a long year 

 and a very radical change of Government to accom- 

 plish this ; meanwhile, it remains a delightful sani- 

 tarium for Australia and India, and mitliinti morf. 

 In visiting this locality I have a pleasure, apart 

 from the great privilege of inspecting Bushy Park. 

 It reminds me I am following in tlie footsteps of two 

 infinitely better men — valued friends from Ceylon — 

 who visited the same place seven years ago, and it 

 is with no small interest and pleasure I listen to the 

 comments on my friends, who are still favourably 

 remembered wherever they seem to have touched. 

 The one is spoken of as " 'Du' Siieciiilixt," the 

 •ther as " The gonial old gentleman who smoked 

 the pipe of peace." " I recognize the latter," I would 

 remark, " dear old fellow I but what is meant by 

 ' The Specialist ' ?," " Well," said one, " no mutter 

 what subject we broached, this gentleman tiilked 

 like a very " interesting book, every conceivable 

 iubjeot eeemfid to have been made a special study 

 by him ; hence in speaking of him we speak ol the 

 SptcialiH.' " 



Aaici-NCT PljikNTiNO. — The best mode of planting 

 areoanuts is first to keep the nuts in a vessel of water 

 for about three weeks, and drain oil the water 

 and allow the nuts to remain for about a week or so, 

 when the nutu will begin to sprout ; then take them 

 out aad plant before the leaves are spread, — Cor. 



PLANTING IN NEW DISTRICTS IN CEYLON: 



DOWN THE KALUGANGA AND THBOUGH 



THE KALCTABA TEA DISTRICT : 



DOWN THE UH-ER — THE KAPIDS — NAMBAP.\NR — E.IBLT 

 PLANTING BLOCKS -SUGAR AND TEA — MR. J. Q. FOBt'8 

 PURCHASE — 36 BULKS DOWN IN 9i HOURS. 



Some of the bends on the Kaluganga are extra- 

 ordinary for their abruptnets : you see no opening 

 before you, but rather a landlocked basin, until 

 you begin to think the boatmen are going to run 

 you ashore, when instead an opening almost at 

 right angles to the course you have hitherto pursued, 

 appears, and you turn ba;k on quite another vista of 

 this most tortuous and beautiful of Ceylon rivers. 

 Xt other times we had wide straight reaches and 

 I was reminded of the splendid St. John's river 

 of Florida, save for the greater breadth and depth 

 of the latter and the contrasts presented in the 

 richer and more varied tropical vegetation festooned 

 with creepers from the water's edge upwards along 

 our Ceylon stream, together with the chattering 

 of monkeys and cooing of birds unknown in 

 Florida. The Kaluganga (black river) too is true to its 

 name in its dark waters, while one of the most striking 

 peculiarities of Florida is the clearness of the 

 .water, so that tiny objects can be seen at a depth 

 of 40 to 00 feet with the utmost distinctness. 

 Kangamoaaganga and Karawitteganga are two 

 tributaries from the left or south received, and 

 BalagoUa, Malwilla and Dodampe are some of the 

 stations passed on the Kaluganga, befere we reached 

 the first of the well-known rapids. Fortunately 

 we had sufficient water in the river to make the 

 passage with no more discomfort than a little 

 tumbling about of the boat and the shipping of 

 some dashes of spray. Just enough of sensation 

 to show the justification for getting out of the 

 boat and walking on the shores when the water is low 

 and ' bump, bump' along the inclined rooks is often 

 the experience of the boatmen. A little later in the full 

 monsoon, the water will be so high that no rapids 

 will be perceptible at all. The navigation up the 

 river either in liigh or low water is a much more 

 formidable undertaking as the bolts and chains in 

 the rocks opposite the rapids to help in 

 warping boats upwards made manifest. At 

 Idangoda, we had a strong current carrying us along 

 well and later on we observed some fine jungle 

 and after the Kurugasmodera station we took 

 special notice of the fine large tributary to our 

 river in the Koorooganga entering from the right. 

 The scarped faces of some of the detached hills 

 rising from amidst a sea of vegetation pre.sented 

 a curious contrast and after passing a considerable 

 river tributary from the left we arrive opposite 

 Nambapane, the well-known station on the 

 road between Kalutara and Katnapura which is 

 always going to be — but never is — finished. 



We are now approaching the scene of some of 

 the earliest attempts at planting settlements in 

 the Western Province. It was near Nambapane, 

 or between that point and th<! Perth estate lying 

 towards Horane, that Sir Wiu. Keid, the old 

 Domarara planter, early in the Forties, selected 

 land for sugar, fnr his nephew Mr. C. Shand and the 

 hitter with Mr. Wm. Ferguson, surveyed 1,"200 acres 

 in one compact block which was bought from the 

 Crown at the then upset price of 'is an acre. So 

 plentiful was the hind and so few the buyers in 

 those days, that so soon as a pioneer had settled 

 what he would buy, he began cutting out the 

 boundaries and indeed, if need be, clearing, before 

 survey or transfer were completed, it being a point 

 of honour that no one offered competing bids for 

 land so selected at its sale. Fortunately for 

 Mr. Shand, it was proved to his satisfaction on the 



