516 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



both parties occasionally led to a 

 cessation of hostilities, sometimes 

 to mutual concessionSj but never 

 to amity. 



To check the rivalship of the 

 Chinese cinnamon, anil to render 

 themselves independent of the 

 King of Kandy, the Dutch adopt- 

 e<l means which experience has 

 evinced to have been evtremely 

 prudent 



The plan they adopted was the 

 cultivation of cinnamon in their 

 own country. Cinnamon began 

 to be cultivated in veiy small 

 quantity on Ceylon about the year 

 1765 ; the propriety and necessity 

 of the measure became more evi- 

 dent ; and succeeding circum- 

 stances rendered it more and more 

 imperious to extend the cultiva- 

 tion by all the means of which 

 they were in possession. Dr.Tliun- 

 berg, who visited Ceylon in 177B, 

 infoims us, that " by the unwea- 

 ried exertions of governor Falck, 

 exceedingly large plantations of 

 cinnamon had been formed, and 

 that the shoots of some of the 

 plantations had been already three 

 times barked." He particu'arly 

 mentions large plantations of cin- 

 namon being cultivated at Sita- 

 vvake, a place situated near to the 

 Kandian border, and about thirty 

 miles from Colombo, at Grand- 

 pass, Merendahu, Matura, and 

 Caltura. 



Go^ernor Falck died in Fe- 

 bruary, 17SrJ } and was succeeded 

 in the colonial government by 

 \V. J. Vande Graaf, a zealous 

 promoter of the cultivation of 

 cinnamon. He prosecute! go- 

 vernor Falck's midertaking with 

 zeal, judgment and perseverance. 

 The district or portion of the belt 

 of territory possessed by the Dutch, 



which affords good cinnamon, is 

 boxmded on the north by the 

 Reymel river, a few miles to the 

 northward of Negombo, and on 

 the east by the river Wallaway, 

 near Hambantotte. Beyond these 

 boundaries few cinnamon plants 

 grow; and their bark, when pre- 

 pared, is not only deficient in the 

 cinnamon odour and flavour, but 

 sometimes bitterish, and implea- 

 santly tasted. Between these two 

 rivers, but particularly between 

 Negombo and Matura, many ex- 

 tensive fields were cleared, and 

 planted with cinnamon. This 

 must have been a work of infinite 

 labour. 



In Ceylon, trees and lowbrush- 

 wood rise with great rapidity, and 

 cover the ground with a dense 

 luxmiance of wood and foliage 

 which is unequalled, except in 

 the richest of the tropical islands. 

 The business appears to have been 

 entered upon with spirit, zea- 

 lously prosecuted, and conducted 

 with economy. 



The labour of clearing and 

 planting the government planta- 

 tions was performed chiefly by the 

 native Cingalese, as personal .ser- 

 vice. By exciting a rivalship 

 among the native headmen, libe- 

 rally feeding their vanity with 

 praise, and sometimes conferring 

 high-sounding titles upon a few 

 of them, and occasionally bestow- 

 ing iqion some of the most active 

 a gold chain, a medal, or a silver 

 hilted hanger, the labour seems 

 to have, on their part, been exe- 

 cuted with some degree of ala- 

 crity. Permanent situations, with 

 a small monthly salary, were 

 given to some of the headmen, 

 who cultivated cinnamon exten- 

 sively. Manyspots of ground were 



planted. 



