CH. IV] CROPS AND METHODS OF PEASANT AGRICULTURE 167 



crossed at Peradeniya with imported American corns of fine 

 kinds, most of which belong to the "dent" type, with dimples 

 in the outer ends of the grains as seen upon the cob. The 

 hybrids are superior to the native corn in quality and yield, 

 but are objected to by the villagers on account of the dent, 

 which they say indicates unripeness. A still more remarkable 

 case is furnished by the history of the West Indian vegetable, 

 the chocho, in Ceylon. Introduced years ago by the Botanic 

 Gardens, this most useful vegetable spread widely in the 

 villages, and was much appreciated. A few years later, a 

 rumour was started among the natives (probably owing to some 

 coincidence of serious illness with the fact that the patient was 

 a great consumer of chochos) that chochos produced rheumatism. 

 This was sufficient, and the cultivation of this vegetable is now 

 extinct. 



For products that are already well established in the 

 villages, one of the best ways of ensuring the use of good seed 

 is by means of a cooperative seed supply (already mentioned 

 above in discussing provision of capital). Cooperation is ex- 

 cellent in agriculture, and the reason that the continental 

 agriculturists of Europe are probably more prosperous than 

 their British colleagues is mainly that they have gone in 

 largely for cooperation. A cooperative seed supply is in many 

 ways better for a tropical village than a cooperative credit 

 society. In the east it will of course be mainly concerned 

 with rice. Let the villagers join such a society, they will then 

 be able to get their seed rice from it at an interest of say 12^ 

 to 25 per cent, (the extra rate does not matter, as already 

 explained, for the profits go to the members, and in any case 

 it is far cheaper than the money lender) to be repaid in crop 

 time. This alone is a very great step in advance, but let the 

 society also get the very best seed, and it may effect a gradual 

 improvement of the crops grown in the district. Let it be first 

 determined what is the best seed for that particular district, 

 and then let the society sell the rice brought in to it in 

 repayment of advances, and with the proceeds buy enough of 

 the better seed to sow in the district next season. It is true 

 that in this way the society will have less of profit to divide 



