THE COCONUT BELT 31 



coconut cultivation, as compared with 200,000 

 acres in 1860, and the value of the trees has been 

 estimated at 37,000,000. Of the total value of 

 Ceylon exports, the products of the coconut repre- 

 sent about 23 per cent. 



According to a recent writer, it is suggested that 

 with the arrival of the Dutch in Ceylon about the 

 year 1656 the extension and cultivation of the 

 palm was seriously undertaken. The principal 

 coconut-growing territories extend along the north- 

 western, western, and southern coasts of the island, 

 also in the Jaffna peninsula, in the north and in the 

 eastern provinces. Inland the extension has been 

 considerable in the north-western and northern 

 provinces. There are also portions of the central 

 provinces where it flourishes, notably around 

 Kandy, Gampola, and Matale. Coconut experts 

 in Ceylon consider that the immense extensions 

 since 1860 testify to the pluck, energy, and enter- 

 prise of the planters of Ceylon, who have had to 

 surmount so many disasters during the past fifty 

 years. The opinion is often expressed that the 

 industry deserves greater assistance from the 

 Government than has hitherto been accorded it, 

 especially in the way of railway facilities, which, 

 the planters contend, should be extended into the 

 coconut-growing districts, so that transport might 

 be facilitated and cheapened. 



While enterprise in coconut cultivation is now 



