VARIOUS METHODS OF CULTIVATION, ETC. 39 



world, there has been a tendency of late years to group 

 several estates under one working staff to effect econo- 

 mies in working and management expenses, but, never- 

 theless, by far the greatest proportion of estates are 

 small, and in the hands 'of the European planters 

 resident on the estates themselves. In a very large 

 number of cases, perhaps in the majority, the estates 

 are owned by companies, and the planters are servants 

 of the company, and not the actual owners of the 

 estates, as was more often the case in former years. 



The enormous labour supply necessary for the Ceylon 

 plantations is recruited principally from among the 

 Tamils of Southern India, who have proved themselves 

 to be, on the whole, very satisfactory labourers. The 

 people men, women, and children are recruited from 

 their villages by their future overseers, who are locally 

 known as " Kanganies," and while the majority return 

 to their homes with accumulated savings, some elect 

 to settle down in Ceylon for life. The approximate 

 number of coolies employed is about 400,000. 



By far the greater part of Ceylon tea is exported to 

 the United Kingdom. Next to England, the most 

 important customer is Australia, followed by Russia 

 and America. At the present time special attention 

 is being paid to the production of green teas, the object 

 in view being to foster the American market. The total 

 exports from Ceylon to all parts in 1908 were approxi- 

 mately 182,000,000 Ibs., of which about 5,500,000 Ibs. 

 were green tea. 



