MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 537 



this the Agricultural Society has devised a modification 

 of the rotation system to meet the special case of the 

 chena cultivator. This system advocates the division of 

 the chena tract into two, three, or four sections (accord- 

 ing to prevailing conditions) each carrying a different 

 crop at one and the same season, and one crop succeeding 

 the other in regular succession. The following instances 

 will make this clearer : 



A. Modification of a four-course rotation. 



(0 (2) (3) (4) 



(a) Cotton ... Legume ... Grain ... Manioc 



(6) Legume ... Grain ... Manioc ... Cotton 



(c) Grain ... Manioc ... Cotton ... Legume 



(d) Manioc ... Cotton ... Legume ... Grain 



B. Modification of a three-course rotation. 



) (2) (3) (4) 



a) Grain ... Cotton ... Legume ... Grain 



b) Cotton ... Legume ... Grain ... Cotton 

 Legume ... Grain .., Cotton ... Legume 



3 



In its simplest form the rotation would consist of 

 grain and legume grown alternately on two sections of 

 the chena tract. The grain may be hill paddy or any 

 of the millets, the legume one of the many forms of 

 tropical beans. Manioc as a root crop may be replaced 

 by sweet potatoes or yams. Cotton is the only non- 

 edible crop which it is sought to popularize. 



The chief requirement of the chena cultivator is an 

 edible crop, and it is to his advantage to have his diet 

 varied as much as possible. As a rule he practically 

 grows nothing but millets, a continuous diet of which 

 is by no means the best ration. 



Through the instrumentality of the agricultural 

 instructors this innovation in chena cultivation is slowly 

 gaining ground. 



Apart from chena cultivation proper, there are certain 

 crops which are grown under dry conditions, the chief 

 of which is tobacco. The cultivation of tobacco is an 

 old industry which is mainly in the hands of the Tamils 

 of the North, but within the last 25 years the cultivation 

 has spread to most dry districts in the Eastern, North 

 Western, Central and Southern Provinces. The bulk 

 of the tobacco cultivated is of a coarse type only suit- 

 able for consumption in the East. In the Dumbara 

 District of the Central Province, however, a variety of 



