Cultivation in Ceylon 41 



pleased with the result of the first application 

 in the improved texture of the soil. It became 

 quite friable. Whether he is continuing- the 

 application I cannot say. I think 10 to 12 

 bushels per acre, according to the texture of 

 the soil, every alternate year, after ploughing 

 and a few months before the application of 

 manure, will give encouraging results. 



"Manuring is the returning to the soil of 

 the elements of fertility removed from it by 

 cropping. The soil has been aptly likened to 

 a bank in which the amount of credit is 

 measured by its fertility. Crops are drafts on 

 the bank. Their removal, without returning 

 the equivalent in the shape of manure, results 

 in the diminution of the amount at credit, or, 

 in other words, in the impoverishment of the 

 soil. Accepting the definition of manuring at 

 the beginning of this paragraph, I have in 

 practice always endeavoured to return to the 

 soil the elements of fertility removed by crops. 

 The soil is drawn upon, not only to mature 

 crops, but also for the growth of the tree and 

 for the production of the fronds. Unless the 

 soil is exceptionally poor, the elements of 

 fertility in it may be sufficient for the tree 

 and fronds, but not to produce marketable 

 nuts. In practice I have found that a manure 

 based on an analysis of the soil did not 

 yield anything like the same results as a 

 manure based entirely on the elements of 

 fertility removed by the crops. The earliest 



