16 TEA 



according to the size of the estate, an engmeer, and a 

 number of labourers called " coolies." The manager, 

 who is usually an Englishman or a Scotsman, is 

 generally spoken of by white people as the planter ; 

 among the labourers he is known as the Peria Dooray, 

 which, translated from Tamil into English, means 

 " big gentleman." He has his own bungalow, and on 

 large estates, such as the one to which we are going, the 

 planter's bungalow is a spacious, well-built, convenient 

 residence, of country-seat rank. The assistants are 

 also Britishers ; they chum together in a bungalow. 

 Some of them are qualified overseers, others stand in 

 the relation of pupils to the planter and assistant- 

 master to the coolies. The pupils are officially known 

 as " creepers," but among the coohes every assistant 

 is a Sinna Dooray, or " small gentleman." In all 

 parts of the world, more especially in districts off the 

 beaten track, the enterprising Scotsman is to be found 

 looking after the machinery that plays such an impor- 

 tant part in the preparation of natural products ; he 

 is frequently the planter's right-hand man so far as 

 an estate's factory is concerned. The bulk of the 

 labourers in field and factory are Tamils from Southern 

 India. The Estate Tamils and the Ceylon Tamils are 

 very different people to-day, although in all probabihty 

 they were originally of the same race. The Ceylon 

 Tamils, descended from ancient settlers in the island, 

 are superior-class coloured folk. The Estate Tamils 

 are present-day immigrants, who represent the very 

 poor populace of Southern India. One of the men on 

 whom the Ceylon tea industry is most dependent is 

 the kangany, who is practically commander of the 

 labour force. The kanga?iy is an enterprising native — 



