50 EVERYDAY LIFE ON A 



about an hour, they brought the beast tied with 

 ropes, in triumph to the bungalow. Then as 

 usual the Arachi was sent for, and this morning 

 it has been marched off to the nearest Court 

 House, there to await identification, or failing 

 that, to be sold, the Estate exacting a fine of 

 ten rupees. These great lumbering animals do 

 incalculable harm to the young cocoa plants, so 

 war is perpetually being waged against their 

 incursions. They belong in the main to 

 neighbouring villagers, who use them for 

 ploughing their paddy (rice) fields ; but as we 

 have on one side a good deal of unoccupied 

 jungle, probably some of the buffaloes may 

 really be wild and unowned. This particular 

 animal had a magnificent pair of horns which I 

 longed to annex for the walls of our little 

 sitting-room. 



The episode of the buffalo had no sooner 

 ended than a cooly came to announce the birth 

 of his little son, and to ask for the usual present 

 on such occasions of two rupees. As I 

 mentioned elsewhere in the case of both births 

 and deaths the Ceylon Government requires 

 the superintendent of an Estate to make a 

 notification of the same at his earliest con- 

 venience on a printed form, containing a 

 number of questions such as (in case of a 

 birth) : — Names of father and mother — nationa- 

 lity — whether they are married — date of birth, 



