CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 239 



in order that they may present it as a religious 

 offering at the Saami-house. Also it is etiquette 

 to have their heads shaved in token of mourn- 

 ing for the loss of either father or mother. 

 My little garden coolie at Raneetotem kept his 

 head closely shaved for six months after his 

 mother's death ; but as a rule they are very 

 proud of their long tresses. 



February 2nd. — An unusual amount of rain 

 has fallen lately. The rainfall for January 

 reached the total of eleven inches, more than a 

 third of the whole rainfall (on this Estate) for 

 last year, which was thirty inches. Dumbera 

 is a dry district, therefore we welcome rain with 

 great joy more especially in January, for it starts 

 us on the hot months of February, March and 

 April, with water in the wells, and moist cool 

 ground. Our amount of rain, although a good 

 deal for Dumbera, is not to be compared to 

 what they have had in some districts. My 

 friends in East Matale had forty inches last 

 month. 



You in England, where the average annual 

 rainfall is only thirty and thirty-five inches can 

 hardly realise what this means to us. No less 

 than rusty keys, musty flour, matches that won't 

 light, dripping ceilings, mildewed shoes and 

 boots, every article of clothing (even those in the 

 almirahs) damp, and even wet, the woodwork 

 breaking out into heads of dew, flabby note- 



