COFFEE PLANTING IN CEYLON. 155 
friends in India; it was, therefore, with a certain 
amount of pleasure that I perused the few extracts 
you were pleased to give us in your issue of the 
2nd from a pampblet entitled ‘“‘ Young “eylon.” 
After indulging in a few pleasant lhttle anecdotes, 
our worthy author proceeds to explain the process 
of opening up land and supplement bis observations 
by a row of figures, which he is pleased to term an 
estimate of the cost of the various items of expen- 
diture, and adds, moreover, that we may consider it 
reliable. 
Now, although Mr. Anderson may be, as you suggest, 
a very clever young man, he has most certainly 
stultified himself in the matter of this so-called estim- 
ate, and his figures are unfortunately not quite so 
reliable as his vocation would lead us to expect. 
Not being gifted with the same fertile imagination 
as our festive banker, we must be content to follow 
the ideas he is pleased to give us, and imagine, if 
we can, the ‘‘happy youth”—for so he designates 
the young planter—commencing operations by lining 
his 100 acres clearing, premising, however, that the 
talipot hut he lives in is erected for nothing, and 
that whatever personal supervision he may be disposed 
to give to the various works is gratuitous, and forms 
‘no part. whatever of the estate expenditure. The pre- 
cess of lining he describes as being simple, so simple 
in fact as to be costless (vide estimate), and, although 
he indicates that pegs are necessary, he believes most 
firmly that they are cut and collected by some ex- 
ceptionally accommodating Hindu for nothing. Now- 
a-days we are not so fortunate, and are generally 
content to pay from 5s. to 6s. per acre for the pro- 
per completion of this work. Our attention is next 
invited to the “Holing and Planting” which, if one 
may judge from the estimate, are done both together, 
and without the intermediate and evidently superflu- 
ous operation of refilling. But to return to the hol- 
ing, which we will assume for the sake of argument 
he has allowed £100 for. Now has Mr. Anderson or 
any other Mr. Anderson ever known a elearing to be 
properly holed at acost of £1 per acre? Iam aware 
that some planters cut as many as 50 nominally 
eighteen inch holes, but in reality what are they? 
Let the intending investor satisfy himself by a visit 
to the Eldorado of Ceylon. Holing to be properly 
done represents £1 10s per acre at least, aad careful 
refilling may be fairly estimated at 10s per acre. 
With regard to planting we are not deigned much 
information, but the purchase of plants, rather a for- 
midable item in an out-of-the-way district, is a matter 
$00 insignificant to receive his attention. The other 
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