DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



201 



Country Products Association of that island, with the Governor in the 

 chair, told those present that when the tissues of the root of the cocoanut 

 palm "were cut through, the cut surface dried and shriveled, and new roots 

 sprang at right angles to the original ones, so that any temporary injury 

 from ploughing or cutting circular trenches round the palm when applying 

 manure, was soon remedied. The idea," he continued, "that the cutting of 

 the roots by digging or ploughing was harmful, was, he thoughut, a mis- 

 taken one, though it should not be done at the beginning of the dry weather. 

 By frequent disturbance of the surface soil the roots were driven down- 

 ward, so that such palms were less affected by drought. In the Pera- 

 denirja experiments, ploughing the soil twice had a very marked effect 

 on the old palms, and the younger ones also greatly benefited by stirring 

 the soil monthly with disc harrows. At Maha Illuppalama (like Perademrja, 

 also in Ceylon), in the dry zone, the effect was even more marked, the 

 growth of the palms being very fine owing to this cultivation by means of 

 disc harrows. 



All those interested in tropical agriculture carried on under dry-farm- 

 ing conditions where planters have to raise crops on a smaller average 

 rainfall or water-supply than is generally considered necessary, will have 

 followed the experiments that have been carried out in Ceylon for some- 

 time past to reclaim and cultivate the Wanni, a semi-arid district in that 

 island which is subject to malaria, and so can hardly be described as desert 

 land. If you turn to the map you will find, I think, that the Wanni is 

 bounded on the north by the Jaffna Lake, on the south by the Aruvi Aar and 

 the North Central Province, on the east by the Trincomalee district, and on 

 the west by the district of Mannar. This area is said to run into some 1,860 

 miles. The land is not bare, but covered everywhere with thick forest or 

 jungle; where it fails apparently, is in its water supply, there being no 

 rivers except in the wet season, say October to January, and then the flow 

 depends on the rainfall. What, therefore, will happen were this jungle or 

 forest growth to be removed and crops (especially those other than trees) 

 planted, further remains to be seen, as the absence of the forest may less- 

 en the rainfall, and through that the water supply available, whilst, at the 

 same time, the exposure of the soil to the air and wind must increase evap- 

 oration and further decrease the water supply in the soil, already an un- 

 satisfactory quantity. For these reasons the attention being given to the 

 reclamation and cultivation of the Wanni in Ceylon should be closely follow- 

 ed by every farmer and planter who has to adopt dry-farming methods on 

 his own lands. 



Another point against the utilization of this "apparently inhospitable 

 region," quoting the Ceylon Observer, "may arise in a lack or shortage of 

 subsoil water, and it has yet to be proved that tanks and irrigation schemes 

 will have to be adopted rather than dry-farming methods, although they, no 

 doubt, will come in very useful in a more or less modified form to send the 

 moisture down and keep it there." What are, and what are not, dry-farming 

 methods, strictly speaking, is not always certain, but if you use tank and 

 irrigation water, and then harrow and mulch to keep that moisture in the 



