162 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. IX, 



which is irrigated by the lower Coleroon anicut, it is stated 

 that 300 experiments gave the following results : — 



Per Acre. 





Harris 



English 





Collunis* 





Tdmvifl o n rl f\tnp>v sill itviqI ^PT\MQifci . « . 



4 ^ 



- 473 

 4/ 4 



Pprrna TiPii t*,] v ltirnrnvpd lanrl^ npnr villa 



jl yJi 111 Gtn wii v± y iniui u v uu i c*j_i vlo no til v n 1 ci* 



ge tu 



— 49 1 



Best lands with vandel or sandelf 



35 



== 38 



Ordinary do. do. 



30 



=== 32 



Best ordinary, rich in sandel 



40 



= 42$ 



Good ordinary 



35 



= 38 



Ordinary 



30 



= 32 



Ordinary red earth 



25 



= 26i 



Col. Baird Smith, in writing of the irrigation works on 

 the Cavery and Coleroon, gives the average yield in the 

 irrigated lands at 40 bushels per acre ; and in his work 

 on Italian Irrigation expresses no surprise on learniDg that 

 in the permanent rice lands of Mantua and Verona the 

 average produce per acre was estimated at 30 to 35 bushels 

 of uncleaned grain, while the temporary land in the same 

 and adjoining provinces yield about one-fifth more, or 40 

 bushels an acre. He adds : " The process of cleaning re- 

 " duces the rice to about one-third its bulk, so that for 

 " permanent land the produce would be nearly 13 bushels 

 "of rice." 



In a recent Order of the Madras Government reviewing 

 th,e working of the Saidapet Farm, it is recorded that in the 

 reply given by the Director of the Revenue Settlements 

 to the Famine Commission, the average yield per acre of 

 rice lands in this Presidency is stated to be 1,884 pounds, and 

 in some localities it exceeds 2,500 pounds. These figures 

 represent 35 and 50 English bushels of paddy, and would, 

 in the agricultural parlance of Ceylon, be spoken of as 

 equivalent to a yield of 15- to 20-fold on a sowing of 2$ 

 bushels per acre. 



It must be remembered that these data are drawn from 

 the hurried trial measurements of the Settlement Officers, 

 and it has been recently urged that, as these results are 



* One Harris collum == 24 Madras standard seers of 100 cubic 

 inches = 1*06 English bushel. 



•j" Fine mud deposited by the floods. 



