166 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol, IX. 



say 25 acres)* with four or six months' paddy for the 

 " inunmari" thus amounts to an outlay (including seed 

 paddy) of about 26 amunams in grain, and the services of 

 four men for a period of 8 months, or 960 days of a man. 



The kalawellarnai is sown between February and May. 

 The paddy generally used is of a kind which ripens in three 

 months, and is germinated before sowing. The lands culti- 

 vated for this harvest invariably lie low, and have been 

 generally flooded during the rainy weather of the North-East 

 monsoon. They are consequently much softer and more 

 muddy than inunmari lands, and are trampled with buf- 

 faloes (costing six amunams) and tilled with the mamotie. 

 The proportion of field servants required is also smaller, 

 and three can undertake an extent of ten amunams ; but, 

 on the other hand, more additional aid is required in sow- 

 ing and at harvest time ; while the extra charge for 

 reaping and threshing comes to nearly 50 per cent, more, 

 viz., 11 amunams against 8 for munmari. Then there are 

 the usual charges for bird-boy, tools, &c, amounting to 2 J 

 amunams more. 



The crop is reaped and threshed between June and 

 August. The cost of cultivating ten amunams' extent, or 

 25 acres, for kalawellamai, amounts to an outlay of 32 amu- 

 nams in paddy, and requires the labour of three field 

 servants for 5 months, or 450 days of a man. 



In this District also no money wages are paid for agri- 

 cultural operations, the regular cultivators being remuner- 

 ated by certain shares and perquisites out of the crop. But 

 if additional assistance is required for any purpose, the 

 ruling rate is a "marakal" (a quarter of a bushel) of paddy 

 a day. At this rate the expenses of cultivation in grain 

 would average 13 bushels per acre. 



This result agrees fairly, though worked out independent- 

 ly, with a reply furnished to a Committee of the Legisla- 

 tive Council by Mr. Crowther, a Proctor and landowner at 

 Batticaloa, in which the cost of cultivating 75 bushels, 



* In Batticaloa District it is usual, according to season, situation, &c. ? 

 to sow from 2 to as much as 3| bushels of paddy in an area of an English 

 acre. I have accordingly assumed 3 bushels to the acre as a fair aver- 

 age proportion in my calculations, This makes the amunam sowing- 

 extent the same as in the Sinhalese districts. 



