No. 31. — 1885.] RICE CULTIVATION. 



170? 



years to persons who undertake to clear and cultivate it, 

 taking as remuneration the crops grown during the interval ; 

 no ground share is claimed, and the owner advances seed and 

 maintenance paddy, which are repayable, but without interest. 

 An expenditure of about Es. 10 in cash is required to put up 

 the dams and bridges, which are frequently of larger dimen- 

 sions than is usual in the Sinhalese districts. It is difficult 

 to say what the total cost of asweddumizing comes to in 

 money, but, so far as I can judge, it is not more than Us. 30 

 per acre, a portion of which is generally recouped by the 

 timber. 



The task I set myself is now finished, and I trust it will 

 be considered that I have shown paddy can be locally grown, 

 with the aid of irrigation, more economically than it can be 

 i mported. I have endeavoured to give a truthful, fair epitome 

 of the information I have drawn from the lips of all classes, 

 chiefly the practical field workers, with whom I have been 

 brought more directly in contact during the past two years, 

 especially in the Batticaloa District. As regards expenses of 

 cultivation, my inquiries are more than corroborated by the 

 outside and independent testimony of others to which I have 

 already referred. 



The only point which is really open to discussion is the rate 

 of yield. This I have purposely kept low, I believe below 

 the truth, and I appeal to the geutlemen who have experience 

 in such matters if I have not been most moderate in basing 

 my calculations upon a yield in irrigated lauds which would, 

 in the Sinhalese districts, be spoken of as varying from 10 

 to 15-fold, and of 7 to 10-fold in the localities where 3| bushels 

 to the acre are sown. 



I have selected for the investigation of this question two 

 districts in which the construction of irrigation works has 

 introduced a considerable element of certainty in the culti- 

 vation of paddy, and it is practicable to judge results 

 by pecuniary tests in accordance with European ideas. 

 When a reliable water-supply is absent, and paddy-growing 

 depends On the rainfall, it is probably liable to more vicissi- 

 tudes than any other branch of agriculture in the Island, 

 perhaps in the world. It would be a waste of time to 

 consider its pecuniary capabilities under such conditions. 



But, fortunately, the rainfall in some parts of the Island, 



