August, 1912.] 



119 



21,000 in 1877) and most of which is 

 cultivated once a year ; besides 7400 under 

 the larger works, off which two crops a 

 year are taken. 



On Irrigation the expenditure to the 

 end of 1906 (exclusive of that in the un- 

 completed Nachakaduwa scheme but 

 inclusive of the outlay by Government 

 ou village tanks) was Rs. 1,609,000 

 on construction and Rs. 300.0CO on 

 maintenance. 



The recoupments are Rs. 8,379 in rates, 

 Rs. 99,977 repayments and Rs. 97,500 by 

 sale of the land benefitted ; making a 

 total of Rs. 205,856. But to this should be 

 added the additional recoveries due to 

 irrigation on account of the government 

 share of the crops up to abolition in 1892, 

 which was about Rs. 175,000 more. I 

 calculate that if now in force this would 

 secure to Government a return of 3 % on 

 the total outlay and have reduced the 

 outstanding cost by a million rupees. 



EASTERN PROVINCE. 

 In Batticaloa. 

 The extent of paddy land in private 

 hands early in the fifties was about 20,000 

 acres, and in consequence of the con- 

 struction of some irrigation works 

 during Sir H. Ward's regime and the 

 energetic administration of Woodford 

 Buck, there was an increase to 41,000 in 

 1866, while the areas cultivated (1862-6) 

 averaged 39,000 acres producing a crop 

 of 541,000 bushels. 



By 1874 the extent had increased to 

 60.000 acres but this was inclusive of the 

 old land, which was gradually going out 

 of cultivation, and the acreage actually 

 sown during 1867-71 averaged 51,000 

 acres and the production over a million 

 bushels. During the next period (1872-7) 

 cultivation still further rose to 54,000 

 acres, but owing to less lavourable 

 climatic conditions the crop fell a little 

 to 810,000 bus. As this supply was in 

 excess of local requirements, a con- 

 siderable quantity (200,000 bus. in 1876) 

 was exported coastwise to Jaffna, besides 

 a quantity converted into rice and 

 supplied to the Uva estates by the 

 Moor traders, of which no estimate is 



available, but I was assured that for this 

 purpose a large local importer of Indian 

 rice employed at one time over 200 

 women a day. 



Increased Production and High Price. 



Consequent on this increased produc- 

 tion and the high price ruling for rice, 

 owing to the scarcity in India, a great 

 increase of prosperity prevailed in 

 Batticaloa ; a large extent of Crown land 

 was purchased for extension which 

 raised the area of paddy land in private 

 hands to 75,700 acres in 1877 iuclusive of 

 the old land. 



In the next year, heavy floods did 

 such damage to a large cultivation 

 (50,000 acres), that the resulting crop was 

 only 494,000 bus. and the drought which 

 followed in 1879 further restricted 

 operations practically to the irrigated 

 area, 28,000 acres, but even then the crop 

 was a poor one (235,000 bus.) 



It took some time for the district to 

 recover from the effects of two such cala- 

 mitous years, and in 1886 the Grain Com- 

 missioner found the area liable to tax 

 was 65,773, but this reduction, on the 

 previous commutation of 10,000, was due 

 to the exemption of the old unproduc- 

 tive unirrigated land, no longer liable 

 and also exclusive of new land, aswe- 

 dumized within the previous seven years. 



Irrigation Facilities short op 

 Requirements. 

 It was recognised too that cultivation 

 had exceeded the capacity of the irri- 

 gation works, so provision for additional 

 storage was undertaken, but the bene- 

 ficial effect of these measures were not 

 apparent until the 1893-7 period when 

 the crop was 1*2 million bushels off 65,000 

 acres. 



To this large area there were consi- 

 derable additions, as the area cultiv- 

 ated in 1900 is said to have reached 

 91,000 acres and to have averaged 75,000 

 acres during the 10 years previous to 

 1907. 



As the total extent benefited by the 

 irrigation works was in 1906 but 47,300, 

 it follows that a large extent is again 

 dependent on the local rainfall and 



