238 



[September, 1912. 



years authorised by Sir H. Ward at, 1 believe, Woodford Birch's sugges- 

 tion. Again, the wise policy of issuing permits on easy terms for the 

 asivedumising of Crown land previous to survey and sale, fostered much 

 early development, especially at Batticaloa and Tissa, enabling the 

 improvers to buy outright when exposed to sale and at the same time 

 securing better prices to the Government than if sold as waste land. 



The great rise in the price of rice and consequently of Ceylon grown 

 paddy in the sixties and subsequently was also a powerful incentive to 

 additional production, while the failure of native coffee very probably 

 impelled many to fall back on paddy, especially in the Central Province 

 and Uva. 



It will now be interesting to enquire what has been the cost of 

 securing the development which may be ascribed to the irrigation works 

 executed during the half century in which the advance has occurred. 

 (1857-1907.) J!================= ^ 



COCOA WORK IN THE WEST INDIES. 



Mr. A. W. Hill contributes to the Kew Bulletin a long account, more 

 or less in the form of a diary, of a visit to the West Indies eaily this 

 year as representative of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 



Mr. Hill's view of things is naturally that of the Botanical enthusiast, 

 but there is much valuable agricultural information to be culled from 

 his contribution. 



Cocoa is par excellence the crop of the West Indies and we are, there- 

 fore, not surprised to find a great deal that should interest local 

 planters concerning this crop. 



Cocoa Grafting. 



Mr. Hill bears high testiraouy to the value of Mr. J, Jones work in 

 Dominica in connection with cocoa-grafting. The grafted trees aie young, 

 but their low-growing and spreading habit in contrast to the more 

 fastigiate character of the bushes raised from seed, is striking. The 

 grafted plant is produced from a lateral branch section and may be com- 

 pared in its growth to a broad-based cone standing on its base, while the 

 seedling resembles rather a cone standing on its apex. The grafted tree 

 would appear to offer several advantages over the seedling, though it 

 is sometimes asserted that we are not yet in a position fully to realise 

 the value of grafting. 



(1.) It makes it possible to have a plantation devoted to one variety 

 of Cacao alone. This is a matter of considerable value since uniformity 

 in the beans brought in for curing could be secured and a uniform pro- 

 duct should result. At present, owing to the mixed crop comprising 

 beans of different varieties, a good deal of difficulty is experienced in 

 adjusting the time of fermentation and regulating the drying and curing 

 processes, and as a consequence uniformity of the sample is often lost. 



(2.) By using different varieties for grafting it would be possible 

 to arrange a succession of plots ripening at different times and also the 

 crop time might be slightly lengthened. 



(3.) The habit of growth of the plant tends to shade the ground and so 

 to prevent loss of water by evaporation. It would appear as far as can be 

 seen that the picking of the pods would be a much easier process than it is in 

 the case of the higher branches of the tall trees grown from seedlings, and 

 that therefore injury from bad picking should be reduced to a minimum. 



