and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society —January, 1912. 75 



time, by both the Kelani Valley and Kalut.ara, 

 and comes third with 127 properties, 160 Mana- 

 gers and Superintendents and 48,492 acres in 

 cultivation. If Upper and Lower Dikoya 

 are combined they come fourth on the list 

 with 107 properties, 127 Managers and super- 

 intendents and 49,215 acres in cultiva- 

 tion. Next comes Gallu with 93 properties, 80 

 Managers and Superintendents anil 23,109 acres 

 in cultivation out of a total of 41,088 in private 

 hands. Lower Walapane is quite a curiosity 

 among the planting districts. It has 8 pro- 

 perties, outot which ouly one has been opened 

 up and is being worked. The total extent of land 

 in private hands there is stated to be 2,665, out 

 of which only 256 are in cultivation. The total 

 number of Managers and Superintendents (as 

 already mentioned) works out at 1,946 ; extent 

 of land in private hands 1,005,034 ; extent in 

 cultivation 669,012. The acreage in tea alone 

 is 349,135 against 340,248 up to mid-August, 

 1910 ; in rubber 161,792 against 142,685 ; in 

 rubber aud tea 77,093 against 75,351 ; rubber 

 and cacao 19,493 against 20,169; cacao alone 

 15,863 agiinst 16,409; cinchona 9 against 73; 

 cardamoms 7,296 against 7,426 ; camphor 495 

 against 646 ; coffee (Arabian) 375 against 650, 

 (Liberian) 179 against 84. The totals of other 

 (minor) products growing within the " planting 

 districts " associated with the Planters' Associa- 

 tion and these having nothing to do with tho 

 extensive coconut, cinnamon, &c, cultivation on 

 the sea-borde, are :— 





1911. 



1910. 



Timber 



.„ 5,569 



6,350 



Grass 



... 1,353 



1,589 



Coconuts 



... 22,379 



19,143 



Cotton 



112 



272 



Tobacco 



60 



56 



Cinnamon 



... 1,949 



2,491 



Citronella 



4,359 



3,784 



Sugar 



™ 40 



40 



Paddy 



- 932 



894 



[N.B. — Let it be remembered, these figures 

 refer to inland plantations which mainly are in 

 tea, rubber, cacao. For the whole island, our 

 figures for coconuts and all the palms, spices, 

 &c, are very different— going to hundreds of 

 thousands of acres, and will be given elsewhere.] 



The total under these minor or " other pro- 

 ducts" on tea, &c, plantations for 1911 is 37,282 

 against 35,177 in 1910. The three largest 

 tea districts are Dimbula, 47,413 acres ; Dikoya 

 (excluding lower Dikoya) 30,021 and Baduda 

 21,943. The Kelani Valley aud Kalutara have 

 only 13,806 and 8,387 acres under tea respec- 

 tively. In Rubbbk (alone) Kalutara leads the 

 way with 38,155 acres ; the Kelani Valley comes 

 second with 34,683, Ratnapura third with 18,029 

 and dalle fourth with 10,369. Kalutara has in 

 addition 12,247 acres under rubber and tea, the 

 Kelani Valley has 22,381 under the same, Ratna- 

 pura 3,738, and Galle 3,350. So much for figures 

 which owe their approximate accuracy and use- 

 fulness to the ready response of proprietors, 

 managers and Colombo Agents, to our applica- 

 tions and " forms,'' and tor this attention, we 

 tender our hearty thanks, 



THE DEPARTURE OF DR. WILLIS 

 FROM CEYLON. 



After Fifteen Years' Work in the Island. 



Needs and E^utukk of Agriculture in 

 Ueylon. 



Dr. J. C. Willis, Sc. D., (Cambridge and 

 Harvard), M.A., f.l.S., Director ot the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Poradeuiya, aud Organ. zmg 

 Vice-President of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society, last month left for England, en route 

 to Rio de Janeiro, of the Botanic Garaous of 

 which city he has been appoiuted Director, 

 Possessed, as he is, of high scientific attain- 

 ments and keen practical ability, he has had 

 a markedly successful career in the Island, 

 and the wonderful agricultural development 

 of Ceylon is in no small meaiuro due to 

 his services. He first arrived in the island 

 in 1896, since which date there has been a re- 

 markable extension and growth of the 

 scientific work done in connection with agri- 

 culture. At that date there was nothiug but 

 the Gardens and a Curator at Peraueuiya and 

 one at Hakgala. Now there is a staff of 

 eleven* fully trained and qualified scien- 

 tists, consisting of, in addition to the Dir- 

 ector, Dr. Willis, the Assistaut Director, 

 Dr, R. H. Lock, the Entomologist, Mr. E. E. 

 Green, the Mycologist, Mr. T. Patch, the 

 Chemist, Mr. M. Kelway Bamber, the Assistaut 

 Chemist, two Curators, one Mr. H. F. Mac- 

 millan, at Peraaeniya, the other, Mr. J. J. 

 Mock, at Hakgala, two Superintendents of Ex- 

 periment Stations, one, Mr. J. A. Holmes, at 

 Peradeuiya, the other, Mr. G Harbord, at Maha 

 Illuppallama, aud a Superintendent ot School 

 Gardens, Mr. C. Drieberg. Alt but one have been 

 appoiuted since the arrival olDr. Willis. 



Rubber Tapping Experiments. 

 The first thing which had any bearing ou 

 practical agriculture which Dr. Willis did was 

 to start rubber tapping experiments, soon after 

 he came out in 1896. Circulars were pu blished, and 

 Dr. Willis showed in them, for tho hrst time in the 

 East, the wouud response of rubber, aud brought 

 to public notice that it was going to be remuner- 

 ative. He went to Sir VVe^t ±iidgeway, Cue 

 then Governor, and persuaded him Co appoint 

 a scientific assistant, Mr Parkin, who woikod 

 out the method of making biscuits with aooiic 

 acid. That was published early in 1899. i)\oax 

 that time onwards rubber has goue steadily 

 ahead. To a very large extent the plantation 

 industry wnich has sprung up in (Jeyiou has 

 been the result of these investigation-!, al- 

 though it must not be torgooten mac similar 

 work was being done at the same time iu Sin- 

 gapore. On tho wnole, peraaps Ceylon was a 

 little ahead of Singapore, but the Malay Pen- 

 insula soon caught Ueylon up, and passed tne 

 Island in planting, having for one thing, a 

 bigger area. The early scientific work, however, 

 was done simultaneously. 



Cocoa Canker. 

 Another subject to which Dr. Willis' attea- 

 tion was directed, and which also led to the ex- 

 tension of the Department, waa cocoa c&aker, 



