142 [Feb. 1908, 



MISCELLANEOUS 



SIR HENRY BLAKE ON NATIVE 

 AGRICULTURE AND THE 

 CEYLON AGRICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



(Extract from Paper 7 ead before the 

 Royal Colonial Institute.) 



But in considering the future welfare 

 of the people, the present needs should 

 not be neglected ; and, while the popu- 

 lation is on the whole as contented as 

 any community known to my experience, 

 and as law-abiding in its attitude to- 

 wards the Government, it is evident 

 that their material prosperity may be 

 greatly enhanced if they can be induced 

 to improve upon their present system of 

 agriculture, and to adopt better arrange- 

 ments for the disposal of their produce. 

 It would be impossible in the time at 

 our disposal to go into the question of 

 land tenure. Suffice it to say that it is 

 varied and complicated, as customs that 

 in bygone times could be dealt with by 

 the arbitrary will of the king, and diffi- 

 culties settled by a word, have been 

 accepted and legitimised by the British 

 Government in the Ordinance 12 of 1840, 

 by which for the first time definite and 

 inalienable rights of property were con- 

 ferred upon all owners then in possession. 



The Ceylon Agricultural Society 



was formed by rue in November, 1901, 

 after I had visited the greater portion of 

 the island. Its object was to bring all 

 classes down to the smallest cultivators 

 into closer touch with the Government, 

 with each other, and with the scientific- 

 staff of the Botanic Department, for, if 

 any improvement was to be hoped tor, 

 science must go hand in hand with 

 labour. The central society was formed 

 of all the members of the Legislature, 

 some of the principal inhabitants, Euro- 

 pean and native, of each province, and 

 all the members of the staff of the 

 Botanic Department. Local societies 

 were formed by voluntary action in 

 every part of the island, and were 

 affiliated to the Central Board of Agri- 

 culture. They receive all the publi- 

 cations of the Society, and every infor- 

 mation that can be of use to cultivators is 

 sent out in thousands of leaflets in 

 Sinhalese and Tamil to the local societies. 

 Every member pays a subscription, and 

 the feeling of self-respect is preserved. 

 Instructors are appointed by the Central 

 Board, who, on invitation, are prepared 

 to attend any meeting of local societies, 

 and give practical instruction upon any 

 matter under consideration, and the 

 staff of the Botanic Department, who 



from the first have placed their services 

 unreservedly at the disposal of the 

 Society, answer readily any questions 

 submitted to them, and of themselves 

 issue valuable advice that strikes the 

 director, the chemist, the mycologist, or 

 the entomologist as being of service on 

 the general question, or in the event of 

 the occcurrenoe of a pest or disease. The 

 result has been quite equal to my ex- 

 pectations. I will not say beyond them, 

 for my experience has shown me that, if 

 the people believe that there is a bona 

 fide anxiety to assist them, they will 

 respond. In May, 1907, the latest date 

 for which I have statistics, there were 

 1,200 members of the Central Society, 

 and fifty-two local branches had been 

 established with an aggregate member- 

 ship of 4,000. Numbers of native gentle- 

 men came forward, some giving con- 

 siderable sums, others sufficient areas of 

 land for experimental stations, and ex- 

 periments were in progress that cover 

 the entire ground of rotation in paddy 

 fields ; and on high ground, the introduc- 

 tion of new products, such as date 

 palms, sisal hemp, salt bush for fodder, 

 Australian and American maize, &c, 

 and the improvement of paddy by the 

 introduction of the best new varieties, of 

 cotton, of tobacco, of arrowroot, of 

 cassava, and other numerous products 

 hitherto neglected. Experiments are 

 also being made in widely separated 

 districts of the effects of artificial 

 manures generously supplied free by 

 Messrs. Freudenberg & Co., of Colombo. 

 Sericulture and apiculture are also re- 

 ceiving attention, and results in all these 

 matters are brought before the people 

 by agricultural shows organised by the 

 local societies, with the co-operation of 

 the Central Board, the judges being 

 supplied generally from the staff of the 

 Botanic Department, and pains being 

 taken that prizes are only given to the 

 actual growers of the exhibits. In these 

 shows the people take a deep interest, 

 and the competition is very keen. 

 Co-operation has made considerable 

 strides, and I look forward to a great 

 extension of the principle. The Central 

 Board of Agriculture has made arrange- 

 ments for the receipt in Colombo of 

 consignments of cattle, agricultural pro- 

 duce, or fruit from local societies, and 

 for their sale by auction or in the 

 markets, and this arrangement has 

 worked well. In two or three districts 

 Co-operative Loan Societies have been 

 formed with entirely satisfactory results. 

 In this direction I have been urged from 

 time to time to establish Government 

 Loan Banks, but I have refused, for I 

 am satisfied that any practical success 



