490 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



being tended in many ways like those on planta- 

 tions. If such areas become extensive, and 

 Brazil bestirs itself to improve the means of 

 transport, a price considerably below 3s per lb. 

 will still bring all the rubber out of Brazil that 

 is required, when one takes into consideration 

 the areas now being planted up with cultivated 

 rubber in the Congo and Mexico, besides the 

 more talked- of Ceylon and Malaya plantations. 



GUTTA PERCHA IN RUSSIA. 



St. Petersburg, 4pril 4.— Detailed reports re- 

 ceived trcm the Black Sea coast and the 

 Caucasus affirm that endeavours to cultivate 

 and naturalise there the indiarubber tree known 

 as " dichopsis gutta " are proving eminently 

 successful. Considering how veiy restricted is 

 the geographical distribution of gutta percha 

 trees, great importance is attached to this dis- 

 covery. — Telegraph. 



COCONUTS VS. RUBBER. 



The Taiping correspondent of the " Straits 

 Echo " writes : — 



The last Government Gazette contains a noti- 

 fication, regarding rates of rent upon agricul- 

 tural lands, which should be hailed with the 

 greatest satisfaction by planters and others 

 connected with agriculture in the State. The 

 rent on all lands exceeding 10 acres in area 

 will be as follows;— One dollar per acre per 

 annum for the first six years. Thereafter, 

 four dollars per acre per annum for first quality 

 land. For second quality land the rent will be 

 one dollar per acre per annum for the first six 

 years. Thereafter, three dollars per acre per 

 annum. Provided that, after the expiration of 

 six years, the rent on such land as shall have 

 been shown by the grantee to be under culti- 

 vation with coconuts shall be at the rate of 

 2 dols. per acre per annum and the rent on such 

 land as shall be shown to be under cultivation 

 with fruit trees or rice, shall continue to be at 

 the rate of one dollar per acre, the reduced 

 rates applying only to such land as is used ex- 

 clusively for the cultivation of the produce 

 respectively specified. Hitherto thero was no 

 exception in regard to lands planted with co- 

 conuts which had to pay at the same rate as 

 lands planted with rubber, and hence coconuts 

 planters were labouring under a great disadvan- 

 tage, not to say a positive grievance as coconuts 

 can never pay as well as rubber after the sixth 

 year. Government have recognised the necessity 

 for a change not a little too soon, and there 

 should now be no reason why coconut planta- 

 tions should not oe as popular as rubber.— 

 S F Press, April 17. 



PADDY OR RICE CULTIVATION. 



I. 



March 28th. 

 g IE; _A motion having been made in Decem- 

 ber last in the Legislative Council calling for 

 information re the present condition and pro- 

 gress of rice cultivation in the several Provinces 

 of the Island and the hindrances to the same, so 

 that ti e best methods may be adopted to 

 improve and extend this important industry, 



it is worth while mentioning that I contributed 

 in July and August last a series of papers 

 to the Siuhalese paper liivikirana on this 

 subject for the information of the people in 

 general, as they above all should know what is 

 necessary to improve the paddy cultivation. 

 I therein dwelt at length on the main causos of 

 the present depressed and neglected state of the 

 cultivation, and on the improvements that 

 should be effected through the instrumentality 

 of a class of intelligent and well-qualified field- 

 headmen. A great deal of orderly supervision, 

 improving and controlling village matters and 

 works connected with paddy cultivation depend 

 on the intelligence and qualifications, as well as 

 on the devotedness, of such headmen. I also 

 alluded to the main cause of the devastations of 

 paddy crops by frequent inundations, which are 

 attributable to the clearing of forests above the 

 rivers in the higher regions where confluents 

 meet, and to which water from the springs and 

 streams flows, although no notice of this is 

 taken by the Forest Department, which can 

 utilise such forest lands for better purposes so 

 as to safeguard the interests of the villagers. 



I pointed out the necessity of having well- 

 made ridges and causeways in tracts of paddy 

 fields to retain enough water soon after the 

 harvest till the next season for working com- 

 mences as these are at present much neglected, 

 or at any rate partially and hurriedly made just 

 before the tilling and sowing operations are 

 about to begin, so that in places where the 

 yield is not more than five or six fold, a maxi- 

 mum of double the produce may be expected 

 after careful cultivation and manuring. In 

 some places attention has to be paid to the 

 clearing of water- courses and canals, as well as 

 diverting them in different directions when it is 

 found necessary to irrigate arid or abandoned 

 fields in a tract under the supervision of an 

 intelligent chief field-headman. In order to 

 secure a good crop there are many local usages 

 and customs to be observed in regard to the 

 proper season for sowing and reaping, and the 

 selections of proper kinds of seed paddy which 

 ripen at the same time, all now sadly dis- 

 regarded ; and these are the things that must 

 be carefully superintended by tfie field-head- 

 man of the tract or village. The improvements 

 of unfertile tracts by means of different kinds 

 of manure suited to the soil is very essential and 

 must be effected by intelligent field-headmen 

 who should be well instructed and trained by 

 being in some way or other associated with the 

 Ceylon Agricultural Society. it is for these 

 reasons that I have suggested the appointment 

 of a set of intelligent field-headmen who should 

 be well remunerated for their services. But 

 then another question arises. How could this 

 be effected and how are the field-headmen to 

 be paid or remunerated ? I propose to solve 

 this problem. 



II. 



March 30th. 



Sie, — The whole trend of the past years has 

 been progress in commerce and trade and im- 

 provements made by opening roads and other 

 local methods of free and speedy communica- 

 tions as well as other advances made in civilisa- 



