December, 1910. j 



543 



Micellaneous. 



was the ' Climax.' Some of the well-to-do 

 cultivators present at the demonstration 

 at once expressed their wish to invest in 

 the Pony plough, and on Mr. Chelliah's 

 recommendation I request you to be 

 good enough to purchase and forward as 

 soon as possible seven Pony ploughs, 

 small size, right-handed, that is, turning 

 the soil to the right, and also a dczen 

 Meston ploughs, right-handed, and fitted 

 with the long, sharp, improved share, 

 which Mr. Chelliah informs me is avail- 

 able, and is greatly superior to the old 

 share. I consider the Meston plough, 

 being cheaper and lighter, will (it" 

 efficient) be the more suitable implement 

 for the small cultivator." 



Mr, C. A. Valoopilly, of Anuradhapura, 

 writes on October 28:— "I have the 

 honour to request you to be good enough 

 to send me two ' Sivagiri ' ploughs of the 

 same pattern as the one sent to me per 

 Mr. Chelliah, Agricultural Instructor. 

 I have for the last three mouths used 

 the plough, and have great pleasure in 

 informing you that it has proved highly 

 satisfactory and has given excellent 

 results- It is getting quite popular here, 

 and is, in my opinion, the plough for the 

 district." 



It has been found that the same plough 

 does not suit every district equally well, 

 and this is only to be expected in view of 

 the varying character of soil and other 

 natural conditions. Eventually, no 

 doubt, each district will have its own 

 special type of implement. 



Tobacco — The following report has 

 been received from Mr. E. Cowan, 

 Superintendent of the Tobacco Experi- 

 ment at Maha Iluppalama, dated 

 September 30 :— 



"I visited the experiment twice in 

 September, The fermenting is going on 

 well, but owing to the smallness of the 

 quantity of tobacco it will be slower 

 than usual, as there is not enough bulk 

 to make big staples and get a big heat in 

 a short time ; but I do not consider that 

 this will harm the leaf, which is turning 

 out soft and silky, and of a good quality. 



" For next year's crop the jungle has 

 been cleared and burnt, and will be dug 

 up as soon as rain comes. 



"With regard to Sumatra seed, of 

 which we shall have about 10 dozen 

 bottles, I propose to sell this at Rs. 15 

 per bottle and Java at Rs. 12-50. All 

 applications should be made to the 

 Superintendent at Maha Iluppalama. 

 The seed has been picked from selected 

 trees, and should do well. I am planting 

 a little now to see if it germinates better 

 than imported seed," 



Mr. Cowan has drawn up a memo- 

 randum of hints to tobacco cultivators, 

 which will be submitted at the Board 

 Meeting and printed as a leaflet in the 

 vernaculars. 



On the 29th November, Mr. Cowan 

 made the following further report : — 



" The leaf is now all picked and in the 

 drying shed aud what has been fer- 

 mented and nearly ready for sorting is 

 of good quality and colour. On my 

 next visit about 8th or 9th December I 

 hope to start the sorting and propose to 

 sort into the following marks : — 



Light spotted and unspotted 

 Light Brown spotted and unspotted 

 Brown spotted and unspotted 

 Dark (including anything wet) 

 Broken. 



I consider these five marks enough for 

 this crop, but next year shall hope to 

 subdivide them again. 



" Mr. Schulz from Messrs. Freudenberg 



6 Co. ; has seen the tobacco and speaks 

 favourably of it, and I consider that, if 

 sorted as above and rebundled and 

 measured in length, it will pay us better 

 than sending it to Europe in bulk — 

 because, if sent in bulk, we shall only be 

 paid on the worst sample ; but by sending 

 it sorted, each grade will sell on its 

 merits and give us a better idea what 

 colour and quality to aim at next year. 



"The land for 1911 is being cultivated 

 and nurseries laid out, and I hope to 

 begin planting at the end of December." 



Cotton. — The following is an interim 

 report from Messrs. Freudenberg & Co., 

 the local agents for the British Cotton 

 Growing Association, dated Novem- 

 ber 14 :— 



" Since we started to distribute our 

 circular and the booklet ' Cotton Culti- 

 vation in Ceylon,' a daily increasing 

 interest has arisen all over the Island. 

 The seed ordered from the British Cotton 

 Growing Association consisted of 5 cwt. 

 Allen's Improved Long Staple, 1 cwt. 3 

 qr. 19 lb. Abassi Egyptian, 5 cwt. 2 qr. 



7 lb. Sea Island, and was soon disposed 

 of. We favoured mostly those culti- 

 vators who intended to plant at least 

 5 acres. Smaller areas are scarcely suffi- 

 cient to derive a substantial profit and 

 to prepare a few bales for shipment to 

 Manchester. We must look to the 

 wealthier classes to help us in this direc- 

 tion, and to take the lead in introducing 

 cotton cultivation among the villagers. 

 Below we give a statement of the distri- 

 bution of cotton seed in the different 

 districts ; we have only mentioned those 

 planters who are making trials on at 



