and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



179 



REPORT ON THE MEASURES TAKEN 



TO DE8TROY THE COCONUT TREES IN THE EAS- 

 TERN PROVINCE, CEYLON, WHICH FELL DURING 

 THE CYCLONE OF MARCH, 1907. 



On March 10, 1907, between the hours of 1 and 

 8 o'clock in the morning, a cyclone of terrific 

 violence swept over the centre of the Eastern 

 Province, 



2. This report is concerned only with the 

 damage done thereby to the coconut plantations 

 of the district. 



3. The seaboard of the Province is largely 

 taken up by coconut plantations, roughly, to a 

 width of 5 or 6 miles. 



4. The cyclone swept the district from a 

 point 20 miles north to a point 48 miles south of 

 Batticaloa town ; but its force was not intense 



.save between points 5 miles north and 39 miles 

 south of Batticaloa. 



5. The total number of trees blown down was 

 about 300,000. Of this total, about 250,000 were 

 blown down in the district 5 miles to 39 miles 

 south of Batticaloa town. 



6. I n the latter district the total number of 

 coconut trees over fifteen years old might have 

 been 700,000, so that 43 per cent of the matured 

 trees were destroyed. 



7. The following is a list of estates most 

 affected, together with the approximate number 

 of trees growing before the cyclono in the 

 damaged portions of the estates and thenuiuber 

 destroyed therein : — 



Name of listate. 

 Lux ton 



Kaster Seaton 

 Kaluthavelly 1 



do B 



do 3 

 tiea View Kalmuiiai 

 Karativoe 

 Nindoor 

 Ollmlle 

 Ad'Japalaui 

 Malcompaddy village 

 Menaputuey 

 Hameediali 



Total 



Approximate 

 Number of trees 

 before Cyclone. 

 15.000 

 V6.0U0 

 3,500 

 3,100 

 5,200 

 M50 

 16,000 

 4,800 

 5,000 

 5,000 

 480 

 3,200 

 2,570 



9 ',000 



Number of 



trees 

 destroyed. 

 9,000 

 10,881 

 1,792 

 2,525 

 4.753 

 1,'27 

 1-4,578 

 4,504 

 4,092 

 4.50J 

 4HS 

 2,650 

 1,850 



66,783 



8. Mature trees being worth from R10 to R15 

 each, the capital loss to the coconut industry in 

 the Eastern province may be calculated at 

 £250,000 sterling in round numbers. This loss 

 is all the more serious when it is remembered 

 that trees planted in the fame places as the ones 

 destroyed, will not bear good crops unless very 

 richly manured ; and, moreover, will not bear 

 good crops there or elsewhere for a period vary- 

 ing from twenty to twenty-five years. 



9. In addition to the measures to alleviate 

 distress it became an imperative necessity to 

 destroy or remove the trunks of the 300,000 

 fallen coconut trees, as their decaying timber 

 would breed beetles, in which event the surviv- 

 ing trees would be destroyed by these pests, 



10. To meet this emergency Government pro- 

 claimed the Pests Ordinance, No. 6 of 1907, in 

 the Batticaloa District. A Pests Board was 

 established with the Government Agent of the 

 Eastern Province as Chairman and composed of 

 representatives of the different communities. I 

 was seconded from the Public Works Depart- 

 ment as its executive officer with a seat on the 

 Board. 



11. It being impossible to remove the fallen 

 trees, it was proclaimed that they should be 

 buried or burnt. 



12. In August, 1907, I was instructed to enu- 

 merate and begin work. All estates over 25 

 acres in extent were in my sole charge as to 

 enumeration and destruction ; but on smaller 

 estates the enumeration was in charge of the 

 local Chief Headman — the Vanniah— and the 

 headmen next in rank to him, the Udaiyars. 



13. A sum of 25 cents per tree was paid at the 

 local Kachcheri to persons who furnished a 

 certificate signed or countersigned by me after 

 renewed inspection stating that their trees were 

 destroyed. The expenses involved were met 

 from the Government vote of R100,000 for the 

 destruction of fallen trees. 



14. From the outset the European planters^ 

 as a rule, were only too eager to carry out the 

 necessary destruction ; but the poorer and less 

 intelligent natives remained inactive. In soma 

 cases the latter consented to allow my men to 

 destroy the trees on contract, but eventually it 

 became necessary for the Chairman of the Pests 

 Board to give me right of entry to lands on 

 which dead trees lay, and to serve 



NOTICES ON PERSONS DELAYING DESTRUCTION, 

 WARNING THEM 



that after a certain date the Board would 

 destroy the trees and recover the costs involved 

 from the owners. I am glad to say that in no 

 single instance was this drastic measure en- 

 forced. This was mainly due to the obedience 

 of the people to the Chairman as Government 

 Agent and to his headmen. 



15. At the outset I studied the difficulty in- 

 volved in burning damp trees, especially in a 

 district where there is little or no fuel. I even- 

 tually devised a plan by which the work could 

 be done within the reward offered by Govern- 

 ment. The trees wore cut into leogtha of about 



