September, 1008.] 



277 



Miscellaneous. 



plan by which the people will come forward 

 as a community and approach Government 

 with a view of getting Government help, 

 will meet with every consideration. The 

 idea of the Mudaliyar is that any outlay, 

 which may be incurred, should be defrayed 

 by their giving a tithe of their crops ; and I 

 would, in connection with that, and the 

 remark which has fallen from the Colonial 

 Secretary and the Hon. Mr. Obeyesekere, 

 like to point out that the proposal is entirely 

 a different matter from a tax on paddy. The 



Tax on Paddy 



came into the Government coffers. This 

 would be a voluntary contribution from the 

 people themselves for work for their direct 

 benefit, and be expended upon them ; and it 

 is, therefore, no more a resuscitation of a tax 

 than it would be if they put money into a 

 fund for the holding of Agricultural Shows 

 on their own which they hoped would benefit 

 themselves. As regards the amount of one 

 tithe, it is very possible, under such circum- 

 stances as these that it might not be suffici- 

 ent to cover the expenditure, and it is no 

 doubt known to some of the members that 

 in various portions of the Colony we are now 

 opening up paddy fields upon what you 

 might call an extension of Sir Henry Ward's 

 system; by which the people pay, on the 

 share principle, one-fifth of their crops, whe- 

 ther big or small, on the termination of which 

 they keep their titles. . A somewhat similar 

 system may be held in this case also ; and I 

 say particularly that one tithe might not be 

 sufficient in some circumstances. Seeing 

 that the Mudaliyar has suggested, and, I 

 may say, with some show of reason, that the 

 headmen who are engaged in the business 

 should also be remunerated for their trouble. 

 In connection with what has fallen from the 

 Colonial Secretary as regards the abolition 

 of the paddy tax in 1893, that it has been 

 mentioned to me several times that one of 

 the drawbacks of the abolition of that tax is 

 that the headmen no longer care a rap for 

 paddy cultivation in their districts, although 

 formerly they used to do so. Where the 

 headmen have given out the seed themselves, 

 they have been particularly interested : but 

 as a rule they do not take an interest as 

 regards the paddy cidti vatic >n of their district 

 as they did in the past. As regards the 

 second column of the paper, where it is pro- 

 posed that there should be advances made to 

 cultivators, and that there should be eventu- 

 ally organised Agricultural Banks, I may say 

 that these remarks are not only fully appre- 

 ciated by me, but they are remarks very 

 similar to those which at the pi'esent moment 

 are before the Secretary of State. As no 

 reply has come to my Despatch, it would be 

 irregular of me to give it to you. 



My Idea 



is to advance to the cultivator, on easy terms 

 and on the security of his lands, his seed 

 paddy, and the agricultural implements suit- 



able for his purposes in carrying out any 

 scheme. There should be as little Govern- 

 ment interference as possible. The people 

 themselves should, as far as possible, ad- 

 minister the machinery. In districts where 

 there is a branch of the Agricultural Society 

 I would leave the administration to a 

 Committee consisting of the chief revenue 

 officer, as Chairman, with the nominated 

 members of the Province on the Agricultural 

 Board, and with them I would associate the 

 Gansabawa or Village Committee. In the 

 case of any Government contribution to a 

 fund, I would propose that, after payment of 

 expenses, including loan, interest, and sinking 

 fund, any balance should be paid to the 

 credit of the District Committee to form the 

 foundation of small agricultural banks for the 

 promotion of different forms of agriculture. 



Continuing, His Excellency said: I venture 

 to express the hope that the Mudaliyar will 

 favour us with further remarks on this 

 subject, after he has considered it with other 

 Mudaliyars in the lowcountry. A further 

 paper would not only prove of interest to the 

 Society itself, but of great value to his 

 Sinhalese compatriots. (Hear, hear.) 



Mr. A. F. West, Acting Government En- 

 tomologist, read a paper on 



"Vermin Destruction," 

 after which His Excellency invited discussion, 

 which was not forthcoming. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



By C Drieberg. 

 B. G. P.— The latest invention in the 

 way of a white-ant destroyer is a con- 

 trivance consisting of an air-pump con- 

 nected by a short length of rubber-hose 

 with a furnace. By working the pump 

 a continuous blast of air is delivered 

 into the furnace, entering beneath and 

 escaping through a pipe near the top, to 

 which is attached a flexible iron hose. 

 A charcoal fire is first started in the 

 furnace, and, by pumping, got thorough- 

 ly air tight. A powder is then sprinkled 

 over the fire and the lid closed. By con- 

 tinuing the pumping a very hot cloud of 

 poisonous smoke is driven out through 

 the flexible iron hose, the end of which 

 is inserted into the white-ant "nest" 

 and the smoke thus driven in. The 

 appliance is recommended by the Govern- 

 ment Entomologist, who is using one at 

 Peradeniya. and will no doubt be ready 

 to give any further information with 

 reference to it to any one applying to 

 him. 



M. E.— The incubator at the Stock 

 Garden has only been started lately, 

 but it has done well so far, and hatched 

 out a first brood of chickens early this 



