288 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist. 



cultivated, having 



Sugar and Rubber ... 3,750 acres. 

 Coconuts ... 712 ,, 



Rubber alone ... 1,116 ,, 



Sugar, however, will probably be gradually 

 superseded altogether in favour of the other 

 products, the conditions not being so favourable 

 as on Caledonia where the cultivation and 

 manufacture may bo expected to continue for 

 many years. The Perak properties, before many 

 years are over, may be expected to fall under 

 Rubber and Coconuts if prices do not go below 

 certain standards. 



The " Perak " table is as follows : — 

 Estates Belonging to the Straits Sugar 

 Co., Ltd. 

 Area of Nature of Area in 

 Estates. Estate. Cultivation. Cultivation. 



Acres. Acres. 

 fGedomr 3 ' 478 Sugar & Rubber 2, 100 

 , ! ueclong Coconut 294 



! Hai Kee 622 do do 418 

 S ] Rubana 4,883 Rubber 1.116 

 0* I Nova 



[ Scotia 6,429* Sugar & Rubber 1,650 

 15,412 5,578 



NATIVE AGRICULTURE AND TILLAGE 



Tf there is any word, the full significance of 

 which is not yet understood by the native culti- 

 vator, it is Tillage. His agriculture for genera- 

 tions past has consisted almost exclusively in the 

 growing of an irrigated crop in which tillage is at 

 a minimum and irrigation is depended upon to 

 save him the maximum of labour. For such 

 crops there was in ancient times ample tank 

 supplies of water, and in the conservation and 

 distribution of this water the ancient Sinhalese 

 were apparently expert. But the day of unlimited 

 tank irrigation is done and it will surely be 

 wise to limit the area of rice to such lands as 

 offer special facilities for its cultivation, and 

 replace it elsewhere by crops (such as Indian 

 Corn, the Sorghums, &c.) which can do without 

 much water. It was stated at the Agricultural 

 Board (by Dr. Willis, we believe) that in Ceylon 

 an unnecessarily large amount of water is used 

 in the irrigation of rice fields. This is very likely 

 the case, and the supply can possibly be utilised 

 to much greater advantage : that is, over wider 

 areas. But at present we are not so much con- 

 cerned with the regulation of the existing water 

 supply, as with the question of inducing the 

 native cultivator to grow crops (and learn to 

 grow them well) that are not likely to fail him. 

 We have already mentioned Indian corn or 

 Maize as a cereal worthy of his atttention, and 

 one which has proved its value as a wholesome 

 and nutritious food crop in North America, South 

 Africa and elsewhere. It is said that the natives 

 will not take to Indian corn as a diet. If that is 

 bo then there is ample scope for the Agricultural 

 Society to use its influence in popularising the 

 cultivation and consumption of this grain, parti- 

 cularly in districts where irrigation facilities 

 are scanty and the rainfall deficient. Indian 

 corn is. to a considerable extent, grown in the 

 Nuwara Eliya, Badulla and Kurunegala dis- 

 tricts ; and there is no reason why, if it suits one 

 section of the native population, it should not 

 suit another. 



But the cultivation of all dry land crops, 

 whether Indian corn or the different varieties 

 of millet that are usually grown, is carried on 

 according to a rude and wasteful system — a relic 

 of barbarous times— known as " chena." This, 

 system might have answered in days of old 

 when there was an unlimited extent of fresh 

 areas, and lands could be left to lie fallow 

 for long periods. But the time has come when 

 it must give place to a better scheme. The ques- 

 tion will naturally be asked, is it possible to 

 carry on continuous cultivation of the areas 

 known as " chena lands." Undoubtedly, but 

 only on the following conditions : — (1) That the 

 crops must be rotated, (2) that seeds should 

 be sown in drills, (3) that the soil should be 

 properly tilled, and (4) that the land should 

 be periodically manured. 



By rotating, we mean, that the area culti- 

 vated should grow a succession of crops, so 

 that a cereal will recur after, say, two other 

 crops, one of which may be a " root crop, and 

 the other a leguminous crop. For the con- 

 venience of the cultivator, his whole land need 

 not be devoted to one crop at a time, but 

 equally divided between the crops of the 

 rotation, e.g., if he is adopting a three-course 

 rotation into three equal sections, one of 

 which will always carry a grain crop and the 

 other two each of the alternative crops. The 

 object of sowing seed in drills is to facili- 

 tate woeding and tilling' dining the growing- 

 period, operations that can never be satis- 

 factorily carried on where the seed is sown 

 broad-cast or irregularly distributed. 



Tillage, as has already been remarked, is 

 what the cultivator least understands. It would 

 exceed our limits of space to go fully into a con- 

 sideration of the importance of tillage in agrif 

 culture, suffice it to say that it helps to maintain 

 the fertility of soil and conserve the moisture 

 in it. As a preparatory to cultivation, land 

 must be thoroughly and deeply worked, but 

 while the crop is growing it is necessary that the 

 top layer should be constantly stirred to bring 

 about the condition known as a "fine tilth." 

 This is the secret of dry- land cultivation, 

 and if only the Sinhalese cultivator will make 

 up his mind to follow this system, all his ap- 

 parently insuperable difficulties will disappear 

 as mist before the wind, and he will discover — 

 to his surprise— that it is possible to satisfact- 

 orily raise crops under what are generally con- 

 sidered the most unfavourable conditions. 



Manuring is another neglected item in native 

 agriculture, and the cultivator has yet to learn 

 to look upon his land as a bank from which he 

 cannot continue to make withdrawals without 

 also making deposits. The Tamils of the North 

 offer an admirable example to their Sinhalese 

 neighbours, in that they utilise every avail- 

 able form of waste organic matter and green 

 manure to enrich their lands. Given proper 

 attention to the general principles enunciated 

 under the above four heads, the condition of 

 the " goiya " should be materially altered for 

 the better ; and it is for those whose business 

 it is, to utilise every means in their power to 

 educate him to a recognition of what is expected 

 of him — not as an old-time but an up-to-date 

 cultivator in order that he may not continue 

 in the precarious position in which his laisttv 

 /aire style of living has placed him. 



