314 



[October, 1908; 



that it can be used with advantage on, 

 at any rate, low-country " places. The 

 Experiment Station in the North-Central 

 Province is a case in point. So long as 

 we had to employ mamoty labour, the 

 weeding cost Rs. 4 an acre a month, for 

 weeds grow there in a way not often seen 

 in the south, and coolie labour is poor 

 and expensive. Now that the land is 

 tilled with American machinery, the 

 cost of weeding has gone down to 43 

 cents a month. For half what it costs 

 in South Ceylon we can not only keep 

 the ground free of weeds, but also keep 

 it in good tilth to a depth of 8 inches, so 

 that it needs no artificial watering for 

 most crops. This is a subject of such 

 great importance to agriculture in 

 Ceylon, that we shall return to it at a 

 later date, and give illustrative photo- 

 graphs. There is no doubt that such 

 tools as the disc-harrow and the culti- 

 vator could be used in most low-country 

 places in Ceylon. Persons who have 

 only seen them in shops say that they 

 want elephants to draw them, but ours 

 (6 feet wide) are drawn easily by two 

 bulls. Stones can be removed as come 

 upon, and their removal will benefit the 

 land, though it may make the first treat- 

 ment expensive. It is quite possible that 

 ploughing with a good plough, which 

 completely inverts the soil turned, may 



prove disadvantageous except at long 

 intervals, though it is the most effective 

 way of destroying weeds on weedy land. 

 Disc-harrows and cultivators, which 

 merely stir the soil, may prove best, and 

 in any case the plough need be used 

 only to get the soil into a condition in 

 which the other machines can be used. 

 Our ploughs can only do one-third of an 

 acre a day each, while the disc-harrow 

 and the cultivator can each do four acres. 



In such soils as that in which most of 

 the rubber in the Malay States is grow- 

 ing, clean weeding w ; ith the aid of 

 machinery would cost but little, and 

 would keep the ground well tilled, a con- 

 dition which would likely react upon 

 the growth of the trees, and in any case 

 would enable catch crops to be grown 

 upon the land. In a report written in 

 1904, we called attention to this feature 

 of the Malayan soils, but, so far as we 

 are aware, no one has made any move 

 towards putting our recommendations 

 into actual practice. 



Keep the top soil well tilled, and the 

 rain will soak in better, the lower soil 

 will remain damper, and the bacteria 

 that are essential to plant life will not 

 be killed by the sun's rays, while at the 

 same time the soil will be properly 

 aerated, and roots can grow better. 



