July, 1609.] 



58 



Miscellaneous. 



Fernando, and the Secretary of the 

 Ceylon Agricultural Society, recom- 

 mended : (1) That the number of school 

 gardens should be increased and the 

 work further encouraged by the offer 

 of a larger number of prizes ; (2) that 

 arrangements be made for a course of 

 lectures to teachers on Nature Study on 

 the same lines as the present sanitary 

 lectures ; (3) that Dr. Willis and Mr. Lock 

 be requested to prepare a Manual of 

 Nature Study lessons, and that the 

 Superintendent of School Gardens be 

 asked to prepare an Agricultural Reader 

 for Ceylon, both to be translated into 

 Sinhalese for use in village schools ; (1) 

 that definite agricultuial teaching be 

 provided and illustrated by practical 

 experiments in a select number of verna- 

 cular schools ; (5) that the curriculum 

 for teachers under training at the 

 Government Training College be made 

 to include Nature Study, and that a 

 special teacher be appointed to take 

 charge of this work as soon as one is 

 available ; (6) that a school of agriculture 

 be started at Peradeniya for the training 

 of Agricultural Instructors, and a course 

 of training be provided for the benefit 

 of candidates nominated for village 

 headmauships. 



Since this report was submitted, the 

 subject of Agricultural Education was 

 brought prominently before the Board 

 in the form of a scheme drafted by Mr. 

 W. A. de Silva. At the present time 

 the whole matter is in the hands of 

 a new Committee appointed by His 

 Excellency the Governor to consider 

 and report upon a comprehensive 

 memorandum which His Excellency has 

 himself written on the subject for their 

 guidance. This new Committee is com- 

 posed of the Hon. Mr, Lewis, the Hon, 

 Mr. Booth, the Director of the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, the Director of Public 

 Instruction, Dr. H. M. Fernando, Mr. 

 S. D. Mahawalatenne, and the Secretary 

 of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



Agricultural Capital. 



The Organizing Vice-President has 

 repeatedly referred to the great need for 

 capital in rural agriculture, and explain- 

 ed how the lack of it hinders agricultural 

 progress among the poorer classes who 

 form the bulk of the rural population. 

 Laudable efforts have been made by a 

 few branch societies to meet this 

 difficulty. Chief among them is the 

 Dumbara Branch, whose co-operative 

 credit society has been successfully 

 worked through the efforts of Mr. W. 

 Dunuwille, Disawa, Mr. R. E. Parana- 

 gama, Ratemahatmaya. and the in- 

 defatigable Secretary, Mr. C. Rasana- 

 yagam Mudaliyar. A recent report on 



this institution will be found in the 

 "Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine 

 of the Ceylon Agricultural Society " for 

 February, 1909. Similar operations, 

 though on a smaller scale, have been 

 carried on by the Telijjawila and Galle 

 Wellaboda Pattu Branches. In all these 

 cases the transactions were confined 

 mainly to loans of paddy. The subject 

 of loans to cultivators has been well 

 ventilated at recent Board Meetings — 

 the chief contributor being Mr. A. 

 Dissanaike, late President of Salpiti 

 korale. At the suggestion of the 

 President, further contributions were 

 invited by the Society from those quali- 

 fied to advise, and the papers received in 

 response are now before His Excellency, 

 who has announced his intention of 

 submitting his own memorandum to a 

 special committee to be appointed to 

 deal with the matter. 



Transplanting in Paddy Cultivation. 



This mode of cultivation, which the 

 Society has done much to foster by 

 means of leaflets, lectures, and demon- 

 strations, is gaining ground, receiving 

 particular attention at the hands of 

 the Mudaliyars of Weligama, Galle 

 Wellaboda Pattu, Bentota- Walallawiti 

 korale, Pasdun Korale East, and Rayigam 

 korale. A number of school gardens, 

 notably that at Paraduwa, have helped 

 in this work through the successful 

 experiments carried out by the school 

 boys themselves. Accounts of these 

 experiments have appeared from time to 

 time in the Progress Reports, tending to 

 show that the advantages of the system 

 are being appreciated. 



Manuring. 



The necessity for employing green 

 manures or artificial fertilizers is now 

 more generally recognized by native 

 cultivators, and the manuring of paddy 

 is following that of coconuts. Messrs. 

 Freudenberg & Co. have come to the 

 aid of the Society in its efforts to 

 demonstrate the efficacy of manures, as 

 fertilizers or correctives, and, though 

 that firm is likely to ultimately benefit 

 through their enterprise, the Society 

 appreciates their co-operation in show- 

 ing the cultivator how he could increase 

 his crops. In the North, where animal 

 and vegetable -manures are systemati- 

 cally used, and at considerable cost, 

 the economy of employing prepared 

 mixtures has been proved by experi- 

 ments carried out by the Agricultural 

 Instructor stationed in Jaffna. 



Rotation of Crops. 

 The advantage of adopting a rotation, 

 wherever possible, has been pressed upon 

 cultivators in the Sinhalese-speaking 



