Dec. 1008.] 513 Correspondence. 



PADDY REAPING MACHINE. 



Dear Sir,— Cau you inform me with what machine they reap the paddy 

 fields in America, where they grow rice on a large scale ? 



Iam thinking of planting 700 or 800 acres with European machinery, and I 

 would like your advice. 



I intend to plough with 3 furrow ploughs, and drill in the seed with drills, 

 and then try the reaper and binder for reaping it. 



Do you thiuk this mode of cultivation will work? The rice, I forgot to 

 mention, is dry rice, or as you call it Hill-paddy, and the land is fairly level. By the 

 present mode of cultivation it costs the Javanese twice as much to produce an acre 

 of paddy as it costs an Australian to produce an acre of wheat. If you will kindly 

 help me with a little information on this subject, I will be very thankful. 



Yours sincerely. 



A. ALLEN. 



Kesamben, Java, 14th Nov., 1900. 



[The machines in use in America are, I believe, large combined reapers and 

 threshers. Paddy is grown there at rates below even those of Bengal, the cheapest 

 eastern country. Some attempts of Europeans to grow rice in Ceylon failed, but 

 that is no proof that on flat land it might not be made profitable,— Ed.] 



The Ceylon Board of Agriculture. 



The Twenty-fifth meeting of the Board of Agriculture was held in the 

 Council Chamber at 12 noon on Monday, November 5th, 1900. 

 His Excellency the Governor presided. 



Others present were :— The Hon'ble Messrs. G. M. Fowler, J. Ferguson, F 

 Beven, S. C. Obeyesekere, Mr. H. T. S. Ward, Drs, J. C. Willis, H. M. Fernando, 

 G. W. Sturgess, Sir William Twynam, Mr. C. Drieberg, Mr. D. S. Dias Bandara- 

 nayake (Maha Mudaliyar) and the Secretary. 



Mr. L. W. A. de Soysa was present as a visitor. 



Business Done. 



1. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. 



2. The Secretary read a telegram received from Mr. J. H. Meedeniya 

 Ratemahatmeya, regretting his inability to attend the meeting. 



3. List of new members was read. 



4. The report of the Curator, Royal Botanic Gardens, on the sections judged 

 by him at the Kegalle Agri-Horticultural Show in September last was read. 



5. Progress Report No. XXIV was circulated. The Hon'ble Mr, Ferguson 

 asked for a list of Agri-Horticultural Shows held under the auspices of the Society. 



6. After dealing with some points mentioned in the Progress Report, His 

 Excellency the Governor informed the Board that it was no longer possible to 

 spare the services of a member of the Civil Service as Secretary to the Society. His 

 Excellency therefore proposed to appoint Mr. M. Kelway Baniber as Secretary 

 to the Society, and trusted that the proposal would meet with the approval of 

 the Board. The Hon'ble Mr. Ferguson was of opinion that the appointment of Mr. 

 Bamber would afford universal satisfaction, provided Mr. Bamber's private work 

 for the planters throughout the Island did not interfere with the performance of 

 his duties as Secretary. The Hon'ble Mr. Obeyesekere raised the question of the cost 



67 



