127 



FIBRES. 



COTTON CULTIVATION IN DELFT, CEYLON. 

 No one knows at present when or by whom cotton was first introduced 

 into the Island of Delft. The centenarians of the place, of whom there are about 

 half-a-dozen at the present day, assert that they were growing the " Oor-Parutti " 

 (indigenous cotton) till the time when Mr. Atherton introduced a new variety 

 from Colombo, which came to be known as the "Colombo Cotton." The cotton 

 grown here in the early years of British rule is now almost extinct. I am trying 

 to procure a specimen of the plant to be sent up for identification. The " Colombo 

 Cotton" has been identified as the "Sea Island Cotton." Cotton was atone time 

 cultivated very extensively in Delft, and the people used to manufacture their 

 own cloth till the sixties, when the introduction of cheap English goods and the 

 fall in the price of cotton made the people abandon their industry. All the weavers 

 turned farmers, and the present generation knows nothing of weaving. Only a 

 very few grow cotton now, and they sell the staple locally to fishermen for 

 making nets or to the weavers of Chunnakam who generally make a kiud of coarse 

 canvas largely used by the Jaffna boatmen for sails. In the 'eighties Sir William 

 Twyuam introduced a third variety, probably the New Orleans species which gave 

 a crop in five months and died soon after. The villagers, as they had no faith in the 

 rotation of crops, did not take a liking to this variety. It might almost be said 

 that the cotton raised at Delft is a wild product, since the only care bestowed 

 on the cultivation is seeing that the plants are not eaten up by cattle. The plants 

 are kept on for from five to six years at a stretch and no pruning is done. The 

 fields know neither weeding nor manuring. 



The cultivation begins in September when the field is first sown with some 

 dry grain, generally "chamy" or"varaku," and on the third day before the soil 

 is turned with the plough, cotton seeds rolled in cow dung (to keep them loose and 

 single) are strewn over the field at distances of from 3 to 4 feet and then the soil 

 is turned. The seeds germinate in about eight days and the plants grow up along 

 with the dry grain which is reaped in its own time. The cotton plants take a whole 

 year to blossom, and it is not till full two years have elapsed that any picking is 

 done. There are two crops in the year, the gathering in of the first taking place 

 between March and May, and the second between August and October. The first 

 crop is, as a rule, twice as large as the second. The picking is done every 

 other day. 



Plants are not known to have ever suffered from any pest or disease 

 Too heavy rains make the plants drop, but this is not a circumstance that people 

 have often to complain of. When the plants are cleared away after they have 

 yielded all they could, the land is allowed to lie fallow for a couple of years, 

 and then the cotton is grown again in the manner described. It is difficult 

 to make anything like an exact estimate of the amount of cotton produced 

 in a season or of the expenses incurred, as no system is followed in the 

 cultivation. 



Two men, who have grown cotton on their lands (about 3 acres in extent) 

 tor the last fifty years, have re-planted their lands every seventh year — allowing 

 them, as a, rule, to lie fallow for one and sometimes two years ; and the following 

 are the results attained by them. One of them, who took some pains in keeping 

 the land clear of Aveeds and seeing that there was no overgrowth, has had better 



