( 2 ) 



Lands which it is intended to plant with manioea are ploughed or hoed and in some 

 cases manured, but not always. Manuring is usual in the Islands, for instance, but in 

 Valikamam North, where the soil is richer, it is not usual to manure. The plant does:not 

 require much manuring, but manuring of course increases its growth. 



The best manure is considered to be palmyra olas or green leaves buried half a foot deep. 



The cultivation goes on throughout the whole year. In places with sandy soils it is 

 usual to plant in January, but in other places it is planted generally in May with the dry 

 grains, such as sami, which are sown in that month. The water that irrigates the dry grain 

 then serves for the manioea plants also,' and when the dry grain is r'eaped the beds are made 

 up again, and the manioea watered every two or three days ; or in some places, such as in 

 Valikamam East, every four days. 



It is cultivated in the Eastern Provinces usually in chenas and in clearings for paddy 

 fields where the ground is not too low. 



It is generally planted at the beginning of the north-east monsoon rains about 

 August or September. The result is that in the Eastern Province no watering of the plant 

 is required or carried : - on. The practice here differs from that in the Jaffna Peninsula, 

 where the cultivation is started at all times of the year and consequently watering is 

 necessary. 



The yield per acre in the Eastern Province is estimated to be between Rs. 60 and Rs. 90. 

 There are 1,000 beds per acre, and each bed brings in from 6 to 9 cents. Traders buy the 

 produce of the beds wholesale at the clearings and make a substantial profit out of the trans- 

 action, as they retail the yam in the bazaars at 1| to 2 cents a pound. It is a popular food 

 in the Eastern Province, and along with kurakkan and Indian corn it has tided over many 

 a season of scarcity and famine. 



J. P. LEWIS. 



