November, 1911.] 



397 



Edible Products. 



In this connection I would point out 

 that the big works in Batticaloa South 

 are dependent for Iheir supply on 

 streams rising in theBadulla hills, only 

 small feeders of which originate within 

 the zone of 100 inches R. F. I would 

 suggest, enquiry should be made as to 

 the necessity of reserving any of the 

 forest on the higher hill iu this region in 

 the interests of the water supply, as 

 very little of the South-West Monsoon 

 gets into the next zone (of 75 inches). 

 The source ot the Magam River which 

 feeds the Tissa Tanks should also be 

 similarly looked to. 



The subject decidedly calls for con- 

 sideration, for whatever its cause the 

 average rainfall has decreased during 

 the last twenty years (subsequent to 

 1892) as compared with the same period 

 before the abolition of the grain tax. 

 Thus 



1908-01,.. 56 Inches. 

 1903-07.. .80 „ 

 1998-02.. .80 „ 

 1993-97... 83 „ 



304 



1889-92... 97 Inches. 

 1883-88... 87 „ 

 1878- 82... 98 ,, 

 1873-77.. .76 „ 



358 



Annual Average 76 against (say) 90. 



These are of course Colombo figures, 

 and it would be advisable and interest- 

 ing to see if at other stations, especially 

 where the N.E. monsoon is the predom- 

 inant contributor, the results are the 

 same. 



The last four years of short supply are, 

 however, not unprecedented, as a similar 

 period of deficiency prevailed from 1872 

 to 1875, following in both cases a very 

 heavy year 118" in 1871 and 114" in 1903, I 

 trust that climate, like history, may 

 repeat itself, and that a wet cycle is now 

 in store for the island. 



I hope that the close connection I have 

 pointed out as existing between cultiv- 

 ation of paddy and the rainfall will 

 prevent a repetition of the mistakes 

 made by a writer who under the name 

 of "Speculum" in 1867-8, poked fun at the 

 Government returns. I have gone care- 

 fully into his figures, and find that 

 there was nothing very wrong in those 

 he questioned (except such palpable 

 clerical errors as I have eliminated in the 

 later returns), and that the discrepancies 

 he lays stress on were due to the rain- 

 fall and the increasing crops at Batti- 

 caloa which he overlooked. But I must 

 admit that the explanations given by the 

 high officials, in Council at that time, 

 exhibit similar ignorance of the true 

 causes, and gave ground for further 

 scoffing. 



Another instance of questioning the 

 correctness of the Government returns 



based on apparent inconsistencies occur- 

 red during the discussion which followed 

 the reading of my paper on Paddy Cultiv- 

 ation before the Ceylon Branch of the 

 Royal Asiatic Society iu 1885, when 

 one speaker based his remarks on the 

 returns of production for ihe Batticaloa 

 district having fallen from 24 bushels 

 per acre in 1870 to 17 in 1877, 12 in 

 1883, and 6 in 1884, a statement which 

 it is noted 'raised a laugh.' Un- 

 fortunately I was not prepared for an 

 explanation ou the spot, but a reference 

 to the rainfall at once supplies the 

 reason, viz., that there was an unusually 

 wet August (1883) nearly 88" at Colombo, 

 and that this induced a very large cultiv- 

 ation— 72,649 acres in the Eastern Pro- 

 vince ; but it was followed by only a 

 moderate fall in October and a consider- 

 able failure in November and December, 

 and a perfectly dry January. I was 

 relieved at Batticaloa by Mr. Allanson 

 Bailey, and have a perfect lecol lection 

 of the unusually dry weather at Xmas 

 1883, Though this permitted us both to 

 come and go by road comfortably, it 

 was undoubtedly the ruination of the 

 crops, and quite accounts for the low 

 return in 1884. 



Coming to later times, I find some 

 oversights of a similar nature in the 

 reports printed in Sess. Paper VI. of 

 li)08. Thus Mr. Booth was at a loss to 

 explain an increase of 7,342 acres in the 

 Alutkuru Korale of the Colombo dis- 

 trict of figures for 1907 over those given 

 for 1880-1. If he had referred to the 

 weather reports he would have, I think, 

 hit on the truth, viz., that the rainfall 

 in 1880-81 was only 56 inches (for the agri- 

 cultural year), while in 1906-7 though the 

 rainfall was only 65 inches, it was well 

 distributed ; and as the arable area in 

 Alutkuru Korale was so late as 1888, 

 reported to be 9.855 acres (G.C. return;-) a 

 cultivation of 15,334 in 1906-7 points to an 

 extensive second tilling of the same land 

 consequent on a good North-East and an 

 early heavy little Monsoon in April, 

 1907. At the same time I would depre- 

 cate comparisons between single years. 



I could multiply instances, but I tbirk 

 those giveu will show that as in the days 

 of the Lion and Tiger of the Jatakas, a 

 modern friendly Bodisat may still be 

 useful to elucidate such differences of 

 opinion and attribute them to the more 

 probable source. I trust that my efforts 

 in this direction may be found useful as 

 regards paddy, and be generally accepted 

 as more in accordance with modern 

 views, than I fear the original decision 

 of the Bodisat in the case quoted would 

 be considered in these days. 



{To be continued.) 



