November, 1911/j 



451 



Miscellaneous* 



the Colony, and express the hope that 

 the experiment will be taken up by 

 Government through the new Agricul- 

 tural Department on scientific lines, 

 and that a tobacco expert be appoint- 

 ed for a term of years with a view to as- 

 certaining the best kinds of tobacco for 

 Ceylon to produce, the various kinds of 

 tobacco which can be grown profitably 

 in the Island, and the districts in which 

 such can be grown. Also, that the 

 Tobacco Expert should train a few 

 officers in scientific tobacco cultivation, 

 so that, on the completion of his agree- 

 ment with the Government, these officers 

 may be in a position to carry on the 

 cultivation upon a commercial basis, 

 and also act as Instructors in the future." 

 The resolutions were adopted. 



The Chairman enquired as to the cir- 

 cumstances under which Mr, Cowan was 

 given notice. Dr. Willis and Mr. Seuior 

 explained that this action was taken in 

 the interest of the Society subject to 

 the approval of the Board, inasmuch 

 as the experiment had been concluded, 

 and there was no object in retaining 

 Mr. Cowan's services. 



The Chairman then put the question 

 . to the meeting whether the action of 

 the Tobacco Committee in giving notice 

 to Mr. Cowan was confirmed, and 

 declared that the confirmation was 

 unanimous. 



Dr. Willis referred to certain pro- 

 posals submitted by Mr. Harbord, Super- 

 intendent of the Experiment Station, 

 in connection with the tobacco experi- 

 ment. He announced that the Tobacco 

 Committee were not in favour of these 

 proposals, and moved that they should 

 not be accepted. 



The motion was carried. 



Mr. H. P. Macmillan, Curator, Royal 

 Botanic' Gardens, Peradeniya, read his 

 paper on "Fruits Worth Growing in 

 Ceylon," for which he was accorded a 

 vote of thanks. 



C. DRIEBERG. 

 Secretary, C.A.S. 

 Colombo, 16th October, 1911. 



TOBACCO (FOR THE EUROPEAN 

 MARKET) IN CEYLON. 



THE EXPERIMENT AT MAHA 

 ILUPPALAMA. 



REPORT BY J. VAN LEENROFF, 

 e Chief of Tobacco Division of the Transvaal ; 

 Lat late Government Tobacco Expert of Porto Rico 

 and of the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D.C. Holder of certificate of tlie 

 " Ecoled' application des Tabacs," Paris, and of 

 thj Imperial Tobacco Manufactures, Strasburg, 

 Germany. Reported on Tobacco Industries of 

 Cuba, Rhodesia, Orange River Colony, and 

 Mauritius. 



Introduction, 

 I was informed in a letter from the 

 Secretary of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society, dated March 21, that the 

 Tobacco Committee of this Society re- 

 quested me to make a report on the 

 present tobacco experiments on the 

 Maha Iluppalama Experiment Station, 

 and that the Caylon Government ap- 

 pointed me to visit and report on the 

 Jaffna, Trincomalee, and Dumbara 

 Districts with regard to the tobacco in- 

 dustry generally, and to offer advice on 

 lines of possible improvement. 



Up to the present I finished my in- 

 vestigations in the Trincomalee and 

 Jaffna Districts ; but as it was desired 

 that the report on the experiments at 

 the Experiment Station should be pre- 

 pared as early as possible, a separate 

 report on these experiments is given 

 herewith— the general one to be prepared 

 some months later. 



This report is somewhat hastily pre- 

 pared, and I shall therefore be glad to 

 explain in person any points on which 

 I may have omitted to touch, if request- 

 ed to do so. 



Visit to the Maha Iluppalama Station. 



I visited the Maha Iluppalama Sta- 

 tion twice, i.e., once officially on behalf 

 of the Society on April 9, and once 

 as a private visitor in the middle of 

 February. 



To the Officer in Charge of the Sta- 

 tion (Mr. G. Harbord) and to the Tobacco 

 Officer (Mr. Cowan) my intended visit on 

 April 9 had been duly announced by the 

 Society, and these gentlemen were 

 requested to meet me at the Experiment 

 Station so as to show me the crops, 

 plantations, and everything connected 

 with the work. On my arrival at the 

 station (from Jaffna via Auuradhapura) 

 I had not the pleasure, however, of 

 making Mr. Cowan's acquaintance ; but 

 Mr. Harbord was present, showed me 

 round, and gave me all information I 



