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JOURNAL R. A. S. (CEYLON). [VOL. II., PART II. 



folds. There are two seasons for sowing tobacco : that for the 

 Maha harvest is sown in December and January, and cut in 

 March and April ; that for the Yala harvest is sown in June 

 and July, and cut in September. Throughout the greater 

 portion of the District the Maha harvest alone is looked to. 

 In the extreme south the Yala is that to which sole attention 

 is directed. Two months after sowing, the young plants, which 

 have then four or five leaves each, are removed from the 

 nursery and planted in rows three feet apart. At intervals 

 during three or four months the leaves are successively stripped 

 off, dried partly in the sun and partly in sheds, and ultimately 

 piled up in a small close room where they heat considerably. 

 About ten leaves are obtained from each plant ; these are worth 

 from 2%d. to 4d. 7 the cost of cultivation being about \\d. 

 The large profit thus shown is, however, rather nominal 

 than real, as lengthened droughts frequently ruin the crops ; 

 heavy rain occurring before the leaves are ripe proves equally 

 injurious, The price of the leaves varies extremely ; the worst 

 are not worth more than a few shillings per thousand, the very 

 best not less than £6, and sometimes even £7 10s., for the 

 same quantity. Those which bring this latter price are 

 large, thick, viscous, and both taste and smell very strong. 

 The method adopted in drying the produce and in manufactur- 

 ing it is extremely defective. 



If the land be rented out, the crop is divided thus :— Land- 

 owner, Peasant, Cattle — equal shares. 



The Palmyra palm (Borassus JlabeUiformis, Linn.) is found in 

 all the maritime portions of the District, but is not much prized. 

 It is chiefly used for the purpose of obtaining from it toddy and 

 jaggery. The wood of old trees answers admirably for rafters ; 

 the kernels are cool and pleasant; and from the expressed 

 juice of the husk surrounding the nut a kind of paste called 

 Punattoo is made. In the Northern parts of the Island this 

 substance forms an important article of food. 



