84 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [August i, 1889. 
ment Agent of the Eastern Province on the subject of 
improved paddy cultivation.— I am, sir, your obedient 
servant, H. W. GREEN, Director. 
Copr op Mr. Elliott's Letter Referred to. 
Batticaloa Kachcheri, 24th May 1889. 
The Director of Public Instruction, Colombo. 
Sir, — I have the honour to invite attention to the 
results of the two experimental cultivations of paddy 
with hired labor carried out by two of the Instructors 
furnished by you, one working on land near Galle 
and the other at Nindoor in the Batticaloa district. 
Neither of these mpn knew what the other was doing, and 
it is only the acoident of my recent removal to Batti- 
oaloa which has brought the second ease under my notice. 
I attach importance to the experiments as they were 
both conducted with labor paid for in money and hired 
at ordinary market rates. The results, therefore, may 
be accepted as answering, and that satisfactorily, the 
question " Does paddy pay ?" and may prevent the re- 
surrection of the cry that it does not which I believe 
my paper on rice cultivation published in 1883 went 
far to refute. At that time I could only give the 
results of careful inquiries and the deductions made, 
but the data now obtained are of a far more exact 
nature and should consequently be more convincing. 
2. In both cases the fields cultivated were ordin- 
ary village lands, similar to hundreds of acres 
in the neighbournood ; the Batticaloa field had 
had the advantage of beiog irrigable from one of the 
large works, but the Galle land was dependent on rain 
and the water of a fair stream. The crop was re- 
ported to have been damaged by flies and an excess of 
water at the beginning of the season. No manure 
was used at Batticaloa but a little used at Galle, as it 
was customary to do so in the tract, a very old one, 
usually cultivated twice iu the year. In both instances 
the lands were ploughed with the improved ploughs 
introduced by you and allowed to lie fallow for six 
weeks, when they were cross-ploughed with the native 
plough. In Batticaloa the landowners are much im- 
pressed with the deep ploughing, and I have many ap- 
plications for ploughs and there seems every likelihood 
of their general adoption. In each case a portion of 
the land was sown broadcast in the native manner 
with the quantity of seed usual in the district. The 
rest of each land was planted with seedlings raised in 
a special bed, leading to a great saving in the cost of 
seed, though entailing additional labor in transplanting. 
3. I anuex & very full statement showing the cost 
of each detail in the process of cultivation, which may 
be summarized as follows : — 
Galle Trans- 
planting 
Area cultivated in acres 1 
Quantity of paddy used as seed in 
Bushels ... § 2 
Batticaloa : 
Area cultivated in acres 3 4 
Quantity of paddy used as seed 
iu Bushels ... § 12 
Broad- 
cast 
1 
Total 
Galle : 
Cost of seed paddy BOO'60 3'00 
Expenses of cultivation 14'94 13-28 
Total Cost 15'54 16 28 
Batticaloa ; 
Cost of seed paddy 1-00 IG'00 
Expenses of cultivation 30-35 44-11 
Total Cost 31-35 60-11 
3-6u 
28-22 
- 31-82 
17-00 
74-46 
91-46 
64§ 
49 
Galle : 
Total crop in Bushels 36 28£ 
Cost per bushel cents. 43 57 
Batliralua : 
Total crop in Bushels 118J 189J 3:78 
Cost per bushel cent9. 26 31 29± 
Galle. Batticaloa. 
R. R. 
Gross value of crop 66 308 
Deduct Grain Tax 2£ 14 
294 
Net profit say 
64 
gelling value of land 160 420 
Percentage on capital invested 40 70 
Labor is dearer in Galle than in Batticaloa : hence 
the higher outlay in the Southern Province where 
some of the men were paid as much as 32 cents a day. 
4. The important point which these experiments es. 
tablish is that with the moderate crop of 32 bushels 
an acre in an ordinary unirrigated land, it is possible 
in the Southern Province to grow paddy at 50 
cents a bushel or 55 cents including payment of the 
Government dues. In Batticaloa the cost is still 
lower viz., 29J cents or 35 cents including the Go- 
vernment dues, and if a proper system of trans- 
planting be followed the cost can be reduced to 26 
cents a bushel. These result f illy bear out the con- 
clusions arrived at in my paper on rice cultivation. 
5. It is interesting to note that in both cases, where 
the transplanting system was followed, there was 
such a saving in the cost of seed paddy as to much 
more than cover the additional outlay on the ne- 
cessary labour and that the system led to a saving of 
16 to 25 per cent on the cost per bushel- 
6. To "anticipate the objection that may be taken 
that these results are secured by an improved 
method of cultivation and so do not affect the posi- 
tion of the ordinary cultivator, I would point out 
that this higher tillage is far more coBtly, prob- 
ably double the outlay that_ an ordinary 
native native proprietor would incur. Indeed 
the Vanniya of Sambanturai who has cul- 
tivated some of his land with hired labour informs 
me it cost him R7 - 50 an acre (sowing broadcast). 
The crop of the Batticaloa land experimented on is 
ordinarily about 135 bushels, which would give 35 
cents a bushel as the cost on an expenditure of 
R7-50 an acre. The poorer cultivator who from a 
variety of causes limits his expenditure in money or 
labour on his land I believe secures a crop in pro- 
portion to his outlay. This is the real secret 
why the native cultivator adheres to paddy cultiva- 
tion and is satisfied with his gains, though his Eng- 
lish critic cannot understand the position and hastily 
concludes paddy cannot possibly pay or is "notoriously 
unremunerative." In other branches of industrial oc- 
cupation it is the same, i.e. out of citronella, coir, 
cinnamon, the native makes a profitable return on 
rates which the European cannot touch. 
7. I take this opportunity of acknowledging the 
very important work the instructors sent out by you 
are doing, iu placing before the people of the various 
parts of the island improved methods of cultivation 
and establishing the possibility of carrying them out 
remuneratively. I would urge however the instruc- 
tors' efforts be not hampered by making them de- 
pendent for labour on schoolboys or other such un- 
reliable sources. I think they ought to be supplied 
with funds 1 1 hire all labour required. Confident of 
the result in Galle I advanced the funds, but in Batti- 
caloa the instructor finds his own money and in return 
takes the entire crop, less what he pays as rent. 
In most Kaehcheries there are generally funds, 
such as irrigation fines, &c, which might be legiti- 
mately advanced for the purpose at first and the pro- 
fits would very soon accumulate to a sufficient figure 
to cover subsequent outlay. The Instructor shculd 
be given a percentage of the profits to stimulate his 
efforts, but there is bo necessity to give him the en- 
tire produce. As some Agents may object to advanc- 
ing funds, it would be well to obtain the formal 
sanction of Government to the system. 
8. I have such confidence in the results and the bene- 
ficial effect that I pur^ae, during the next harvest, 
undertaking cultivation in five or six d'ff, rent loca- 
lities so as to bring the method followed more widely 
under the notice of the native cultivators in all parts 
of the district, as well as to offer the gratuitous 
supervision and advice of the Instructors and th e 
loan of the improved ploughs to any proprietor wh 0 
may desire to avail himself of this assistance. j 
have already asked for a dozen ploughs and I should 
be glad to know on what terms I could secure tjj e 
services of two more instructors, who might be qujjQ 
