October I, 1889.] Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist? 
299 
rock by the atmosphere and water, we must assume 
that the undissolved materials were carried by water 
acting as a transporting agent, and then allowed to 
settle down in some quiet sea : that the sediment in 
time became consolidated into clay rock, and finally 
that heat, pressure, chemical force and such meta- 
morphic agents produced the crystalline structure and 
induced the property known as cleavage in slate. In 
fact, it hai been found by experiment that cleavage 
may be induced by pressure alone. As would be ex- 
pected from its association with gneiss and mica-schist, 
the clay state group has been much contorted and 
upheaved. The eoonomic uses of clay slate are as 
roofing material, writing slate, slate-pencils and for 
ornamental and architectural purposes. The group is 
often traversed by metalliferous drains. Olays them- 
selves assume a variety of hues— the yellow and red 
colours are due to the presence of iron. The dark 
clays of our agricultural soils, generally contain various 
other ingredient', besides silica and silicate of aluminia, 
and notably potash, which is contained both in felspar 
and mica ; and it is the presence of this important 
element of plant-food which makes clay soils so valuable. 
Moreover, their peculiar mechanical consistency makes 
them absorbents of the valuable gases i u the atmosphere 
But on this subject of soils and their properties, I hope 
to touch on another occasion. 
Clay used for biick-making and for pottery were near 
Jaffna, Matale, in Alutkuru Korale, near Cotta, 
Moratuwa, Panadura and in the Rayigam and Pasdun 
Korales, and very generally in the Galle district; also 
at Kottiyaram is a specially good pottery clay deposit ; 
other places are Porativue aud Panduruppu near Batti- 
coloa, Navagamua near Colombo and Tulpawela near 
Matari. Kaolin is obtained at Gangodawila and Nuga- 
goda near Cotta, Ambagamuwa and Maturata among 
other places. 
+ 
PADDY CULTIVATION AND TRANS- 
PLANTING. III. 
By W. A. De Silva. 
{Continued.) 
Planting Out. — Meanwhile, the field should be well 
prepared to receive the plants from the nursery. The 
practice common amongst the cultivators of paddy 
in Ceylon is to plough aud puddle to bring the laud 
into a muddy condition with an even surface. They 
have not got a system of thorough tillage and exposure 
of the soil; the only end the cultivators look to is the 
effectual putting down of the weeds and bringing the 
laud into as fine a state as possible. In most places 
these last two operations are doue very effectually, 
a d li< kis pi epaied lor sowing are the result of much 
care and industry, aud show what the goyias could do 
in their own way. The levelling and draining are doue 
with quitean engineering skill. But these operations 
are done, as it were, in one {.roove and never show 
improvement or extension. This must evidently have 
been due to a want of encouragements to improve. 
It is seen from the arts of husbandry amongst the 
goyias that they kept pace and even outstripped the 
rest of the world in improvements at a pertain period, 
which is evidenced from the ancient Irrigation works, 
&c, and after reaching a certaiu point in their im- 
provements, they stopped short, and of course where 
there is no improvement a gradual degeneration is 
the consequence. The reasons for the non-furtherance 
of improvements may be traced to the want of atten- 
tion paid to their concerns from higher sources. The 
internal troubles in the Island at certain periods 
were the cause of diverting the attention of the rulers 
from the concerns of the peasantry. Duriug these 
troubles the Kings and Ministers had more to think of 
their immediate security of person and authority 
than of the poor peasantry. This brought on the 
stagnation of their prosperity and nay degeneration 
itself. Where are the vast expanses of cultivated 
areas spoken in history ? The people who once lived 
in plenty had to experience a gradual decreasing 
until their fields began to produce hardly sufficient 
for their maintenance. Since the settlement of the 
political affairs after the British occupation, the goyias 
are having attention paid to their concerns. Though 
their prosperity declined rapidly, it would take years 
and years to bring them at least to their ola con- 
dition. The descent is rapid, bnt the ascent is diffi- 
cult. So with the attention paid to the native agri- 
culturist at the present day in our Island, we have 
one comfort that they will slowly but steadily improve ; 
that their granaries will once more be full, and their 
fields will smile with plenty. 
The two operations mentioned by me, namely, the 
destruction of wet ds and the bringing of the land to 
a fine condition, have always been done by the goyia-, 
and at present are the two essential operations in the 
cultivaton, the neglect of one of which miglit tell 
Severely on a crop. But two more operations are 
generally neglected by them to a more or less extent ; 
they are thorough tillage and exposure. These two 
are essential for the improvement of a crop and are 
more advanced operations. The goyias do not under- 
stand the nature of the results which these operations 
will lead to in improving the land : neither the action 
of the air, nor that of sunlight are understood by them. 
I shall pass over these two operations, and deal w ith 
them under the subject of tillage, and will at present 
treat of the subject of transplanting. 
Iu the field well prepared by thorough tillage, 
destruction of weeds and the levelling uf the 
surface, the young plants should be planted out. 
Tbe plants should be taken when they are from 3 to 
4 weeks old, and those which have not grown well 
should be cautiously avoided. It is better not to plant 
at all than plant weak plantlets, which cannot hold 
themselves up. They not only die off after unsuccessful 
attempts to grow, but injure their neighbour.-, in 
giving facilities for the spreading of weeds. I will 
here say a word about the limitation ot the age of 
plants. Too young plants when planted out are not 
hardy enough to hold themselves up, and hence the 
