Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist." [February i, 1890, 
59° 
vitations himself. This was an Agricultural School, 
and he was afraid they would find the proceedings 
somewhat slow. Whenever ladies went to prize dis- 
tributions, they were accustomed to see benches full 
of boys or girls, and tier upon tier occupied ; but 
here there were only three and twenty students fight- 
ing their way and going forth to practise in their 
own fields or those of others what they had learned 
there. They could not show those present crops and 
waving corn, and they could not exhibit anything in 
the way of vegetation except, perhaps, the decora- 
tions which the students had put up. He apologised 
for all these. To his Excellency he offered no apo- 
logy. He was always of opinion that prize-days on 
a small scale were a mistake, but H. E. came among 
them three years ago when they were only struggling 
into existence and gave them help and encouragement, 
and now towards the close of H. E.'s reign they wished 
for H. E.'s benediction (laughter) — he meant valedic- 
tion. Having in Mr. Drieberg a new Superintendent, 
they had started on a new scale. Mr. Drieberg could 
teach the students a deal of Veterinary, and he was 
now searching into the cause of cattle disease, which 
was one of the greatest hindrances to agriculture. 
Turning to the work done, he must confess he was 
disappointed. His primary object in starting the 
School was to help small agriculturists, and not the 
big ones— small owners of little tracts of land who 
suffered from distress for want of food. That want 
of food he had seen, and he was satisfied that it was 
caused by the people not knowing what to do with 
what they had. They threw away 3 bushels of paddy 
in sowing when 10 seers would be enough ; and this 
saving of seed paddy would keep a family in compara- 
tive comfort for a month or six weeks, and that in a 
time of famine and distress was a great thing ! That 
was what he had said to himself— to help the small 
landholder ; but he had failed ; except in some Tamil 
districts, which alone had reaped the benefits he had in- 
tended to confer. True they had men like the President 
of Tibagoda; but, speaking generally, they were not 
so successful in the Sinhalese districts as in the Tamil. 
Talking of large cultivators, he was reminded that a 
challenge had been thrown down to them by a writer 
signing himself "A Tamil Cultivator," who admitted 
that they could obtain successful results with small 
tracts, but not with large and offered to place a large 
tract at their disposal. He (the speaker) broke through 
the usual rule and wrote to the newspapers accepting 
the challenge. The writer did not, as requested, sign 
his name, but said that they must take 100 acres, instead 
of 50 as we had offered to take, and went on to refer 
to a lot of extraneous matter. He now had three In- 
spectors in Batticaloa under Mr. Elliott, who were 
engaged on a tract of 130 acres, and he expected them 
to bIi'jw that the results they had obtained on small 
tracts could be obtained on large areas as well. The 
report had touched on all the leading features of the 
work done, and he had nothing to add except that it 
gave him groat pleasure to announce that Mr. Muttiah 
had offered a prize of E25 for Geology, Mr, de Soysa 
a prize for Practical Chemistry, and Mr. Grenier a prize 
for Field Surveying which were all before His 
Excellency. (Applause.) 
The prizes were than distributed by H. E., the 
recipients being loudly applauded, especially Guna- 
wardene among the Seniors and Kodipilly among the 
Juniors. 
H; E. the Governor said that when Mr. Green 
asked him three years ago to be present at the first 
distribution of prizes, he said, he remembered, while 
giving away the prizes, that the young men who 
were leaving the School were not only going out 
into the world on their own account, but that in a 
manner they represented the School in which they 
had been educated, and that the School too might 
be said to be going out into the world to seek its 
fortune with uncertain fate. They then wished all 
prosperity to the School as well as to the individual 
students, though uncertain of their destiny. They 
now met again, and he thought they might say that 
the result of the venture had been a successful one. 
So far as he had heard, they had every reason to 
be satisfied with the conduct and good effects wrought 
by those who had gone out as Teachers and who 
were paid by Government and other parties. He 
might, perhaps, particularly mention Messrs. Perera 
and Silva, one of whom had done good service in 
the way of agricultural instruction, and not only 
that, but had shewn personal courage and devotion, 
during a recent outbreak of cholera in his neighbour- 
hood. Mr. de Silva had also gained the prize offered 
for public competition for the best Essay on Cotton 
Cultivation, and now he is a Master of the School, 
in whioh he had been a worthy and distinguished 
pupil. That was very encouraging. H- E. ventured, 
three years ago, to point out certain rocks ahead — 
certain dangers which would have to be avoided, and 
he thought they might conclude from the success 
attained, that those rocks had been avoided and that 
the Agricultural Instructors had been able to convey 
instruction to those among whom they had been 
placed in a proper manner — that is without seeming, 
to be dictatorial, nor with any assumption of authority 
— and at the same time without any remissness of 
duty; They must look upon the School as a success, 
and he did not know that there was any great dis- . 
advantage that the benefits it confers should be slow 
and gradual, instead of being a sweeping and in- 
stantaneous revolution. He perfectly agreed with Mr. 
Green as to the benefits that might be apprehended 
from the increased improvements, and quite agreed with 
him as to the extent of the improvements that 
were required, and that they should extend them. 
But he thought that it was quite natural, and there- 
fore necessary, that they should not be able to effect 
all that at once. The knowledge of improved methods 
and the results would filter down from the higher 
to the lower ranks of Native society, and they might 
depend £upon it ,that, conservative though the Native 
