August x, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
in 
NATIVE INDUSTEIES ; 
AND THE COMPAEATIVE SCAECITY AND 
DEAENESS OF MILK, BUTTEE AND 
POULTEY IN CEYLON. 
It is often said that success does not always attend 
the attempts of those officials, more zealous than the 
general course of their brethren, who take a real 
abiding interest in everything appertaining to the 
welfare of the people under their care, because their ex- 
periments are often at variance with native traditions, 
customs and general experience. Of this type may 
be considered the various endeavours by Assistant 
Agents and others to get introduced into our agricult- 
ural districts farm implements from the West even 
of the most primitive, simple construction, accord- 
ing to English notions. Time and money, elo- 
quence direct and interpreted, influence and ex- 
ample, an infinity of patience : — all have been thrown 
away in the case of threshing and winnowing 
machines, of improved reapers and even ploughs. 
True, under the latter head, there are experiments 
Btill being made under the auspices of the Public 
Instruction Department, and we wish them all 
success. But certainly there is no more uphill 
work than to get an oriental agricultural people — 
conservative beyond the wildest dreams of old Tories 
— to try anything novel in respect of the indus- 
tries which they consider peculiarly their own as 
having descended to them from time immemorial. 
But while we may be able to realize to some ex- 
tent why new-fangled notions and especially machines 
are an abhorrence to the rural Sinhalese, it is 
beyond most Colonists to understand how it' is that 
the people do not extend those industries which 
are peculiarly their own, in their own way, with 
the abundance of resources at their command, so that 
they may become adequate in some measure to the 
growing wants of the community around them. Why 
in fact are the everyday necessities of the household 
and table in Ceylon so comparatively scarce, and 
and why as markets are brought within reach of 
the people far and near, away in the interior as 
on the coast, do the supplies in place of im- 
proving and increasing seem to fall off both in 
quantity and quality ? No one wishes to introduce 
new " machines " to better the people in re- 
spect of increasing the supply of milk, butter 
and poultry, and yet a people who are described as 
far from well off, and who are most advantageously 
situated, — say over a wide extent of the revenue 
districts of Uva, Kotmale, Matale not to speak of the 
lowcountry, — leave the towns within their reach un- 
supplied in respect of articles of daily consumption, 
in regard to which only inertness, downright laziness 
or the crassest ignorance can account for their failing 
to supply. A vast deal might be written about 
the immense room for improvement in the type of the 
larger stock appertaining to a rural population in Cey- 
lon : in the breed of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. But 
it may be urged that a native must be a man of 
some substance and capital to possess many of such 
animals, much less to secure the means of im- 
proving his stock. No such apology we take it 
can be offered in respect of poultry : the poorest 
of villagers at one time or other has the means, 
if he has only the inclination and industry, of 
improving and multiplying his stock ; and yet how 
true the pitcure in reference to this feature and 
other features of rural life among the farmers 
and peasantry of the Central and Uva Provinces 
is afforded by the old resident who writes to us 
as follows : — 
"The question of mil/;, putter and poultry,! think 
you ought to tako up again, as 1 recollect yon did 
years ago. Within the last li:! years of my exporiuneo, 
1 tUiuk 1 oau houostly lay that 1 have not soeu 
one bit of improvement in the breed of cattle, horses, 
sheep, pigs, fowls, turkeys, guinea-fowls, pigeons, 
ducks &c, &c, so far as the native has to do with 
this industry, nor hps — as I think your own experi- 
ence will tell you — the supply ever over reached the 
demand: and this too notwithstanding that the finest 
breeds of these useful creatures have been and are 
being daily introduced by Europeans at great ex- 
pense. 
Exactly the same thing applies to Vegetables 
the only exceptions, so far as I know, being the 
cush-eusa yam introduced by Mr. A. Whyte, now 
largely cultivated in the Central Province and lo w 
country ; and the cho-c/io and tree tomato introduced by 
Mr. Nock and Dr. Trimen. Then what conclusions 
can we draw? What is the benefit of all this high- 
class education to the native, if no practical results 
follow? If the young inheritor of ancestral lands 
is too mighty a man to cultivate his own ground, 
surely it is his duty to instruct, and in a measure 
insist on his less enlightened countrymen under him, 
to do so. The subject is a biy one, and I am glaci 
to see that the Agents are doing their best throughout 
the Province to instil into the native a desire to 
increase his resources of revenue, which in most cases 
Appuhamy does not appreciate." 
The Agents and their Assistants could not fail of 
a considerable measure of success if they really 
made their headmen understand that they attached 
importance to the villagers improving and adding 
to their stock of poultry and of supplying the 
towns within reach with larger supplies of 
vegetables, milk, butter, &a. Many years ago 
when detachments of the Ceylon Eifies were dotted 
at various stations over the island, we remember 
how a worthy Irish lieutenant secured the good- 
will of the natives around his station by the 
practical interest which he — a farmer's son brought 
up very much on potatoes, pork and milk— took 
in improving the vegetable gardens, the poultry 
yards, piggeries and cattle of the neighbourhood. 
Never should Swift's words be forgotten by practical 
administrators in Ceylon : — '-Whoever could make 
two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to 
grow upon a spot of ground where only one 
grew before, would deserve better of mankind, 
and do more essential service to his country, 
than the whole race of politicians put together." 
Golden words to be remembered not simply by 
the revenue officer, but by every public servant, 
every colonist, every man in a position to influ- 
ence his neighbours, native cultivators especially, 
in the island. 
To illustrate more particularly the present con- 
dition of affairs, we quote again from a com- 
petent upcountry critic : — 
" To come to more practical matters, how are 
you off for fresh butter in Colombo? I can 
tell you this luxury is at a premium here ; 
contracts for the supply for a year are going a 
begging at a trifle over El-50 per lb., and the retail 
price is El-75 and even more. This ought to pay 
producers well, but the fact is that in and around 
Nuwara Eliya the fodder is so poor, and the climate 
so detrimental to the health of cattle, that dairy 
produce can be brought into the market at a 
much lower rate, at low elevetions, where the 
pastures are more nutritious and the climate for 
stock bet'.er. 
"Another bazaar commodity we pay very high for 
here is poultry. I know your appus charge you 
pretty stiff prices in Colombo, but what would you 
say to 
A curry fowl ..POO.T^to 1-00 
Boasting ,, . . 1-50 
Duck . . 1-75 
Turkey . . B OO to 10 00 
Goose . . 0 00 to 7 00 
