September i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
179 
feeding these people, as is the custom. My paddy 
was transplanted by the children of the villagers, 
whom I expressly collected for tho purpose, 
and who did the work cheerfully iu the 
expectation of the promised meal. Further, I have 
laid out a small potato field, and though I had only 
a fow seed potatoes, yet my little crop promises fair 
to yield a good quantity of potatous for next year's 
trial. 1 have also a good number of youug .Sapu 
plants ready for transplantation, the ground whore 
they are to be put iu beiug. cleared by my own people. 
15. There are no Tanks in the Morowa Korale. The 
country being mountainous, and the paddy holds 
Situated iu the villages, they are irrigated by innu- 
merable little springs and rivulets led through them 
in every direction. The tying of the fences to defend 
the fields from the raids of cattle and wild beasts 
requires the superintendence of a person in authority 
to overcome the laziness and indifference of the people 
4. Hemp thrives much better in sandy soil than 
in clay ground and on bills. I have made no ex- 
periments iu raising it, but it' required, and seed is 
sent to me I will make the trial. Wheat and liarley 
f have tried Often iu different ways and at different 
times, but with no success. The principal and I 
may say only requisite to bring this district iuto a 
most flourishing state of cultivation, and to relieve 
the distress of the cultivators, in my opinion, is to 
provide it with the best sorts of seed paddy that 
can be obtained, and to issue it on application at 
moderate interest. This may he done by cultivating 
a certain quantity of tho Government sharo of the 
paddy rents in kind. I mei»n to say, tho best kind 
is to be laid sately up under the responsibility of 
trustworthy poisons to be issued when wanted; if 
all is not wanted to sell it on account of Government. 
I am too well assured that Government cannot sus- 
tain any loss by this plan, but will be a curtaiu 
gainer, and tho couutry will be benefited by it; for 
measuring iu and measuring out and laying it care- 
fully up a wastage might bo allowed to tho person 
who lakes care of it. 
5. Tho Alepe grain never arrived in this District; 
myself and several other persons who wanted it 
sustained some loss. 
li. Tho only innovation in paddy cultivation which 
would be of importance is transplanting, it saves as 
1 said before uearly two-thirds of the grain, and it 
gives a larger crop and better graiu. But among 
people of the coiuuiou and lower class iu this 
couutry, as well as in every part of the world, 
persuasion on the subject is of little or no effect — 
Whether my sxaiuple will do any good, time will 
show. Vet 1 am ol opiuion that no desirable a change 
in tho present mode of cultivation might be very 
much forwarded, if government were to put the 
holders of Deeval and Mallapalla lauds under an 
additional but light obligation — namely of planting 
paddy upon uiiu pela's extent on each aiumunam of 
government laud which the holder possesses. Or 
the obligation might bo made to fall on the 
Yidhan Aratchies and Gameraales in actual service, 
or tho superior headmen of each village might be 
eujoiued to plant one pela's exteut every Harvest 
not on his own but on Covurnmeut laud. 
The success which cannot fail to follow these 
trials must open the eyes of tho people that this 
system is preferable to the old. At the same time, 
they will become sensible that it is uot so difficult 
to be compassed, as prejudice has made them beliove. 
1 myself intend to make a trial on a small scale 
in every village iu both the Valla and Mitha Seasons. 
I si, .ill lor the present close this loUvr iu the 
best hope to receive soon from \ou such instructions 
us may enable me to use my best endeavours to 
forward the improvement of this District, and sub- 
scriba myself, with particular respect, 
Sir, your most obedient servant, 
J. P, LOHKNZ, 
J. (I. Forbes, Esq. Collector, Matura. 
It will be seen trout the interesting glimpse of the 
putt which thu letter itlfurds that, in many rmpecls, 
old conditions uud dillicuUw* still exist. Tin- removal 
of Officials from one station to another often post- 
pones improvements; the people are still slow to 
welcome any change in their methods, but, as Mr. 
Lorenz, shrewdly points out, it is the same with the 
lower and less educated classes every wheie; tho 
Headmen even then were greedy of gain, and as the 
letter dryly records were willing to help those iu need 
with soed paddy for a reward of 50 per cent. We 
are not aware that tran>planting is practised to any 
greater exteut in the Districts in which Messrs. 
Granville and Lorenz laboured, than iu any Other 
part of tho Island; but the suggestion of the latter 
might well be carried out now, of making transplan- 
tation one of the conditions of bedding Government 
land or Goveruuieut office. The plea now, as it was 
then, is " too much trouble." Headmen ate most able 
to overcome the trouble, and the drilling their la- 
bourers would receive would be useful on their own 
lands. The old German did not run wild over new 
products; but knowing the people and their habits 
by living among thorn, and with practical acquaintance 
with the lands with which they bad to do, his recom- 
mendation was that they should be encouraged to do 
the best they could with paddy, which yielded their 
staple food. Mr. Green, as far as we know his views, 
is of much the same opinion; but in his present 
position he may be able to secure greater attention 
to the suggestions for encouraging transplantation 
than they secured in the second decade of the cen- 
tury. It would be curious if Mr. Green's lieutenant 
for the practical improvement ol Native Agriculture 
should bo Mr. C. Drieberg, one of Mr. Loren^'s 
grandsons, who is pursuing his agricultural studies iu 
Edinburgh, and has, we learn, applied to the Secretary 
of State for suitable employment in the Island. — Loed 
" Examiner" 
THE KEEPING PROPERTIES OF TEA. 
Sir, — As all imformation about the keeping pro- 
perties of tea is of use, I give you my experience. 
I make very little tea. I commenced manufacturing 
iu July, and packed all I had made from that date 
up to end of Decomber. Another estate, as well as 
the one I am writing from, sent samples for valuation 
in Colombo. They were valued at the same price. 
The teas were shipped to England and sold about the 
commencement of March. My teas were sold for 
2U1 above the Colombo valuation, while the other 
estate sold its tias lor id below valuation. So that 
there was a dilfcreuce of exactly .'Jd in the price of 
the teas, I must mention ,tbat I Mlways fire my 
teas after sofliug before putting into the bin, while 
tho other estate does not. Vou will see from what 
1 have written that some of the tea I made was 
kept nine months before being sold, instead of 
deteriorating, and it seems improved by keeping. 
Thia 1 attribute to firing before putting iuto the 
bin.— II. E., Matale, July :;0tb, ISciS. — Local " Times." 
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS. 
(From the California Florist.) 
The poet Roqebs once took a lady to visit one 
of the English gardens. She asked him the names 
of some of the llowera. He said, " I love flowers 
too well to call them names." 
Insect Pests.— Dr. J. A. Lintner, the well-known 
entomologist of New Vork, says that there are in 
the world S20.000 species of insects ; 25,000 of those 
belong to tho United States, and about 25,000 prey 
upon the productions of man ; 7,000 or 8,000 of 
these could be considered as being fruit pests. The 
future successful fruit grower should study ento- 
mology and be acquainted with inseots and their 
habits, so as to able to tell friends front foes, 
l'rof. Lintner recommends the study of feed- 
ing and habits as a guide to tho use of inscoticides, 
which should also receivo notice. — Scientific Ame- 
rican. 
Don't allow anybody to delude you into tho belief 
that it pny« to plant anything between the rows 
