244 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October ij 1888. 
"NOTES ON A TAVALAM BRIDGE OvEK THE 
TELGAMA GANGA AT MANAGALA IN 
LAGGALA. 
" This river being subject to very high and violent 
floods, it was necessary to have a bridge which 
would stand as well clear of the water and offer as 
little obstruction to the current as possible. Accord- 
ingly a site was chosen at the foot of a fall on a spot 
where a rocky bank shelves steeply down with occa- 
sional ledges on one side of the river ; while a huge 
boulder projects some distance into it on the other, 
standing some ten or twelve feet above the ordinary 
level of the water. On the top of this boulder two 
holes were drilled one foot deep, three feet apart, for 
the reception of a pair of iron bars (D in sketch) four 
inches in diameter and projecting five feet above the 
level of the rock. Another similar pair of bars were 
fixed in a ledge at about the same level on the opposite 
side of the river — a distance of fifty feet. On the top 
of each pair of bars was fixed a beam (C in sketch) by 
boring holes half through into which the heads 
of the bars fitted : these beams were one foot square 
and four-and-a half feet long. Exactly over each bar 
on the upper surfaces of the beams, channels were cut 
an inch and a half deep through which pass the 
chains (M in sketch) which were drawn as tight as 
could be managed and made fast. Some of the battens 
which were to form the roadway of the bridge were 
then tied on the ch lins cross-wise at distances of six 
or eight inches to torm the scaffolding. The beams 
which had been previously built up ashore of plauks 
six inches by two and lengths as shown in the sketch 
were then taken to pieces again, and the bottom layer 
only of each beam fixed together again by the help of 
the cleats B B B, and coach screws L L. The strain- 
ing rods E E E were then fixed and the struts HHH 
put in position, the straining rods being so propor- 
tioned that they raised the centre of the beam a very 
little above the level. The two small cleats O O were 
now fixed to prevent the bars D and beams C being 
pulled inwards by the chain when the full weight came 
on it and then the remainder of the beams was built up 
again and the bolts screwed tight when the extra weight 
brought the centre of the beams down to the level 
of the ends. The battens (four-and-a-half feet by three 
inches by two) were then nailed on — a short span made 
with ordinary beams to connect the main span with 
the shore at the boulder end — handrail erected and 
the bridge declared open. 
" Annexed is memo, of the whole cost of the bridge : — 
62 feet long in two spans of 50 and 12 feet by 4| feet 
wide — six chains of approach road and reopening half- 
a-mile of abandoned road. Iron bars and chains 
were used because they were there already — parts of 
an old bridge a little farther up — but wooden posts 
and bits of an old wire shoot would do equally well. 
The money spent on making the roads however 
would have covered their cost. Taking into considera- 
tion the mistakes made and round-about methods of 
doing things adopted owing to want of experience on 
the part of both architect (!) and artizan there can 
be little doubt that it could be done over again for R150, 
R. c: 
Walker's acoount— Nuts, bolts and railfare 
and nails ... ... ... 29 39 
Sawyer's account— 900 feet timber ... J 37 60 
39* days carpenters. ... ... . 32 87 
122£ |f Jabour 4 6 27 
82 „ „ at approaches ... 31 27 
Sharping jumpers ... ... 2 00 
R179 40" 
The whole cost of construotion'was not above R150, 
some of the material, chains, &c, coming from 
an old bridge. It was not possible to print the 
sketch to scale ; but we have no doubt, anyone 
interested can have the exact details from the 
constructor (Mr. C. G. Burnet, Hattanwella, Rat- 
tota). It struck us as one of the most serviceable 
bridges we had ever seen thrown by a planter 
across a mountain stream ; — a stream too which 
at all times with a good deal of water, can become 
a raging torrent, flooded from bank to bank and 
of great depth during the monsoon seasons. 
The Kalupahani valley beyond Laggala lies at 
the back of the Knuckles range, the most direct 
route into it, if practicable, being across from about 
the middle of the Knuckles district. South of 
Kalupahani divided by a high ridge, is the Nitre Cave 
district which lies at the back of Rangala. The upland 
rice valleys and roiling patanas of Laggala leading to 
Kalupahani, and before falling into the wilderness 
of jungle covering the lowcountry, present a very 
pleasing and diversified aspect. Some of the most 
prosperous of rice fields are to be found in suc- 
cessive valleys having a never failing supply of 
water from the Telgama and Oiher streams. In the 
first valley below the Laggala plantations is found 
the mission station and school established by the 
Wesleyan body, and to the success of which I 
found ready testimony both official and otherwise. 
One great want of this remote district is a Dis- 
pensary and more especially in the interests of the 
Sinhalese who at present, to a great extent, are 
dependent on their planting neighbours for fever 
powders and other treatment. The planters, too, 
find it very inconvenient for their coolies to have 
to go all the way to Kelebokka, and, therefore, if a 
Dispensary were granted in the Telgama valley 
it would suit both Sinhalese and Tamils, and estate 
proprietors would be ready to bear part of the 
cost. We trust a goodly addition to the number of 
Outdoor Dispensaries in different parts of the 
country — and especially in the remote divisions of 
Matale — will prove a feature of the Supply Bill 
for 1889. If not, a strong stand ought to be made 
by the unofficial members on behalf of such abso- 
lutely needful and truly humane expenditure, as 
against votes for what must comparatively be "luxu- 
ries " in more favored divisions. Any large populous 
district without a road, a dispensary or a school 
at this time of day, has a special claim for atten- 
tion on the Central Government, and the native 
unofficial representatives especially, should take 
cognizance of such claims. 
Leaving Marnagalla, en route to Kalupahane, we 
pass away from the main range well out into a 
country from 2,500 to 1,300 feet above sea-level, 
the most striking feature of which is presented in 
great detached masses of rocky hills, rising from 
the patanas covered with grass on all but one pre- 
cipitous side where the gneiss in clearly defined layers 
is fully exposed. These layers of stratified rock 
have been so affected by weathering and successive 
monsoon storms as in many cases to become very 
loose in the hill-side : indeed the valleys give evi- 
dence by the number of fallen masses or boulders 
that the sides of the hills often give way altogether. 
Forbes well heads his chapter describing a visit " to 
the mountain of Lakagalla " with the lines : — 
* * * Pale grey crags that frown above us ; 
Which seem like records pointing us to read 
Of desolation past, 
Forbes travelled to Lakagalla by a different route, 
round the North end of the range, although he must 
have returned through the Laggala Gap and 
Dangkande forest and it is of interest therefore to 
see what he has to say about this part oi the country: — 
"An opening caused by the falling of some de- 
cayed trees on the top of this rocky range of hills 
enabled us at last to extend our view beyond the 
surrounding jungle to the forest-encumbered val- 
leys of Lagalla, over which grassy slopes and wooded 
summits of mountains rose to a height of six 
thousand feet. Advanced from these the rocky 
pinnacles of Lakagalla attracted our attention, and 
we perceived its precipices beetling over the arti- 
ficial-looking crags called the Brahmin Rocks 
Having descended to the village of Pallegamm. 
I 
