366 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, 1888. 
distinctly benefit the coconut by shading the young 
plants during the most trying period of their lives ; 
while, after three years, the plantains are entirely 
rooted out and the palm gets the full benefit of all 
the space. In other parts Mr. Miller had an 
equally flourishing crop of cassava which grows 
luxuriantly and which he sells to the villagers 
at 0 cents a plant, the purchaser taking up the 
tubers and leaving the tops in a way to be restored 
to the soil. The tubers of one plant were con- 
sidered to serve a family of five or six persons 
for a week and all for 6 cents ! The nutritious 
qualities of the cassava are highly appreciated 
by the Sinhalese and Tamils of the Chilaw dis- 
trict. Most of the work on the plantations 
in this district is done by the villagers on con- 
tract and the good effected amongst them by 
the opening up of large plantations is particularly 
noticeable and duly appreciated. As usual, the 
natives have begun to follow the example of the 
European pioneers by olearing and planting small 
gardens along the road, more especially up to the 
next river, the Battuloya, but erelong we shall doubt- 
less see the whole of the roadsides between Chilaw 
and Puttalam taken up and occupied. Mr. Miller 
acts as the Medical Officer pretty well for the 
whole of his district : such confidence have the 
people in his skill that they come long distances 
to be treated surgically as well as "with potion 
and with pill " and the poor people are not want- 
ing in gratitude to their European benefactor, 
We need not say that the Bajakadaluwa country 
is a good one for sportsmen : elk, spotted deer, pigs, 
hare, junglefowl are plentiful enough, while bigger 
game are not wanting in jackals (rather too 
abundant), crocodiles (a young one was being 
raised at our friend's bungalow), cheetahs and 
elephants. Mr. Cooke had been troubled by a 
herd of elephants shortly before our visit and had 
to collect all his labourers and neighbours to help 
to drive them away, while as for cheetahs, the biggest 
we have ever seen— looking more like a lioness in 
size — sprung quietly out of the jungle and crossed 
the cartroad, looking leisurely up and down, about 
200 yards in front of our bullock cart. The 
planter who is fond of sport need never there- 
tore feel time hang heavy on his hands. The un- 
healthy time of the year in the district is February- 
March, and then Mr. Miller's experience teaches him 
it is best to take a holiday trip to avoid fever and 
recruit for another spell of lowcountry life, The 
influence of the Seabreeze — the coast not being over 
3 miles off, — is felt for the greater part of the year: 
As an instance of the difference transport makes, 
we may mention that B18£ per 100 bunches of 
his plantains given to the planter at Eajakadaluwa, 
pays him better than E40 for the same quantity, 
would in Colombo— the difference barely covering 
the cost of transport and expense if sent and sold 
in the capital on his own account. 
At the end of these hurriedly written and rather 
disconnected notes, we can only just refer to Cotton- 
crowing as an industry which we consider 
peculiarly adapted to the northern portions of the 
Chilaw and futtalam districts. The climate and soil 
would we think, do well, and samples we brought 
from fine vigorous shrubs at Eajakadaluwa, have 
been reported on as follows by Mr. Mitchell of 
Messrs. Darley, Butler & Co. : — 
" The sample of cotton is of the kind the Sinhalese 
call ' kauu,' has an excellent staple, and woul.i be 
admirably adapted for spinning purposos. It is what 
in commonly called ' Fiji ' cotton, and the growth of 
it should be extended as much as possible, for the 
Spinning and Weaving Company will buy all they 
can get of it. Without seeing the seed, I should 
«ay it is from the perennial shrub, that grows some 
C or 8 foot, and goes on yielding almost without 
stopping. This kind would give the minimum amount 
of trouble to the cultivator, and is easily separated 
from the seed. There is a grand future before the 
natives of the country if they can be induced to 
grow Such cotton, and that it will grow is now beyond 
doubt, for it has been in the island for many yeais, 
and is believed to have been brought by the Portuguese 
from South America." 
There are extensive resources in fairly good jungle 
in the district referred to, — a depth inland of perhaps 
ten miles of forestland being untouched, — and the As- 
sistant Agent for Puttalam (Mr. Lushington) as also 
for Chilaw (Mr. Saxton) will, we feel sure, supply 
any needful information to intending planters of 
cotton, coconut?, palmyras or tobacco in that 
region. The Chilaw district has only been sepa- 
rately established under Mr. Saxton's care from 
the beginning of this year, and everywhere we 
found this intelligent, obliging officer, highly spoken 
of by the people of his district. 
[Just as we were closing the above, the Ad- 
ministration Eeports for the North-Western Pro- 
vince came to hand, and we find that as usual 
Mr. Lushington has supplied a very full and 
able Eeport on his district which, for last year, 
included Chilaw as well as Puttalam. Mr. 
Lushington specially alludes to the extension of 
new industries in coconuts and tobacco and he 
enlarges on the Chilaw Eailway after a very 
practical fashion. We shall quote fully in early 
issues. Mr. Lushington makes one curious blunder : 
in affording a comparison between the " days of 
old" and 1887 in his district, he refers to Casie 
Chitty's " Gazetteer" as for 1828 : it was published 
in 1834.] 
COTTON GROWING IN CEYLON. 
In answer to a Hanwella correspondent we say : — 
Land liable to be flooded will scarcely do fur cotton. 
Still you might try au experiment on an acre first ; 
plough or fork the ground ; buy a few lb. of seed 
from Messrs. Darley, Butler & Co. ; dibble 2 seeds 
iu each hole with a stick, 2 inches in ground at 3 
feet apart, or say 3 by 4 feet, getting 3,500 plants 
to the acre ; put the seed iu now in wet weather 
and it ought to be above ground in a week or two 
aud then the crop comes 6 mouths after iu dry weather, 
can be gathered by baud, packed aud brought, into 
Colombo to be cleaned iu a "cotton-gin." Mr. Janu s 
Blackett dibbled in seed (2 iu each hole, 2 inches 
deep) over 100 acres with 1 cwt. of seed, and his shrubs 
a few weeks old are about a foot high. 
SINHALESE LABOUB * ON TEA ESTATES 
IN THE LOWCOUNTEY. 
It is quite evident that we are on the eve of a 
notable revolution in the circumstances attending 
the cultivation of a large area of European plan- 
tations in Ceylon ; and it will be well for the Govern- 
ment of Sir Arthur Gordon to recognise the fact 
before they legislate for simply Immigrant cooly 
labourers on such plantations. If, as is rumoured, the 
Governor entertains the idea of sweeping away all 
special legislation and other differences between 
Sinhalese and Tamils, immigrant or otherwise, in 
respect of medical treatment, quite as necessary 
will it soon be to legislate for the relations between 
planters and Sinhalese as between planters and 
Tamil immigrant coolies, in respect of wages, 
terms of agreement, and so on. 
During the " coffee " era, only under rare circum- 
stances did the Sinhalese come to work on the 
plantations of Europeans, and when they did, it 
was after a most erratic fashion. Very few of 
the coffee districts adjoined the villages of a class 
of natives poor enough to need the help which 
extraneous wages would supply. No coffee estates 
existed within the bounds of what we now recog- 
nise as the " lowcountry," and even when Sin- 
halese could bo porsuaded to come and help- in 
