December r, 1888."] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
4^5 
THE PROMOTION OV NATIVE INDUSTRIES 
IN CEYLON: NUTMEGS AND PEPPER. 
Over forty years ago, the gentleman who may 
be called the pioneer of the. Sabaragarouwa disirict, 
"planted during one of his many journeyB up and 
down, some Nutmegs in the (-'rounds of tho 
Kalnapura resthouse. The resulting trees have 
been tho admiration of everyone visiting the 
plaeo, and the resthousekeeper confesses to a hand- 
tome return for a long period back from the crops. 
As much as twenty rupees per tree have in some 
seasons been netted from the nutmegs sold, and 
this is a fact peculiarly within tho cognizance 
of successive Assistant Agents of the district ; yet 
what have they doue to induce headmen or 
villagers to go in for nutmeg cultivation? Absol- 
utely nothing. For over thirty years, probably, 
these trees have been bearing luxuriantly, and the 
seed (or part of it at least) which might so well 
have been utilized for nurseries, has all been sold 
in the bazaars ; while so far as we know, no 
native garden of nutmegs is to be found in tho 
whole of the wide-extending district of Sabara- 
gamuwa, although the above — the finest trees 
in the island are everywhere one can see them 
and under native and official care. It was left 
for the orgiual planter to be the first to endeavour 
to profit by the lesson his own trees taught him, 
and it says much for his buoyancy of spirit and 
regard for posterity that Mr. Shand should, when 
quite (iO years of age, have planned to open 
extensive nutmeg groves on his llakwana estates 
with the aid (readily rendered) of the Director of tbe 
Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately bis orders at the 
time wero not tarried out as he wished ; never- 
theless thero are now a good many flourishing 
mi ( meg trees rising 7 years old, and showing 
of fruiting on Rangwelletennc estate, besides 
everal thousands of luxuriantly growing Clove 
tries. It may be said that the moral points 
nioiv to the slowness of other and younger European 
plant' rs not going in for these industries ; but we 
arc dealing now with paid public servants who 
are supposed to be promoting native agricultural 
interests, and who if they had got each village to 
plant 1,000 nutmeg trees might have done the 
people ruoro lasting good than by spending months 
of inspection and reams of reports over possible 
or impossible paddy fiel I restorations, 
Take a far more important industry— that of 
Pippin— which affects this same district, but still 
more the adjacent division of Kegalla— what has 
boon done to promote and extend Pepper growing in 
Kit /alia ? How much does the district export? 
Why tho export for tho whole island hst year 
was only U owt. against 13(1,000 cwt. from tho 
Malabar coast opposite ; and yet popper-growing 
was par excellence a native and a Sinhalese 
industry from time immemorial, and tho very 
contro of cultivation from a period dating 
300 years back hah been tho country between 
lianwclla, Kegalla and Batnapura. IVppor was 
estoomcd by the Dutch as porhaps the most suitablo 
anil most profit iblo of Ceylon products. In 1710 
Governor Van Imhoff considered pepper bi 
worthy of attcution than coffee or cardamoms, tho 
export being then 165,000 lb. per annum, and 
Her tolacci at tho beginning of tho prc-ent century, 
declared that native indolence alono was to blame 
for tbe cultivation not being greatly extended, as 
••tho poppor vine will grow on almost any soil and has 
ovorywhero forest troos to grow ovor." This opinion 
as to soil may not bo quite reliablo, but thore can 
be no di>nht that if the servant- of • 1 •vrrnmiiu 
had interostod themselves with their headman and 
people to urge the cultivation ut popper in (he. 
middle and lower Kan iyan districts, this specially 
suitable industry woulu have brought more wealth 
to the Si: halese than all the extensions of paddy- 
growing of the last half century, la our forth- 
coming Manual, " All about Pepper," (which is to 
follow that on Tobacco), we shall quote every 
referenco in every loctil Administration lteport to 
the subject, and woefully poor will be the sum- 
total presented from that particular source. 
There is no sing'e Irrigation vote in the list for 
18S'.), we feel sure, which would benefit so many 
people as the same amount judiciously distributed 
in the Kandyan districts as "bounties" on the 
cultivation of certain areas with the pepper vine, 
iu order to revive this important industry. 
If we turn to the North of the island, a large 
extent of this region might Le covered with thi3 
palm (and perhaps allied species) without special 
aid from irrigation. At any rate we have the 
assurance of one of the best authorities in the 
island tha 1 ; the palmyra grows almost wild if the 
seed gets covered in decent soil anj where north of 
Chilaw, and we have often referred to the Key. J. 
Kilner's statement that if every native travelling 
down the North Koad were made to plant one or 
two palmyra nuts there would speedily be one avenue 
of palmyra from Jaffna to Anuradhapura. We 
suppose that if a line were drawn from Chilaw to 
Trincomalee, a very large proportion of the country 
north of it could be readily (and eventually with 
great profit) cultivated with palms peculiarly suited 
to our drier regions, though of course responding 
most gratefully to good cultivation and watering. 
But in place of thu most valuable industry ex- 
lending in the North and East, we are informed 
that in consequence of the keen demand for 
palmyra tree rafters, there have probably been 
more trees cut down in the Jatiua peninsula itself 
of recent years, than there are young plants put 
out to take their place. 
Without the taste, some training, or at least 
encouragement from h> adquarters, it is impossible 
to expect any change for the better among district 
revenue officers : they will continue to ring the 
changes in most cases on "grain revenue" 
and " irrigation," " ancient ruins " and " village 
customs," Long ago we pleaded that all cadets 
for the Ceylon Civil Service should (like the Dutch 
cadets selected for Java) be sent to an Agricultural 
College for at least one year's training. This might 
well be followed by another year's attachment to 
the local Royal Botanic Gardens. Dr. Trimen 
could impart invaluable information to future district 
officers. It may sound an exaggeration, but we 
venture to assert that Dr. Trimen and his 
lieutenants in a quite way and with an allowance 
of revenue money which is quite laughably small, 
have probably been tho means of adding more to 
the permanent wealth of tho island during tho 
last ten years than the wholo staff of revenue 
officers put together with the Governor at their 
head. 
In many other Colonies, we find systems of 
'• bounties " established and worked with most 
desirable results, and yet nowhere else is there a 
country or people with better prospeots from tho 
extension of really suitable and profitable industries, 
t 'ot ton is admirably suited for some of our drier 
districts. Tobacco gardens could be multiplied very 
greatly. Pepper should bo grown until our export 
is equal to that of Malabar or °20 million lb. per 
annum — for which and a great deal more, there is 
an assured market. Nutmegs, Cloves (which Dr. 
Trimen has distributed) ami a score of oilier fruit 
trecR, besides the palmyra palm can bo extended 
profitably. All that is wautcd is that the Govern, 
incut aud their district officer^ should " peg away " 
