July i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
95 
foot-path crosses a number of tributary streams to 
the main river : many of those are wide aud deep 
and are crossed by edendas. To a nervous mau the 
•transit over some of these is very trying, but to loaded 
coolies it would almost seem an impossibility. Our 
Tamils declined to attempt to cross on the swinging 
bamboo with loads, and we hud to get the villagers 
to carry the loads over, not without much delay. 
The patli twice crosses ti e main stream, and ferry 
boats at both crossings were available, seemingly with- 
out charge. 
Knkidwjama is the largest village in that neigh- 
bourhood, and we found a goodly assemblage had 
congregated to receive the Ageut. Mr. Murray had 
ridden a portion of the distance from Ratuapura, but 
after leaving Karuwiti the remaining seven miles had 
to be done on foot owing to the want of bridges. 
Since then, I believe that owing to Mr. Murray's 
representations something has been done to improve 
the road from itatnapura, but a good deal must still 
be wanting. The roadway itself, as I understand, 
from Agalawatta in the Tasdun K'orale to Ratnapura 
is well laid, chiefly an embankment, but bridges are 
required. 
The poverty of the people was rendered very pro- 
minent by the price realized by the sale of the paddy 
rents—a few rupees. Sweet-potatoes are largely grown, 
but merely for local consumption. Gourds and beans 
of all kinds would grow well and are growing, but 
" It is not the custom of the people" was the reply, 
when we aokerl why they were not more cultivated. 
Tamarinds and limes were growing at Kukulngama. 
Fowls 11 nd eggs w>-re scarce, and we were generally 
■told to shout the fowls as they could not be caught, 
the " custom " of the fowls being to roost in the 
trees round the huts. 
It would be well if fairs could be instituted at 
the principal villages, say on the occasion of the 
paddy rent sale, and exhibitions of produce, accom- 
panied by prizes, held. It must first be begun by the | 
authorities, and later on the village headman would 
take a pride in keeping them up, Athletic sports 
and games of skill, say shooting matches, could also 
be held to unite all ages in desiring the recurrence 
of the fair day. 
The true wealth of this district lies in its cattle 
breeding facilities. Nowhere have I seen such pictures 
of healthy cattle. Pasture-fed, as they necessarily are, 
they appear to be in prime order for the knife. But 
want of roads is the great drawback and enterprise 
is as usual wanting. I made frequent enquiries and 
1 only heard one man say he had sold any cattle to 
the butcher. 
Before leaving the Kukulu Korale, I will summarize 
my notes. The population is small and poor. The 
soil is very poor ; some of it is flat alluvial land 
and might be suitable for tea and Liberian coffee. 
The climate is excessively wet, and I should say a 
very undesirable one for Europeans. The elevation 
of Kukulngama is 838 feet. The river there is about 
60 to 80 feet broad, but navigation is hindered by 
falls lower down. 
Kioin Kukulngama we took the pilgrims' path and 
progressed southwards. Ourwaj ran over a hill covered 
with jungle, a part of the xiuha Raja forest. The 
path was at. first pretty good, w,.s portly cut, and 
is kept in ord r by the villagers for the benefit of 
the pilnrims from Galle. The lower portion of the 
bill was, as usual, chenaed, but the top and further 
side weie covered with large forest. Wc passed n small 
village— Bambarabotuwa, an J shortly after topi ed the 
ridge, »t aho.it 1,200 feet. He e, and on the sou h 
faco, was heavy jungle, all one kind, bora, the largo 
leaves of which strew. d the ground. The descent on 
tbo south side who paininl, the pnth being a mere 
tf.nck over loose rock on very steep land. 
The jungle was baid to be infested w ith elephants, We 
stopped for breakfast and lighted our fire near a 
newly cleared bit of land, surrounded with jungle. 
There was a small hut on the clearing which we ap- 
proached to make some enquiries from two boys id 
charge. The hut was a mere shed and served as cover 
for cooking operations, while their true abode was a 
hut in a tree. I went up the ladder of about twenty 
feet and found a well-bndt room of ten feet square 
securely placed >n the brancho s, out of reach of the 
elephants, of whom the natives appear to be much 
afraid. 
The distance from Kukulugama to Kalugala k 
about (15) fifteen miles. With the exception of the 
hora jungle there is little to note— broken hilly lands 
chenaed with but few signs of present habitation. 
At Kalugala we entered on a new aspect : a large popula- 
tion, healthy and robust and enterprising ; the houses 
were remarkably good, tile roofs, handsome verandahs 
with carved wood pillars and well-built whitewashed 
walls, presented an appearance which the interiors sus- 
tained. One bungalow contained a dining tabl- sufficient 
to seat two dozen people, and there were chairs sufficient 
to accommodate all. The potato plots were large, one, 
I noted as being about (3) three acres, and numer- 
ous coconut trees and fruit trees bespoke better 
soil and greater wealth. 
The natives are chiefly engaged in timber cut- 
ting for the Colombo market. Water carriage is 
convenient, and some of the timber I saw was enorm- 
ous. Whether much is left is a question. We saw 
but little, and could not learn of any as available ; 
but it is possible we were purposely misled. To a 
canoeist, I cannot imagine a better country for a sur. 
vey, deep streams ruunning for miles in every direc- 
tion, well supplied villages, and good lodging. From 
what I saw, I think it would well pay a man able 
to buy jungle land to make a trip up those waters 
in search of timber for the saw pit. 
Gemming is carried on on that side, and we just 
missed meeting Mr. Symonds who had come up to 
superintend the survey of some gemming lots. 
At Hewisse, I made a special trip to a piece of 
jungle, and I see my notes are : — alluvial soil, jungle 
trees of small size, with deep roots : top soil, sand and 
black loam for 12 in. deep : sub soil, yellow earth, sand 
and clay mixed — for 8 inches — in one hole 20 inches 
deep. Very suitable I thought for cocoa. I dug another 
hole, with similar result. There w^re no stones. 
Apart from the water carriage, the means of trans- 
port are very defective. The edeodas are better and 
more substantial than those in the Kukulu Korale, but 
the paths are worse. The ridge of the paddy fields 
formed the basis of the path in many places, chang- 
ing with each crop, and at the best very treacher- 
ous. One well laden cooly slipped off the little rhlge, 
and sticking manfully to his load would have dis- 
appeared, but for timely aid. In the wet season 
boats must be in great request, but they cannot sup 
ply the place of a road. A road from Colombo to 
Galle pa-ses within a short distance of Hewisse and 
Ha'td, and branches from that into the villages are 
required. 
At Hntui, the Bentota river or Giu-ganga is 50 
feet wide, very deep, and navigable for four miles far- 
ther up. Very suitable for a steam launch— the river 
having little current aud there being no obstructions. 
We made the distance from Hattii to Bentota twenty 
miles. We were told tha* a road also existed to 
Bentota from Hattii, but it would appear to be in 
little use. Whether there is large jungle near the river 
was not made clear. We saw none, but the boa' 
men spoke of one block as being not far away. 
The journey to Bentota by bout was easily done 
in the day. 
Looking back, the 011c thing noticeable was the 
want of menus of communication. No roads, no 
bridges, rendered locomotion difficult and tedioux. 
