Aug. i| 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
pulped. The five-disc pulper arranged with sepa- 
rator sieve was judged by a Committee of the 
Java Planters' Association to be the best Liberian 
pulper introduced to Java. 
COFFEE PLANTING IN SOUTHERN 
INDIA. 
I was glad to see your article with regard to the 
prospect of coffee and also the statistic 9 , which al- 
though meagre are a sign that planters are t iking 
some trouble to let the outside world know some- 
thing of the condition of their industry, which iu the 
case of well cultivated estates is about as flourishing 
as any form of cultivation in the world. Th9 iJea 
of advertising is, I th'nk, opon to discussion, but with 
any amount of advertising I doubt whether Euglish 
capitalists would iuve3t their money so far away 
from home unless it were in a paying well established 
Company, or they bad sods or near relations in 
this country to look after the ; r interests, but as coffee 
planters in South India do not number more than 
600 at the most, the opportunities for inves'ment 
uuder those oiroumstances would not be very plenti- 
ful. In cjffee there are no doubt openings and good 
prospects for young men who have or can cum- 
mand capital for investment after they have learnt 
thoroughly their business. Young inexperienced plan- 
ters should be prevented from plunging heailong 
into land purchase when they think they have learnt 
everything and could teioh experienced planters a 
thing or two about ooffee planting. This is a com- 
mon mistake which young men fall into, and they 
generally get tho&e ideas after they have been out 
about 18 months. After another 18 months' experi- 
ence it is wonderful what a change oomes over them 
for they have then got a grip of things and begin 
to see that ooffee planting is a more serious and intri- 
cate business than they thonght. I have heard one 
or two of the most successful planters in Mysore say 
that the longer they are in coffee the less they seem 
to know about it. This is of coursa their exaggerated 
way of expressing that one is alway learning some 
thing new in ooffee planting. — M. Mail. 
♦ 
NEW AREAS OF CULTIVATION En CEYLON. 
{From Beport by Mr. O, S. Saxton, Actg. Asst, 
Govt. Agent, Matale.) 
A considerable acreage mast have been opened in 
cacao. Land is being cltared for this produot near 
Matale and in the Asgiri korales, and at Katwatta and 
Hunuketa Ela. The natives are also planting a good 
deal of it in their gardens, but it is impossible to state 
the extent. Some planters have been selling plants, 
and I bad a nursery made in my compound of 10,000 
plants out of Gansabhawa funds. The cost was re- 
covered by the eale of about 6,040 plan's. 
A good deal of land is also being opened in tea, old 
abandoned estates being opened up again. This is 
chiefly noticeable near Bandarapola, Ratwatta, Hapu- 
wida and Irivagolla. 
Planters are buying up a good deal of obena lands 
from villagers for tea and cacao, a course which is for 
their mutual benefit, I think, except where purchases 
are made of gardens and lands so olose to the villages 
that it praotically meanB that the villagers have hardly 
any lands left for them to live upon. I cannot think 
this is good policy. It drives away the villagers, whose 
labour would be useful. As for the villagers, they 
become " like Tamils," as a headman onoe expressed 
it to me. Their oharacter must be quite changed with 
change of surroundings. They certaiuly h»ve steady 
work and meaDs of livelihood brought to their doors, 
but, ou the other hand, they are at the caprioe of a 
European employer. With all respect to the planters 
as a body, it must be admitted that they are not all 
skilled in managing Sluhaleso labour. 1 have known 
iustanoes of a proprietor oeasing sujdenly to employ 
Sinhalese labour on account of pernaps a 'beft on tho 
estate, or somo other causes of disagreement. What 
is to beoomo, tor instance, of a vibage of over 300 
inhabitants, who have sold all their lands, except their 
fields, gardens, and twelve sores of chena, uuder suoh 
oircumstances '? I am writing of a cate which has 
actually happened, and I think that those particular 
villagers have no bright prospect before them with a 
" ror4 " whodoesnot understand the peculiarities of 
Sinhalese labourers. I do not for a moment maintain 
that estates are not of assistance to the Sinhalese 
for I see all round me every day evidence of the great 
help they are in giving work to men, women and 
ohildren ; but I do maintain that it is for the mutual 
benefit of both parties tbat a planter, making an estate 
out t f village lands, should be careful to leave the 
villagers an ample margin for their village. 
The experiment of cultica'ion in Laggala, for which 
Government gave a lease of 5,000 sores near Palle- 
gama, made no advance during the year, but at the 
time o< writing nurseries have, I believe, been started 
and felling contraots given. out. 
THE PALMYRA PALM. 
It is well known to those who are acquainted 
with Jaffna that the palmyra palm is one of immense 
utility to the people. In no other p»rt of the Island 
was it so largely grown as in the peninsula of, 
Jaffna some years ago. The palmyra palm and Jaffna 
are so intimately oonnected with eaoh other that 
their identity, so to speak, has become almost pro- 
verbial. What the potato is to the Irishman, or 
the jak in a way to the Sinhalese, that is palmyra 
to the native Jaffnese. The absence of rivers or 
streams, the frequent droughts which occur in Jaffna, 
and the barren nature of the soil in general do not 
as in the case of other trees, materially affect the 
growth of the palmyra. It is peculiarly a tropioal 
palm. The poor man in Jaffna depends on its produce 
all the year round, The trunk or stem is a valuable 
timber; the leaves are wrought into beautiful baskets 
and serve as good fodder for the oattle ; and the 
stalks of the leaves are oonverted into strong and 
durable ropes and fibre. 
Mr. Hansard's mission to inspect and report on 
the extent of land brought under the cultivation of 
the palmyra palm and the impetus given to palmyra 
planting in Hambantota have awakened in us a fresh' 
interesc on this subjeot on which we had intended 
to say something. The planting of palmyra though 
more useful to the native inhabitants and one en- 
tailing little expense, has yet been allowed to decay. 
It requires no capital and oan be undertaken by one 
in any circumstanoes. Several villages are now denuded 
of the groves of palmyra whioh ODce graced them. 
The trees have been felled and utilised for building 
purposes, or they are exported to India as timber 
for sale. No attempt seems to have been made to 
plant anew those tracts of lanl from whioh the 
trees had been felled, with the palmyra palm. The 
people unlike olden days, are indifferent aoout plant- 
ing waste land with the palmyra palm. This does 
not augur well for the future of Jaffna with regard 
to its timber and to some extent, food supply. If 
tbe felling of palmyras goes 00 at the present rate 
without any attempt at re-planting, it will be an 
uphill work a few years henco to prooure timber for 
houss-building in Jaffna— Jaffna "Patriot." 
DR. MORRIS. 
A Graoe of the Senate of the University of 
Dublin has passed conferring the degree of Dootor 
of Soienoe upon Mr. Daniel Morris, m.a., cm. a., 
Assistant-Director of the Koyal Gardens at Kew, 
— Gardeners' Chronicle, June 30. 
Planting Coffee 11 Ceylon.— " R. C." oonfera 
an obligation on the pre?s and publio by the in- 
teresting information (see further on) he communi- 
oates respecting the planting up of small clearings 
and fields in different district., with our old staple and 
Liberian ooffee. We trust the process will go on: in 
our last Directory up to 31st August 18')3, we had in 
ths island— 2,438 aoreB of Libenau ooffee and 30,096 
of the old Arabian or rather the AbyBsinian kind. 
