Aug. 1, 1894.] Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist." 
U7 
straight back and a small hump. The Sinds are I 
usually of a red colour. They are considered to j 
be the best milkers in India, aud are noted for 
their mild temper. 
The Mysores are a historical bleed of strong 
draught cattle found in Mysore in the Madras 
Presidency. At one time there had been regular 
breeding establishments in this province for ! 
supplying draught animals for Military transport 1 
purposes. The Mysores have a well-formed body ] 
and a long tapering head with a prominent fore- j 
head. The horns are long and curved and their 
ears neat and tapering, whereas their eyes show 
a characteristic fierceness a nd are coloured reddish. . 
The chest is deep and the back and limbs | 
well proportioned. On the whole these animals | 
are known to be the best for draught purposes, 
but they are known to be bad tempered. i 
The JTisxar breed of cattle is met with in the j 
Pun jab. The animals are of large build averaging j 
about 56 inches in height. They have a long body j 
and a broad head with long curved horns. The 
back is well-formed with a high-set hump and the 
chest is fairly broad. The Hissars have stout 
short legs and a thin and long tail. These ani- 
mals are reported to be good draught animals 
and very tair milkers. 
The Decanese cattle take their name from the 
district in which they are found. They are at 
the present day in many places, losing their , 
typical characters on account of the introduction ' 
of other breeds of cattle to the district. They ! 
are well-shaped and straight-faced aud have strong j 
upwardly inclined horns. The Deccan animals 
aTe long in body and well proportioned in their 
limbs ; they are active and admirably adapted for 
draught purposes. 
The Nepal cattle are met with in the Hima- 
layan regions and are also known as " mountain 
cattle," as they thrive best iu the hilly country. 
The Nepalese are small in build with thin limbs, 
very active and are good climbers. They are 
mostly used in the hillcountry. 
W. A. D. S. 
NOTES PROM A TRAVELLER'S DIARY. 
There has been, and is a difference of opinion 
among leaders of thought in Ceylon as to whether 
any benefit has occuried to the native cultivator 
from the abolition of the grain-tax, but the 
more one travels about the country and studies 
for himself the real condition of village life in 
the interior of the island, he cannot help thinking 
that, if all the facts of the case were known, 
there would have been no opponents to abolition. 
After having read much of the literature on j 
the subject, and having seen and studied for my- 
self I he real state of affairs in most parts of the 
island, I can say without hesitation that the 
removal of t he tax is about the greatest blessing ' 
that the British Government could ever have ! 
conferred on the poorer classes of natives of the I 
inland. In some cases the abolition was 
tantamount to freedom from great bondage. ' 
About the time that the news of the repeal was ] 
spreading about "the country, it was touching i 
to see how many of the villagers received it. ! 
While some invoked blessings from Heaven on 
the Rajah, others wete only able to express I 
their satisfaction with a sigh of resignation 
since their lands had already been sold in default 
of payment of the tax. 
I have seen paddy fields springing up rapidly 
in some parts of the island. This is the case 
in Tumpane, Dumbara, &c. The paddy lands 
which had been covered up with Lantana for 
years, and which were not disturbed for fear 
that the harvest may be poor and that there 
might be trouble about the payment of the Gov- 
ernment share, are now being rapidly cleared and 
brought under cultivation. It was a pleasant sur- 
prise to me on several occasions when some villagers 
came up and asked me whether there was any real 
truth in the report that the Paddy Tax was abo- 
lished. Thsy were anxious to know the truth, so 
that they may put new lands under paddy, for, 
said they, if they were bound to pay the Gov- 
ernment share, it was not worth their while 
to go to the trouble and expense of cultivation ; 
so great was their dread of the means by which 
the tax was collected. 
Some unprincipled headmen were much dis- 
heartened at this " foolish act of the Govern- 
ment " as they called it, and one of them who 
is supposed to command some influence in his 
district, confessed to me that the abolition of 
the tax would only tend to lessen their influence 
over the people, while the Government would 
suffer by the loss of so much revenue. " The 
headmen," he said, " will have very little hold 
on the people in future." The bondage under 
which the poor villagers were labouring is clearly 
demonstrated by the words of this local magnate ! 
Those of the poor villagers who still possess 
any suitable lands for paddy are now becoming 
emboldened to bring them under cultivation, and 
as I have mentioned, most of the available 
land is now gradually being put under cultivation. 
A planter of great experience tells me that he 
finds it very difficult to procure village-labourers 
since the abolition of the paddy tax, the people 
having turned their attention altogether to the 
cultivation of paddy. 
1 have just had a look round the lands that 
have been granted by the Government to Messrs. 
Gordon R. Reeves & Co., for experimental cul- 
tivation. The extent of the lands is five 
thousand acres, aud they are situated in Palle- 
gama in Matale East. The lands are very 
rich, consisting much of soil of a loamy 
character, and the country around is com- 
paratively-speaking well watered. The work 
of clearing the lands, putting up nurseries, 
&c, has already been commenced in earnest 
under the able superintendence of Mr. C. Ros3 
Wright, a gentleman of great experience in the 
planting line, and one who is thoroughly con- 
versant with the habits aud customs of the 
natives. To begin with, the Company has been 
very fortunate in securing the services of this 
gentleman, as it is the opinion of many that 
they have the right man iu the right place. 
It is the intention of the superintendent 
first of all to try nil sorts of products to as- 
certain which will succeed better. A large 
acreage will be put under coconuts, while Coffee 
(both Arabian and Liberian), cocoa, cotton, Fibre- 
yielding plants, kola nuts, Szc, are some of 
the other products that will be tried. Seeds 
of coffee imported directly from Arabia aud 
