Sept. i, 1894.] 
the Tropical agriculturist. 
Wood, with him ! This Mr. Brown tried hard to 
do, but failed ; Mr. Wood not having been as far 
oft' the estate as Nuwara Eliya for many years ; 
but after Brown left, Wood followed him b\ easy 
stages. Mr. Brown told us he never saw finer 
coftee trees than un Spring Valley, with stems 
as stout as his thigh and rich in crop-bearing, 
though 25 years old. 
No one could write a better "Planting Beport " 
than " Sandy Brown." With pen and speech he 
was both equally ready ; his letters as Special 
Planting Correspondent of the Observer were a 
feature of the Journal for some dozen years, 
and for a long time, lie was among the most 
active members, if not the v ery life, of the 
Planters' Association. 
As one little incident we may mention how 
" Sandy Brown " — writing a clear, round, flowing 
hand — copperplate in its firmness and beauty- 
was one day rather surprised by Mr. Letnar- 
chand, Agent of the Mercantile Bank, Kandy, 
saying — "Brown, what a curious request that 
was in your note to me this morning ! " 
"What request" said Brown — "I sent you 
none." " Why, here is jour letter"; but on 
tunning over the page, it was found to be signed 
by Mr. Brown's native clerk. "Well," said 
the Banker, " that man has caught your style of 
writing so exactly, that if he sends a cheque in 
here signed ' Alex. Brown, ' it will be quite im- 
possible for any of us to distinguish it from your 
own —you better get rid of him at once !" 
As a permanent record of his facility as 
a writer and his thoroughness as a planting 
instructor, we have still the "COFFEE PLANTER'S 
Manual" written at our request and now being 
reprinted with considerable additions, in a third 
edition at the Observer Press. It is the most con- 
cise and practical Manual of the kind extant. But 
as is not unfrequently the case, Mr. Brown though 
well able to instruct others, never made a success 
himself cither as practical or proprietary planter. 
He had some splendid chances as we have indi- 
cated above, but he was unfortunate enough to 
throw them away. Perhaps, some of his super- 
intendents—relatives of his own — were not among 
the most careful ; but he had, apart from them, 
some very capable, reliable men on his start' and 
bumper cropsof coftee were for many years gathered 
in his day from bis Uva properties. However, 
before even coffee-leaf disease began to play 
havoc with our staple, poor "Sandy Brown" 
succumbed to the pressure of mortgage debts, 
and all his places had to be taken over, while he 
Was left stranded — and soon after died of apoplexy 
in Kandy on the 26th September 1870', and was 
buried next day iu the cemetery, the Key. J. 
j Watt, Presbyterian Chaplain, officiating. Mr. 
' Brown had for a long time filled the office of Secre : 
I tary to the Scottish Church Extension Committee 
I in Kandy. 
To Mr. W. Solomons, B.A., of Bichmond flil 
College, Galle, we are indebted for the following 
interesting notes : — 
" One thing I distinctly recall. How regular Mr. 
Brown was in the attendance at the Scots Kirk, Kandy. 
He lived at Bellevue above Peradeniya, yet was as re- 
gular as possible at Church. I called at Bellevue with my 
father one n orning. There was a Mr. Davidson and also 
Mr. Chas. Brown at the bungalow and we all sat down 
to a hearty morning meal. Either then or subse- 
quently I saw Mr. Brown's books, and amongst them 
some I'alian an! French. Mr. Brown and my 
father had a close business connection' and worked 
in this wise. Mr. Brown supplied funds for the 
Eurchase and upkeep of estates, my father giving 
im the crops. The estates were in my father's 
name. In this way large blocks of land came to be 
owned by my father. Sir. Brown in his early days in 
Ceylon was a rigid teetota'er and would have nothing 
10 do with any sa'e of liquor. Alas, that he did not 
preserve this character to the last ! De mdrtuis nil 
nisi bonum. Shall I be. forgiven for stating that the 
last straw that broke the camel's back in t is case was 
one that a relative had placed, and without justification, 
as it turned out, in connection with a charge of breach 
of trust. M . Brown never raised his head after tha". All 
he sought to do was to drown his sorrows. When his 
property was realised there was more than enough to 
pay all his debts, so that his relative's interference waa 
as unnecessary as it was cruel and unnatural. Mr 
Brown had always been the main support of a wide 
circle of relatives, the reason perhaps why he never 
married. As a man of business he was exemplary. 
At the time that the coach used to start for Colombo at 
5a.m., Mr. Brown would be up and at work before that, 
His whole life was connected with Kandy. an 1 there 
he died in the house adjoining the Scot's Kirk. He deli' 
vered a lecture on ' Ceylon ' in the County Hall, Banff, 
which was published by the Observer and to h s many 
letters to }Our columns under the signature of Coloni- 
ensis I need not r> f r. My father ever looked upon 
Mr. Brown as his dear friend, and deeply regretted the 
cloud that settled on his friend at_d patron towards the 
clos i of Mr. Brown's life." 
This allusion to Mr. Brown's habit of early 
rising reminds us of an occasion when he 
had to visit an estate in Hewaheta and get back 
to Kandy in time to post his report to England by 
that day's mail. His old appu woke him so early 
at Katukelle, that day had not broken when he 
reached the estate, a number of miles away, so 
that he walked over the cott'eo fields and made 
his inspection by moonlight ! 
In the Preface to our " Ceylon Handbook an,\ 
Directory" for 1877-8, in recording the necrology 
of the year, we thus referred to the subject of 
our memoir as one who had recently passed 
away :— 
" .» . Brown, a pioneer end public-spirited planter 
equally ready with tongue ai d pen to help ou tha 
progiess of the Co'ony." 
In the foregoing brief sketch, however, we hava 
barely touched on the connection, which brought Mr. 
A. Brown most prominently into notice in Ceylon 
and that was with The Planters' ASSOCIATION. 
He Was the first Secretary of that body in l^i, 
