Feb. r, 1895.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
523 
past year was read by the secretary, the balance 
sheet, showing a surplus of ±'28. 9. 3. Officers for 
the ensuing year were also elected. 
As we go to press, we hear that another road 
robbery has taken place. In this case a party of 
Angoni disappeared with 15 loads, mostly calico, on 
the way from Katunga to Blantyre. This is the 
second case within the last few weeks of Angoni 
stealing their loads. 
THE AGRICULTURAL CLASS OF PEOPLE 
IN CEYLON. 
Our contemporary of the " Times of Ceylon " is 
puzzled over the difference between the Censuses of 
1881 and 1891 in respect of the " occupations" of 
the people. The explanation is that in the first, 
the wives and children of agriculturists were 
given as of the "domestic" class — a decided 
mistake. In the census of 1891 we have the 
total of all connected with or dependent on 
" agriculture," and it fully bears out the Gover- 
nor's remarks at the Agricultural School as to 
the overwhelming importance in Ceylon— far more 
even than in India — of agriculture to the people. 
We quote as follows from Mr. Lee's elaborate and 
ever-interesting report : — 
To the fourth or Agricultural Class belong 2,119,86a 
persons, of whom 1,487,590, or 70 per cent, are Sinha- 
lese. The proportion of the agricultural population to 
the total population was 705 in a hundred, the propor- 
tion in England and Wales in 1871 being 15'44, and the 
average in India in 1881 64'09. Of the entire class 
nearly 92 in every hundred are cultivators and agri- 
cultural labourers. There are few persons in the Sin- 
halese population who have not some interest in the 
soil, — it may be but an infinitesimal fraction of an acre, 
or a small share in a single tree. These persons, 
although they are compelled to engage in other oc- 
cupations than agriculture to find food for themselves 
and their families, call themselves cultivators in prefe- 
rence to claiming to follow any other occupation, for 
agriculture is an occupation dignified in Buddhism, and 
entirely in accord with the natural inclinations of the 
people. The Climbers, of whom there were 34,131, are 
employed in picking the fruit of the coconut or palmyra 
tree, walking up the tree with their ankles encircled by 
a ring of coconut or ola leaf, and twisting the fruit off 
with the hand or cutting down with a heavy curved 
knife or sickle. Of 34,131 persons so employed 30,417 
were Tamils. The occupation is almost confined to the 
Northern and Eastern Provinces and the Chilaw Dis- 
trict. In the Western and Southern Provinces the 
use of the sickle is hardly known, the fruit being 
twisted off with the hand. The Fishermen num- 
bered 70,985 persons, of whom one-half were Sinha- 
lese. The Gardeners and Garden Cultivators, num- 
bering 18,907, cultivate betel and vegetables for mar- 
ket. Under the heading " Land Proprietor " are in- 
cluded only those who derive their incomes from land, 
but are not engaged in agriculture as an occupation'. 
In this class the females largely preponderate. One 
Sinhalese put himself down as a Coffee Planter, but 
under the heading 11 Planter " are included others so 
employed, as well as tea planters. There were 1,870 
Europeans returned as " Planters," of whom the 
greater number are known to have been engaged in 
the cultivation of tea. Of 5,618 Tobacco Planters, 
4,lls were. Tamils, tho cultivation of tobacco being 
confined to the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and 
to the Chilaw, Puttalam, and Negombo Districts. 
The Sugarcane Planters were few in number, and all 
found in the Gallo District. The Camel Dealers and 
Camel Keepers were strangers. 
Colon ut De&icc w im. Machinlhy— about to 
be erected at Cochin by a Colombo Firm— is not 
good news for those already engaged in an in- 
dustry which is supposed to be overdone or 
nearly so. 
VARIOUS PLANTING NOTES. 
Ceylon Tea in America. — A Home paper, in 
reviewing the tea market for 1894, states that 
ac the close of the Chicago exhibition no less than 
1,500 American tea firms had stocked Indian teas. 
The Two Rangalla Orange Trees with their 
25,000 fruit, have attracted the notice of home autho- 
rities on fruit. It is pointed out that if 
Uva provided a large crop of oranges, they 
could be profitably exported to the London mar- 
ket, seeing how it pays to ship oranges from 
New South Wales. Such an industry may be 
among the possibilities of the future in Cva, 
though scarcely during the era of tea prosperity. 
Rhea Fibre. — Says the London correspondent 
of the Indian Engineer writing on 7th Dec. : — We 
recommend you all to have a look at the samples 
of Rheea fibre we are sending you this mail ; the 
fabrics which you will get next week will aston- 
ish you still more. There are millions in it and 
don't you forget it. We are also going to as^ 
tonish you with some preparations of fur, a 70s-fur 
for 4s 6d, which will make your mem-sahibs' and 
missee-babas mouths water all in good time ; it is 
no use giving you too much at once. 
Last Year's Tea Crop. — Some planters think 
sufficient notice has not been taken of the 
fact that the unexpectedly short export of tea 
last year was due to "finer plucking" to some 
extent, as well as to unpropitious weather. 
This is brought home to ns by one proprietor 
who says he did much better (financially) off 
his last year's crop than off that of 1893. 
But is not this due partly to lower exchange ; 
for the actual average price for Ceylon tea 
was lower last year. 
Our Tea Exports. — December's shipments tc 
London were disappointing, only aggregating 
6,361,311 lb. (against over 8 million in December 
1893) so making the year's total to L T nited 
Kingdom 75,250,752 or nearly 250,000 lb. less 
than in 1893 when the total was 75i million 
exactly. To Australia and New Zealand there 
is an increase of only 391,000 lb.; while of Indian 
tea there is a comparative decrease of nearly 1 
million lb. All this we learn from Messrs. Forbes 
& Walker's circular in which also it is stated 
that the estimated shipments for January is only 
7£ million lb. The Chamber of Commerce pub- 
lish no circular this week. 
Tea Consumption in the United Kingdom. 
— Messrs. Gow, Wilson & Stanton are very prompt 
in issuing their annual Report on this subject 
which will be found in our Tea Circular Supple- 
ment. Their figures show a satisfactory in- 
crease in the total consumption for 1894, more 
particularly considering how the stronger Indian's 
and Ceylon's have increased at the expense of 
China's. Thus of Indian and Ceylon tea, 1S9 million 
lb. were taken last year against 172 in 1893 ,- 
while of China the consumption fell fnun 36 
million in 1893 to 26 last year — the total con- 
sumption per head rising to 5 - 53 lb. per head 
which we deem equal to over 7 lb. per head of 
China tea. This must now be remembered in 
comparing the consumption in tho United King- 
dom witli that in Australasia or America where 
the weaker China teas still form the larger 
proportion. — The average price Cor Ceylon dining 
1894 we regret to see is given at 8*d as com- 
pared with 9d in 1893. An improvement may 
come in 1895 should America and Russia have 
to look to India and Ceylon to make up defi- 
ciencies in China and Japan, owing to tho eon 
binaan.ee of the war. 
