June i, 1895.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
823 
are two extras coming on behind." The second train 
was as bad ; and in the third I just managed to 
squeeze in, when, at the last whistle, a baby was 
thrust through the window and fell upon my knees. 
Nobody would own it : and it squalled the whole way 
to London, where an infuriated female wanted to give 
me in charge for kidnapping, and whose rage only re- 
doubled when I told her to " take the brat ; I was 
only too glad to get rid of it!" I recovered my 
luggage by merely giving a description of it, and found 
my way to my quarters at Kensington. A curious 
thing happened that night. My sister, being unable 
to sleep by reason of the heat, threw up her window 
and read. About 3 a.m. she heard a child crying 
in the street and at the same time a policeman came 
round the corner. He caught up the child, cuddle 1 
it, found it had come from the country with 
it's parents, and got lost in a crowd. ■' Never mind, 
little 'iin, I will find your mammy for you!" and he 
marched off with the child in his arms. How's this 
for the Trafalgar Square stink-jobbers who talk about 
the roughness of the police ? No roughness without 
reason. 
My second experience of travelling on a public 
holiday was 
IN JAVA 
some years ago. It was Javanese New Year ; and we 
were kept waiting four hours in an important inland 
town for a carriage ! All had been pre-engaged for 
weeks by the natives. The result was a late start 
and an eight mile tramp up a jungle track on a 
pitch dark night. My companion, though an old 
resident, was in mortal fear of tigers ; and every 
lizard we heard scuttling in the dead leaves, he 
thought was a tiger ! I was far more afraid of the 
pigs, which were literally in swarms on all sides. 
Of a tiger I am not afraid, as unless wounded or a 
professional man-eater, he is as glad to get away 
from you, as you are from him : while a pig taken 
by surprise, as likely as not, charges on sight ! 
My last travel on a public holiday was the 
CHINESE NEW YEAR IN SINGAPORE. 
I determined to go over to Johore. " Have you got 
a carriage?' I was asked. " Oh, dear no," I jauntily 
replied. " My boy can get a riksha in two shakes 
of a duck's tail." And so he did. But the brutes 
jibbed at the 4th mile. Here I got others ; but 
they again stuck at the 7th mile. Here I had to 
haiig up my box in the police station ; and 
my companion and I walked on to Kranji, % miles: 
and let me tell you that a 7£ mile walk in Singa- 
pore takes more out of one than a 3troll from 
Colombo to Mount Lavinia and back. I reported all 
the recalcitrant 'ricksha' coolies to the Kegistrar. 
and they got 10 days' suspension of license. Let all 
intending visitors to Singapore niake a note : Jter/is- 
tvar of lluckeri/ Carriajes. You good people in Cey- 
lon think you know a Tamil: but you don't, I as- 
sure you. Of all the filthy, scoundrelly scum of 
bestiality that ever I have come across, the Tamil 
gharry-syce in Singapore is the worst. On receiving 
his legal fare ho will stand in the middle of the road, 
and abuse you at the top of his voice in Tamil and 
Malay, knowing that you will not take the trouble 
to take him to Court, while if you give him what 
Paddy gave the drum— a bally good beating— he does 
not grudge his dollar for a summons against you. 
Now von need not go to Court, lleport the insolent 
syce by letter to the Llegistrar, who deals summarily 
with him, without calling on you to appear. A bene- 
ficent Municipality is that of Singapore ! (Some 
people differ.) 
Let ua get back to public holidays in general, and 
a description of 
THE JAVANESE NEW YEAR 
in particular, as celebrated in Serdaug. I was 
asked to assist in arranging the programme for 
the Coolies' Athletic Sports on a certain Estate 
and Sport it was. There were two greasy poles 
decorated at the top with sarongs, coats, <fcc. 
They could by no moans be negotiated by swarm- 
ing, and the number of ladders that collapsed imic 
cooly on the top of another's shoulder), before the 
top was achieved provoked shouts of laughter. I 
think the best fun was got from the sloping greasy 
pole. It was about 30 feet long, placed at an angle 
of 30° or thereabout and had to be walked ! The 
high jump was poor, though productive of consider- 
able amusement. The sprinting was wretched. 
A good upcountry horse-keeper could have given any 
one of them (SO yards in 100 ! Feats of endurance 
with a 20 lb. dumb-bell brought a strong competi- 
tion ; but they soon tailed off ! The three-legged 
race was most comical. They could not understand 
how to work it : so they lifted the tied legs, and 
hopped on the outside legs. It was grand to see 
the Dest hopper dragging his partner after him until 
both came the inevitable crumpler. The pig-a-back 
race was a great success, the "horse" being blind- 
fold, and the rider guiding him. After this we had 
a blindfold sprint ; and of course the only two who 
came to grief were the slunkest man on the estate, 
and the head syce's pretty little daughter, every- 
body's pet, both of whom were knocked end over 
end by a man running wild. It was tried to get up 
a three-legged race for the women ; but as soon as 
the word was passed, the beauties scuttled. Two, 
however, afterwards stood up for a tug of war, which 
concluded the sports. 
A most successful day finished up with a jovial 
dinner, at which sat down two Germans, one 
Dutchman, one Italian, one Frenchman, one 
Swiss, and your Celtic scribe, the attendant waiters 
being a Chinese boy, and a Javanese girl ; and the cook 
in the kitchen was a Tamil ! This is a fairly cos- 
mopolitan mixture, isn't it ? 
The produce of the country of every European 
present was on the table, either in solid or fluid. 
And I am proud to say that my country was repre- 
sented by Usquebaugh ! 
The host apologised for not having been able to 
procure the baud of the Blue Hungarians, or the 
Coldstream Guards: but our post-prandial jokes were 
cracked to the strains of the orchestra of the Java- 
nese theatre, which we visited by way of a Slamat 
taun bharu, i.e. Wishing them a good New Year. 
The music was by no means unmusical: but it is 
beyond me to describe the instruments which were 
many and marvellous. 
A pleasing feature about a Javanese festival is 
that it is rarely followed by those squabbles and rows 
which form an almost invariable . addendum to a 
Tamil Periya Nal. The reason is not far to seek. 
As a rule the Javanese don't drink. 
FRUrf CULTURE IN UVA. 
A correspondent says: — "In writ ing about your visit to 
New Gal way district you did not notice the trees around 
Warwick old bungalow. There used to be : — oranges 
(five kinds), lemon, pears (two kinds), apples (four kinds)) 
cherry plums (masards), plums (two kinds); peaches 
(three kinds), vines, tigs (three kinds), limes, loquats, 
j am Ijo, date palms, puni I >aloes, tree torn itoes.papaw, elder 
berry, raspberry &o., all growing well aud some bear- 
ing when I left. Good land in Uva should grow 
fruit trees well, especially oranges, lemous, figs, 
peaches and plums. The tigs bear better at 
Happy Valley, than any where elso tnat I 
have seen in Ceylon ; and a young plum 
tree of the large kind at Warwick had a 
number of plums, and other trees were loaded ; and at 
another Uva place I saw lemons almost, if not quite, as 
tine as those grown by poor Woodbouse on Choisy, 
Hamboda, and the flavour quite equal to them. I am 
certain that in Uva. fruit culture will p iv if gone into 
with a fair capital and on selected land (fair soil aud 
sheltered, especially from the S.W. winds). 
Yams. — I send you a sample (7 lb. ) parcel of yams. 
These yams are best when boiled like potatoes and 
they have been awarded several highest prize medals 
at the different 1ol\U A. 11. Shows. [So writes Mr. 
G. F. Soysa, Florist, Candy, and we can testify that 
his yams are very wholesome aud good.J 
