5iS 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  r,  1893. 
is  the  faot.  Tha  similarity  fpeaks  etrongiy  in  favour 
of  tha  principles  thus  mutually  but  mdepeuder.'ly 
approved.  The  last  additi  n to  the  policy  in  Ceylon 
is  the  appointment  of  a Central  Board  oharged  with 
the  fuuotion  devolving  upon  the  Minister  iu  Victoria. 
It  is  within  the  bounds  of  possiblity  tbatthe  admitted 
suocess  of  the  ordinance  in  this  particular  may  be 
hereafter  worthy  of  very  oareful  consideration  by  our 
own  Legislature. 
A CONTRAST. 
The  great  difference  in  point  of  practice  between 
the  two  countries  is  that  the  State  in  Ceylon  rot 
only  offers  greater  inducements  tn  its  iirigalors, 
but  that  it  dees  more  for  them.  It  is  the  S'ate 
that  constructs  and  maintains  the  works — instead  of 
the  Trusts.  All  that  the  individual  does  is  to  under- 
take to  pay  the  ra^es  levied  upoo  him.  Although  the 
village  councils  are  greatly  relied  upon  iu  tbe  island 
it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  compare  their  capacity 
for  self-government  with  that  of  Australian  shires. 
The  authority  which  is  properly  placed  in  the  hands 
of  tbe  Victorian  farmer  over  the  design  and  manage- 
ment of  the  scheme  in  bis  district,  like  that  ol  the 
irrigator  iu  Lombardy,  Piedmont,  and  the  eouth  of 
Franoe,  is  very  considerable.  Such  a pewer  could  not 
with  sarety  be  entrusted  to  the  Tamil  or  Sinhalese. 
They  must  bo  content  to  remain  under  control  for 
some  generation  to  oome.  The  native  can  aocept  or 
reject  a scheme,  and  provide  for  its  minor  administrative 
duties,  hut  beyond  these  he  must  trust  to  those  who 
are  plaoed  over  him,  and  aooept  their  judgment  as  to 
what  is  most  for  his  interest. 
In  one  other  respeot  the  experience  of  Ceylon 
is  worthy  of  remark.  It  was  the  suggestion 
of  Lord  Grey  that 
THE  IRRIGATING  SYSTEMS  OF  OTHER  COUNTRIES 
should  be  studied  with  a view  to  their  application  ao 
far  as  they  might  be  suitable  to  Oeylon,  and  Sir  Arthur 
Gordon  notes  that  it  was  to  the  inquiries  of  Mr.  J. 
Bailey  into  Indian  and  Italian  methods  that  much  of 
the  first  success  of  tbe  movement  was  due.  The  first 
ordinance  was  based  upon  his  report,  and  it  proceeded 
upon  lines  which  experience  has  amply  justified  If  we 
are  not  as  successful  in  Australia  it  will  rot  be  from 
any  want  in  this  direction.  The  articles  of  Mr.  J. 
L.  Dow,  M P.,  and  of  Mr.  T.  K.  Dow,  together  with 
the  reports  pul-liabed  and  citculated  gratia  by  the 
Victorian  Government,  including  the  recent  le'ters 
of  Mr.  West,  have  familiarised  those  who  read  tbem 
with  the  practices  in  the  United  States,  Egypt,  and 
Italy,  while  Mr.  Ward  has  preached  the  gospol  of 
irrigation  with  graphic  power  in  New  South  Wales. 
LARGE  TANKS. 
The  one  hostile  critic-inn  offered  in  the  island 
against  its  policy  of  irrigation  has  been  levelled  only 
against  schemes  which  were  new  and  large  and  against 
the  undue  enoouragement  alleged  to  be  offered  to 
rice  growing.  Smaller  works  and  restorations  ol  a minor 
kind  have  been  expressly  approved  even  by  opposition 
critics.  The  general  public  appears  to  be  well  con- 
tented with  the  policy.  Those  who  can  claim  to  speak 
on  the  subject  free  from  all  offioial  Irsmmels,  such 
as  Hon.  J.  J.  Grinlinton,  m.l.c.,  an  old  resident  who 
enjoys  the  c-onfiderce  of  the  natives  to  a remarkable 
degree,  and  who  has  taken  an  active  and  independent 
interest  in  public  affairs  for  many  years,  essert  that 
the  system  as  a whole,  whether  from  a political  or 
porfeseional  point  of  view,  is  a complete  success.  The 
task  of  the  Central  Board  was  declared  by  itself  to 
be  one  of  no  early  or  easy  fulfilment,  “ It  is  to  the 
gradual  and  patient  renewal  of  the  ancient  irrigation 
systems  of  a whole  district,  utilising  every  drop  of 
water  available,  that  our  efforts  should  le  directed. 
It  is  by  this  means  that  the  crops  of  a district  are 
mult-plied  manifold  and  secured  from  failure  ; that 
many'  forms  of  disease  and  extreme  want  are 
banished  ; and  that  the  health,  wealth,  and  com- 
fort of  the  of  the  people  are  permanently  assured.” 
With  vrhat  has  been  done  to  give  effect 
to  this  programme  its  members  have  expressed  their 
coydial  satisfaction  in  one  of  their  published  reports, 
in  which  they  testify  that  in  Ceylon  irrigation  has 
already  “ meant  health  instead  of  eicknese,  comfort 
instead  of  starvation,  in  many  cates  life  instead  of 
death.” 
The  circumstances  of  the  island  have  called  for 
DESIGNS  OF  A SPECIAL  CHARACTER. 
The  rivers  of  Ceylon  are  solely  rain-fed, 
for  though  hail  is  occasionally  seen,  there  is 
no  snow.  Tbe  largest  of  its  streams  haa  a 
drainage  of  4,000  square  miles,  is  134  miles  in 
leDgib,  Bnd  reaches  the  sea  near  Trincouialee.  It 
was  not  because  of  the  deficiency  of  preoipitation 
that  irrigation  was  employ  ed  in  the  east  and  to  the 
north,  where  it  moat  flourishes,  but  because  its  time- 
liness oould  not  always  be  reiied  upon.  Tbe  rainfall 
on  tbe  coast  is  88  85  inches.  The  cultivated  areas  of 
the  low  oonntry  have  a mean  of  32  inches,  while  in 
the  mountains  2,000  feet  above  sea  level  it  rises  to 
217  inches  as  the  average  ot  nine  years.  The  impor- 
tant circumstance  connected  with  the  rainfall  is  the 
largeness  of  the  fall  in  very  short  periods  ; 9 inches  to 
12  inches  during  the  twenty-four  hours  being 
experii  need  occasionally  iu  many  parts  of  the  island. 
Eight  inches  per  day  for  four  consecutive  days  has  been 
aoi  u&lly  measured.  The  moDsoon  pours  itself  over  tbe 
land  in  torrents,  wbioh  out  for  thf  mselves  deep  obannels 
of  rapid  escape,  and  at  times  flood  a whole  country 
side,  though  dry  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  It  is  this 
condition  which  renders  storage  essential  to  all  irriga- 
tion, and  the  immense  reservoirs  of  the  past  were 
constructed  accordingly  to  impound  these  enormoui 
downpours  for  tbe  use  of  farmers  during  the  dry  season. 
It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  violeDoe  of  the 
rainstorms  necessarily  denudes  the  higher  lands  and 
heavily  charges  the  streams  with  silt.  This  oolleota 
at  the  mouth  of  each  river,  aDd  forms  a bar  which 
diverts  it  at  last  for  some  distance  parallel  with 
the  sea,  though  from  lime  to  time  it  force*  a new 
outlet.  Along  the  coast  there  are  stretohes  of 
lagoon  country  closely  resembling  the  sea-frontage  of 
Gippsland  trom  Lake  Denison  to  Cunninghame,  with  its 
chain  of  shallow  and  brackish  waters  divided  from 
the  oeeau  by  a narrow  strip  cf  made  ground.  A 
somewhat  similar  phenomenon  may  be  observed  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  India,  from  Madras  northwards 
to  the  Godaveri.  Both  there  and  in  Oeylon  these 
lagoons  have  been  improved  and  utilised  for  naviga- 
tion. 
THE  BASIS  OF  IRRIGATION  IN  CEYLON 
is  the  tank.  There  exist  throughout  »he  low  country  an 
immense  number  of  minor  storages,  from  each  of  which 
one  or  more  fir  Ids  are  watered.  Ofteu  the  smallest  are 
dependent  upoD  their  own  little  catchments  only.  The 
larger,  however,  both  in  undent  and  modern  times,  were 
seldom  constructed  unless  it  was  possible  <o  supple- 
ment the  supply  from  a stream  or  to  conteot  a chain 
of  tanks  so  as  to  minimii-e  tbe  possibilities  o' failure 
in  dry  seasons.  The  tanks  themselves  were  always 
rudely  built  aLd  often  insiguificant  in  capacity,  but 
the  he'idworks  of  the  system  consisted,  and  oonsist, 
of  a large  reservoir  or  an  expensive  weir,  with  probably 
channels  of  considerable  dze  to  or  from  it.  Iu  tbe  past, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  more  than  one  distriot 
engineer,  by  means  of  elaborate  connections  and 
distributor!!  s,  every  driblet  of  water  was  employed, 
and  it  has  been  the  best  hope  of  recent  Administra- 
tions to  be  able  to  restore  the  schemes  which  made 
this  economy  possible  hundreds  of  years  ago.  There 
have  been  already  2,250  small  tanks  repaired  by 
British  engineers,  without  counting  those  which  have 
been  indirectly  benefited. 
THE  RECENT  RESTORATION. 
These  restorations  have  involved  the  reconstruction 
of  9 large  reservoirs,  of  245  anicuts,  as  weirs  are  here 
termed,  and  of  700  - miles  of  canal  either  partia  ly  or 
wholly  renewed.  Many  of  these  work*  are  of  notable 
dimensions.  The  Kantalai  reservoir  irrigates  25,000 
acres,  the  Walawe-ganga  weir  commands  10,000  acre* 
and  the  Tissamaharama  tank  2,000  acres. 
The  famous  Kalawewa  storage  has  been  once  more 
brought  into  use.  Its  by-wash  has  been  raised  to 
