( 2 ) 
umbrosa ; sandalwood  trees,  about  12  ft.  high,  are  again  flowering,  and  the  young  teak  growing  well 
(seven  years  old,  19  in.  in  circumference  at  a yard  above  ground).  The  new  mahogany  (Swietcnia 
macrophylla)  and  Jamaica  cedar  ( Cedrela  oclorata)  both  do  well  here.  Now  that  these  and  other 
trees  are  growing  up  the  place  is  becoming  a beautiful  spot,  and  forms  an  additional  attraction  to  the 
town.  The  conductor  continues  to  do  his  work  with  diligence,  and  keeps  the  garden  in  good  order. 
6.— Badulla  Garden. 
The  garden  progresses  satisfactorily,  and  is  now  a great  ornament  to  the  town.  We  have  a 
regular  water  supply,  and  the  plants  are  all  making  as  good  growth  as  can  be  expected.  We 
much  need  manure  ; none  was  obtained  from  the  town  this  year,  with  the  exception  of  a few 
cartloads  in  October. 
At  the  request  of  Government  a large  nursery  of  twenty  beds  was  formed  in  June  for  the 
rearing  of  seedling  trees  (the  seed  being  supplied  from  Peradeniya)  suitable  for  planting  in  the 
grounds  of  the  new  Civil  Hospital,  Badulla.  A number  of  these  were  successfully  raised  and 
planted  out  in  their  places  in  October,  the  cost  of  this  being  met  by  the  Civil  Medical  Department. 
9. — Notes  on  Economic  Plants. 
Under  this  head  I find  but  little  of  novelty  to  report  for  the  past  year.  My  absence  from 
the  Colony  partly  accounts  for  this,  but  the  tea  industry  has  now  so  overshadowed  all  other 
cultivations  that  there  is  little  room  for  trial  or  experiment  with  smaller  products  on  estates,  and 
thus  little  stimulus  to  investigate  them  here.  To  continue,  however,  the  records  of  past  years  in 
these  reports,  I give,  as  usual,  particulars  of  the  principal  cultivations,  premising  that  much  of 
what  follows  is  derived  from  sources  generally  available. 
Tea. — As  I anticipated  would  be  the  case,  the  increase  in  the  export  was  a great  falling  off 
from  that  recorded  for  the  past  few  years.  The  export  for  1892  was  71,153,657  lb.,  i.e.,  less  than 
3,000,000  lb.  above  that  for  1891.  A generally  dry  season  had  much  to  do  with  this,  whereas  in 
1891  we  experienced  a remarkable  and  continuous  rainfall,  which  caused  an  exaggerated  yield. 
The  average  price  obtained  in  the  London  market  was  about  9|tf.  per  lb.,  a very  slight  diminution 
on  the  previous  year. 
It  is  satisfactory  to  read  in  the  statistics  of  tea  consumption  in  England  that  of  every  100  lb. 
consumed  in  1892,  84  lb.  were  of  British  growth,  viz.,  53  in  India  and  31  in  Ceylon,  only  16  lb. 
being  the  produce  of  China.  One  also  sees  with  pleasure  the  great  increase  of  nearly  2,000,000  lb. 
in  the  direct  export  of  our  tea  to  Australia,  viz.,  5,166,154  lb.  against  3,210,598  lb.  in  1891  ; 
and  one  feels  that  we  may  reasonably  expect  that  the  costly  advertisement  at  the  forthcoming 
Exhibition  in  Chicago  will  lead  to  a large  sale  in  the  future  in  America.  We  urgently  need  this  ; 
for  while  there  is  no  reason  to  fear  any  drawback  to  continued  success  as  far  as  cultivation  and 
manufacture  are  concerned,  there  is  a real  danger  of  over-production  ; and  its  consideration  as  a 
possibility,  by  no  means  remote,  makes  it  my  duty  earnestly  to  recommend  those  concerned 
to  devote  some  portions  of  their  land  to  other  cultivations.  In  the  low-country  especially  much 
caution  should  be  exercised  in  opening  further  land  in  tea  estates. 
Coffee. — There  is  a melancholy  interest  in  noting  that  the  total  export  of  this  was  but 
43,143  cwt.,  i.e.,  less  than  half  the  quantity  of  the  previous  year.  There  was  a moderate  increase 
in  Liberian  coffee,  979  cwt.  against  894  in  1891 ; and  1 feel  sure  that  the  culture  of  this  product 
ought  to  be  very  greatly  extended  in  the  low-country,  where  it  is  likely  to  prove  more  profitable 
than  tea. 
Cacao. — It  is  with  regret  that  I note  a considerable  diminution  in  the  export  for  the  year  of 
this  product,  only  17,327  cwt.  against  20,532  cwt.  in  1891 ; and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  is  a merely 
temporary  fluctuation.  There  are  several  possible  causes  : the  dry  season  was  against  a heavy  crop, 
and  the  general  failure  of  the  south-west  monsoon  stopped  the  formation  of  fruit  from  the  first 
show  of  flowers  ; the  rising  popularity  again  of  the  “Old  Red”  kind  probably  somewhat  lessened 
quantity.  Cacao  also  suffers  from  many  enemies,  and  much  crop  is  destroyed  by  squirrels  and 
other  animals,  which  are  more  numerous  in  some  seasons  than  others. 
I have  continued  a gratis  distribution,  through  the  Assistant  Government  Agents  of  Matale 
and  Kegalla,  of  seeds  of  cacao  to  the  poorer  villages  of  those  districts.  As  this  is  a matter  in  which 
His  Excellency  the  Governor,  as  well  as  myself,  takes  much  interest,  I may  here  offer  a few 
remarks  on  the  subject  in  continuation  of  those  of  the  last  two  years.  .Towards  the  end  of  the  year 
Government  called  for  reports  from  the  Government  Agents  of  the  Central  and  Sabaragamuwa 
Provinces,  and  from  these  it  would  appear  that  but  little  success  has  been  met  with  in  most 
districts.  But  in  the  Kegalla  District,  where,  as  I mentioned  in  my  last  Report,  the  distribution 
has  been  made  personally  and  with  care  and  discretion  by  the  Assistant  Agent,  the  results  have 
been  very  satisfactory.  Mr.  Davidson  writes  to  me  : “ The  cultivation  of  cacao  is  being  taken  up 
readily  in  the  villages  of  Four  Ivorales  Out  of  1,816  pods  distributed  to  date  [February,  1893], 
the  history  of  all  of  which  is  being  kept,  a very  high  percentage  are  growing  well.  ” In  the 
Ratnapura  District  the  climate  appears  to  be  too  wet  for  successful  cacao  growing. 
