220 
Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist.^' [Sepp. 1, 1900. 
well-behaved class among the Brahmins. They 
are supposed to have come originally from Mysore. 
Their methods of cultivation are almost identical 
iu all garden?, and presumably are ancient in 
origin. The methods adopted are successful in 
practice, and although they appear at first sight 
extraordinarily antiquated to a casual onlooker, 
they may, like other time-honoured Indian prac- 
tices, be found on full enquiry the most suitable 
' for the existing natural conditions of the district. 
The Haviks ai-e well-to-do, as evidenced by their 
commodious well-built houses, whicli in many 
cases are roofed with Mangnlore tiles. 
The narrow strips of spice gardens follow the 
course of the old nalas which drained the valleys 
before the gardens existed. When the gardens 
of any particular valley were first formed, 
the bed of the nala was levelled and also the 
bottom land along its course. Since that time 
the slopes on either side have been gradually 
cut away and many of the old gardens are now 
bounded laterally by almost perpendicular cuttings 
10' — 20' in height. These cuttings present a 
complete barrier against trespass by man or 
beast and shelter the gardens from storm and 
wind. The occupants' house and buildings are 
close to the garden, above the cuttings, usually 
in a cosy fairly dry situation. A garden is 
entered by descending a steep narrow pathway 
or by rude steps which lead to a plank-bridge 
over a ditch at the bottom, The rainfall of 
the district is heavy, and the positions of the 
gardens are such that much drainage water must 
pass through them. Drainage is thoroughly 
arranged for by main ditches cut along fhe 
course of the garden strips and by cross minor 
ditches which carry water to the main drainage 
channels. The main channels are bridged here 
and there as required by long slabs of stone 
or by three or four pieces of palm-stem placed 
side by side. The heavy rainfall and the flood 
of drainage water in the monsoon undoubtedly 
•wash much of the garden land away, and more 
particularly so if the soil is not of a particular 
kind. The most suitable soil is called locally 
kagdali. This is a yellowish-red or reddish-brown 
earth which usually exists in deep beds as the 
side cuttings of the garden show. In these 
cuttings rock of a soft nature sometimes ob- 
trudes a few feet below the surface, but more 
often the whole depth of cutting is soil-like 
in character, and appears in layers which vary 
somewhat in consistence. There are no definite 
lines of demarcation between livers; but near 
the original surface generally there is some- 
times a gritty or gravelly section which is 
considered inferior. Further down there is a 
layer which presents a shaly appearance which 
deceives the eye. At first sight it appears hard, 
durable or rocky, but a piece can easily be 
broken off by the hand, and if squeezed or 
rubbed crumbles into an impalpable powder 
which feels moist and soapy. This soil material 
as seen in the cutting has a peculiar metallic 
lustre, but when crumbled is simply a fine 
argillaceous yellow earth extremely retentive of 
moisture, and which under pressure becomes 
consolidated, so that running water does not 
readily remove it, It is easy to understand 
that a soil of this class is suitablei for a spice 
garden. It does not matter much whether the 
soil IS naturally fertile or not, because the yield 
of the crops grown is mostly affected by the 
quantity and quality of manure directly applied 
As regards the soil the chief point i"s that it 
must be of such consistence that it can withsta nd 
the denuding effect of flood water and be so 
retentive of moisture that little or no irrigation 
IS required in the fair season. In many gardens 
irrigation is not required e^en in the hot weather 
At this time a trickling stream fed from natural 
springs may be seen running along the main 
channels or a perennial nala pusses by the main' 
channels through the garden. The soil is thus 
kept continuously moist. In such garden ferns 
and mosses in great profusion and variety grow 
along the drainnge channels. In other gardens 
not so favourably situated a little irrigation may 
be required in March, April, and May, and this 
IS arranged for from a tank or tanks usually 
built of stone and not very capacious, which 
tap the waters of natural springs. 
In laying out a garden, the soiHs first levelled 
and then the drainage channels are made. The 
main channels are about four feet deep and 
four or five feet wide at the top with sides 
having an easy slope to the bottom. The minor 
cross channels are one foot wide and about 18 
inches to 2 feet deep. Tliese channels are exactly 
parallel. They are distant from each other 12 
to 16 feet. The space between is called bharan. 
The bharan has a rounded surface. It is hiohest 
in the middle, thus rain water drains freely to 
the channels. A pathway runs along the middle 
of each bharan, or rather by usage the middle 
of each bharan becomes a pathway. On each 
side of the pathway, in old-established gardens 
a line of alternate betel palms and cardamoms 
is found with pepper plants trained on the 
stems of the palms. The palms are 6 to 8 feet 
apart in the rows. It takes, howeve -, many years 
of patient labour before the garden gets to this 
stage. When a new garden is made the bharans 
are thoroughly dug and weeded. Plantains are 
planted along the water-courses. They give some 
direct return for e.^penditure incurred, but the 
object in planting them is to provide shade for 
the betel palms. When the plantations afford 
sufficient shade, pits 2^ to 3 ft. square and 2^ ft. 
deep are made. Leaf manure and pieces of 
plantain are put in the bottom of the pits and 
then excavated soil partly filled in. The young 
palm trees four or five feet high and three or 
four years old are planted in these pits, and 
sufficient of the excavated earth put round and 
pressed on the roots to kesp the plants straight. 
(To he continued.) 
ON THE FORESTS AND WASTE LANDS 
OF CEYLON. 
By a. F. Broun, Esq., 
Conservator of Forests. 
The lowcountry wet- zone is the country par 
excellence of the Dipterocarps. In the Chilaw 
and Kurunegala districts, and in the Northern 
portion of the Colombo district, they are re- 
presented only by Dipterocarpus zeylanicus, 
