830 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. [Junk 1, 1901. 
do would be to present Mr Agar with a new 
rolling machine with the improvement added. 
On Mount Tetnple the 
COCA 
{Erythroxylou Coca) plant is doing well, and 
theie was a large quantity drying in the store, 
come from anotlier estate. The leaves of coca are 
prepared for shipment. Most of the Kadugannawa 
estates are giving this enterprise a fair trial 
The old fruit trees of Ganipola shade the cart- 
roads, and cacao does very well under the mass of 
tropical vegetation skirting the high road to 
Kandy. My time was employed well in visiting 
a snug little estate belonging to Mr James Hawke, 
called 
OKION, 
managed by Mr Robert North way. There 
is an imposing two-storey house built by Mr 
L D'Espagnac and now occupied by the 
Northways. The tea is a good jat and there 
were eiglit acres of indigenous Manipuri. 
There is a nursery of s;ond plants raised from 
that seed. I believe the \ince is reasonable and both 
plants and seed may be obtained by intending 
planters. Here is another oil-engine and water 
power, driving three rollers'— the Davidson, Brown, 
and Jackson. Orion is about four miles from Gani- 
pola, a stiff pull up the hill, though an easy and 
pleasant walk back thiough Gampola wattie. Two 
of the Messrs, D'Espagnac were located on a 
small estate of their brother's, Mr. L. D'Espagnac. 
They were glad to meet the writer again and have 
a talk of old times. It was exactly thirty years 
ago since we met Mr. N D'Espagnac at Vella 
Kande in Gaaipola and at Kehelwattie when 
managed by Mr Fred. Hawke (late of Kirimettia, 
Kadu!?annawa.) We enjoyed a Kew pine-apple 
grown here, in fact it is one of the pleasures of 
returning to Ceylon to partake of the fruits of 
the country. At Kalutara we tasted the Mangos- 
teen and enjoyed the cooling draught of the 
young " King-coconut" — at Gampola some 
mango and small sweet Bananas, papau &c. 
Keturning froai the trip to Orion, we remained 
at the Ganipola Hotel to dinner and to sleep. 
This is one of the s^reat improvements of 
Gampola. — We have stayed at the hotel twice 
to dinner and slept there twice and breakfasted on 
Sunday morning at the hotel. The ])lace is very 
clean and well-managed — the food very good and 
attendance everything one could wish. On Sun- 
day evening I visited another small property of 
Mr James Hawke, about three miles outside the 
town of Gampola, on the Kandy road. There is a 
large quantity of cacao along this route, growing 
beneath dense shade of palms, breadfruit and 
jak. Some enterpriziug Sinhalese have planted 
pine-apple plants between the tea. On Mr 
Hawke's place the cacao was doing remarkably 
well and here we found quite a forest of grevilleas. 
Mr H infoi nied me that for building purposes or 
for firewood the grevillea was worth from one 
rupee to oneaudahalf rupee per tree; in this 
case whata wealth of timber exists in Gampola at 
the present moment. 
When Mr Kenshaw lived near the Suspension 
Bridge over the Mahawelliganga, he little thought 
what a fine estate would spring up from his worn- 
out old properties purchased by Messrs Reid, 
Rutherford and Company after they had construct- 
pel the railway. 
MARIA WATTE 
is still doing well and looks as fresh as ever. Old 
VEl.hX KANDK 
has again changed hands and Mr, de Soysa has 
built a beautitul little villa on the site of the old 
bungalow and is making terrricc-d flower and 
vegetable gardens down to the stable. 'I'heold 
breadfruit trees are stiil theie, some of them with 
mango and jak planted by the writer thiriy two 
years ago. 
In tlie old days of coffee we thatched the 
ground with mana grass shunted down to the 
lield ie(juiring it by means of a rope-shoot. We 
should recomn)end Mr de Soysa to thatch his tea 
in the same way with both grass and jungle stuff. 
This will aljsorb the moisture and prevent wash 
on the steep slopes of V ella Kande. 
A small portion of 
UOTAWA 
has been put into tea. We passed by on our way to 
COOROONDOOVVATTE, 
and found the estate in lull swing though Mv John 
otepheus has departed and his son, Mr. Arthur 
Jdlm Steiihens from the Fijis, returned to Ceylon 
and on his old totum. We hope Cooroondoowatte 
will be as valuable as a tea estate as it was 
in coffee, the lay of the land is so well adapted for 
manuring. 
Cooroondoowattie is really in Dolosbage District 
and will form the sutjject of another letter ex- 
clusively on Dolosbage. There are a few places in 
Gampola we had not time to visit but from informa- 
tion gained regarding them they are much impioved 
in appearance and value. Mr. James Hawke has 
jnst built a large factory and stocked it with 
Machinery, Sir(,ccos, Davidson, Brown and 
Barber rollers driven by oil-engine. 1 believe 
his store is in a jjo^ition to buy tea leaf from 
the numerous small gardens around this part of 
Gampola on the olu Kandy road. Vellakande, 
my old diggings thirty years ago, has got a new 
name, " Lamern Hill,'" named by Mr. de Soysa 
after a celebiated race-hoise called " Jack-o- 
Lantern" The gentlemen I met at Vellakande 
or Lantern Hill were not aware that a race 
course exists on the top ©f the Vellakande Hill 
in front of the site of the top bungalow. We 
used to jump small hurdles there to get an 
appetite fur dinner on Saturday nights and there 
was a small lake there, 
HENRY COTTAM. 
« 
Tea vs. Potatoes. —When the former slump 
in tea occurred about the end of 1878, there 
was (says the Indian Planters' Gazette) a mild 
kind of rush for potato crrltivatiou, but it 
died out as the former recovered. It may 
not be out of place to inform our planters 
that in some parts of the Nilgiris as nuich * 
as R150 per acre is realised from raising the 
homely spud. Fight to ten tons is no ab- 
normal yield, and this at Rl per niaund is well 
worthy the attention of those who have low 
lying arable land at command, such ee the 
edges of bheels and flats between teelahs, 
that, though submerged (or partially so) during 
the rains, are suitable enough for the six 
months of cold weather and spring cultiva- 
tion. 
