Jan. 1, 1903.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
469 
complaint, unless it be that such leases 
should be put up for competition, quite as 
much as land sold on freehold terms ? It 
may be argued, of course, that Government 
should discourage the alienation, under 
any terms, of land avowedly intended for 
the cultivation of cardamoms, just as much 
as land for tea, under present circumstances ; 
but 45 acres more or less cannot make 
much difference, and the transaction having 
been put through, we should say leave it 
alone, although it will be observed that 
Major Reeves is quite willing to give up 
his bargain, on being refunded his actual 
outlay. 
There can be no doubt that Mr. J. A. 
Hunter's letter about increased crops in 
Travancore has created a scare among 
Ceylon cardamom planters. One of them 
(in a letter intended to reach us a week 
ago, but which through misdirection, only 
arrived yesterday) says :— " The question is 
whether old Cardamom growtrs in Ceylon, 
have India or the Ceylon Government to 
dread most? In India the planters have no 
doubt as to holding their own in the 
struggle with their compact estates and 
cheap gathering. Locally we have the pos- 
sibility of more leases on nominal terras 
and free grant holders of land equally 
well adapted for the growth of this soou-to- 
be-over-or'iduced new product, competing 
•with lands originally bought from the Crown. 
1 think it hardly fair ot Government to 
look upon an industry which has helped 
Ceylon for tlie past 25 years as an 'experi- 
mental product,' and it, we are told will in 
a year or two be wiped out of Ceylon by 
its more formidable rival India. Poor Ceylon 
— is there nothing she can try which will 
not be over produced ?" 
N .w cardamoms are in large demand all 
over India. No spice is a greater favourite 
with the people of all grades and castes 
who can aHiord to purchase it. If it be 
expedient to exploit Indian markets, bazaars 
and towns with tea, how much more, we 
should say, With cardamoms ! We recall 
one of the largest producers of cardamoms 
in Mysore informing us that he sold every 
lb. of his crop in Calcutta or Madras and 
shipped none to Europe. Cannot Mv. J. A. 
Hunter urge the Travancore planters to do 
something of this kind? to join forces with 
the South of India tea exploiting Syndicate, 
and get their c;irdamoms introduced into all 
likely quarters. Or course, there is a certain 
local market in Travancore itself, just as 
there is in Ceylon, for a portion of the 
crop, and we should fain hope as the 
prosperity ot the natives locally extended, so 
will the market for cardamoms extend. 
But exploiting is, no doubt, very necessary : 
cardamoms are nob a necessary, a food 
product, like rice, or coconuts, or even tea ; 
but if they wera brought before the people in 
every town and bazaar, at a moderate price, 
we shouldexpectamuch greater local consump- 
tion than IS at presenr. reported. Cannot our 
correspondent, " An Interested Planter," test 
some of the uiarkets within his reacli, for 
himself ? A trustworthy agent might sell 
small parcels to the baz;aar-keepers at a 
distance from the cardamom-producing dis- 
tricts, and we should like to know how 
the markets of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, 
Jaffna, as well as Galle, Matara, Hamban- 
tota, etc, are served with cardamoms ? If 
not r<iadily procurable, very probably the 
boutique-keepers and the people make up 
their minds to , do without the spice, when 
if made readily available, they would as 
readily make purchases The strong objec- 
tion we have tj the open sale of opium in 
our villages, -that people who never used 
or saw the insidious, as well as dangerous, 
drug before, are tempted to become 
customers,— involves the principle which 
would tell favourably in the (case of a 
wholesome condiment I'ke cardamoms, and 
a food-product like tea. : make them freely 
and cheaply available in towunand village 
where they may be at pi'esentknown 
a permanent demand is sure to spring up, 
^ 
EXPERIMENTAL CULTIVATION OF 
TOBACCO IN BUtiMA. 
Two important attempts at experimental cul- 
tivation were made in Burma last year with, as 
far as can be gatbered from the Land Recorda 
Administration Report, imperfect results in one 
case and practical failure in the other. In one 
ease 12 pounds each of Havana and Virginia 
tobacco seed were distributed among the culti- 
vators — the Havana seed, chiefly in Lower Burma 
and the Virginia seed in Upper Burma. The 
results, however, were very chequered. The 
experiments with ground-nut seeds imported from 
Poiidiclierry were on the other hand a failure 
in the great majority of cases. — M. Mail, Dec. 12. 
SERICULTURE IN BENGAL. 
The Government of Bengal, reviewing the re- 
port of I he agriculfiral branch of the Department 
of Land Records and Agriculture for 1991-02 
remarks that tlie efforts of the Bengal Silk Com- 
mittee CO assist pvoiiuction of healthy silkworms 
were attended, except in the district of Birblium, 
with successful results. Enquiry i? being made 
into the causes of the failuie of the operations in 
that district. To enable the Coniiuittee to further 
expaml the scope of their operations and to meet 
additional expenditure in conneciion with the 
erection of new model nurseries in the centres of 
inipoitant silk districts, the an:iual grant of 
R3,000, hitherto made by Government, was raised 
to R6,0a0 for the year 1902-03, with the prospect 
of its being continued at this increased rate for 
two years more. The course of sericultural in- 
struction imparted at the Rampnr Boalia Industrial 
School was remodelled on a more i)opular b.asis, 
the main object of the school being the training 
of cocoon rearers' sons. In their case tlie couise of 
training was reduced to six months, and no edu- 
cational qualifications are required. The one-year 
rearers' class li us been retained for educated stu- 
dents to be trained for the posts of sub-overseers 
and inspectors in the villages. To encourage the 
training of rearers' sons in the elementary course, 
the iniijority ot the District Board scholarships 
are to be assigned to them. 
From the report we gather that Malda is a long 
way ahead ot other silk districts in the number 
of intelligent rearers, who have learnt modern 
