S54 ^ THE TROPICAL AGRIcn.TtRIST tJ^ov. 1, 1898. 
does not possess a single blossom ; probably tliU 
has something to do with altitude and climate. 
BLOOMING ON THE HILLS. 
The Ceylon forest is different Ironi the forest of 
the Nilgiris and Piilaeys ; it does not cling so 
much to the valleys ; it clothes the hill-tops and 
freouently forsakes tiie valleys leavins; the rivers 
to flow in a succession of clear pools and foaming 
rapids through patana or grass land. The nilloo 
never looks better than in the jungle high up on the 
hillsides. It grows luxuriantly in dense masses of 
undergrowth to a height of about tifteen feet form- 
ing an impenetrable jungle except for tlie game 
tracks which pierce it in all directions. 
THE HORTON PLAINS. 
It was in blossom on the hills about the Horton 
Plains in the year 1887 when I had the good 
fortune to be staying on a tea estate in that 
neighbourhood. It was indsscribably beautiful. 
The jungle seemed to be hung witli a delicate 
curtain of lavender gauze. One has seen mai vel- 
lous atmospheric efTects on the outskirts of Madras 
Irom the blue wood smoke of the huts hanging 
over the luxuriant landscape. This was the blue 
haze glorified into a pearly lavender, converting 
the Ceylon jungle into a veritable fairy-land. The 
flowers trembled with myriads ot bees in search of 
the wealth of honey contained in their depths : 
and every variety of butterfly to be found on the 
hills hovered in the sunlight over the masses of 
bloom. Atnightthemothfamily revelled at thefeast, 
and the entomologist, had he been there, would 
have made a record harvest of specimens. Later 
on the blossom was replaced by seeil, which ripened 
in August and September. The bees and butterflies 
vanished and the strobilanthes swarmed with seed- 
eating birds of all kinds. Amongst them was 
THE CEYLON JUNGLE FOWL, 
a most excellent game-bird which will bear com- 
parison with the pheasant in flavour although it 
IS not so large. Its handsome chestnut red plu- 
mage is like that of the bantam fowl and some 
of its feathers are much prized by the salmon 
fisherman for the manufacture of fishing flies. 
As soon as it was known that the jungle fowl 
had arrived, shooting parties were arranged by 
those planters who lived within reach of the 
jungle. The sport was as good, — so they said, 
— as any battue shooting at Home, tliough the 
bags were not so big. Six or seven guns stationed 
themselves in open spaces outside the jungle, 
whilst a gang of at least a hundred coolies ser- 
ved as beaters and turned out the game. The 
nilloo was too thick to work in regular order as 
in an English covert ; the coolies made up for 
the deficiency in beating by employing tom- 
toms and otlier implements of noise to make 
the birds take wings. The fowl were as fat as 
butter from their high living and very unwilling 
to leave their feeding ground. Following the 
game tracks the beaters with the dogs succeeded 
in scaring the game over towards the guns : and 
a good morning's bag numbered anything between 
fifty and a hundred, not counting pigeons and 
other quarry thought worthy of powder and shot. 
The shooting lasted from six 'weeks to two months 
and came to an end all too soon for the sports- 
men, for the ladies who joined them in their pic- 
nic lunches, and for the careful housewife. She 
lives ujwountry in Ceylon in a chronic state of 
puzzlement how to vary her menu with nothing 
. 'but the everlasting beef to fall back upon, and the 
jungle fowl are a most welcome addition to the 
larder. When one is tired of them ^roasted with 
bread-sauce and fried bread-crumbs, a game pie 
comes as a delightful variety. 
BIG GAME. 
After flDwering and seeding, the nilloo diei 
down and a young crop siiriuj^s up looking not 
unlike a bed of nettlets. The sambur, miscalled 
in Ceylon the elk, are dearly fond of the young 
iiil'oo hlioots ; and the planter with his hounds, 
bent on a certain find and a good run, knowu 
where to look for the deer wlien the tii/loo u 
springing up again. Tiie old stems t-tand till 
tliey rot, supported by their density, or until 
they are tempted down by the big game, and 
they form a cover for the new generation of 
young plants. Eleiihants sometimes wander 
throu;{h the strobilanthes in their peregii nations 
after food and water ; it is possible that tliey 
find the cane.i an admirable means of brujshings 
away the fiies and other insects which turmeut 
them. In spile of its thick skin, the animal it 
said to be peculiarly sensitive to tlie stings of 
int-eets ; flies, mosquitoes and leeches prove as 
irritating to it as to a human being. On one 
occasion a sportsman with his hounds on elk in- 
lent came suddenly upon three cow elephants 
standing amongst dry nilloo sticks. It was diffi- 
cult to say who was mo.st upset by the encounter. 
The hounds ceased searching for & find and gave 
tongue at the calves, which screan.ed with fear. 
The cows flurried and annoyed at the disiresfc of 
their young, trumpeted and snorted ; whilst the 
8port^men tliouglit it desirable to swarm into a 
substantial tree till the racket won over. And 
there was a tine racket, indeed, as tlie big cum- 
brous beasts romped through the dry nilloo 
sticks in search of their wandering young. Ihe 
ntltoo though standing twelve feet high, went 
down before their broad feet like bea-n stalks 
before a raging bull in a bean field at Home. 
\Vhat with the smashing of dry wood, the scream- 
ing of the calves and the trumpetings of the 
excited mothers, the tree'd huntsman could have 
fancied hiuiself in a railway accident. He was 
not sorry when the family partT reunited and 
made tiacksfor another district, leaving him and 
his hounds in undisturbed possession ot the etor- 
bilanthes.— F. in Madras Mail, Oct. 8. 
♦ 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Planting in Ceylon.— Several Planters' sons &r« 
about to take up the occupation of their fathers, A 
son of the late Mr. Keith Maitland, who met with 
such a tragic death near Reading in 1896, is to learn 
his work ou Glenomera E.-itate. Mr. Andrew Greig 
will do the same, under his father on Laxapana, 
Maskeliya; whilst the second son of Mr. Echvard 
Aunesley Cookt, for so many years Superintendent 
of Tillyrie, Bogawantalawa, is expectea shortly to 
"creep" at Taugakellie, Lindula, under Mr. T. G. 
Hayea. 
The Copperah Mabket. — There is evidence of a 
keen demand for Copperah jnst now, but unfortunately 
it has come at a time when the slack season of 
the year is on from the producer's point of view. 
In addition to this, the wet weather we are having 
iu Colombo and throughout the Island generally acts 
as a serious obstacle to drying and curing opera- 
tions. The consequence is that the output is quite 
out of proportion with the growing demand. During 
the past few weeks no more than a half dozeu boats, 
on an aveiage, arrived at Grandpass and these fonnd 
ready buyers. The beginning of this week saw a 
decided rise in prices. Good Calpenteyu and estate 
fetched E-lo SO per candy during the last week, but 
on Monday that figure rose to E44, and buyers are 
even now prepared to pay a little over that sum. 
Marawilla and Madanipe copperah has correspondingly 
gone up in price, the quotation yesterday varying 
from E42-50 to 1145-50 per canady. 
