422 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1903. 
discloses a most lamentable state of affairs, 
and calls emphatically upon this Society to use 
every endeavour to put a stop to the slaugh- 
ter of wild birds for their skins, in Ceylon 
at any rate. 
1 know upon the best authority that His 
Excellency the Lieut. Governor would lend 
all the assistance in bis power to put a stop 
to this nefarious trade, and I shall be ex- 
tremely obliged if any of your outstation 
correspondents would give me some informa- 
tion on the subject or would put me in the 
way of dealing with it. — I am, yours faith- 
fully, THOS. FARR, 
Hon. Secretary, G.P, Society, 
^ — » 
GOLD PEOSPECTING. IN GEYLON. 
( Extracts from the Beport of G G Dixon, Esq. 
to the Hon the Colonial Secretary, Colombo.) 
Colombo, 
Ceylon, May 19, 1903. 
Sir, — I have the honour to report on the gold 
occurrences in Oeylon, I received instructions from 
the Colonial Otfice to leave London on 25th April, 
1902, for Ceylon and' to report myself at Colombo. 
On arrival at Colombo on 21st May I was requested 
to proceed at once to Horton Plains. I left Colombo 
the followipg morning, and on arrival at Horton 
Plains I received my instructions troni the Acting 
Governor. I was directed to make an examination 
of the Island and report upon the quartz reefs and 
the alluvial deposits. The object of the examina- 
tion was to determine whether the reefs, and the 
alluvial deposits, carried gold in sufficient quanti- 
ties to pay. I was further instructed first to make a 
general investigation, as the area was a large one, 
some 24,000 square miles ; the detailed work 
to be carried out later, should the infor.Ti- 
ation collected warrant further expenditure, 
I first inspected the Malwana district, situated 
about 30 miles nortli east of Colombo. The gravel 
deposits are situated between the north bank of the 
Kelani river and the south bank of the Matotuena 
river, a tributary of the Kelani. The country here, 
with the exception of a low rocky ridge, is very fiat, 
and at the time of my visit all the low-lying 
country was under water, making it quite impossi- 
ble to' test the flats, over which I had to wade 
knee deep in water. On the south side of the low 
ridge, referred toabove, tiie gravel was within 1 foot 
of the surface. Practically the whole of this gravel 
deposit carries gold. Attempts have been made to 
work the ground for this metal, hut without success. 
The gold obtained by careful panning gave from 8d 
to ll-^-d per cubic yard. This is calculated per cubic 
yard of gravel : no allowance is made for top soil, 
which varies considerably. From this district I 
went on to Avisawella to test the deposits in and 
on the hanks of the rivers Sitawaka and Getaheta. 
Gold was found in tha gem bearing gravel in the 
beds of the rivers, and in the gravel deposits on 
tlie flats ; the gravel averaged 9 inches. In the 
Getaheta no gold was found beyond lial a mile 
from its junction with (he S tawaka. On he right 
bank of the Sitawaka river nea the railway line 
deposit of j^ravel was found 20 tf ct above the river; 
(several pannings produced one fin; '>olour of gold : 
this gravel is rei>ortp,d to carry gems. From 
Pussellal visited the Wilderness of the Peak. The 
country in the vicinity of the numerous rivers was 
composed of boulders of gneiss and some quartz : 
although the streams were carefully tested in 
likely-looking spots and wherever a deposit of 
gravel presented itself, no gold was found. 
From the Wilderness of the Peak I returned to 
Ratnapura. As the Kalu-ganga was low I decided 
to put down a pit in the middle of the stream 
to get some information of the class of gravel, 
and also to test it for gold. Tlie pit was sunk 
to a depth of 10 feet in the gravel. The gold ob- 
tained equalled one fine colour to every three or 
four pans. At the same time that this was being 
carried out pits were being sunk at different 
points on the Katugassella creek at the back of 
the Residency, Having fjund gold in a tributaiy 
stream and in smaller quantities in the main 
river, 1 decided to test the black sand at the 
mouth of the Kalu-ganga to see if any fine gold 
had been carried down to the sea. Numerous 
tests made in the river and along the coast for 5 
miles gave no gold. At the mouths of all the 
gold-bearing rivers on the west coast of New 
Zealand fine particles of gold can he obtained 
from ihe black sani of the seashore. Exploration 
was then commenced in the Kandy District. The 
hills showed no sign of gravel banks or terraces 
and the small streams were barren. The stream 
flowing from Kandy lake gave a colour or two 
after repeated tests, and the gravel in the pits 
injthe Peradeniya Gardens carried gold from the 
surface to a depth of 15 feet, this being the deepest 
point which I could reach without doing a con- 
siderable amount of excavating. This gravel gave 
from one to three fine colours per ))an. The gravel 
had no doubt been deposited by the Mahaweli- 
ganga in times past. 
I tested creeks between Peradeniya and Kadugan- 
nawa, but without result. From Gampola I visited 
Sinnapitija estate, Matale, Dambulla, Kurune- 
gala up the Northern Extension Railway as 
far as Ambanpola, country roads to Pattalam 
the coast road via Waimatavilln, Ponparippu, 
Marichchikkaddi, Chilavaturai, and Mantai to 
Attimoddai, Trincomalee, Habarana, Batticaloa 
via Polonnaruwa, Mannaiipitiya, Vakaneri, and 
Valenekelli, up the Batticaloa-Lunugala road 
as far as Ekriyankumbura, and from there 
north to Hembarawa, crossed the Mahaweli- 
ganga, Dankanda gap and Matale, which finished 
this line of exploration [but witho it result]. 
The next line taken was from Matale to Gampola 
by train, and from there to Hambantota via Ram- 
hoda, Nuvvara Eliya, Badulla, Bandarawela, Hapu- 
tale, Koslanda, and Wellawaya. From Gampola 
to Nuwara Eliya the streams tested all proved 
barren. At Nuwara Eliya the streams running 
into the lake carried gold in .small quantities. 
Once over the divide, however, the streams again 
proved barren, and no ?old was found between this 
point and Hambantota. On my return from 
•Colombo I left Hambantota for Haputale via 
Timbulketiya, Madampe, Pelmadulla, and Hal- 
dummulla. I examined gravel in the gem pits on 
the We ganga 25 feet below the surface, but could 
not get a colour of gold. 
From Haputale I went by train to Batton, and 
from this point I worked through the Laxapana 
and Maskeliya districts, but without finding any 
gold or gravel in any quantity. I had hoped to 
have followed the Kelani-ganga to the point 
wheie ifc cuts its way through the main range, but 
the had weather prevented my doing so. I then 
returned to Colombo, where I was laid up with an 
attack of enteric fever, which I did not get over 
until 30th January, On 9lh February I left 
for Galle, and from there visited the Morawak- 
