May 2, 1904. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 765 
course. At TOO trees to the acre and rubber 
sellinf? at recent high prices, it would be 
interesting to get some ideas as to the 
Capital value per acre!!!— lam, sir, yours 
faithtully. 
R. W. HARRISON. 
" AGEKATUM." 
April 12. 
Sir —May I point out Cd not already done) 
that the plant referred to recently as white 
weed (or goat weed) is " Ageratum " and 
not " Aujuratum." It is known in Sinha- 
lese as Hulantala, no doubt owing to 
its easy propagation by wind. " Mitikalai " 
I do not know, at any rate by that 
name. If it is a good green manure I 
would like to make its acquaintance. Can 
your correspondent not give its botanical 
name, or even the Sinhalese name which 
might serve to identify the plant ? D. 
STALKING IN THE CEYLON HILLS. 
IS THERE A MONOPOLY? 
Sir, — I enclose some correspondence with 
the Hon. Secretary, C. G. F, S. The stalking 
dispute has been going on for some years, 
some members of the C G P. S., who prefer 
shooting stags witli a rifie to butchering 
hinds and fawns with dogs, making an 
effort to have stalking allowed, and the dog 
owners opposing • them tooth and nail. 
However, at the last September meeting, 
some Government suggestions that stalking 
should be allowed at over 4,000 feet elevation 
under certain conditions, were laid before 
the meeting and unanimously accepted, and 
at the February meeting the Hon. Secretary 
congratulated the Society in his report on 
this bone of contention having been buried 
for good, and all then assisted in digging 
it up again on the strength of the remarks 
of the anonymous informants whom I refer 
to in my letter. 1 am surely right in 
contending that, instead of backing up the 
anonymous informants of Messrs. Haughton 
and Short, the Honorary Secretary's proper 
course would have been to tell them that 
this subject had been finally settled to the 
satisfaction of the Society at their September 
meeting, and he might very naturally have 
asked who these informants were. However, 
as the Hon. Secretary burkes enquiry, the 
only course open is to bring forward a reso- 
lution asking Government to withdraw the 
monopoly that they have given to the owners 
of two or three packs to kill game, as the 
privilege has been terribly abused and is not 
a fair one. As far as Upoountry is con- 
cerned, the U.G. P.S. is run eyitirely for the 
benefit of the registered packs. Government 
provide watchers who are never sent below 
4,000 feet elevation unless they are sent to 
look for lost hounds. The pack? are quite 
uncontrolled, no return of game slaughtered 
is called for by Government, and their 
masters are not even obliged to take cut 
butchers' licenses, thougii they regularly sell 
the meat ot the sambur they kill. I know 
that in the 1901 season one pack slaughtered 
over 200 sambur, another pack about 140, 
and the average slaughter is over 100 sambur 
of sorts to each pack each season, of which 
97 
quite 75 per cent are hinds and fawnsi As 
many as .5, 6 and 7 have been killed in one 
day, and it is the men who have the 
monopoly of this terrible slaughter who 
grudge a real sportsman a shot at a stag. 
I say it is time this sort of thing was put 
a stop to. Perhaps Messrs. Haughton and 
Short's anonymous informants will now come 
forward and, writing above their own names, 
give us some sound reasons why Govern- 
ment should allow halt-adf^zen men to 
slaughter and sell the meat of hundreds of 
sambur every year, when anyone not owning 
a large registered pack is not allowed to 
shoot one stag. I challenge anyone to bring 
forward a sound argument in favour of the 
present monopoly. — Yours, &c., 
NORTH C. DAVIDSON. 
Amherst, Udapussellawa, April Stli. 
P.S. — I may add that the masters of two re- 
gistered packs are in the liabib of shooting deer 
(hinds included) over their packs, below 4,000 ft. 
^ Correspondence referred to. J 
The Hon. Secretary, 0 G P S, North Cove. 
Dear Sir, — I enclose copy of a letter that I sent 
to the Press on the 13th ultimo, which I presume 
has escaped your notice. Would you kindly pub- 
lish all the correspondence anent the alteration of 
stalking area, as I wish to bring the matter up at 
the next general meeting. I should be much 
obliged it you would also try and obtain the names 
of Mr Haughton's and IVIr Short's informants, as it 
would be interesting to know whether they at- 
tended the general meeting in September last. 
Why I ask you to j^tf &^is/i the coriespondence is 
that members may have time to read and digest it 
before the meeting, there being no time as a rule to 
do so at the meeting. — Yours. &c , 
NoETH C. Davidson. 
Amhe»st, Udapussellawa, March 21st. 
North C Davidson, Esq, Udapussellawa. 
Dear sir, — With reference to your letter of the 
21st, your letter to the Press of February 1.3th, did 
not escape my notice, but I am not in the habit of 
replying to such communications. All the corres- 
pondence with Government, in connection with 
stalking in the hills, was published with the 
minutes of last meeting. My position as Hon. 
Secretary, GPS, does not compel me to take upon 
myself the role of private detective, and that kind 
of work, if you want it done, had better be per- 
formed by anyone who might find the task con- 
genial, i may add that I personally do not know 
wlio are or were the ''informants" as you term 
them (though to me the word seems misapplied), 
nor do 1 intend to " try and obtain their names." 
—Yours, &c, Thos. Fare, Hon. Secretary, GPS. 
North Cove, March 25th. 
Planting in British E.^st Africa.— Land in 
the immediate vicinity of Nairobi, the railway 
headquarters, is at a premium, and almost un- 
obtainable. New and handsome residences are 
sprinf^ing up all round the town, and these are 
being budt, not for the use of otficia's, but by 
energetic settlers. One settler |near Nairobi has 
laid out and planted his estate with ramie, a 
valuable fibre ; another is laying out a coffee 
plantation for Lady Delamere, and quite a large 
number of settlers are experimenting wiih cotton 
and coffee. Another settler has imported some fine 
pigs and cattle, and is about to erect a bacon- 
curing factory. — tL- C. Mail, 
