July i. 1891.] THP TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
HINTS FOR A YOUNG NEWLY ARRIVED 
PLANTING ASSISTANT. 
{By an old planter.) 
In Colombo. 
My dear Blank, — "Welcome to Ceylon. May your 
career here be most successful and all you hope 
jor realized 1 
As much depends on the start you make in life, 
we may adjourn to the verandah and have a cha^i 
in a long arm chair. 
What will you have to drink ? You will find 
Colombo a very thirsty place. 
I '11 have a lemonade, thank you ? 
"What, nothing stronger ? 
No thanks, I have thoroughly enjoyed the voyage 
and have tasted nothing stronger and mean to try 
and see how I can get on without stimulants. 
Boy, bring two lemonades, don't spoil them by 
putting ice in the tumblers. — Have you been calling 
on anyone yet ? No, but I have several letters of 
introduction, one to Mr. John Ferguson : he is the 
Editor of the Observer. 
I am glad to hear you have a letter to him, 
he is just the person to give you hints as to 
how to get upcountry and all about everything 
that concerns Ceylon, You can call on him after 
you finish your drink. His office ia only a short 
distance from the G. O. H. 
Travelling. 
I hear you are bound for the hill country. 
Lucky fellow 1 but take care that the cooly sent to 
meet you to show you the way and carry your box 
containing a change of clothing keeps within sight : 
not that lie will steal y6ur box, but by your keeping 
together until your destination is reached, you have 
a change of clothing at hand which you may stand 
greatly in need of, as the weather is, at certain 
seasons, very treacherous. It may look clear and 
charming for a 10 or 15 miles' ride or walk when 
you leave the station; but before you have gone far 
it may pour as you have never seen it do in the 
old country. Even if it does not rain a change of 
clothing after your bath and you feel like anew man. 
On the Plantation. 
You will find everything very strange at first ; the 
estate won't be like what you have pictured to your- 
self, unless you have seen a photograph of it ; for 
all estates are not alike and even a photo does not 
give one an idea of the grandeur of the rocks and 
mountains, and the charming effect of the pretty 
little bungalows and the large factories on the tea 
estates. Everything will be new, the very air you 
breathe is different, new faces, language, work, whole 
sorroundings all different from what you expected. 
If you mean to work, and get on here, you will have to 
get up early, say about 5-30, have tea or coffee, and 
make as good a meal as you can, as you have the 
heaviest part of the day's work to do before you get 
breakfast. The first duty after early tea is to take 
"muster," which may be either near or a little way off 
from the bungalow ; but is generally taken in the 
most convenient situation for the coolies being sent 
to work. 
The usual way of taking what is called muster, is 
to have all the coolies standing in a sort of semi- 
circle, double file, according to their gangs. The 
assistant with pocket checkroll or muster book in hand 
proceeds to the first gang on his left hand, and 
lancing along the line of coolies of that gang puts 
own the number in the gang to that kangani in his 
muster roll. ' On to the next lot, and enters them, 
and so on, till the total number of the gangs have 
been entered. This done the coolies are again 
arranged in double file, the able-bodied men taking 
one place, the best plucking women in another, the 
best half-grown boys by themselves, children and 
old women with infants fill up the balance. From 
these you select the material to carry on the various 
field works of the day. A little experience will teach 
you whom to select for the particular works. When 
muster is finished, and all gone off to work give 
the coolies five (5) minutes start of you before you 
follow. 
The first morning after your arrival be ready to 
accompany your P. D. (as the manager is called) 
should he be able to escort you to the different works 
going on, and listen carefully to what he tells you. 
If you cannot trust your memory, make notes after 
breakfast in your own room of the conversation so 
far as you can remember. You will find them useful 
to you in after life. 
When left to yourself amongst the coolies, go 
quietly from one to the other, watching each one 
how the work is done. In a very short time you will 
be able to distinguish the good working coolies and 
learn by watching them, how the work should be 
done. Certain works such as plucking and pruning 
you will, with a little practice and under the 
guidance of your P. D., soon acquire a practical 
knowledge of, and be able to teach the careless and 
ignorant amongst them. To do so, you will feel 
your own _ ignorance of the language and be anxious 
to speak it forthwith. It is wonderful how one can 
get along with a little Tamil, but to be able to 
get on well with coolies you must get over the 
bashful feeling of making mistakes in using Tamil 
when looking after work. Watch when the kangani 
or overseer gives an order to a cooly, and note 
down the words in a small note-book and ask your 
P. D. or the conductor (if there is one on the estate 
who knows English) the equivalent in English. 
Every day note down a few Tamil words and their 
meaning alongside. Commit to memory the Tamil 
numbers and the days of the week, and invest in a 
small book called "IngeVa" to be had at the 
Observer Office. A very useful little work for assist- 
ing beginners. If you find a cooly very obstinate 
or stupid at doing as you want him, don't strike 
him, but show him as you would a child how to do 
what you want. Eemember that you really don't 
know his language and you may fail in teaching, 
being unable to express yourself properly. If he ia 
beyond your power of teaching nand him over to 
a kangani : he may be more successful, but your own 
efforts at teaching are frequently attended with more 
success then the kangani's. Try your best to get the 
work out of your coolies without having to punish 
them by giving half name or marking them " sick," 
as "no name " is called.* 
An assistant who looks after his coolies well, very 
rarely has to mark them sick or even half name, 
unless under very exceptional circumstances. 
Estate Books. 
Work quietly, allow no loud talking amongst your 
field workers, the only loud tone of voice heard is 
that of the kangani or conductor, reminding the coolies 
to do something they are apt to forget, or not to 
do something he may have just discovered has been 
done amiss. Your duty will be to keep what ia 
called a Pocket Check-roll for enrolling the names 
of those at work and from it daily enter all the 
names into what is called the large or office check- 
roll. It is an easy task balancing the labor journal 
a.nd check-roll immediately after work, but becomes 
a very difficult one if left for a day or two, and there 
are other objections to postponing making up the 
check-roll till " the morrow." 
In addition to your labour journal which shows 
the labou.r distribution of the day, you ought to keep 
for your own edification, if not asked for by your 
P. D., a Field Jom-nal. The book should be ruled, but 
you make cross columns for the various fields as they 
are known by their acreage, and a column for the 
day's total. Opposite each day and under the respect 
* In the Brtish Parliament the Speaker's mys- 
terious threat of " naming names " strikes terror to 
the Boul of members. On estates the great punish- 
ment is just the reverse: to deprive a cooly of his 
name in the day's check-roll. No name means no 
pay.— Ed. T.A. 
