5i6 
Supplement to the " Tf epical Aqriculturist." [January i, 1892. 
Goverument in allowing a vote for six new 
agricultural instructors next year. It seemed 
to him that the best plan of dealing with these 
students was to utilize them as itinerating in- 
structors — not confining them to this school or 
that school, hut alloting them to a certain dis- 
trict, say for a couple of luirvests or even more, 
but not for any length of time, and then trans- 
ferring them to other districts whicli also required 
exploiting so to speak. He had spoken of the 
preliminary difficulties which were encountered, 
but he thought he could now say, judging from 
the applications for instructors which had been 
made to him by the various Agents, that the 
success of the school was fairly established. He 
had applications from Kurunegala, from the 
Government Agent of Eatnapura, fromt he Assis- 
tant Agent of Kegalla, and from two other centres, 
and that fact witnessed to the usefulness of the 
instruction which was imparted. The chief object 
of the instructors hitherto had been the economic 
cultivation of paddy. There was no doubt from 
the reports he had received from the Government 
paddy cultivating areas of the island that the ex- 
periments that were conducted had been very 
successful. At the end of last year he received a 
long report from the Government Agent of the 
Eastern Province in which he conclusively showed 
that, comparing the two systems of cultivation 
— the improved system as taught by the instruct- 
ors, and the old system as pursued by the ordin- 
ary village cultivators — the yield of the new sys- 
tem was incomparably superior. He thought the 
attention of the instructors might profitably be 
drawn to another form of cultivation, that was 
fruit cultivation. There was no doubt whatever 
that fruit cultivation so far as Colombo was con- 
cerned and the island generally, was more or less 
rudimentry ; very little improvement had been 
made in that direction. A better growth of oranges, 
plantains, and mangoes might be obtained, and 
he had no doubt the Principal would turn his 
attention to that. One thing he was glad to note 
was the issue of leaflets by the Principal. These 
had no doubt been productive of mnch interest 
and much good amongst the people. He was 
informed by the Principal that the issue of 
leaflets now amounted to something like 6,000 
per month. As regarded the daiiying operations 
of the School he had that afternoon visited the 
farm and cattle buildings where there were about 
16 or 18 cows, aud the Superintendent of the, 
dairy farm told him that he made a profit of 
something like 40 or -50 rupees. "When one con- 
•sidered how very little was done in the way 
of dairying, it being almost impossible for one to 
get a glass of milk when travelling, although cows 
are swarming round about him, the new departure 
in the way of dairying seemed to be a great pro- 
mise. He did not propose to detain them any 
longer, but he should like to bear this testimony 
to the work and energy displayed by the Principal 
during tlie past year. There was no doubt that 
wliatever practical success especially the School 
liad attained was due to Mr. Drieberg's successful 
tuition, lie felt sure that all those who were 
interested in the welfare of the villagers generally 
as connected with agricultural operations would 
coincide in that opinion. (Applause.) 
H. E. the GovjOKNoa: — The ])leasing duty of 
(liistributing the jjrizes is the next item on the 
programme and devolves upon me. 
The prizes and certificates were then distributed 
by H. E. as follows : — 
Seniors. — Theoretical Agriculture, Chemistry 
and Botany, E. M. Johannes ; English, Mathematics, 
and Entomology, E. M. Johannes ; Botany and 
Zoology ; H. S. Dias ; Practical Agriculture, S. S. 
Vii'amuttu. Special Prizes : — Mr, de Soysa's prize 
(R25 ) for Practical Chemistry, E. M. Johannes ; 
Mr. Jno. Clovis de Silva's prize, (RIO) for Practical 
Agriculture, S, S. Viramuttu ; Mr. J. H. Barber's 
prize, (books) for Practical Agriculture, J. S. 
Salgado ; Mr. A. M. Chittambalam's prize for 
Theoretical Agriculture (cheque ElO), E. M. Johan- 
nes. 
JuNions. — Theoretical Agriculture, H. B. G. 
Athapathu ; Chemistry, R. Jayasiriwardene ; Che- 
mistry, H. B. G. Athapathu; Geology, T. B. 
Kehelpannala; Mathematics; F Gunawardna , Bota- 
ny, K, D. Eomial ; English, History and Geogra- 
phy, T. B. Kehelpannala ; Histroy and Geography, 
Athapattu ; Field Surveying, K, D. Eomial. Special 
Prizes : — W. de Mel's prize (books) for Practical 
Agriculture, C. M. Abayasekera ; Mr. Arnold Bias's 
Prize (books) for Practical Agriculture, S. Nalla- 
sully : Mr. S. T. Muttiah's prize for Field Survey- 
ing (ElO), K. D. Eomial. 
Certificates were presented to the following 
students, who are leaving the College ; — S. M. 
Johannes, H. H. Dias, S. S. Viramuttu, C. H. 
Perera, D. Amarawickrama and J. S. Salgado. 
H. E. the Governor afterwards said : — Ladies 
and gentlemen, I am sure you have in common 
with me listened with profit and satisfaction to 
the very full report which had been read by the 
Superintendent of the Agricultviral College, and 
the commentary upon it which we have heard 
from the Director of Public Instruction. I say 
for myself that 1 have listened to that report and 
these comments with profit, because I find that I 
have gained by them information which I certainly 
did not possess before of the object, histoiy and 
progress of this institution. I have listened to 
these remarks with great satisfaction because 
they have put before us a very satisfactory 
history of the working af the Institution even 
after making allowance for a little very natural 
enthusiasm on the part of the Superintendent. 
It is difiicult to exaggerate the importance of an 
institution of this kind in a country like Ceylon 
which is almost entirely dependent on the develop- 
ment of its agricultural sources, and I am par- 
ticularly glad therefore to see so many visitors 
present to give their encouragement to this 
particularly interesting and valuable institution. 
The syllabus that I hold in my hand of the in- 
tended work of this College is a very compre- 
hensiA'e one, comprising as it does a large number 
of theoretical and practical subjects of education, 
and when this syllabus is augmented, as we have 
been told it probably will be, by the teaching of 
more advanced veterinary science, and also possi- 
bly by the ingrafting upon it of some technical 
teaching, I think there will be very few educa- 
tional institutions in Ceylon which will equal 
this College in importance and interest. (Hear, 
hear.) I was particularly interested by those 
passages in the report of the Superintendent which 
deal with the results of experiments in the im- 
provement of paddy cultivation, It is pitiful to 
