February i, 1892.] THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURIST. 
. As to the expenditure — The cultivators must be 
supported from May to January, say eight months ; 
seed must be supplied for 30 acres. 
Sbed-kdr^kkan for 15 acres at 3 seers to the 
Bcre=45 seers ; value at 4 cents per seer=Rr80. 
Seed-paddy for 15 acres = 15 bushels v? hioh at 
El-00 per bushel, K15 00. n 
Even if paddy be slightly higher in price the expe - 
dilure will be under R20 00. 
9. — As to the return which the cnltivators might 
reasonably expect; — 
In Vi-hena the average yield is 30 fold. 
In Knrakkan it is at least 300 fold in forest land 
such as we are dealing with. Consequently the 
average yield of 15 acres of Vi-hena = 450 bushels of 
paddy or 225 of rice and of Kurakkan the yield would 
be also 450 bushels. This is the usual yield, enormous 
as it may seem. 
10. — After the Maha harvest a crop of gingeli 
should be raised for yala. This is a most profitable 
crop. It is sown at the end of March but only on 
high ground and could be sown on the 15 acres from 
which the Kurakkan was reaped. One seer of gingeli 
(at 8 cents per seer) will sow an acre. Tnere- 
fore the 15 acres could be sown at a cost of Rl-20. 
Gingeli gives a return of from 300 to 450 fold : on 
forest land the latter might be expected. The yield 
of the 15 acres may be taken to be reasonably 195 
bushels. Gingeli sells from R2-00 to E3 00 per bushel, 
thus giving a return of from K390-00 to R585.50 
according to the price. 
11. Presuming that water is available for the other 
15 acres of low land, bineti paddy should be sown 
in April for Yala harvest while the highland is in 
gingeli. Cost of seed for 15 acres of hineti=Rl5'00. 
Therefore the total expenditure for seed would be : — 
Bay R33 00. 
Maha, Vihena ... R15 00 
do Kurakkan ... ... 1 80 
Yala, gingeli 1 20 
do Hineti 15 00 
R33 00 
12. This covers the time from the clearing in the 
middle of May in one year to the reaping of gingeli 
in the end of June in the next year. I assume that 
the cultivators require support np to the reaping of the 
Kurakkan in January, i.e., for eight months. 1 assume 
also that for each "able bodied labourer" there is a 
family of a man, a woman and two children. I con- 
aider that two basheis of rice a month and R3 
for sundries," dryfieh, ourrystutfs, cloth, &o., is an 
ample 8llowance=RI0. 30 families at R10=R30 and 
this for eight months gives a total of R2,400. If 
to this be added the value of the seed the total=R2,433 
—say R2,500. 
13. But it must be noted that I have only calculated 
for one mouth's clearing in May-June. There is no 
reason to prevent the cultivators from clearing 300 acres 
of irrigable land in June-July. Consequently we would 
have under crop 45 acres of mud land and 15 acres of 
high land. For this additional 30 acres we may allow 
R30'00 for seed for maha, and adding this to the pre- 
vious total we have an expenditure of R25000 to 
bring into cultivation 45 acres of mad land. The 
15 acres of high land might be planted up for gardens 
or used as a site for a village, &c. 
14. I am quite prepared to undertake operations 
under these conditions of expenditure if they are 
approved by Government. But I must point out that 
the persons whom I desire to have as colonists must 
not be selected from a town population. I wish to 
have peasants who already have a knowledge of cul- 
tivation and I would prefer Sinhalese though I have 
no objection tu TamilH. I could carefully separate 
the dilloreut races; and this could easily be done. 
I have at presout both Sinbalese and Muhammadans 
cultivating under Kalawewa. 
15. I would undertake to supply the rice and 
allow a credit of 113 to each family at a »toro which 
I would establish for the purpose and I would make 
no money by the cultivator. 
10. lu the foregoing obaervationa I have ohietly 
had in view the case of Kalawewa where I think a 
colony of the nature indicated could be placed. It 
would be necessary to house the people in an ele- 
vated position until they became acclimatized ; and 
the services of one of the medical ofiicei s should be 
available. Native medical treatment is useless for 
malarial fe>'er. If it were an unhealthy season in the 
commencement the experiment would run (a great 
risk of failure and of becoming another Lemesuria- 
gama, which 1 would desire to avoid. I consider 
the only serious objection to my scheme is the 
possibility of sickness and mortality frightening 
away the cnltivators. This I could not guud against, 
though I would take every precaution that experi- 
ence affords. 
The expenditure for houses in the commencement 
would be nil as timber is available and straw could be 
procured free from the Yoda Ela villages; while I 
presume Government would lend axes and mamoties 
for the first year. 
17. I would allow no borrowing from usurers and 
I see no need for any under the conditions of my 
scheme. If it were publicly known (as I would take 
care it should be) that the Gansabhawa courts would 
unfavourably regard any action for money or paddy lent 
during two years from the start of the colony there 
would be no borrowing or lending. This would be I 
am sure the case in this Province at least. As a rule 
the peasantry of the North-Central Province are not 
in debt or in the power of usurers. Many persona to 
my knowledge denied from hearing cases judicially lend 
seed paddy and money without claim for interest. But 
even where such claim is made by Moors, Tamils, 
Afghans and others, it does not appear that the peo- 
ple are to any great extent indebted. I could not 
allow the land to be given in any Province as seonrity 
in case of borrowing. It should be set forth under the 
condition that until the land was finally paid for, it 
remained the property of the Crown, the occupier being 
merely a tenant with the Crown as landlord. 
18. As to the repayment it may be observed that 
each man's liability would amount to R80*00 for 
subsistence and R2'25 for seed paddy=li82'25. I pre- 
sume the latter would be given free. RSO'OO is not 
a very heavy item of debt, and I recommend that it 
be recovered in the fifth and subsequent years of 
occupation by sale (under the original conditions) of 
J of the crop ; any balance of proceeds above the 
amount due might be refunded to the cultivator. 
19. Persons who desire to accept the liberal terma 
proposed in the Government Agent's recommenda- 
tions without subsistence might, of course be granted 
small lots of one or two acres, apart from the block 
taken up by what I term " the colony." 
20. I think I have replied to all the queries under 
reference and I have only to add further that if 
Government desires the experiment of colonization 
to be made either under the conditions proposed by 
me or any other that may be determined on, I shall 
spare no efforts to make it a success. — I am, &o., 
(Signed) R. W. Ievebs, Govt. Agent. 
A Reliable Insecticide.— Mr. W. B. Gardner, 
of Fort Meade, kindly furnishes the following 
results :— Four pounds of salt dissolved in twelve 
quarts of water, then add thirty-two pounds of 
finely sifted sulphur ; have the sulphur well 
stirred. Then take thirty-two pounds of queen 
rook potash, breaking any hard lumps, put in 
an iron vessel, add to the potash four quarts of 
water and let it stand say three minutes, then 
pour the potash into the sulphur. The mixture 
will boil with great violence. As soon as it is 
cold, put into a fifty gallon barrel and fill with 
water. Four quarts of this solution in fifty gal- 
lons of water is said to be sure death to the red 
spider. Two quarts to the barrel is strong enough 
for rust mite. It will not hurt the tenderest bud or 
leaf and can be kept for months. The residuum, 
should not, when properly prepared, exoeod one-h^lt 
i'mt,— Florida Agriculturist, Nov. 4th, 
