794 
TMfT TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[May I, i8gr. 
at, aud sympathy oaimot but b6 folt for thsm in tbeir 
attempts to gain redress. The ordinance as it stands 
has practically killed the native industry, and leaves 
it for the present in the hands of the European 
speculators who have come on the scene. The raison 
d’etre of it really appears to be, that if capital can 
be invested freely by foreigners, there must be 
something enormous to be made out of the 
industry, and so the Government thinks fit to 
have a share. But the question remains to be 
solved whether the introduction of European capital, 
aided by the most improved appliances and the latest 
methods for working gem mines, will_ develop into a 
remunerative business. There is nothing in the past 
to warrant such a belief, and when it is remembered 
that gemming has been openly carried out for years, 
openlj' and immediately under the eye of shrewd 
British business men, its success, handicapped as it is 
by an initial tax of 10 per cent, under the newer 
auspices, is, to say the least, highly problematic. 
Ratnapura and Rakwatja are the places where the 
best gems are found, though along the road I re- 
marked several excavations where gemming had been 
conducted. Some very pretty moonstones were shown 
me, which however were of little value. From Pal- 
roadale to Rakwana is a distance of sixteen miles up 
among the mountains. At one side is a deep valley 
heavily timbered and matted with luxuriant creepers. 
I noticed some curious orchids, with strange pendulous 
flowers, hanging from the angles of branches; tbeir 
stems were covered with fungi of the most gaudy colours 
—bright red, vellow, and purple. The scarlet shoots of 
the iron wood' tree seemed like flowers in their blood-red 
hue. Part of the h'.ll side was literally a blaze otorimsen, 
looking as if the wood was strewn with vermilion. 
This wood abounds with game, wild boar, elk, red deer, 
black faced monkeys ; and the whirr of copper wings 
indicated flocks of parroquets without number. Rak- 
wana is a mining village, consisting of one long street, 
and looking absurdly small owing to the presence of 
some massive iron wood trees and tall palms which 
dwarf the little huts at thtir base. No more than 250 
families reside here under the shadow of a big brown 
mountain with huge irregular spurs. Down the side 
of this mountain trickled a stream which fell over a 
rough bed of stones in a succession of small cataracts, 
until it got down to the valley when it slipped along 
in a placid stream. It looked like a frayed string of 
braid lacing the side of the huge mountain. One side 
of the hill was covered with matted jungle _and the 
otherplaoed under cultivation. The view higher up 
among the glens was inexpressibly fine. The twin 
wooden shanty of the. planter stood out on the hill 
side, while the green tufts of tea hardly showed on the 
red brown earth. Down in the valley, the hills 
appeared like miniature hay cocks, under an 
amethyst sky of the loveliest blue. The beauty 
of this scene viewed from the glen where the evening 
operations take place was lovely, and pathetic in its 
loveliness. The plaintive note of a bulbul, who is sup- 
pored to have a passion for the rose and regrets seeing 
it plucked, communicated a feeling of sadness to my 
mind as I ’ looked down from those lofty peaks into 
the distant valley. There is not a dog hole of the 
European continent that I have not visited, yet a finer 
view than the one before me I never witues-ied. 
The miners are an improvident lot, tunnel diggers 
getting an average of R‘2 and a half a day. I h«d 
a telk with Mr. Bradley, the Supaiutendeut of the 
Ceylon Gem Company, and was courteously led round 
its pits bv Mr. J. H. Smart, his assistant, a pleasant, 
genial, and highly informed gentleman. Hero I hoard 
a great deal more of gemmers and their hu-d lives 
than I can insert in this article. I trust, however, 1 
have given my readers some idea of gemming in Ceylon 
to enable them to form a eonjeolure whether they will 
find it worth their while to invest their money in 
such lottery concerns. 
Above, we publish a lively and entertaining paper 
upon “Oejlcn and its Gems.” Our “Roving Cor- 
respondent” seems to have studied the question with 
some oaie, but it is startling to learn that aecordingto 
the best available data the value of the precious stones 
found iu the island does not exceed £10,000 annually. 
The- introduction of the new ordinance or tax has, we 
are told, killed the mining industry altogether, so far 
as the natives are concerned, and left it for the pre- 
sent in the hands of European speculators. The ques- 
tion, says our correspondent, remains to be solved 
whether the intfoduction of European capital, aided 
by the most improved appliances and the latest 
methods for working gem mines, will develop 
into a remunerative business. “ There is," he adds, 
“ nothing in the past to warrant such a belief, 
and when it is remembered that gemming has been 
openly carried out for years, openly and immediately 
under the eye of shrewd British business men, its 
sucooess, handicapped as it is by an initial tax of 10 
per cent., under the newer au9picei,is, to say the least, 
highly problematic.” None of our Indian readers are 
however, at all likely to put their money into the gem- 
ming industry of Ceylon, while the grievances ol the 
native miners may be safely left to local public opinion. 
It is of muoh more interest to read the words of 
wholesome warning addressed by our writer to travellers 
anxious to invest in diamonds or rubies, and to learn 
what manner of inferior stones are often palmed off 
instead of them. The safest stones to bay in Ceylon 
are sapphires and oat’.s-eyes, but even with regard to 
these the assistance of an expert is desirable. Con- 
sidering the thriving business done all the year round 
at Colombo, and especially with Australian passengers, 
it is at once a surprise and a warning to learn that 
the annual value of the gems found on the spot is 
not more than £10,000. What, we wonder, is the 
value of the annual sales ? — Times of India. 
^ 
Liberian Coffee at the Straits. — As already 
mentioned, Dr. Trimen has returned from Java 
and the Straits confirmed in the conviction that 
we in Ceylon have been too hasty in discarding 
Liberian coffee. In this connection we call attention 
to a statement and figures in our Tropical A^rricwWm'st 
showing crops in the Malaya peninsula (Selangore 
and Sungei Ujong) averaging from 8 to llj owt. 
per aore, returns handsome enough to induce a 
wide extension of planting. Ceylon has, ol course, 
a far poorer soil, but there are parts of the Western 
and Southern provinces especially where Liberian 
coffee might well be planted, by the natives es- 
pecially, with advantage. 
Kadieana, April 13th. — No shook of earthquake has 
been felt in this neighbourhood, but thunder-storms aud 
occasionally heavy gests of wind have been experienced. 
The noith-east is bent upon going out with some 
bluster. From the 6th to the 10th there was rain in 
the evenings ; the total fall being 2-28 inches. The 
mornings, are delightful but the days are close and 
very trying. Growth of vegetation has been rapid for 
the last two months which will much benefit the 
cinnamon bushes, and permit of work being begun for 
the new season (1st May) early. I was much pleased 
to see Mr. Gladwin’s letter, in Saturday’s Observer 
on the increase of opium consumption in Ceylon. 
I have been greatly surprise d at the number of opium- 
eaters I have come across in this locality ; and from 
inquiry I find that opium-eating is becoming common 
among the Sinhalese. The usual reason given for its 
use is to relieve aches and pains ; and when once 
taken to, the unfortuoate victim has not the courage 
to give it up. Fortunately in this connection most of 
the peoiile are too poor to indulge to any serious 
extent. As in the case of arrack I think the Govern- 
ment is greatly to blame, when, for the sake of a 
paltry increase to the revenue, it gives encouragement 
to the extended use of this drug — a boon to humanity 
when uuder medical control, but a fearful curse when 
it can be sold to the ignorant and confiding in the 
bazaars. These poor people imagine they have found 
a pauiicea for their ills, and find when too late that 
they have only added another and a worse one to 
the list. 
