888 
Supplement to the ''•Tropical AgncuItMistl^ 
[June I 1891, 
Though co-operation is seen among the Goiyas of 
Ceylon in paddy cultirntion — so far as labour of 
men and animals is considered — still it is a system 
which might be more extensively adopted. The 
plan of manuring the land bv folding all the 
animals of a village for a time on each man’s 
land is well worthy of imitation, but the Ceylon 
Goiya has fii’st to learn the value of cattle manure 
as well as the advisability of keeping his cattle 
together instead of allowing them to stray about. 
Again the system of a number of village cultiva- 
tors who individually own but a few acres com- 
bining for the cultivation of a particular crop — and 
e.specially cotton — is greatly to be commended. 
For thoroughly clean land, there ploughings are 
ordinarily sufficient for cotton ; but if it is very 
foul it is ploughed as many times as possible. 
Tlie soil is ploughed in a dry condition, and to 
more than the ordinary depth, so that it 
may be thoroughly cleaned, as cotton particularly 
needs a clean soil. Under ordinary circumstances 
the cotton plants are cleared in August-Sep- 
tembei’, about 10 months after sondng. If rainy 
weather prevails, picking is carried over a longer 
period. In 1888-9 cotton picking was continued 
in some cases on to the middle of November. In 
fact cotton is picked till the yield becomes too 
poor to necessitate further delay in cleaning the 
land. The plants are generally fed off by sheep 
before they are cleared. They are pulled up 
after rain, tied into bundles and stacked, to be 
carted off later. The stalks are generally used 
for fuel, and when thin, are also used for thatch- 
ing: but when the .stalks are long and branchless 
they are used for weaving into tats or manure 
baskets or large baskets for preserving grain. 
In Ceylon there would be further use for cotton 
stalks in the manufacture of tea baskets. It is 
recommended that cotton should be sown in lines 
(as is done in some parts of India), so that the 
land would admit of being ploughed while still 
under crop, when the first rains in May occur. 
Cotton is sometimes sown in lines with Horse gram 
or other kinds of gram, or sown mixed witli 
coriander. Hibiscus Cannabinus &c. Two varieties 
of cotton (G. Herbaceum) are grown: the one 
variety has white coloured and round seeds, 
easily removeable white lint, a woody stem 
.spherical bolls and wliite stamens ; the other 
has dark coloured elongated seeds, less white 
lint removable with difficulty, a fibrous stem’, 
conical bolls, and red stamens. The former is 
generally preferred for the better classes of lands. 
Cotton is said to grow better wlien a rotation 
(ordinarily two-cour.se) is adotjted — the other crop 
of the rotation being generally Varagu (Sin: Amu) 
and Cuinbu; both of wliich are cultivated in 
Ceylon to some extent, (food cotton seed for sow- 
ing, which tlie ryot generally jiurcha.ses from 
dealers wlio clean cotton, sells at H5 to dg per 
UK) lb. It is stated that the .second picking 
a])]jears to furnish seed f>f the be.st fjuality. The 
(jiiality of cotton-seed is roughly tested by a .small 
f) uant it y being chewed. If the mass of chewed seed 
is yi'lhiwi.sh, tlie seed is cojisidered good ; otherwise 
it is ivjected. The s(‘cd is ginned a very short 
time liefore it is I'cipiired for sowing, lest th(' seed 
.should damp and sjioil. liefore sowing, the seed is 
freed of all adhei'ing lint, fonned into a heap 
over v\hielia thick .'■olulion of luilTalo dung in 
water ifpoui'cd, and ndilicd on the groumUo fully 
coat the seed with dung ; then it is spread to dry. 
Six standard measures of seed, weighing about 
101b. 6 oz., are sown per acre. The usual time of 
sowing is October but sometimes it is delayed, 
owing to want of rain, till the middle of 
November. 
Cotton is scarcely ever irrigated in Tinnevelly, 
though it is stated that irrigation stimulates it to 
better growth and production. The Hon. Mr. 
Mitchell was very sanguine of cotton being culti- 
vated with success under irrigation in Ceylon, 
and was exceedingly anxious that the experiment 
should be tried. A passed student of the School 
of Agriculture might be told off to lay a few acres 
under cotton and cultivate the crop with the aid 
of irrigation. Further particulars are given with 
regard to the cotton plant as grown in Tinnevelly 
as follows: — 
The first bloom appears about the 8 or 9 
weeks after sowing; the first bolls begin to open 
about 90 days after sowing ; the first picking com- 
mences about 105 days after sowing. 
The cost of raising cotton is given R9j per acre : 
the value of outturn at RSdg; the profits at EUSj 
per acre. It is admitted however, that the price 
of cotton at the time this estimate was made, was 
rather higlier than usual. In fertile soils and 
under good treatment. 1,0001b. of seed-cotton per 
acre is no unusual out-turn; an ordinary good 
yield may betaken to vary from 760 to 9001b. of 
seed-cotton; while oOOll). may be taken as a fair 
averages. It is assumed by dealers that 6 pods 
(of about 3281b. each) of seed-cotton are required to 
Ijroduce 5001b. of lint, and therefore the average 
out-turn of an acre is 1261b. lint. Not only has the 
area under cotton is Tinnevelly extended of late, 
but the out-turn has also been increased, owing to 
the stimulus given by the ri.se in price, which, at 
one time as low as R7 a podi, has risen to 3 and 4 
times that value. The following pests, to which 
cotton plants are subject are mentioned: — beetle, 
grasshopper, borers, bollworms, cotton worms, 
plantlice, rot of boll, mildew, and rust; but no 
remedies are suggested. 
An appended statement shows that | of a ryot’s 
holding is on the average allotted to cotton. About 
I of the cultivated area of dry land in the district 
is ordinarily bought under cotton, and the author 
of the report gives it as his opinion that there is 
hardly any scope for extension of cultivation 
though there is some prospect of increasing the 
production by better cultivation, for which sugges- 
tion are thrown out, such as more careful selection 
of seed, impi-ovement of mechanical and chemical 
condition of soil, sowing in lines, alteration of 
time of sowing kc. It would appear that no fair 
trial has been given to foreign varieties of seed, 
and but for a few stray Bourbon bushes, there is 
no evidence of new varieties of seed being used or 
tried by tlie ryots. 
Altogether the report under review (forming 
Bulletin No. 19 of the Agricultural Department 
of Dladras) is a most exhaustive one, and reflects 
thegrentest credit on its author. It is in reports 
such as this that one sees the good results to be 
expected from the e.stablishment of Agricultural 
Dejiartmets, and how very necessoary it is that Agri- 
cultural Inspectors or Itineraiy agricultural officers 
should be ajipointed in connection with any body 
(hat is concerned Avith the improvement of agri- 
culture, so that useful anfi valuable reports ou 
