Sept.  2,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
201 
SALES  OF  CKOWISi  LANDS. 
We  direct  the  attention  of  tlie  Ooverninent— 
since  the  Dnr])ar  lias  already  closed— to  the 
letter  of  a practical  planter  on  this  subject  in 
another  column.  It  shows  how  great  is  the 
amount  of  red  tajic  which  clogs  the  way  of 
business  in  the  direction  referred  to,  and  how 
very  discouraging  is  the  present  attitude  of, 
at  least  some,  Oovernment  Agents  and  the  otli- 
cers  whom  they  intlnence,  in  respect  of  appli- 
cations for  land.  Never  were  the  doings  of  an 
obstructive  circumlocution  olHce  more  fairly 
delineated,  or  the  unwise  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Agent  for  the  Western  Province  more 
explicitly  condemned.  But  the  point  is  whether 
such  action  may  not  be  the  outcome  of  the 
deliberate,  thougn  undeclared,  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment ? It  has  apparently  taken  credit  in  some 
quarters  for  laying  an  embargo  on  local  land 
sales,  the  result  being  as  our  corres))ondent  point 
out,  to  drive  a great  deal  of  capital  out  of 
the  island,  and  .some  of  our  best  and  most  ex- 
perienced colonists  to  exjiloit  new  planting  entcr- 
prise.s  in  Java,  Sumatr.a,  the  Malayan  Peninsula, 
and  Central  Africa.  We  have  no  fault  to  find 
witli  sucli  new  cnter])risc ; but  certainly  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  ])Cople  cand  tax])ayers 
of  Ceylon — whose  interests  (and  not  those  of 
any  one  limited  class)  should  be  guarded  and 
promoted  by  Government, — the  movement  is  a 
dubious  one.  In  supposing  tliat  tlieir  do-nothing 
policy  checks  local  “over-production,”  our  Goven.- 
ment  forgets  how  entirely  relative  is  tliisterm.  Jdmit 
Ceylon  to  90  to  100  million  lb.  of  tea  exports 
ami  what  benefit  will  there  be,  when  Travan- 
core,  the  Dooars,  .and  high  districts  in  Java 
send  forth  the  extia  millions  of  lb.  which^  might 
)\ist  as  well  have  been  turned  out  in  Ceylon? 
Tliere  will  he  the  same  markets  to  go  to  and  the 
same  comiietition  to  meet.  But  how'  great  the 
diherence,  as  our  correspondent  shows,  to  the 
wage-earning  classes  in  Ceylon  is  the  fact  that 
the  extra  )>roduction  occurs  outside,  instead  of 
inside  the  Colony  ! And  very  soon  too,  the 
General  Bevenue  must  sufl'er  from  this  do- 
nothing  jiolicy— a policy  w'.iich  in  l)eing  ex- 
tended to  minor  applications  for  blocks  of  land, 
as  additions  to  existing  plantations,  becomes  at 
once  s[)eci.ally  worrying  as  well  as  ridiculously 
obstructive. 
VINE-GROWING  IN  CEYLON. 
An  interesting  experiment  has  just  been  com- 
menced in  the  neigidiourhood  of  the  Agricultural 
School  in  Viticulture.  M.  Zanetli,  .an  Italian, 
with  some  previous  experience  of  this  Colony 
has  brought  a consignment  of  young  vine  plants 
and  cuttings  from  Australia.  These  have  been 
put  out  on  a piece  of  laml  allotted  by  the 
Principal  of  the  School  to  the  following  extent ; 
—800  plants,  2 ye.ars  old  and  younger,  down 
and  growing,  .and  nearly  1,000  cuttings.  M. 
Zanetti  warded  laud  and  help  ot  once,  as  the 
plants  had  been  over  a month  out  of  the  soil 
.and  could  not  have  been  kept  much  longer,  so 
Mr.  Drieberg  came  to  his  rescue.  He  says  th.at 
his  experience  is  that  there  is  nf)  oljjection  to 
any  amount  of  moisture,  [irovided  the  s')il  is  open 
and  naturally  w'ell  drained.  He,  however,  means 
to  give  trials  in  other  pl.aces  .as  well.  This  is 
all  very  interesting;  but  we  have  alway.s  regarded 
the  .lati'ria  peniirsitla,  Puttalanr,  Chilaw  and 
Hambantota  .as  iieculiarly  the  districts  in  Ceylon 
suited  to  the  vine.  Bennett  itt  his  “ Ceylon  and 
its  Capabilities”  reported  that  his  garden  in  the 
Magampattu  (Hambantota  district)  produced  very 
fine  grapes  from  vines  introduced  by  him  from 
Teneriti'e  in  1821.  He  used  bones  as  manure, 
and  got  bunches  double  the  size  of  those  got 
from  uiimanured  vines.  In  writing  to  a coirt^un 
porary  M.  Zanetti  saj's : — 
Though  not  altogether  so  easily  as  in  other  tropics 
and  soils,  I am  of  the  firm  opinion,  that  vine  grow‘ 
ing  in  Ceylon,  could  be  effected  .as  a p.aying  enter- 
prize.  The  difficulties,  presented  by  the  rainfall  and 
the  want  of  certain  chemical  properties  in  the  soil, 
could  be  surmounted  ; tbe  first, by  selecting  only  such 
soil  as  would  be  most  permeable  and  most  likely  to 
keep  its  surface  free  from  collected  water  and 
easily  dried,  such  as  sandy  or  very  light  gravel  soil ; 
the  second,  by  using  those  fertilizers  only,  whose 
chemical  qualities  added  to  those  of  the  soil,  would 
furnish  the  plant  the  necessary  nourishment,  wanted 
to  produce  the  delicious  fruit  and  bring  it  to  its 
full  maturity,  which,  I believe  has  not  yet  been  done, 
neither  in  Jaffna,  nor  by  the  amateur  growers  in  the 
island. 
It  is  well  to  remember  that  experiments  with 
imported  vines  have  not  been  unknown  in  the 
pre.sent  generation.  Capt.  Bayley  some  years  ago 
did  much  in  this  w'ay,  at  Galle,  in  the  Morowa 
Korale  and  otlier  localities ; but  without  such 
success  as  would  warrant  perseverance. 
^ 
THE  DOOMO  TEA  ESTATES  COMPANY. 
“ Tlie  Doomo  Estates  Comp.any”  is  (.as  already 
mentioned)  to  comi)rise  the  Vcrelepatena  Estate 
j)urcliased  from  Mr.  Channing  Esdaile  for.  about 
£14,090  .and  the  Doomo  e, state  bought  from  Mr. 
M.ason  for  about  .£7,000 — or  11250,236  and  11127,600 
respectively.  The  total  area  of  both  properties 
is  983  acres  of  wdiich  560  are  in  tea,  120  coffee. 
Mr.  Mason  is  likely  to  be  Manager  on  Verelc 
patena. 
CLUNES  ESTATES  COMPANY. 
Tlie  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Climes 
Estates  Company  of  Ceylon  Ltd.  was  held  in 
the  registered  office  of  tlie  Company  No.  18, 
Upper  Chatham  Street  on  the  16th  August.  The 
Chairman,  Mr.  Don.ald  Cameron,  presided,  and 
there  were  also  present  Captain  Sandenian, 
Messrs.  W'.  II.  Tatliam,  James  Forbes,  George 
V^anderspar,  John  Guthrie,  V.  A.  Juliu.s,  W’. 
Forsyth  and  Gordon  Frazer,  secietary. 
The  notice  calling  the  meeting  having  been 
read  and  minutes  having  been  approved 
The  Chaikman  said  that  the  report  of  the 
Directors  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  share- 
holders for  the  last  two  weeks  and  might  per- 
haps be  held  as  read,  i'he  balance  sheet  showed 
a very  satisfactory  result  for  the  past  year’s 
working.  After  writing  off  tlie  balance  of  pre- 
liminary expenses  and  allowing  liberally  for 
depreciation  of  the  Clunes  factory  and  machinery 
(Err.acht  factory  being  only  just  completed 
nothing  required  to  be  written  off'  for  dejire- 
ciation  this  ye.ar)  and  carrying  forward  to  next 
year  a lialance  of  K2,566’29  the  Directors 
were  able  to  recommend  a dividend  of  15  per 
cent  which,  with  the  interim  dividend  of  5 per 
cent,  .alre.ady  p.aid,  is  equal  to  a dividend  of  20 
per  cent  for  the  year.  The  Directors  were  pleased 
to  report  that  the  labour  on  the  estate  was  suffi- 
cient, and  that  the  cart  road,  just  com|ileted, 
greatly  facilitated  working.  It  devolved  on  the 
meeting  to  elect  a Director  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Julius  who  retired  and  as  that  gentleman  was  leav- 
ing the  island,  he  did  not  seek  re-election.  The 
Directors  regretted  to  rejiort  the  resignation 
of  Messrs.  Buchanan,  Frazer  v'v  Go.  as  Agents 
and  Secretaries.  The  th.anks  of  the 
sharehohler.s  were  due  to  the  lirm  foi'  the  very 
satisfactory  manner  in  which  they  had  conducted 
the  business  of  the  Company  since  its  forojation. 
