264 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
[Oct.  I,  T895. 
Course  the  late  Sir  Samuel  P>al<er  ami  !iis  hrother 
.lolm  kept  a line  pack  of  liounds  at  N\i\vaia  Eliya, 
which  attbrdecl  great  sport,  and  to  which  the 
brothers  devoted  themselves,  as  described  in  those 
delightful  works,  “The  Kille  and  the  Hound”  and 
“ Eight  Years  in  Ceylon.” 
In  the  beginning  of  the  “fifties,”  there  were 
merely  native  patlis  to  the 
UPPER  DIMBULLA  ESTATES, 
Wattegoda,  lladella,  Louisa  (opening)  and 
lartulella  tlirough  the  patanas  down  to  tlie 
at  Medacombura.  All  estate  su])plies 
generally  carried  up  by  coolies,  b;y  way  of 
sellawa,  down  to  the  Kotmale  Ferry 
Fal- 
ford 
were 
Fu.s- 
tlirougli 
patanas  and  paddy  fields  to  the  Limekiln  berry, 
and  then  up  a precipitous  path  through  pa- 
tanas to  the  Upper  Wattegoda  road,  a mere  track 
through  the  jungle,  where  now-a-days  1 heli<Ae 
the  Medacomljura,  or  Wattegoda  Kail  way  station 
is  placed.  There  was  a ilat-rock  where  .a  lialt 
was  always  made  in  completing  the  ascent  from 
the  river.  This  rock  was  always  called  “ licst 
and  be  thankful”  and  full  advantage  was  taken 
of  the  same.  1 rememher  a line  powerful  young 
Scotchman,  Uaviil  Kell,  who  was  on  attegoda 
and  wdio  carried  a husliel  of  rice  without  a ha|L 
from  the  Limekiln  to  “ Uest  and  he  tliankful 
as  an  example  for  his  coolies  to  follow. 
I had  a great  horror  of 
SN'AKES 
in  my  oarli(‘r  days,  and  oouhi  in  common  wiili 
many  others,  specially  fishermen,  lelatc  a variety 
of  tales  connected  with  these.  1 have  only  seen 
two  Europeans  who  were  bitten  by  them,  Mr. 
Langshaw,  then  in  the  M ynaad  ; and  the  present 
Major  (Quarry,  then  a Lieut,  in  the  ('. H.K.,  was 
bitten  by  a tame  cobra,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
playing  with— I lielievc  a solitary  case,  except  the 
late  General  de  Saumarez,  but  the  latter  sullered 
to  the  end  of  his  life  from  the  virus.  I once  had  a 
well-pre.served  python’s  skin  oflered  to  me.  It 
was  22  feet  long,  and  1 afterwards  regretted  1 
had  not  accepted  it,  as  it  would  have  made  a 
novel  suit  of  clothes  ; this  python  W'fis  killeil  at 
Tippekardoo.  Some  of  the  old  lo\yc.onntry  Sin- 
halese  can  relate  some  very  astonishing  tales  anent 
snakes.  I rememher  asking  an  old  elephant  tracker 
what  might  have  been  the  length  of  the  largest 
snake  he  had  ever  seen  in  the  Trincomalee  jun- 
'des.  His  reply  was  to  this  purpose, — “'I’he  long- 
est snake  I ever  saw  was  about  the  lengtly  of 
the  shadow  of  a coconut  tree  at  5.  p.m.”  This 
must  have  been  a whopjier.  The  door  leading 
into  the  verandah  was  the  last  I generally  closed 
at  Glenloch.  One  morning  niyappu  called  my  at- 
tention to  my  having  scjiiashed  the  head  of  a cobra 
in  shutting  the  door,  a brute  about  five  feet  long! 
" One  of  the  chief  regrets  that  press  on  my  mind 
in  connection  with  my  sporting  adventures,  and 
with  wdiich  I never  cease  to  reproach  myself  is  a- 
follows: — Whilst  shooting  in  the  Hamhantotta 
country  not  very  far  from  Maha-Tisserama,  tpiictly 
plodding  along  a sort  of  de.serted  road  leading  to 
a mined  dagoba,  in  coming  round  a corner  1 sud- 
denly almost  ran  up  against  a huge  elci.hant;  he 
was  standing  with  his  back  to  me,  and  grasping 
the  situation  as  he  slowly  turned  Ins  head 
round  1 killed  him  with  the  earshot.  Now 
this  was  a most  wonderful  elejihant,  a male, 
evidently  stone-blind,  and  no  doubt  deaf,  or 
he  must  have  heard  my  approach  He  was  111 
very  poor  condition,  much  marked  with  leju-ous 
blotches  about  his  head.  His  enormously  large 
ears  were  torn  and  tattered  all  round  their  fringe; 
but  the  most  remarkable  thing  was  the  forma- 
tion of  his  head  which  instead  of  possessing  t he 
concave  features  of  the  common  or  as  one  may 
say  indigenous  eleiihant  of  (’eylon,  had  hardly 
any  temple  dei)re.ssion  hut  a rounded  surface 
above  the  bulb  of  the  trunk,  in  fact  in  every 
way  he  bore  undoubted  similitude  to  the  Afri- 
can species.  Now,  how  did  this  animal  turn  up 
in  Ceylon.  He  was  of  a arerit  age  undoubtedly, 
the  trackers  said  they  had  never  seen  tlie  like, 
and  in  fact  they  first  calle>l  my  attention  to  this 
change  in  ai)[)earance.  'This  1 am  now  greatly 
exercised  about,  as  it  would  lia\e  led  to  much 
di.scussion  and  many  theories  would  have  been 
started.  I fully  intended  reiisiting  the  spot  a 
week  afterwards,  tmt  both  myself,  and  most  of 
my  coolies  were  .seized  with  deadly  fever.  I lost 
some  14  of  them,  and  how  I ever  got  hack  into 
Kadulla  1 <lon’t  know  to  this  ilay.  This  was 
lay. 
the  result  of  being  over-persuaded  in  a weak 
moment  to  accompany  an  Indian  friend,  wlio 
wislusl  to  kill  an  elei>hant.  hut  who  siiould  not  have 
chosen  the  month  of  August  for  his  debut  in  the 
Hamhantotta  forests,  and  its  malaria. 
J.  T. 
A .lAFANESE  SEED  AND  PLANT  FfKM. 
The  mail  brings  us  a copy  of  the  very  ornamsntal 
and  neat  catalogue  of  L.  Koehmer  A'  Co.,  exjiorters  of 
Japanese  lily  hnlhs,  phuits,  seeds,  Ac.,  Nos.  4,  .5,  and 
28  Kliifi',  Yokohama.  Japan,  established  in  1882.  It 
is  got  up  after  quite  an  ornate  Japanese  fashion 
and  inclndos  pliotographs  as  well  as  lists  and  prices 
of  ])liU)tS.  Ac. 
S.\U'.  OK  lIOOJ..\.NK.VNDP  EST.VTE. 
The  purchaser  from  Mr.  Bomes  of  tlii.s  well- 
kmtwn  Kellehokka  estate  is  the  Earl  of  Glasgow 
wlio  is  adding  it  to  Ids  Poeng.alla  jiroperty  which 
(tl'.ough  in  Matale  Fast)  a'djoins  Hoolankande. 
Kotii  estates  arc  on  the  l)onndarics  of  their  res- 
pective districts;  hut  Hoolankande  will  liencefor- 
ward  he  worked  as  one  witli  Poengalla,  the  total 
ai'ca  being,  1,20.1  acres  of  wliicli  SOO  acres  are 
cultivated  chiefly  witli  tea  though  to  acres  are  in 
coli'ee,  27  in  canlamoins  ami  Gt  in  timber,  grass,  &c 
— 
HOW  ITBTIHKES  .VN  “OLD  COLONbST,” 
A'/?  PK/EDIAL  PKO DUCTS. 
t’ll  example  you  witli  thievery. — .Shake.spere. 
Amongst  the  surprises  I gi  t on  my  return  to  the 
island  is  the  apparent  difficulty  of  obtaining  evidence 
of  thievery,  and  the  consequent  collapse  of  a Proedial 
Products  Commission. 
Now,  I was  never  guilty  of  running  down  or  dis- 
paraging the  natives  at  Ceylon,  my  leseingxli,  quite 
the  other  '.vay.  1 li.ive  been  accustomed  t',  of 
the  S'liini'esc  a^ — like  the  Trisli— -.mong-l  the  •'  '"i.-'A 
peasantry  in  the  worid  " and  lor  tl:c  Tandb-  -ihu 
raw  material  as  iiniterted, — I have  a great  regard. 
But  there  are  striking  exceptions  and  these  are 
almost  invariably  located  around  our  populous  centres 
— the  educated  loafers  to  wit — than  which  no  viler 
type  of  bipeds  ever  trod  this  beautiful  earth.  Apeing 
all  the  worst  vices  and  copying  none  of  the  virtues 
of  Pluropeans. 
About  a quarter  of  a century  ago  I recollect 
writing  to  7'/ic  Obsercer,  and  picturing  as  well  as  I 
could,  the  great  chieftain  thief  of  tlie  mountain  capital, 
DON  WANDKUOO  nA.^tY, 
the  employer  of  nocturnal  coffee  nickers,  and  pros- 
perous merchant.  Plump  and  sleek,  as  lie  drove  in 
his  own  waggon  to  the  railway  station  with  buttons, 
rings  and  ebain.s  of  gnUI.  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun.  How  he  appeaivd  in  Kaillie  Street  witli  his 
samples,  and  how  tlio  big  mercantile  bully  of  the 
day  guffawed  as  lio  loaneil  back  from  the  tiffin 
table  declaring  for  tbo  edification  of  all  subs, 
that  their  own  Agents  in  Kandy  were  the  veriest  fools 
in  tins  island  of  imbeciles. 
