Nov.  r,  1895. J THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
305 
the  planting  ENTEKITilSE  OE  CEYLON: 
IN  TEA,  COFFEE,  CACAO,  CINCHONA, 
cardamoms  and  minor  PRODUCTS: 
Extent  of  cultivation  under 
EACH  PRODUCT  IN  SEPTEMBER, 
1895.  NUMBER  OP  PLANTATIONS 
AND  SUPERINTENDENTS,  &c. 
TOTAL  EXTENT  CULTIVATED  IN  PLANTA- 
TIONS 379,182  ACRES. 
In  Tea  305,000  Acres. 
No  tvop.cal  industry— and  probably  no  agricultural  en- 
terprise outside  the  tropics — has  had  so  much  care  bestowed 
on  the  compilation  of  substantially  accurate  statistics 
concerning  its  position  and  progress  as  has  the  Planting 
Enterprise  of  Ceylon  in  the  products  above-named,  and 
to  a lesser  e.xtent  in  Coconuts,  other  Palms  and  Ciuuamon. 
The  first  Compilation  of  the  kind  was  made  by  a Committee 
of  the  Planters’ Association  led  by  ftir  George  Wall  in  1856. 
Thirty-nine  years  ago  it  was  a comparatively  easy  task  to 
frame  a list  of  the  then  limited  number  of  plantations  in 
existence,  and  to  sum  up  a cultivation  confined  entirely  to 
one  product.  This  was  done,  as  we  have  said,  by  the 
Planters’  Association  in  1850 ; but  no  further  attempt 
was  made  to  collate  the  acreage  in  cultivation,  for 
thirteen  years  afterwards,  until  1809,  when  the  present 
Editor  of  the  T.  A.  first  prepared  a complete  review  with 
this  information.  Since  then  at  thirteen  distinct 
periods — in  1871.  1873,  1874,  1875,  1877,  1881,  1883,  at  end 
of  1885,  in  the  middle  of  1888,  of  1890,  of  1891,  of  1893 
and  now  in  the  latter  half  of  1895,— the  compilation  has 
been  carefully  made  and  the  position  of  the  Planting 
Industry  accurately  gauged,  our  figures  being  adopted  not 
only  by  planters  and  merchants,  but  by  the  Government 
and  Civil  Servants  as  the  only  available  and  reliable  re- 
turns of  an  Industry  which  must  be  regarded  as  the 
backbone  of  the  prosperity  of  the  Colony.  We  have, 
in  fact,  at  the  expense  of  much  time  and  labour 
for  twenty-six  years  back,  been  doing  the  work 
which  properly  appertained  to  the  Agents  of  the 
Government,  or  to  a special  officer  as  Statist,  and 
supplying  information  which  in  other  Colonies  and 
Dependencies,  is  only  to  be  found  in  official 
publications.  However,  we  have  had  our  reward  in 
the  intimate  acquaintance  it  has  given  us  with  all  the 
ph.ases  of  the  more  important  industries  of  the  country 
and  in  being  enabled  to  follow  closely  each  successive  de- 
velopment of  new  branches  of  planting  and  agriculture 
generally.  Especially  .interesting,  although  involving  far 
more  trouble,  has  been  the  work  of  collating  the  statistics 
since  a variety  of  new  products  has  been  added  to  the 
old  staple  now  so  insignificant  comparatively  ; and  never 
perhaps  has  so  much  pains  been  taken  as  on  the 
present  occasion  to  secure  accurate  returns  of  the 
area  planted  with  the  all-important  new  king,  Tea,  and 
with  minor  Products,  although  no  one  can  be  more 
conscious  than  the  compiler,  of  the  impossibility  of  attain- 
ing perfect  accuracy.  Still  for  all  practical  purposes  we 
believe,  the  results  derived  from  our  tables,  may  be 
taken  as  reliable  statistics  from  which  to  gauge  the  pre- 
sent position  of  industries,  the  importance  of  which  as 
regards  the  revenue,  trade  and  general  well-being  of  this 
community,  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
Taking  first  the  total  extent  of  the  properties  included  in 
our  Directory,  namely  748,017  acres, — there  is  an  increase 
of  23,212  acres  on  the  return  made  up  at  tlie  middle 
of  1893.  This  is  owing  chiefly  to  some  0,000  acres 
added  to  both  the  Kelam  Valley  and  Matale  East,  partly 
through  land  sales  and  grants  and  partly  transfers.  'Ihen 
there  have  been  additions  through  more  correct  informa- 
tion or  private  purchases  of  about  l.dUO  acres  to  (piito  a 
number  of  districts,  and  in  other  districts  additions  are  due 
to  the  revival  of  old  properties  for  tea,  that  had  fallen 
out  of  cultivation  and  notice.  In  other  directions,  more 
correct  returns  have  .slightly  increased  or  reduced 
the  totals  for  each  district. 
Turning  to  the  more  important  figures  representing  the 
area  now  in  cultivation  with  tea,  coffee  (Arabica  and 
Liberica),  cinchona,  cacao,  rubber,  and  the  host  of  new 
and  old  products  with  which  experiments  are  being  made 
in  different  quarters,  ive  find  the  grand  total  to  l)o  379,182 
acres,  or  an  increase  of  25,947  acres  on  the  middle  of  1893. 
'I’his  addition  of  20,000  acres  may  not  be  considered  much 
for  the  two  years,  more  especially  when  it  is  remembered 
that  over  4,000  acres  additional  have  been  brought  into 
cultivation,  in  the  Kelani  Valley  alone,  3,300  moi-e  in  the 
Kalutara  district  and  1,700  acres  ip  Matale  East  and 
Lagalla,  in  the  interv.al ; while  Allagalla.,  IJalangoda, 
Dikoya  Lower,  Dolosbage,  Hewaheta  Upper,  Kadugannawa, 
Maskeliya,  Matale  West, and  Udapussellawa,  e.ach  show  about 
1,000  acres  of  cultivated  increase.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  higher  districts,  Dimbula  and  Dikoya,  show  scarcely 
any  difference  in  their  totals  and  Nuwara'  Eliya  very  little; 
but  there  is  a distinct  extension  of  cultivation  both  in 
Eastern  and  Western  Uva  if  we  take  lla])utale  and  Il.aputale 
We.st  and  the  liiululla,  Passara,  Madulsima  and  Monaragal.a 
groups  together.  In  respect  of  old  coffee  land,  a revival  has 
39 
come  in  favour  of  tea.  In  Maskeliya,  a comparatively  young 
district,  our  cultivated  return  in  1883  was  lower  than  in 
1881  by  2,000  acres,  indicating  how  coffee  had  then 
fallen  out  of  esteem  there ; hut  all  this  has  now 
been  more  than  recovered  under  tea.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  noteworthy  tliat  neither  in  Dimbula  nor  Dikoya  had 
any  land  gone  out  of  cultiv.'ition— and  the  same  is  true  of 
districts  wliicli,  witli  tlio  liigher  and  younger 
divisions,  never  showed  so  large  an  area  in  cultivation 
as  at  present.  'That  tlio  total  are.a  under  cultivation— after 
careful  checking  and  verification  of  the  returns — should  stand 
so  higli  as  about  380,000  acres  (or  nearly  COO  square  miles), 
notwitlistanding  the  adverse  experiences  of  coffee  .and  cin- 
eliona,  i.s  matter  for  surprise  and  gratulation,  and  shews 
how  widely  tea  has  been  planted  and  liow  satisfactory, 
so  far,  have  fieen  tlie  re.sults. 
PLANTERS  AND  PLANTATIONS. 
Considering  the  efflux  of  planters  from  our  shores  dur- 
ing the  period  of  coffee  depression,  no  one  will  be 
astonished  to  learn  ttiat  ttie  total  number  of  .Superin- 
tendents fell  from  1,389  in  February  1881  and  1,108  at  the 
end  of  1883,  to  1,079  by  December  1885.  Since  then, 
however,  the  turn  of  the  title  has  set  in  steadily  ; for 
wo  had  in  July  1888  as  many  as  1,13G  ; increa.sed  by  June 
1890  to  1,211  ; by  August  1891,  to  1,258  ; andin  August  1895 
to  1,334  ; while  now  we  have  the  full  number  of  1,4C9  Superin- 
tendents and  Assistants  corresponding  to  1,528  estates  in 
cultivation  out  of  a total  of  1,962  properties.  It  is  probable 
that  more  than  300  European  jfianters  left  Ceylon  in  the 
four  years,  between  1881  and  1885  ; but  a considerable 
number  afterwards  returned,  while  a very  large  quota  of  young 
men  “ to  learn  tea  ” have  been  added  to  the  number  of 
Assistant  Siiperiiiteiulents.  Perhaps  we  may  fairly  say 
that  our  planting  community  diminished  at  the  rate  of 
sixty  Superintendents  or  Proprietor-superintendenls  a year, 
between  1880  -irnd  1886— and  that  about  400  or  about  4i 
per  annum  have  since  been  added  of  old  colonists  re- 
turned or  new  men  from  home.  The  total  now  is 
higher  than  in  the  height  of  ourcoffee  prosperity;  although  it 
is  noteworthy  that  the  number  of  "separate  plantations 
is  not  so  large  in  proportion,  a fact  explained  by  the  aggre- 
gation of  small  properties  into  one  charge  under  the 
process  whicli  has  given  us  .so  many  Limited  Companies 
among  “ tea  estates. 
The  Analysis  of  the  Cultivated  Area  is,  however,  of 
more  practical  importance  than  the  foregoing  total  results. 
We  must  explain  the  principle  on  w'hich  the  returns  have 
been  compiled.  After  giving  the  matter  a fair  trial,  on 
a former  occasion,  we  found  it  quite  impossible  to  work 
out  a suggestion  made  to  us  of  securing  returns  from  each 
estate  of  the  number  of  trees  (in  thou.sands)  of  each  pro- 
duct. In  respect  of  all  products,  save  cinchonas,  we  nad 
to  fall  back  on  tlie  old  jilan  of  acreage  returns,  asking 
for  the  figures  representing  eacli  product  wliether  culti- 
vated in  fields  by  itself  or  interspersed  with  others.  We 
have  thus  obtained,  as  far  as  possible,  the  acreage  in  tea, 
cottee,  cinchona,  cacao,  cardamoms,  &c.,  planted  alone;  of 
tea  or  coffee  intermixed,  or  planted  with  cinchona,  or 
cacao  or  rubber ; also  of  each  of  the  minor  produc„s 
separately  ; and  of  tea  and  cinchona  ; cacao  and  rubber, 
&c.  The  total  results  under  each  head  m.ay  be  seen  at  a 
glance  from  the  following  : — 
{Sejytcmber,  1895.) 
Acres. 
To’’al  extent  of  Tea  planted  by  itself  - - 296,753 
Do  oiCoKae  {Arabica)  cultivated  by  itself  15,142 
Do  of  Coffee  {Libenea)  - - - 264 
Do  of  Cinchona  do  ...  982 
(liesides  1,714,000  trees  partly  alone  and 
intermixed), 
of  Cacao  )>y  itself 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
13,828 
of  Coffee  and  Cinchona  interspersed  1,611 
' - . - - g_Q3g 
5,331 
3,596 
448 
of  Coffee  and  'Tea  interspersed 
of  Coffee  and  Cacao  do 
of  Tea  and  Cincliona  do 
do 
of  'Tea  and  Cacao 
of  Tea  and  Liberian 
Coffee  do  - • 140 
Do  of  Cacao  and  Liberian 
Coffee  do  - ■ 934 
Do  of  Cardamoms  alone  • ■ 4,616 
Do  of  Rubber  do  ...  201 
Do  of  Toh.acco  do  ...  45 
Do  of  Cotton  do  ...  109 
Do  of  Other  Products  and  some  of  the 
above  mixed  • - - 18,385 
[Some  Cacao  and  Liberian  Coffee  are  mixed  with  Annatto, 
Coconuts  and  other  products.] 
'To  arrive  at  a fair  estimate  of  the  total  extent  which 
may  be  taken  to  represent  each  product,  we  have,  in 
the  case  of  cinchona  growing  among  coffee  or  tea,  taken 
from  one-third  to  one-fourth  the  acreage  for  the  cinchona, 
and  credited  two-tliirds  or  mere  to  the  staple.  In  the 
case  of  coffee  and  tea,  or  coffee  and  cacao,  being  planted 
together,  w-e  have  divided  the  acreage  into  two  equal 
parts.  Of  course  this  would  not  be  a fair  criterion 
in  every  case  : some  planters  wiio  may  have  their  100 
acres  of  tea  or  coffee  interspersed  with  20,000  ciatlioua 
