[Nov.  I,  1895. 
3M  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
propi'ietor  oi  the  watte.  The  watte  of  about  100 
aces  showing  a fairly  good  cover  of— 1 am  sorry  to 
ajain  add — rather  poor  jat,  making  up  in  flower  whai 
it  fails  to  do  in  flush. 
THIS  QUESTION  01’  .lAT 
is  by  the  way  one  of  the  most  tender  topics  that  a 
visitor  can  touch  in  Ceylon.  It  took  the  pucka  planter 
1)  years  to  . arrive^  at  its  immense  importance  and  he 
is  1 sath  to  think  that  any  occasional  interloper  should 
so  far  pi  edit  by  his  dearly  bought  experience  as  to 
become  in  0 weeks  an  authority  on  the  mysteries  of 
Mauupuri  v.  the  so-called  Singlo-hybrid.  The  bare 
possibility  of  any  one  seeiim  at  a glance  the  superiority 
of  pure  indigenous,  acts  like  worsnwood  on  the  man 
who  has  daily  to  look  at  his  poor  degeivu’ate  China 
jut  and  think  “what  it  migl.t  have  been  had  he 
but  known.” 
The  fact,  how’ever,  seems  to  be  that  the  produce  of 
the  purest  and  best  seed-bearers  deteriorates  after  7 
or  8 years,  like  most  thing.s  in  the  troi  ios.  Even 
planters  themselves  get  musty  and  it  would  well  repay 
pioprietors  to  give  them  a change  home  every  8 or 
10  years  in  order  to  rub  off  the  rust. 
But  all  this  by  the  way.  As  we  trudge  along  the  5 
miles  from  Deniyai  to  Anningkande,  w’here,  after  a 
hospitable  reception,  I am  ready  to  stretch  myself 
in  the  Verandah  and  tell  all  I know  of 
MOUOW.\K.A  AS  A PLANTING  PISTltlCT. 
It  was  in  the  very  early  sixties  that  in  company 
with  my  most  amiable  of  friends,  W.  Hay  Wodehouse 
the  Temple  Lands  Commissioner,  I first  visited 
Morowaka,  viewing  it  from  the  ridge  above  Berle- 
panatra,  an  unbroken  range  of  forest  save  where  the 
natives  had  nibbled  away  portions  f.  r koorukan  or 
hill-paddy,  and  we  pictured  then  and  there  the  smiling 
homesteads  that  might  some  day  be  dotted  over  these 
verdant  slopes.  The  natives  were  not  numerous  nor  very 
bold.  “All  you  who  have  never  seen  white  men,  now’s 
your  chance  ” was  the  message  that  was  sent  through 
tne  village  by  tuck  of  tom  tom,  and  they  came  ‘keek- 
ing ’ at  us  very  timidly  with  hand  on  mouth,  lest 
their  breath  should  pollute  us.  Alas  they  are  not 
quite  so  respectful  now  ! 
My  next  visit  to  the  neighbourhood  was  with  the 
redoubtable 
j.  w.  Bir.CH 
— „poor  Colonial  Birch,”  as  H.  0.  Russell  delighted  to 
dub  him — a different  type  from  the  polished  Woody 
— or  the  aristocratic  Russell;  but  a most  usef  il  and 
energetic  public  servant,  albeit  his  manner  of  treat- 
ing the  natives  was  rough  and  ready  in  the  extreme. 
"'Koorumha!”  he  called  out  as  we  came  panting 
upon  a Colonna  village ; but  thinking  he  was  only 
a Rakwane  iilanter,  the  owner  of  the  watte  hesitated, 
when,  immediately,  the  edict  went  forth  that  this 
man’s  garden  be  stripped  of  every  green  thing.  “1 11 
teach  liim  hospitality,”  said  B.  as  his  followers 
literally  carried  out  his  instructions. 
We  encamped  for  the  night  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Panilkande  fiat,  and  early  next  moining  as 
B.  was  bewailing  the  cheiiaing  of  so  much  fine  forest, 
a native  headman  crept  up  salaaming  and  unfortunately 
began  to  complain  of  the  inroads  of  a suiveyorupcn 
what  he  considered  his  inherited  territory.  13.  was  m 
no  mood  to  listen  to  such  grievances,  and  turning 
upon  the  aratchy  he  exclaimed,  “You  think — ycu 
thiif, — that  because  you  have  been  permitted  to  look 
at  those  hills  all  your  lazy  life  they  belong  to  you,” 
and  ended  by  administering  such  a castigation  as 
headmen  had  never  heard  of.  This  now  brings  us 
to  the  days  of  Surveyor  John  Grinhntcn,  \\ho;e 
flowery  desciiption  of  the  ferns  in  these  \allc3s  caused 
the  Government  of  the  day  to  laise  the  upset  price 
of  the  land  by  ltO%. 
But  before  this— (18(i3)— Lfmarchand  and  Claik  had 
discovered  and  slyly  secured  a laige  slice  of  this 
Eldorado,  quickly  lollowtd  by  Ciq  tain  Buy  iey  , Bly  ih 
and  others  ; but  the  big  purchase  at  '^0,.  (RkUl  per  acre 
was  by  J.R.H.  for  his  Craven  Street  friends. 
Anningkande  was  the  first  opened,  and  I well 
remember  zig-zagging  ..  .Kr  from  Iterlepiimitra  to  find 
C.  G.  Bury  at  work  clearing,  and  who  in  tho  evening 
entertained  me  with  the  story  of 
How  HE  DID  the  FISCAL  IN  THE  CENTRAL 
PROVINCE. 
Worried  by  unfortunate  duns  of  the  A.  Saibo  order, 
B.  bad  made  up  his  mind  to  seek  relief  by  flight  into 
the  wildest  and  least  accessible  of  new  pdauting  districts, 
but  before  starting  determined  to  give  his  friends — the 
provision  dealers — one  more  good  order,  and  his  brother 
nlanters  a parting  s’pread.  Summonses  to  attend  Court 
had  been  treated  by  B.  as  a joke.  So  on  the  eve 
of  flight,  as  bad  or  good  luck  would  have  it,  a 
warrant  was  issued  and  two  belted  peons  were  des- 
patched to  apprehend  his  body.  These  ai’iived  just 
as  dinner  was  aniiouncGd  ; but  the  host  took  them 
aside  and  talked  them  over  with  such  tact  that 
they  consented,  nothing  loath  with  such  a prospect 
before  them,  to  lay  aside  their  belts  and  assist  to 
w .it  at  table  ! So  fully  entering  into  the  liumour  of 
the  thing,  they  ate  ami  drank  us  much  asauydoiay, 
feeling  sure  all  the  same  that  they  would  li  ve 
their  man  in  the  morning  ; but  long  ere  they  awoke 
B.  was  tiudging  up  through  Bogawantalawa  en  rotefr; 
for  Sabaragamuwa.  thence  to  this  back  0’  the  world 
called  Jlorowaka. 
Several  more  planters  of  the  same  jilt  followed 
till  Morowaka  became  rather  noted  as  a refuge  for 
harassed  debtors ; but  somehow  pi'oprietors  began 
to  discover  that  these  were  not  the  best  type  of 
men  to  develope  successfully  a new'  district  and  n« 
one  by  one  they  were  shunted  or  died  off,  their 
places  were  filled  by  the  best  and  most  truste.l 
planters  the  C.  P.  afforded.  And  now  wo  come 
to  the  time  when  Morowaka  first  had  a fair  chanoe 
AS  A COFFEE  DISTRICT, — 
when  steady,  faithful  and  practical  men  like  S. 
LeCocq,  A.  T.  Rettie,  R.  Morison,  &c.  entered 
upon  the  stage  and  well  did  they  act  their  part. 
But  it  was  of  no  avail.  As  a coffee  district 
Morowakkorale  was  doomed,  even  before  Jfciiiillia 
put  in  an  appearance.  Those  who  knew  the 
Oiality  were  well  aware  that  (under  no  possible 
circumstances)  could  the  life  of  the  coffee  tree  be  a 
yery  long  one  there.  Ten  yearn  as  a rule,  had  been 
its  length  of  days  as  a paying  product  in  the  adjoin- 
ing district  of  Rakwana,  where  any  attempt  to  pro- 
long its  life  by  high  cultivation  only  prolonged  the 
misery.  This  was  sufficiently  exemplified  under  the 
liberal  cultivation  of  0.  Shand  & Co.,  and  King  Gof- 
fee  never  had  more  loyal  or  generous  subjects — yet  so 
early  as  1858  the  sagacious  Sir.  H.  Ward  mildly  re- 
ported “ Some  of  the  older  erffee  looks  thin  and 
poor.”  Nevertheless  there  were  few;  districts  in  which 
coffee  more  amply  repaid  the  planter:  the  first  three 
crops — from  30  to  40  cwt,  per  acre — were  sufficient  to 
cover  all  outlay.  The  mistake  Morowaka  men  made 
was  in  despising  Rakwana  experience  and  in  hoping 
and  working  for  a permanency.  It  was  in  vain  that 
economy  in  permanent  buildings  was  suggested  “Let 
us  have  no  fears  as  to  permanency  of  coffee  if  pro- 
perly cultivated”  said  Craven  Street, — “Look  at  the 
lIai»pton  Court  Vine,  200  years  old  and  still  bear- 
ing. If  coffee  fail,  it  is  the  fault  of  tl.c  planter  whoso 
duty  it  is  to  make  the  soil  suitable  an  1 keep  it  up.” 
All  very  beautiful  in  theory,  but  to  those  who  know’ 
all  about  the  old  vino  and  ycung  coffee,  it  sounds  a 
trifle  ridiculous. 
At  this  stage  came  leaf  blight,  and  to  no  district 
in  tho  island  did  it  prove  a groatcr  blessing.  Would 
that  it  had  been  practicable  to  lake  more  immediate 
advantage  of  the  opjportunity  !— that, as  in  the  younger 
districts  of  the  C.  P.,  the  coffee  bad  at  once  been  sup- 
planted by  the  new  product.  Asitis,  tbcMoiowakdkoraie 
is  still  a somewhat  sad  spectacle  to  these  who  remem- 
ber it  in  the  fiibt  flush  ot  liope.  Eicm  Anningkande 
1 can  see  the  remains  of  tho  old  Coffee  Watt.ea 
spread  out  like  a map  before  me.  JAiny  foot 
famili.'ir  gjound— from  tho  Goslun  /ij.’g?*/ ’ when' 
clever  Arnold  White  practised  his  :cioiffitie  manm- 
ing,  to  the  Easiniost  end  where  ])Cci]  l::Ue  Liddeh 
cliff  his  dibbling.  Right  in  front  lies  what  was  con- 
sidered the  cream  ot  the  district,  wheie  I con  still 
see  the  roads  so  carefully  traced  by  Le  Cocq,  and 
along  which  I have  so  often  wandered  with  that 
prince  of  practical  planters.  But  even  here  no  at- 
tempt has  yet  been  made 
