392 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  fUEC.  2,  1%. 
serves  of  forest  land  being  utilized.  The  Crown 
for  the  present  sells  very  little  land.  But  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  mention  that,  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Sir  Arthur  Gordon  (now'  Lord  Staninore), 
1883-90,  the  area  planted  with  tea  rose  from  32,000 
to  220,000  acres,  while  84,000  acres  have  been  added 
in  the  time  of  Governor  Sir  Arthur  Havelock,  who 
is  just  leaving  us.  The  export  of  Ceylon  tea,  which 
was  only  about  1*  million  lb.  in  1883,  will,  for  this 
year,  probably  exceed  90  million  lb. ; and  I see  no 
reason  why  this  should  not  be  maintained  and  ex- 
ceeded for  many  years  to  come. 
I will  not  touch  on  the  danger  of  “ over-produc- 
tion” and  consequently  of  prices  falling  below  a pay- 
ing level ; because  at  present  Indian  and  Ceylon 
planters  are  busy  trying  to  conq»ier  new’  markets  for 
their  staple  in  America  and  llussia  as  well  as  Aus- 
tralasia, where  much  jirogress  has  been  made.  At 
the  same  time  I may  mention  that  the  ranks  of 
Ceylon  planters  are  very  full  at  present  and  that 
there  is  little  room  for  additions  in  young  men  who 
hope  for  a career  here ; although  our  plantations 
continue,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  the  best  tropical  agri- 
cultural school  for  young  men  who  are  prepared  after 
their  training  to  pioneer  (with  coffee,  ciicao,  Ac.) 
in  the  Malayan  Peninsula,  Sumatra,  North  Borneo, 
or  Nyassaland,  in  Central  Africa. 
A word  or  two  may  be  permitted  as  to  the  more 
purely  native  agricultural  industry  in  Ceylon.  I calcu- 
late that  there  are  some  .W  millions  of  coco-palms 
growing  in  regular  plantations  or  small  native  gardens 
in  Ceylon,  covering  some  ()50,tXX)  acres,  and  yield- 
ing an  annual  harvest  nearly  equal  in  value  to  that 
gathered  from  the  btX),()00  acres  of  our  tea  plant.  A cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  “harvest  "is  exported,— -in  coconut 
oil,  up  to  500,000  cwt.;  “copra”  and  “poonac”  (the 
dried  kernels),  up  to  200,000  cwt., ; coir  fibre,  rope, 
and  yarn  up  to  170,000  cw  t. ; in  coconuts  (10,000,0()0), 
as  pulled  or  v/ith  the  husk  off;  and  in  a new  and 
fast-expanding  industry  in  “ desiccated  coconut,”  six 
to  seven  million  lb. — but  a large,  perhaps  the  larger, 
proportion  is  consumed  for  food  and  domestic  use 
otherwise  by  the  people  of  the  island,  apart  from  the 
large  and  unfortunately  growing  quantity  of  arrack  (the 
whisky  or  brandy  of  Ceylon)  prepared  from  the  sap  of  a 
large  number  of  palms  set  apart  for  that  purpose.  Of 
other  palms(Palmyra,  Kitul,  and  Areca  chiefly)  and  fruit 
trees  in  great  variety,  I count  the  Sinhalese  and  Tamils 
of  Ceylon  have  over  300,000  acres  planted,  and  most 
yielding  crops,  as  additions  to  the  food  supply  and,  in 
some  cases,  exports.  Of  our  famous  ancient  spice-— 
cinnamon  (which  was  cai'ried  from  Ceylon  and  sold  in 
Rome  in  the  time  of  Augustus  Ciesar  for  the 
equivalent  of  T8  sterling  per  lb.) — there  are  still 
about  35,000  acres  planted  in  Ceylon,  the  annual 
exports  of  the  quills  and  chips  keeping  in  excess  of  2J 
rnillion  lb.  This  industry  is  in  Ceylonese  (chiefly 
Sinhalese)  hands.  Cardamoms,  pepper,  cloves,  nutmegs, 
and  some  other  spices  claim  more  attention  from  the 
I'luropean  planters ; but  the  cultivation  of  citronella  and 
other  grass  for  essential  oils  is  solely  done  by  the 
natives,  as  also,  of  course,  the  great  paddy,  or  rice- 
gi’owing  industry  in  Ceylon.  Since  the  abolition  of 
paddy  rents  from  January  1, 1893,  this  industry  is  now 
“ protected  ” (the  Cobden  Club  Committee  consenting) 
to*^the  extent  of  a Customs  duty  of  29  cents  per  bushel 
on  all  rice  imported  from  India ; but  the  result  so  far 
has' not  affected  our  imports  (*),  which  are  as  fol- 
lows ; — 
Rice  Imports,  1892-94. 
Bushels. 
1892  . Imported  from  India  ..  7,282,411 
1893'..  „ ••  7,447,376 
1894..  r.  ” •• 
Finally,  I may  mention  that  the  trade  in  ouronly 
mineral  of  commercial  importance,  plumbago,  is  not 
very  prosperous,  though  wc  continue  to  export  between 
'$00  (XM)  to  400,000  cwt.  of  it,  largely  if  not  chiefly,  to 
the’ United  States,  London  coming  next,  while  France 
and  Germany  have  begun  to  take  increasing  quantities 
• If  it  should  be  said  that  the  imports  are  for  immi- 
„rant  coolies,  it  must  be  answered  that  the  total  con- 
sumption by  them  cannot  exceed  2J  million  bushels, 
while  local  and  imported  rice  competes  in  every  bazaar 
ipjthe  towns  and  tnroughout  the  island. 
iildirect  shipments.  Ceylon  has  from  time  immemorial 
been  famous  for  its  precious  stones  - rubbiesj  sapphires 
cats’-eyes,  and  moon-stones — and  these  continue  to  be 
freely  found,  the  digging  and  selling  beilig  in  native 
hands  and  the  proceeds  largely  carried  away  by  visitors 
or  despatched  in  registered  postal  packets. 
May  I wind  up  by  saying  that  the  tw'O  notable 
material  facts  in  the  history  of  Ceylon  during  the  past 
15  years  are — (1)  the  rise  of  tbe  tea-growing  industry 
from  9,000  acres  planted  in  1880  to  over  3(X),000  acres 
in  1895 ; (2)  the  immense  growth  and  ever-increasing 
expansion  in  the  tonnage  and  trade  of  the  capital, 
Colombo.  The  total  tonnage  of  the  port  in  1880  wafe 
1,3(X),000;  while  last  year  the  aggregate  (inwards  arid 
outwards  as  before)  had  reached  5,328,000  tons.  If,  ifa 
place  of  being  shackled  with  a long  list  of  Customs 
burdens  and  restrictions,  Colombo  were  to  get  some 
of  the  fiscal  advantages  of  Singapore,  or  even  Bombay, 
it  would  more  and  more  rapidly  become  the  great  port 
of  Southern  Asia,  and  such  increase  of  prosperity  for 
the  port  and  city  W’ould  be  further  confirmed  and  ex- 
tended if  it  were  directly  connected  by  an  Indo- 
Ceylon  metre-gauge  railway  with  Southern  India,  as 
orginally  projected  by  the  late  Duke  of  Buckingham 
and  Sir  William  Gregory. 
I am.  Sir,  yours  repectfully, 
J.  FERGUSON,  of  the  Cei/lon  Observer  And 
Tropical  Ayriculturif’/. 
Colombo,  Ceylon,  Sept.  19. 
INDIAN  BATENT.S. 
CALCVTT.V,  OCT.  24tH. 
“ For  Improvements  in  Stoves  or  Apparatus  for 
heating  Air”. — No.  321  of  1895. — Samuel  Cleland 
Davidson,  of  Sirocco  Engineering  Works,  Belfast, 
Ireland,  Merchant,  for  improvements  in  stoves  or 
apparatus  for  heating  air. 
Specifications  of  the  undermentioned  inventions 
have  been  filed,  under  the  provisions  of  Act  V.  of 
1888  : 
“ For  Improvements  in  Apparatus  for  Rolling  Tea 
Leaf  and  the  Like”. — No.  238  of  1895. — William  Jack- 
son,  of  Thorn  Grove,  Mannofield,  Aberdeen,  North 
Britain,  Engineer  for  improvements  in  apparatus  for 
rolling  tea  leaf  and  the  like.  (Filed  11th  October  1895.) 
“ For  Improvements  in  Apparatus  for  subjecting 
Materials  to  the  Action  of  hot  Air.” — No.  257  of 
1895. — William  Jackson,  of  Thorn  Grove,  Mannofieli. 
Aberdeen,  Scotland,  Engineer,  for  improvements  in 
apparatus  for  subjecting  materials  to  the  action  of 
hot  air  more  especially  intended  for  use  in  drying 
tea  leaves  and  other  produce — (Filed  11th  October 
1895.) — Indian  and  Eastern  Engineer,  Nov.  2. 
MABVEI.LOU.S  \TCISSITUDES  OF  AN 
ISLAND. 
TRY  AND  TRY  AGAIN. 
Away  to  the  South  of  Asia  and  almost  attached 
to  the  great  empire  of  Hindustan,  lies  the  ancient 
isle  of  Lanka. 
Thousands  of  years  ago, — aye,  thousands  of  years, — 
perhaps  before  our  British  ancestors  in  paints  and 
hides  attired,  unsuccessfully  resisted  the  Roman  in- 
vaders, this  island  had  intercourse  with  the  Chinese 
in  the  Far  East,  and  the  Arabians  in  the  West. 
’Tis  hard  to  name  a date  so  far  remote  that  some 
of  the  arts,  say  pottery  and  architecture,  were  un- 
known to  its  people. 
The  Americans,  who  are  the  heirs  of  the  ages, 
are  not  really  the  inventors  of  many  things  which 
their  skill  and  intelligence  have  greatly  improved, 
cheapened  and  utilized.  The  Chinese,  who  may 
have  been  as  advanced  five  thousand  years  before 
the  beginning  of  history  as  they  are  to-day,  and 
if  left  to  themselves  would  be  five  thousand  years 
hence,  were  acquainted  with  the  compass  and  the 
cantilever,  with  powder  and  printing  centuries  before 
Columbus  was  born. 
The  ancient  capital  of  Lanka,  whose  gigantic 
ruins  are  now  being  uncovered  in  almost  impene- 
trable jungle,  was  founded  and  with  it  the  Bud- 
dhist religion  in  the  island  some  live  hundred 
