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THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan.  I,  1896. 
THE  CUCONUT-GKUWING  KEdlON  BE- 
TWEEN CHILAW  AND  PUTTALAM. 
SiNCK  the  middle  of  1888,  we  have  made  the 
journey  from  Colombo  to  the  llajakadaluwa 
district,  nortli  of  the  Dedunioya,  half-a-dozen 
times  at  irregular  intervals ; and  (»n  each  suc- 
cessive occasion,  we  have  been  more  and  more 
impressed  by  the  need  of  that  fuller,  speedier 
and  altogether  more  adequate  means  of  transport 
which  a Railway  alone  can  allord.  There  are 
no  wealthier  native  districts  in  the  island  than  the 
maritime  divisions  of  Negombo  and  Chilaw. 
The  Marawila  district  is,  we  suppose,  uneciualled 
for  its  rich,  continuous  coconut  groves  and  well- 
to-do  population.  Indeed  for  oU  miles  north  of 
the  capital  there  is  the  same  succession  of  vil- 
lages, huts  and  gardens  that  maiks  tlie  more 
familiar  coast  line  towards  Kalutara  and  Galle  ; 
but  with  evidences  of  much  more  prosperity 
and  trading  and  travelling  enterprise.  Coaches 
and  steamers  as  far  as  Negombo  have  full  occu- 
jaition,  and  very  frequently  native  passengers 
wishing  to  be  picked  up  on  the  roadside  have 
to  be  left  behind.  Coaches  and  many  other 
vehicles,  north  of  Negombo,  by  no  means  suttice 
to  meet  the  public  needs.  One  thousand  rupees 
per  acre  can  scarcely  purchase  coconuts  in  full 
bearing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Negombo  or 
Marawila ; while,  althougli  we  get  into  a drier 
region  farther  north— where  tobacco  gardens 
around  Chilaw  have  to  be  regularly  watered 
and  where  there  is  evidence  of  the  palmyra 
palm  finding  a congenial  home — still  we  have  in 
the  Madampe  region  some  of  the  finest  of 
Ceylon’s  coconut  plantations  as  well  as  paddy 
fields ; while  there  are  also  prosperous  palm 
groves  right  up  to  the  river. 
It  is,  however,  of  the  region  north  of  Chilaw 
and  the  Deduru-oya  that  we  have  more  particu- 
larly to  speak.  liajakadaluwa  is  56  miles  north 
of  Colombo,  rendered  readily  accessible  now  by 
the  fine  iron  bridge  some  567  feet  long  with  8 
pairs  of  iron  screw  |)iles,  opened  a couple  of 
months  ago  and  wliicli  bears  the  name  of  Go- 
vernor Havelock  and  of  Mr.  \V.  C.  Simmons, 
District  Engineer.  This  officer  of  tlie  P.W.D.  has 
done  c.vcellent  service  not  only  in  the  successful 
erection  of  an  important  bridge,  but  on  irrigation 
works  in  the  remoter,  and  feverish  divisions  of 
Sabara»'amuwa.  What  is  now  wanted  to  serve  the 
Puttalam  district  (which  we  enter  on  crossing 
the  Dedunioya)  is  a similar  luit  less  costly  bridge 
across  the  Battuluoya  (ten  miles  fartlicr  north) 
the  nei’dibourhood  of  which  is  also  the  scene  of 
active  planting  entcriirise  in  eoconut.s,  by  Messrs. 
Seton  Baur  and  others.  Indeed,  all  the  way 
from  the  new  bridge  to  Puttalam  town,  the  land 
has  been  freely  taken  up  for  planting  purposes, 
and  ere  many  years  elapse,  the  continuous  ex- 
panse of  jungle  which,  in  the  early  “ eighties,” 
marked  this  road  for  well-nigh  30  miles,  Avill  be 
replacetl  by  a continuous  grove  of  jialms  with 
the  inevitable  multiiilication  of  wayside  lioutiques, 
vill.‘’0’e  settlements,  labouier.s’  lines,  carters’  slled^;, 
,>cc  ' Already  the  road — wliicli  we  remember 
as  undisturbed  during  a long  afternoon  over  a good 
many  miles,  save  by  the  one  bullock  cart,  and 
a passing  cheetah,  which  stood  and  gazed  at 
the  unusual  intruders,— wears  <]uite  a lively  ap- 
pearance with  native  traders,  villagers,  ca.rters, 
Ghetties  and  Moormen  and  even  horsemen  and 
do>marts.  The  development  every  year  will  be 
ve”v  vapid,  both  in  cultivation  and  population ; 
ami  the  cry  will  be  for  more  land  which,  wc  are 
.dad  to  learn,  is  likely  to  be  made  acce.ssible  over 
a lar*^e  ilivision  of  the  district,  betsveen  the  sea 
nud  a backwater  which  L e.xjiected  to  equal 
the  far-famed  Kalpitiya(Galpentyn)  i»enin.sulain  its 
suitablene.ss  for  coconuts. 
Native  cajiitalists  do  not  require  urging  where 
land  suited  to  the  palm  is  ofl'ered  for  sale  ; hut 
many  of  our  readers  will  be  glad  to  see  what 
can  be  said  for  coconut  planting  in  the  Puttalam 
district.  Nearly  eight  years  ago,  an  energetic  A.ssis 
taut  Government  Agent  addre.ssed  us  on  the  subject 
of  the  develojmient  of  his  district  and  the  need  of 
better  communication  with  the  capital.  The  facts 
and  figures  adduced  by  Mr.  Lushington  con- 
vinced us  of  two  things:— (1)  the  need  and  great 
advantage  of  constructinc' a railway  from  rolombo 
to  Puttalam  (and  indeed  as  Mr.  Lushington  then 
stated,  that  the  line  to  JaH’na  should  come  via 
Chilaw,  Puttalam  and  Anuradhapura)  ; and  (2) 
the  wisdom  of  jdanting  coconuts  beyond  the 
Deduru-oya.  To  take  the  latter  topic  first,  we 
may  give  an  extract  from  the  ohl  letter  of 
March  1888  now  before  us: — 
I can  assure  you  that  in  parts  of  this  district  the 
crops  with  little  or  cultivation  are  enormous.  In 
the  Puttalam  district  as  it  nov)  stands,  iV.,  since  the 
recent  division  ihe  average  throughout  is  36  nuts 
per  tree.  75  tress  to  the  acre  2,700  nuts  per  acre, 
and  we  calculate  the  price  at  2^  cents  per  nut  which 
gives  a yield  of  E67‘50  per  acre — but  the  average  here 
is  much  reduced  by  some  of  the  old  badly  planted 
gardens  of  Akkarai  Pattu.  At  Chena  Kudirippu  and 
Arachchivillu  (suburbs  of  Puttalam)  the  average  yield 
is  60  nuts  per  tree  i.e.  4,i500  per  acre,  and  the  same 
applies  to  the  well-planted  lands  of  Abharai  Pattu 
and  a few  gardens  near  Kalpitya  and  Karaitivu. 
This  makes  the  yield  equal  to  R112‘50,  but  as  most 
of  the  owners  of  gardens  have  numerons  dependents 
who  work  in  return  for  food  they  convert  the  nuts 
into  copperah  getting  thereby  50  per  cent  increase 
in  their  returns.  The  average  (good  and  bad  together) 
throughout  the  Pitigal  Korale  South  is  calculated  at 
60  nuts  per  tree,  while  in  the  villages  along  the 
road  from  Madampe  via  Marawila  to  Vennappuwa 
and  Nainamadam  the  yield  is  as  high  as  100  nuts 
Eer  tree  and  in  some  gardens  even  higher.  This 
rings  the  yield  to  7,500  nuts  per  acre  and  the  value 
R187-50. 
Of  course,  wo  knew  well  that  all  the  Puttalam 
ilistiict  was  not  like  Pitigal  Korale  South  ; but 
we  also  judged  that  if  native  gardens  without 
culti\ation  oi-  jiroper  attention  gave  36  nuts 
per  tree  per  annum,  there  was  great  room  for 
encouragement  North  of  the  Deduru-oya.  At  that 
time  only  one  European  i)lnnter  hail  settled  at 
Rajakadaluwa.  We  commissioned  him  to  buy  an 
adjacent  block  at  the  forestland  sale  for  re- 
latives ; and,  at  the  same  time,  the  Messrs.  Dc 
Mcl  and  soon  afterwards  Mr.  Baur  and  .some 
others  became  neighbouring  luoprietors.  A 
market  uas  found  for  a good  ileal  of  the 
heavy  timber  cleared  from  the  land  ; every 
care  was  taken  in  ojiening  and  planting ; but 
unfortunately  against  our  iqiinion  and  ad- 
vice, the  one  Manager  of  nearly  all  the  clear- 
ings would  follow  the  native  example  of  taking 
crops  of  plantains  off  the  land  while  the  coconuts 
were  grow’ing.  The  argument  was  that  the 
plantains  opened  the  soil — a superllnous  work, 
as  the  good  soil  in  these  parts  is  specially 
open  and  friable — and  sheltered  the  young  palms 
while  growing.  .Such  experienced  planters  as 
Messrs.  Jardine,  Wright  and  Nicholas  are  dead 
against  the  use  of  jdantains  in  such  a case; 
■wdiile  some  of  them  think  a crop  or  two  of  cas, 
sava  kept  at  a |;ropcr  distance  from  the  palm- 
far  less  if  at  all  injurious  and  useful  in  shad- 
ing the  newly-cleared  soil.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
a stop  was  ]>ut  to  the  plantain  growing  as  soon 
as  jiossible,  more  especially  as  the  native  con- 
tractor for  the  fruit  (huge  lio.atloads  are  brought 
50  to  00  miles  to  the  Colombo  market  from  this 
cUbtricL  ub  from  Kegalla  ami  eLetthere)  bolted 
