May  I,  1897.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
801 
tliready  and  weak,  and  others  marked  by  big  bursts 
of  enthusiasm,  when  a new  rusli  of  talent  was 
fresh  to  the  work,  and  zeal  the  predominant  leaven. 
Then  there  have  been  visions  of  progress  ; a Chris- 
tian peasantiy  with  a Christian  conscience  about, 
and  we  have  even  ellervesced  in  these  halcyon  days 
into  a regular  night  school,  and  gone  in  for  a 
lavish  expenditure,  in  slates,  lirst  readers,  chalk 
and  a black  board. 
The  youth  of  the  Tamil  race  is,  as  a rule,  bright, 
interesting  and  intelligent  : is  teachable,  and  can 
be  leil,  and  takes  to  a .Sunday  Schoo’.  at  first 
out  of  ])ure  curiosity,  and  when  that  curiosity  is 
satislied,  deserts  without  a qualm.  A new  teacher 
on  the  old  theme  crowds  the  withering  loft— wide  h 
is  the  hallowed  abode  of  our  ellbrt— iiml  uidess  the 
teacher  be  wise,  he  may  be  misled,  thinking  that 
they  are  stretching  out  hands  in  the  manner  that 
used  to  be  depicted  as  the  attitude  of  the 
heathen  on  the  cover  of  a juvenile  missionary 
magazine  we  were  supplied  with  in  the  distant 
past,  and  that  they  were  thirsting  and  crying 
for  knowledge.  It  the  teachers’  Tamil  be  halting 
that  is  rather  an  advantage.  It  keeps  the  child- 
ren quieter  and  extends  the  reign  of  curiosity 
until  they  find  out  what  he  is  talking  about. 
[n  our  school  every  new  teacher  is  allowed  a 
free  hand,  all  “isms’’  and  “views”  occupy  the 
one  platform,  and  opinion  weighs  nothing.  When 
the  teacher  is  very  zealous,  I find  he  generally 
begins  at  the  beginning  and  the  knowledge 
winch  the  estate  children  have  of  the  ante-dilu- 
viaus  is  simply  astonishing.  Tho,se  whose  policy 
iH  education  is  thorough,  put  in  a lot  of  time 
over  the  Garden  of  Eden  while  “ the  father 
of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp  and  or- 
oan,”  and  the  “ instructor  of  every  artificer 
fn  brass  and  iron”  are  not  unknown  heroes.  Life 
however,  is  short,  and  zeal  often  burns  out,  and  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  later  history 
of  Israel  is  pretty  much  a blank,  for  the  children’s 
curiosity  is  easily  satisfied,  and  there  is  a lot  of 
dry  stuff  in  the  hoary  past.  W’^e  have  had 
teachers  who  took  instead,  the  times  of  Christ 
as  their  theme,  and  expounded  the  words  of  the 
Master  ; but  it  is  but  scrappy  knowledge  the 
children  have  of  the  Divine  Teacher,  and  His  life 
on  earth  has  been  told  only  in  part. 
Tfiere  has  been  a tendency  in  all  the  teachers 
especially  towards  the  end  of  their  career  when 
the  school  deserters  were  many— to  fall  back  on 
“ the  terrors  of  the  law  ” as  persuaders,  and 
when  this  has  become  very  marked,  I have 
always  taken  it  to  mean  the  shaking  of  the  dust 
from  off  the  feet,  and  the  preliminary  to  leaving, 
I don’t  know  that  it  does  the  children  any  harm 
as  a rule,  the  school  had  become  very  thin 
before  these  lightnings  plav  the  bolder 
spirits  unabashed  playing  outside— but  then  there 
is  such  a satisfaction  for  the  teacher  to  feel 
that  when  his  message  has  been  delivered 
and  not  taken  much  notice  of,  that  some 
one  will  have  to  pay  for  that  later  on.  The 
youthful  Ramasami  hears  of  the  abode  of  the 
damned  unmoved:  in  the  world  into  which  he 
was  born  terror  stalks  about  day  and  night : des- 
truction may  overtake  him  here  and  noiv,  so 
that  a nemesis  in  the  future  is  rather  an 
improvement. 
Our  teachers  have  had  many  plans  to  keep 
up  the  flagging  interest.  Some  have  suggested 
“no  Sunday  School,  no  rice,”  and  this  has  worked 
admirably,  and  perhaps  if  it  had  been  persisted 
in  as  a steady  policy,  the  children  might  now 
have  been  able  to  take  high  marks  in  Scripture 
kno^vledge;  but  it  did  not  coinmend  itself  to  ?|,11, 
and  indignation  has  been  expre.ssed  at  endeavour- 
ing to  teach  the  children  through  the  pangs  of 
the  stoniacli,  rather  than  through  the  emotions 
of  the  heart. 
To  give  an  annual  feast,  the  memory  of  whose 
richne.ss,  and  the  odour  of  whose  savouriness  was 
to  permeate  and  inlluence  the  whole  school  year 
has  been  tried ; but  except  foi  a few  Sunday.s 
before  the  feast  and  one  solitary  Sunday  after 
it,  it  might  have  been  uncooked. 
Picture  books,  and  coloured  tracts  havo  been 
distributed  : magic  lanterns  have  been  exhibited, 
and  even  a sui)ieine  effort  made  to  win  by  a 
variety  entertainment.  This  last  was  unique, 
and  had  a vista  of  such  possibilities  that  I had 
a fecling--innnediate.ly  suppres.sed  of  course — that 
it  was  not  such  a bad  thing  after  all  to  be 
born  a heatlien.  I had  had  a good  deal  of  my 
moral  grouiuling  driven  into  me  with  a stick 
or  slipper,  and  was  made  to  march  to  school  and 
prepare  the  lessons  nolens  volens,  and  no  sugar 
piece  in  the  matter  ; but  here  was  my  heathen 
horde,  that  used  to  have  its  rice  stopped  if  it 
ab.sented  itself  from  school,  .soothed  by  sweets 
one  day,  pandeied  to  by  plaintains  another, 
sustained  by  bread  the  next,  and  with  the  sure 
ju-ospect  of  liaving  its  nakedness  clothed  later 
on,  dancing  ever  before  it.  When  a boy,  I used 
to  hear  on  high  occasions  in  churcli,  of  “ a 
feast  of  fat  things”  of  “ wines  on  the  lees  well 
refined,”  and  worulered  what  in  the  w'orld  “wines 
on  the  lees,  well  refined”  could  po.ssibly  be,  and 
have  been  w'ondering  ever  since.  Can  it  be  any 
thing  like  the  above  ? If  so,  I argue,  that  the 
circle  has  been  rounded  and  the  end  is  near. 
If  the  variety  entertainment  fails,  what  else  is 
there  to  fall  back  on,  except  to  shut  the  door  of  the 
withering  shed  for  good  and  acknowledge  defeat. 
But  on  second  thoughts  I won’t  ; as  long  as 
teachers  can  be  got,  the  school  shall  remain 
open.  It  may  not  be  a model  school,  nor  run 
on  any  kind  of  lines  likely  to  obtain  the  ap- 
proval of  the  experienced,  but  our  aim  is  limited, 
and  if  after  many  days  there  be  but  one  from 
its  number  found  heading  for  the  higher  life  cr 
any  turning  at  all  toward  righteousness,  it  will 
be  reward  enough. 
THE  CACAO  PEST. 
ITS  NAME  WAS  NEVER  HEARD:— WAS 
SILENCE  WISE  ? 
“Tropical  Agriculture  ” of  wdiatever branch, 
is  well  known  to  be  an  industry  which  involves 
many  risks,  but  it  has  its  compensations.  For 
one  thing  it  is  unwise  to  prophesy  about  it;  for, 
if  “ the  swing  of  the  pendulum”  is  unfavour- 
able to  the  planter  this  year,  it  may  be  as  much 
the  other  way  later  on.  In  the  old  coffee  days  it  was 
not  unusual  to  see  the  cultivator  who  was  heavily 
indebted  relieved  of  his  worrying  incubus  by  two 
or  three  good  crops  ; while  there  was  the  other 
side,  too,  in  which  money  Avas  lost  hand  over 
fist.  Cacao,  during  its  short  career  in  the  island, 
has  not  been  free  from  similar  vicissiludes.  We 
have  had  low  prices,  succeeded  by  a halcycon  time 
when  those  who  had  cacao  gardens  looked  upon 
every  other  product  of  the  East  as  not  in  the 
race  with  the  “ food  for  gods,”  and  were  inclined 
to  tl.ink,  that  they  had  found  at  last  the  ideal 
tropical  proiluct.  This  season  of  bright-eyed 
hope  Avas  alas  ! followed  by  collapse  of  prices  ! 
markets  slipped  away  from  us.  Countries,  which 
had  imported  largely,  began  to  export  cacao,  and 
from  the  top  figures  of  130^  to  140«  a cwt.,  the 
