July 1, 1897.] 
Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist^ 
69 
ness of the soLl makes it possible for the goyiya 
to carry on pa Idy cultis'ation without any snecial 
manuring. 
2. The goyiyas, however, are slow to avail them- 
selves of the facilities that hr. ve been given for 
cultivation. There is still a vast acreage under 
the tanks which can be asweddumized and 
converted into fertile paddy-tieids. If the people 
of cert.ain other parts, such as Jaffna, had as 
great facilities for the raising of paddy what 
results might we not expect. 
3. These remarks apply to the cultivation of 
dry crops as well. The favourite form of dry 
cultivation with the villagers is “ Chena ” cultiva- 
tion. But this has been prohibited, they complain, 
since of late. They do not, however, think of 
making fenced enclosures in their own compounds 
and growing vegetables &c. One could hardly 
get any vegetables in most of the villages, and 
even in Anuradhapura there is often a great 
scarcity of them. 
4. Horticulture is another important branch of 
agriculture that is neglected in this province. 
Excellent fruit can be grown in many parts of 
it. The Jaffna Patriot says : — “ We have heard 
that, in close proximity to the town of Anuradha- 
pura, a garden of five acres cultivated with plan- 
tains only, yields five hundred rupees a year.” 
Besides Anuradhapura and the villages adjoining 
it, there are many other localities where oranges, 
mangoes, bananas &c. thrive well. The produc- 
tiveness of some of them is proverbial. 
5. For instance, there is a village called Kida- 
gollegama which, people say, was famous for fruit 
and other garden produce, and was styled “ Parana 
Matale.” The groves of fruit trees that used to 
grow in this village are still fresh in the minds 
of some of the oldest residents of the place. 
But this village has greatly declined in its fruit 
and garden culture owing to the lack of interest 
and enterprise of the villagers. There are many 
other villages in which scarcely any attempt has 
been made to grow garden produce or even coco- 
nuts, though the soil is sufficiently rich. 
6. As regards coconuts it may be said that 
though they do not grow here quite so well as 
those along the sea coast, yet they will compare 
very favourably with the latter. Judging from 
the trees I have seen, I should think that a great 
part of this Province will suit coconuts as much 
as the Pallai district. Although proximity to 
the sea makesland particularly suitable forcoconuts, 
one finds that, in this Province, in moist soils 
which contain a fair proportion of sand, the palm 
thrives and bears well ; and if the villagers 
were enterprising enough, there would be many 
a flourishing coconut estate in this Province now, 
considering the fact that coconut planting is one of 
the safest and most remunerative forms of invest- 
ment for natives. At present, however, by far the 
larger proportion of coconuts required for consump- 
tion in the Province is got from places outside it, 
7. The people, although they fail to make the 
best of their opportunities, are more to be pitied 
than blamed, and have to be practically taught 
how they could better their condition by bring- 
ing niore energy and enterprise to bear upon their 
cultivation. Their ignorance combined with a 
degenei’acy of constitution brought on by the two 
great scourges of thisProvince,parangi and malaria, 
accounts for much of the present state of affairs. 
8. By the wise policy of a benign Government, 
things have begun to improve since of late. Parangi 
and fever are becoming more scarce, and the people 
are getting" more enlightened. The Government 
Agent is trying to induce the villagers to improve 
the state of agriculture in its various branches. 
One effect of discouraging chena cultivation is that 
people have taken more kindly to growing paddy. 
9. There are three model gardens in Anuradha- 
pura where vegetables and fruit trees are grown. 
One of these is under the Tissawewa and another 
under Basiivakulam. In these, in addition to 
superior native vegetables, are cultivated those 
English vegetables that will thrive in the low 
country. There are also grown, economic pro- 
ducts new to the Province, such as the arrowroot 
and cotton. I noticed also about a thousand jak 
plants for free distribution among the villagers. 
It is curious to lind that the jak which is a 
mainstay of the villagers in the Southern and 
Western Provinces in times of dearth and which 
supplies them with food all round the year, is 
very scarce in this Province ; and tlie Government 
Agent noticing this fact and recognizing the 
usefulness of the tree, has got these seedlings 
raised for distribution among the villagers. 
These two gardens were formerly in charge of 
Mr. Kanesinghe, Agricultural Instructor. The 
third one is the Botanical and Experimental Gar- 
den from which plants of economic '’alue are given 
away or sold to the villagers. 
10. The last item in the Jubilee ])iogramme 
in Anuradhapura is to be an AgriHorticul- 
tural Show which is to come off’ on the 26th. 
This, though the last, will not be the least event 
in the local celebration. It will give a stimulus 
to the goyiyas to go in more hugely for the raising 
of superior varieties of agri-horticultural products. 
Only exhibits grown in this Province will be 
received for competition at this Show, and separate 
prizes will be given for the best collection from 
each “ Palata. ” It would be desirable to hold 
such exhibitions here annually. 
11. But after the natives of the Province 
have done their best, there will he a large extent 
of land still left which can he converted into 
paddy-fields, coconut estates, orchards and vege- 
table gardens. Now that we are within measur- 
able distance of the day when the railway will 
be extended to Anuradhapura and J.aff'na, it is 
high time for Ceylonese living in the crowded 
and congested parts of the riouth-IYest and North 
of the Island to think of coming over to this 
Province and opening large estates. Capitalists 
will find it a profitable investment. 
The clearing of jungles, the drainage, &c. which 
the extended cultivation will involve, will help 
to remove the malaria and improve the health 
of the Province ; and with the opening of new 
roads, the extension of the railway, and the plyin" 
of boats across the large sheets of water such as 
Kalawewa, Nuwarawewa and Minneriya, for carry- 
ing the produce of the villages, the North-Central 
Province may, at no distant date, attain to a state 
of prosperity which it had never enjoyed before. 
12. For the breeding and rearing of cattle, sheep 
ami goats this Province is second to no other in 
the Island. The fertile district o^ Taniankaduwa, 
once called the granary of Ceylon, and now the 
largest cattle distiict in the Province, affords 
special facilities for this luirpose, as there are 
large tracts of rich pasturage in it. 
Pony-breeding, too, is carried on to a certain 
extent in this Province ; hut, instead of the 
haphazard way in which this is done, if proper 
breeding establishments were started here as in 
India, importing good stallions and castrating the 
“weeds,” both pony and nmle-hreeding can be 
carried on with highly satisfactory results. 
E. T; HOOLE. 
Anuradhapura, 21st June, 1897. 
