354 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Ncv. I, 1897. 
( Letters Continued. ) 
No. LXIII. 
I. Yes, I have used them and find them a great 
saving of labour both for transport of leaf and fire- 
wood. 
3. Yes, I should think so. 
4. No. 
5. No. 
6. No. 
7. I think that as a rule drains are cut at too 
steep a gradient. If they were cut at an easy gra- 
dient, the soil would be sunk in them and thrown 
out round the tea bushes when the drains were 
cleared out. 
8. None that I know of. 
9. I think moat estates give the coolies land for 
gardens. 
10. In moderation. 
II. No. D. 
No. LXIV. — High District. 
1. Yes, have had a large experience of wire 
thoots (have worked five shoots myself ; and there 
have been nine shoots on the three estates on which 
I have served, and I have seen six others working 
on various estates). In this district I know of and 
have seen five shoots now being worked for leaf 
transport, and some of them for firewood. I have a 
shoot IJ mile long on my present charge, and 
another shoot, J mile long, also comes from a 
neighbour’s estate to my factory for leaf trausnort. 
They do not damage the leaf : provided a suffi- 
cient supply of mana grass, or other soft substance, 
is heaped at the bottom of the shoot, to act as a 
buffer. I believe wire shoots are in general use where 
the lay of laud admits of them, as a saving in 
transport by coolies. 
2. Endless tramways might be more generally used 
for transport by groups of estates in hilly steep 
districts. For instance an endless tramway from 
Padupolala to the top of Kurunduova or High 
Forest, could be made to serve Alma, Greyniont, Seaton 
Kurunduoya, Eillamulla, Bramley, Lauriston, High 
Forest: for the down transport of tea, boxes ’of tea 
and the up transport of manure, tea requisites’ 
rice, &c. Such tramways are used on the Glen 
Alpine, Rock Hill, and Spring Valley estates fcr 
manure transport. Where tramways are not com- 
E atible with the lay of the land, tavalams might 
e used for tea transport, but the boxes would 
have to be made narrower and longer; this has I 
believe, been tried on Dehigolla estate. ’ ’ 
3. Not on ordinary estate roads: they might be 
on cart roads, or roads of a good gradient. 
4. Yes. I feel sure it is overdone. 
6. Yes. 
6. No. I would like to see the experiment tried 
7. Fairly so. Large holes might be cut at inter- 
vals along the drains to catch soil washed into it, 
and this soil might be afterwards distributed 
over tl e adjoining! ground, as each hole fills up. 
Thus: — 
roil pits 
g .side drams 
a soil pits 
side drains 
® soil pits 
side drains 
pit 
9. Plenty of ground for gardens, the allowing of 
coolies to keep cows and pigs, and goats ; all tend 
to make them contented (gardens especially). 
10. Yes ! Strongly. 
11. Yes ! Liquor shops ought to be done away 
with. D. E. 
No. LXV. 
1. Yes, I think wire shoots could be advantage- 
ously used much more largely for transport of fuel 
and leaf. The leaf is not injured by being sent 
dovn by a shoot. 
2. The widening of existing roads, where practi- 
cable, to admit of single bullock carts being used, 
saves cooly labour to some extent. 
3. I have no experience of small tramways and do 
not know what they would cost per mile. 
4. I have never thought that small weeds do the 
least harm to either tea or cclfee and they un- 
doubtedly save wash. But it is rhraprr and takes 
less labour to keep an estate quite clean than to 
allow small weeds to grow. Otherwise 1 think it 
would be better to leave them. Mosses should cer- 
tainly be left to grow. 
6. No, nor do I think it would answer. 
7. Terracing was largely cairied out on Delta 
and other old coffee estates, and did some good. 
But I do not think anything will stop the wash on 
the steep hills of Ceylon after the land is once cleared. 
8. I know of none that w'ould answ'er, beyond 
dcing as much as possible by machinery in the factory 
and transporting by cart roads and wire shoots 
wherever practicable. 
9. Coolies should certainly be allowed small gar- 
dens and they are on most estates. They should be 
always supplied with good rice and always of the 
same quality as far as possible. Large advances 
make coolies more unsettled than anything else. 
10. I think multiplying boutiques might do some 
good and this is being done in several places. But 
I expect most of the coolies would always go to the 
large bazaars on Sundays, 
11. The number of liqour shops, should be reduced 
as much as possible, and it is not altogether desir- 
able that the monopoly of selling liquor should be 
in the hands of a very few, as they would sell 
poisonous stuff at extortionate prices. Coolies will go 
a long distance to get liquor, but numerous liquor 
shops, of course, increase the temptation to drink. 
MERCHANT PLANTER. 
No. LXVI.— Medium District. 
I have your circular on “ How to economise the 
available Labour Supply.” 
The Labour Supply in most districts is now ample 
for all requirements; in districts where it is not, I 
would suggest a little more honesty in all dealings 
in conneciion with labour, and an honest endeavour 
to procure coolies from the coast ; they, coolies, are 
to be procured ; but so long as planters encourage 
the present buying ai d selling of coolies, and wink 
at all kinds of malpractices, districts that are short 
of labour will continue so. 
Labour appears to be coming in from the coast 
very freely this year. [Written some time ago. — Bn.] 
To those who will give up trafficking with the 
labour force of their neighbours and other districts, and 
who will honestly attempt to get fresh labour from 
the cast, I believe that the present is a very 
favourable opportunity. 
I don’t care to offer an opinion about wording, etc. 
Keeping Coolies. — The man who can get coolies, 
can keep them. The man who finds difficulty in 
getting them, cannot. Coolies know very well when 
they are well treated and want no bribes to stop ; 
where they are badly treated no bribe will keep them. 
G. 
The cuscus grass idea seems very good. 
8. Telephones between factories and bungalows 
often save coolies as messengers. District tapal 
coolies would be another saving, or one tapal cooly 
to each group of estates, 
No. LXVn. 
Was your circular of 20th instant sent to me as 
a joke ? ! I am afraid I can’t throw much, or any, 
light on the subjects regarding which opinion is asked. 
