Stipphmeni to the " Tropical Agricnltmkt.' 
[January i, 1892. 
S'8 
not really that, but that the ])lough gripped 
into the ground which had to ho turned over 
and thus made it heavy, h'or the new sort of 
plough they wanted good wholesome strong 
beasts with a good hump, that could hitcli well 
on to the plough and pull it well. lie thought 
there was a great deal to Ivope for in the breeding 
of improved cattle, and he was glad to sea that 
attention was being paid to it. At the same time 
he pointed out that he thought tlui difllcuJty on 
that point was untiecessarily exaggerated in 
native newspapers ; and really after all perhaiis 
the general improvement of the cattle and above 
all the preservation of the cattle against the 
everlasting recurrence of disease and the loss 
of cattle bj' murrain, was more a matter for the 
veterinary department of the College thau any 
other. Many cattle were lost every year by 
murrain, and how the supply was kept up was 
a mystery to him. 
On Mr. Ohicen’s having resumoKl his seat, 
H. K. the QovEHNon said ; — In every meeting 
in Ceylon in which Jlr. Ferguson is present the 
company would bo dissatisfied, and the 
object of the meeting wmuld be incomplete unless 
Mr. Ferguson addressed the meeting. I must 
therefore ask ifr. Ferguson to address us. 
Mr. A. M. FEiiauso.M, who was received with 
applause, then stepped to the front and said that 
at the invitation of his friend Mr. Drieherg ho 
felt honoured and pleased to come there, and 
doubly so after the very kind remarks wliich 
His Kxcelloncy had addre.ssed to him in calling 
upon him to offer some observations. Tlie meeting 
and the institution with which it was connected 
were oxceetUngly ititerosting, as they might 
imagine, to one whose memory w^ent back to a 
period wlien education in its most elementary 
forms was comparatively in its infant stage — 
when the instruction by which education was 
gained — a knowledge of reading and writing was 
in its infancy. Here they had youug men re- 
ceiving a really practical education for the busi- 
ness of life, and going forth into tlie various 
parts of the country carrying their knowledge 
with them and disseminating it wherever they 
went ; to their own farms or to private employ- 
ment, or still better as agricultural instructors in 
the service of Government, alwas imparting know- 
ledge of immense oonsetiuunco and great value 
to the people if the jieople would only receive 
instruction from them. The Rembrandt-like pic- 
ture which Ills Excellency drew of paddy cul- 
tivation in this country was, alas too true ; and 
sometimes the idea had been thrown out that 
the soil was so essentially poor that it could not 
be improved. He felt greatly relieved that he 
had been preceded by Mr. Green, who luul put 
the matter very largely in its true light. The 
experiments showed that the yield of paddy could 
be doubled, and tripled, and quadrupled even, by 
careful cultivation ; and one of the great le.ssons 
which the agricultural instructors would have to 
impress upon the people was steady, regular, un- 
tiring industrj'. At present there was a groat spurt 
and then a collapse ; the Sinhalese would work day 
and night for a time in order that they might 
lie by in a state of torpidity for the rest of the 
year, and the duty shouhf bo impressed upon them 
of regular industry and attention to their laud. 
As Mr. Green showed there was too much left 
to l)e done by water which was an excellent 
thing in its proper place, but which, as Mr. 
Drieherg had shown iii his report, when it water- 
logged the land was sterilizing and beyond that 
insanitary. There was much that the people 
could bo taught not only in paddy growung but 
in other branches. The Director of I’ublic Instruc- 
tion had requested him to deal with the value 
and importance of horticulture. Humboldt cal- 
culated that an acre of well-cultivated plantains 
would yield as much nutriment as forty acres of 
wheat, and he need not dwell on the vast possi- 
bilities thus presenteil. Here we had as flue 
oranges as any in the world, if only justice were 
done to them, and they were allowed to ripen on 
the tree. Dr. Uouavia came over here, got some 
ripe oranges, kept them for a month, took them 
over to India and they turned out as line oranges 
as any in the world. Grafting of oranges and 
mangoes wore almost unknown here, but any 
jierson travelling through India would find that 
a great propotion of the woalth of the people 
consisted in mango groves, every tree being care- 
fully grafted, and if the Director of this institution 
could instruct his pupils how to improve horti- 
culture hy pruning and grafting, and the pupils 
carried tluit knowledge into the villages, the 
peojde would have when in a bad year througli 
floods or some cause that could not be helped, 
the paddy crop failed, something else to fall back 
upon. (Applause.) Allusion had been made to 
itinerating students, and that reminded him that 
in the agricultural papers of which he received 
many from all parts of the world, he constantly 
saw most interesting references to itinerating 
dairies. He hoped tlie day would come when 
such a thing as an itinerating dairy w’ould be 
possible here ; when they would have instructors 
going about with superior cows and superior 
utensils, and at various centres, instructing the 
people to make the best use of what was now 
grossly neglected. More than 150 years ago he 
lived in Uva in the house of a native headman 
who hud probably 00 cattle, and he could not 
get a drop of milk. The Sinhalese made very 
little use of what ought to be a great and whole- 
some and mitritous article of food — the produce 
of the dairy, and he hoped there might bo an 
improvement in that respect. With regard to the 
cattle the duty of the instructors would be to 
press on the people the lesson that a few good 
cattle wore better than a large number of 
skeletons such as one so often saw. They allowed 
the cattle to hre(*d, and they did not ask whether 
they had sufficient for them in the shape of 
grass and fodder. Tluit reminded him to suggest 
to H. E. that it might be profitable in some 
cases to use the irrigation water in the cultivation 
of meailow gra.ss for the cattle. When he had 
the honor of siioaking last in connection with 
this institution ho mentioned Java, whieh was 
in I ho same latitude south as Ceylon was north 
of the equator ; and there they had most splendid 
ponies and not only so hut horse.s of the very 
finest description. He thought attention might 
well be directed to the breeding of horses here 
as well as cattle. (Applause.) In conclusion he 
said he felt exceedingly glad ho had been spared 
to see such an institution as this in Ceylon and 
the prospect of a technical institute and other 
