THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
February r, 1892.] 
Sa? 
. As to the expenditure — The cultivators must he 
supported from Msy to January, say eight months ; 
seed must be supplied for 30 acres. 
SsKD-KUKaKKa.v for IS acres et 3 seers to the 
acre=45 seers ; value at 4 cents per 8oer=Rl 80. 
SKED-rADDT for l.'i acres == 1.5 bushels which at 
Kl -00 per bushel, Itl5 00. n 
Rven if paddy be slightly higher in price the expe . 
diture will be under K20'00. 
9. — As to the return which the cultivators might 
reasonably expect; — 
In Vl-UBNAthe average yield is 30 fold. 
In Knrakkau it is at least 300 fold in forest land 
such as we are dealing with. Ooniequently the 
average yield of 15 acres of Vi-hena ^ 450 bushels of 
paddy or 225 of rice and of Kurakkan the yield would 
bo also 450 bushels. This is the usual yield, enormous 
as it may seem. 
10. — After the Maha harvest a crop of gingeli 
should bo raised for yala. This is a must profitablo 
crop. It is sown at the end of March but only on 
high ground and could be sown on the 15 acres from 
which the Kurakkan was reaped. One seer of gingeli 
(at 8 cents par seer) will sow an acre. There- 
fore the 15 acres could be sown at a cost of Kl-20. 
Gingeli gives a return of from 300 to 450 fold : on 
forest laud the latter might be expected. The yield 
of the 15 acres may be taken to be reasonably 105 
bushels. Gingeli sells from S2'00 to ItS UO per bushel, 
thus giving a return of from B390‘()0 to K585.60 
according to the price. 
11. Presuming that water is available for the other 
16 acres of low land, hineti paddy should be sown 
in April for Yala harvest while the highland is in 
Cost of seed for 15 acres of hineti=RlS'00. 
Therefore the total expenditure for seed would be 
say R33 00. 
Maha, Vihona... 
do Kurakkan 
Yala, gingeli ... 
do Hineti ... 
R16 00 
1 80 
1 20 
16 00 
R33 00 
12. This covers the time from the clearing in the 
middle of May in one year to the reaping of gingeli 
in the end of June in the next year. 1 assume that 
the oultivators require support up to the reaping of the 
Kurakkan in January, i.e., tor eight months. 1 assume 
also that for each "able bodied labourer” there is a 
family of a man, a woman and two children. 1 con- 
sider that two bushels of rice a month and K3 
for sundries.' dryfith. eurrystntfs, cloth. &o., is an 
ample allowance=>RI0. 30 families at R10~R3U and 
this for eight months gives a total of R2,400. If 
to this be added the value of the seed the total-=B2,433 
— say R2,600. 
13. But it must be nuted that I have only calculated 
for one month’s clearing in May- June. There is no 
reason to prevent the cultivators from clearing 300 acres 
of irrigable land in June-July. Consequently we would 
have under crop 45 acres of mud land and 15 acres of 
high land. For this additional SO acres we may allow 
RSO'OO for seed for maha, and adding this to the pre- 
vious total we have an expenditure of R250'00 to 
bring into cultivation 46 aoros of mud land. The 
16 acres of high land might be planted up for gardens 
or used as a site for a village, &o. 
14. I am quite prepared to undertake operations 
under these conditions of expenditure if they are 
approved by Govornmeut. But I must point out that 
the persons whom I desire to have as colonists must 
not be seleoted from a town population. I wish to 
have peasants who already have a knowledge of cul- 
tivation and I would prefer Sinhalese thougn I ha-e 
no objeotion to Tamils. 1 could asrefully separate 
the different races; and this could easily be done. 
^ present both Sinhalese and Muhammadans 
eultivating under Kalawewa. 
16. I would undertake to supply the rioe and 
allow a oredit of R3 to each family at a store which 
I would ostablish for the purpose and I would make 
no mousy by the cultivator. 
W. In the foregoing obsetvatioua I have ohiedy 
had in view the case of Kalawewa where 1 think a 
colony of the nature indicated could be placed. It 
would be necessary to house the people in an ele- 
vated position until they became acolimatixed ; and 
the services of one of the medical officers should be 
availsbie. Native medical treatment is useless for 
malarial fever. If it were an unhealthy season in the 
commencement the experiment would run [a great 
risk of failure and of becomiog another Lemesuria- 
gama, which I wonld desire to avoid. I oonsider 
the only serious objection to my scheme is the 
possibility of sickness and mortality frightening 
away the cultivators. This I could not guard against, 
though I would take every precaution that experi- 
ence affords. 
The expenditure for houses iu the oommoncoment 
would be nil as timber is available and straw could be 
procured free from the Yoda Ela villages; while I 
presume Government wonld lend axes and mamoties 
for the first year. 
17. I would allow no borrowiog from usorers and 
I see no need for any under the conditions of my 
scheme. If it wero publicly known (as I would take, 
care it should be) that the Gansabhawa courts would 
unfavourably regard any actiou for money or paddy lout 
during two years from the start of tlie colony there 
would be no borrowing or lendiog. This would bo I 
am sure the case iu this Province at least. As a rule 
the peasantry of the North-Central Frovinoe are not 
in debt or in the power of usurers. Many persons to 
my knowledge denied from hearing oases judicially lend 
seed paddy and money without claim for interest. But 
even where such claim is made by Moors, Tamils 
Afghans and others, it dees not appear that the peo- 
ple are to any great extent indebted. I ooald not 
allow the land to be given in any Province as seourily 
in case of borrowing. It should be sol forth under the 
condition that until the land was finally paid for, it 
remained the property of the Crown, the oocupier being 
merely a tenant with the Crown as landlord. 
18. As to the repayment it may be observed that 
each man’s liability wuuld amount to RSO'OO for 
subsistence and B2'26 for seed paddy=3Us2’25. I pre- 
sume the latter wonld bo given free. R80'00 is not 
a very heavy item of debt, and I recommend that it 
be recovered in the fifth and subsequent years of 
occupation by sale (under the original conditions) of 
i of the crop ; any balanoe of proceeds almve the 
amount due might be refunded to the cultivator. 
19. Peisous who desire to accept the liberal terms 
proposed in the Qoverument Agent's rooommeoda- 
tions without subsistence might, of conise be granted 
small lots of one or two acres, apart from the block 
taken up by what 1 term “ the colony.” 
20. I think 1 have replied to all the qneries under 
roFerence and I havo only to add farther that if 
Government desires the experiment of colonization 
to bo made either under the oouditions proposed by 
mo or any other that may be determined on, I shall 
spare no efforts to make it a bucoobs.— I am, &o , 
(Signed) E. W. Ietebs, Govt. Agent. 
♦ 
A Reliable Insecticide Mr. W. B. Gardner, 
of Fort Aleade, kindly furnishes the following 
results : — Four pounds of salt dissolved in twelve 
quarts of water, then add thirty-two pounds of 
finely sifted sulphur ; have the sulphur well 
stirred. Then take thirty-two pounds of queen 
rook potash, breaking any haril lumps, put in 
an iron vessel, add to the potash four quarts ot 
water and let it stand say three minutes, then, 
pout the potash into the sulphur. The tniittarai 
will boil with great violence. As soon as it is 
cold, put into a fifty gallon battel and fill with 
water. Four quarts of this soltUioa in fifty gal- 
lons of water is said to be sure death to the red 
spider. Two quarts to the barrel is strong enough 
for rust mite. It will not hurt the tenderest bud or 
leaf and can be kept for months. The residuum, 
should not, when properly prepared, ejoeed one-halt' 
Florida AgricuUnritt, NoY, 4th< 
