TROPICAL AGRICULTURE in CEYLON : I Ens Over Which Dr
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TROPICAL AGRICULTURE IN CEYLON : I ens over which Dr. Thwaites so long presided and “ LOVVCOUNTRY PRODUCTS. ” where Dr. Trimen now reigns. Economic rather than aesthetic principles guiding the choice of situation, an No. I. exceptionally rich piece of forest ground was chosen, A “ p e o p l e ’s PARK ” WANTED FOR COLOMJSO— HENARATGODA not at Colombo or near it, unfortunately, but within GARDENS. half-an-hour's drive or walk from the Henaratgoda “ Kew Point, ” in Colombo, still preserves the me station, sixteen miles from Colombo, on the line to mory of the first Botanic Gardens established during Kandy. Here can be seen a rich grove of indigenous the British period in Ceylon, and, much as we ap forest, alive with clouds of the great frugiverous brt preciate the taste with which the police quarters in called in popular parlance “ the flying-fox and the Slave Island have been built and the "grounds around visitor might ask the intelligent Sinhalese in charge them laid out, we yet could wish, for the sake of whether he has observed any cases, such as undoubtedly residents in the capital of the island, as well as that occurred at Madras when trees the resort of those of the multiplied visitors we may soon expect, that curious animals were denuded of leaves, of deaths something more than the name and a few noble trees amongst the big ba’s from sun-stroke ! But the visitor had come down to us of this generation from the will need the time between 8 a. m., when his train ar Ceylon namesake of the great and justly celebrated rives from Colombo, and 10, when the down train Kew Gardens. It is true that others, besides Prince from Kandy passes Henaratgoda, to examine the Soltykoff, have characterized Colombo as one great varieties of Liberian, (so-called) “ Arabian,” West botanical garden ; and no doubt numerous and varied Indian and other varieties of coffee ; of cocoa from Car- drives over excellent roads lined with elegant coconut raccas and Trinidad, with fruits ranging from deep palms, and through richest green foliage of bread red sprinkled with gold to palest white ; also card fruit, jak, cadju, bamboo, mango, cinnamon and amons, indiarubber trees of several species, and other luxuriant trees and plants, brightened and many other interesting plants. As the garden is rendered doubly cheerful by the primrose-coloured bounded on one side by a swamp, some of our aquatic pisonia, the crimson “ shoe flower,” and in its plants can be examined, and just outside the garden season the truly grand “ flamboyant tree” of Mada is one of the noblest objects in the vegetable kngdom, gascar, are “ beautiful exceedingly.” Still we cannot a talipot tree in flower. A good look at this tree help wishing that here, in Colombo, we could shew in its dying glory of a pyamid of primrose-coloured in a special garden or park, such as visitors to Cal blossom surmounting a massive column and springing cutta, Bombay and Madras and the other leading immediately from amidst leaves of deepest green and cities of India at once seek, collections in a con of vast proportions will well reward a visit to “ The veniently limited space of all the leading plants of Henaratgoda Tropical Gardens.” the tropics, with the additional attraction of a select In travelling to Kandy by the railway line and zoological family, ranging from the gigantic elephant without the trouble of alighting, if only a good look to the mimina deer, from the eagle to the sun-bird, out is observed areas cultivated with “ new products” and from the thirty-feet long alligator down to the may be noticed. Cinnamon does not, of cours >, come three-inch green lizard: not forgetting “ the praying under this category, and strictly we cannot include mantis ” and the stick and leaf insects. We trust the manioc or cassava plant, with which experiments that one speedy result of the concentration here of have been tried since the days of Bennett, ,if not practically the whole steam navigation of Ceylon and from an earlier period. If only the markets for cin much of that of the Eastern world will be to free namon and tapioca could be extended, Ceylon could Colombo from the reproach of possessing nothing more grow any quantity of both products. But the new pro closely approaching a “ People's Park ” than the pretty ducts to which we specially wish to attract the atten but, as yet, scautily furnished expanse in the Cin tion of our traveller are the gigantic coffee of W est Africa namon Gardens, of which the really handsome Gre “ Liberian coffee,” and the cacao (cocoa) of Central and gory Museum is the central object. Until recently, South America and the West Indies. Both are rapidly, a visitor who wished to see a systematic collec making for themselves new homes in Ceylon, and a glance tion of plants, indigenous and introduced, had per can be obtained of very fine specimens of both on force to travel to Peradeniya, seventy miles upcountry, “ Liberia” estate, a few miles on the left hand go Doubtless the traveller would find his reward in roam ing up beyond the station of Polgahawela (the Coco- ing amidst the contrasted culture and wilderness, nut Tree Plain), where the trains meet, and which bounded by a noble river, of the “ Royal Botanical is 45 miles distant from Colombo. “ Liberia” is and Gardens of Ceylon,” with its medium climate. If a always will be notable as the scene of the first attempt sight of sub-alpine forms and a view of some of the on an extensive scale to cultivate the coffee of Liberia grandest and most beautiful scenery in the world in Ceylon. About two years ago Mr. W. Eorbes Laurie were desiderated, the journey had, as it still has, to the enterprising proprietor, organized a party, of which be prolonged to Nuwara Eliya and Hakgala, the latter Dr. Trimen, then only just arrived, formed one, to looking out and d iwn on the forested mountains, the visit this splendid property, and a full account of the prairie hills and the rice-terraced valleys of Uva. visit and of what was then observed on this splendid With the attention paid to such “ lowcountry and most promising estate appeared in the Observer products ” in late years as Liberian coffee, at the time. On that occasion the party was numer cacao, cardamoms, caoutchouc trees, &c., came ous enough to induce the railway authorities to attach the demand for a stiictly tropical branch of the Gard- a passenger carriage to a goods train which dropped 186 ihe visitors opposite the es’afa, those bound for Kandy fect flat, the rice swamps being diversified only by or returning to Colombo being picked up by the low laterite knolls, on which the habitations of. the afternoon trains. Isolated visitors would have to face natives are placed, but in such dense groves of a long and hot walk along the line from Polgaha- coconut, areka and talipot palm, with jak, bread wela, or a ride which, in either case, could not be fruit, cadju and other trees, that only a few of the accomplished under at least a couple of hours, and houses can be observed from the line. While the as the return to the station would occupy about the vegetation generally presents an air of rich luxuriance, same time, very little time or energy would be left the amount of low undergrowth, in the shape of for looking at the estate with its splendid blossom, guava, lantana, &c., in the immediate neighbourhood and fruit-laden coffee bushes, interspersed with cacao of houses, suggests the idea of untidiness, and the trees with their long leaves and large pods. Owing to European traveller feels inclined to ask : “ Why do this disadvantage of position with reference to a rail the people not clear and keep clear the space about way station, visits to this the first Liberian coffee their houses ? ” The Sinhalese cottagers would reply estate, in Ceylon, must be much more “ like angel- that, besides not seeing any advantage in unnecess visits, few and far between,” than the spirited and ary labour, they know that to clear and keep cleared hospital.de owner could wish. Much more manageable, of subsidiary growth the spaces near their houses in the interval between the arrival of the morning would simply deprive them of a readily available store train from Colombo at Polgahawela, about past 9 of small timber for firewood and other purposes. a. ni., and the passing down of the afternoon train The intermixture of palms and trees of ordinary from Kandy, about 4 p. m., is a visit to the younger leafage on the knolls, contrasting with the sheets of but equally successful plantation of U d a p o l l a , which water, the emerald green expanses of rice, or those can be easily reached in a bullock hackery drive of half-an which, as is the case now, are yellow for the harvest, hour or less from the station. For most part of the is often very picturesque, and long before the great way the journey is over the main road to Kurune- bulk of the Allagala mountain looms out beyond Pol- gala, and the road opened to connect the estate with gahawela all feeling of monotony is dissipated by the ap this highway and so with the railway, is short and pearance of the lower ranges of hills rising over the easy, its terminus revealing a scene, well worth seeing Mahaoya.