potato without manure, a positive proof of the general
poverty of the soil.

Nevertheless, Ceylon has had a character for fertility. Bennett, in his
work entitled "Ceylon and its Capabilities," describes the island in
the most florid terms, as "the most important and valuable of all the
insular possessions of the imperial crown." Again he speaks of "its
fertile soil, and indigenous vegetable productions," etc., etc. Again:
"Ceylon, though comparatively but little known, is pre-eminent in
natural resources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion.
Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little garden
highly manured may be very satisfactory and very amusing. Everything
must necessarily come to perfection with great rapidity; but these
experiments are no proof of what Ceylon will produce, and the popular
idea of its fertility has been at length proved a delusion.

It is a dangerous thing for any man to sit down to "make" a book. If he
has had personal experience, let him write a description of those
subjects which he understands; but if he attempts to "make" a book, he
must necessarily collect information from hearsay, when he will most
probably gather some chaff with his grain.

Can any man, when describing the "fertility" of Ceylon, be aware that
newly-cleared forest-land will only produce one crop of the miserable
grain called korrakan? Can he understand why the greater portion of
Ceylon is covered by dense thorny jungles? It is simply this--that the
land is so desperately poor that it will only produce one crop, and
thus an immense acreage is required for the support of a few
inhabitants; thus, from ages past up to the present time, the natives
have been continually felling fresh forest and deserting the last
clearing, which has accordingly grown into a dense, thorny jungle,
forming what are termed the "Chenars" of Ceylon.

So fully aware are the natives of the impossibility of getting more
than one crop out of the land that they plant all that they require at
the same time. Thus may be seen in a field of korrakan (a small
grain), Indian corn, millet and pumpkins, all growing together, and
harvested as they respectively become ripe.

The principal articles of native cultivation are rice, korrakan, Indian
corn, betel, areca-nuts, pumpkins, onions, garlic, gingelly-oil seed,
tobacco, millet, red peppers, curry seed and sweet potatoes.

The staple articles of Ceylon production are coffee cinnam