The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1885-09-05
THE ISLAND OF CEYLoN.
4 Mountainous Country With . Steadily In
creasing Population.

-
A Mountainous Country With q Steadily In
creasing Population.
The island OF Ceylon is two hundred
and seventy miles in length, n hum
bred and tifty-six in breadth, and very
mountainous near the center, there be-
ing mountains ranging between three
thousand and seven thousand feet
high, ten of which are above the latter
limit. The highest is Pidurutalage,
eight thousand two hundred and nine
tv-SiN feet. Large tracts of the island
are still covered with dense Jungle, in
which many wild elephants are to be
found; but the wanton slaughter Of
these useful animals led the Govern
ment to prohibit their destruction eN.
cept under special permission. Of late
there have been great progress and i'm
p~rovements in the means of internal
communication. There are good road
ways, metaled and graveled, and now
one hundred and Scvcntv-eight miles of
railway and one hundred and sixty
seven miles of canal, which have done
much to promote the interests of the
country. The population has been
steadily increasing, and now it num-
bers two million eight hundred and
fifty thousand. There are Europeans.
Eurasians and Burghers, Singalese.
Tamils, MoorS, and a few Parsees, At
ghans. Malays and others. The Singa-
lese inhabit the interior and parts of
the coast, and comprise nearly two
million Of the people, while the Tamils
occupy the northern portion of the
island, and number about six hundred
thousand. The Europeans are COM
paratiyely few in number, being under
five thousand; but of Eurasians and
Burghers there are nearly eighteen
thousand. There are n hundred and
he found in large numbers all oyer the
different provinces. The postal SER
vice throughout the island is in a very
satisfactory state. Scarcely a town or
village but boasts of a post-otice, and
ere long they are to have added to
them the all-important savings bank,
which does so much to influence thrift
and economy. The island has many
institutions for the sick and the dis
eaSed in body and mind, and in educa-
ton the people are far in advance Of
their .northern ncighbors. English
is pretty generally spoken,
and particularly among the do
mestic class. The products of
the country are very varied, and con-
siSt of rice, cinnamon, %cocoanuts,
paints, tobacco, sugar-cane and cot
ton, and l~atterly coffee, cinchona. in
dia-rubher, and tea have been added.
The land is admirably adapted for the
growth of rice. The cultivation of CO.
coanuts has been gradually increasing.
and, though a large quantity is en-
ported, 4 large trade is done in the
c0ir fiber from the husk and in ex-
pressed oil from the kernel of the nut.
The cultivation extends nearly all along
the west part Of the island. The great
planting industry, however, is now
coffee and tea. For many years, dur
ing the occupation of the Dutch in l74O.
Illt tllIllN ttllbH VI NoIlVS was toilllIlCt
to the low-lying country, but it was
not until the occupation by the British,
when communication between the hill
country and the coast was made. that
it began to. flourish, and since then it
has been gradually extending all over
the central and western provinces.
The opening of the railway between
" E.l,, ,,,l fNn1n,n1o al ,,,.,l 70 ot,,,
ulate the industry by supplying cheap
free labor and greater facilities for the
market. Large quantities Of jungle
were cleared and planted, and every
thing seemed to insure Il permanent
good investment, but an enemy APP
pcarcd in the field who began his de.
vaStatiOn, and has continued steadily
to diminish the productive power even
since till he has reduced the exports to
less than q fifth of what they We're.
The enemy is a minute fungus on the
leaf called Hcmi|cia r09t0tfiJ. 1t APP.
pearel in a remote corner of M OF
the young coffee districts and spread
with the greatest rapidity all over the
coffee gardens. The leaves assumed
bright orange spot, and then they
withered and decayed. The conse'
qlenccs of such a failure, following on
the investment of a number Of planters
in the high districts, led TO the most
serious consequences and ruin. These
losses convinced many that the climate
and character of the soil were admir-
ably adapted for the cultivation of tea,
and the result has been that thousands
of acres under coffee cultivation have
now been changed to tea, and the
Jungle is being cleared for the eXten
sion of the cultivation of that plant
Cor. Glasgow Herald.