Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1885-09-04
HOME OF THE ELEPHANT.
interesting Description Of the
Island OF Ceylon.
A Mountainous Country with Steadily
Increasing Population.

A Mountainous Country with Steadily
Increasing Population
The island of Ceylon is 27O miles in
length, 156 in breadth, and very
mountainous near the center, there
being mountains ranging between
5000 and 1000 feet high, ten of which
are above the latter limit. The high
est is Pidurutalage, 1926 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 ami
mails led the government to prohibit
their destruction except under special
permission. OF late there have been
great progress and improvements in
the means Of internal communication.
There are good roadways, metaled and
graYeled, and now 178 miles of rail-
way and 1877 miles Of canal, which have
done much to promote the interests Of
the country. The population has been
steadily increasing, and now it numbers
2,850,O00. There are Europeans, Eura
slams, and Burghers, Sinhalese, Tamils,
Moors, and a few Parsees, Afghans, Ma
lays, and others. The Slnhalese inhabit
heinterior and parts of the coast, and
comprise nearly 100000 of the peo-
pie, while the Tamils occupy the north
srn portion of the island, and number
about 100000. The Europeans are
comparatively few in number, being
under 5000; but of Eurasians and
Burghers there are nearly $1,000.
There are 10000 Moormen, who are
tobe found in large numbers all over
the different provinces. The postal
service throughout the island is in a
very satisfactory state. Scarce a town
OF village but boasts of a postoffiee,
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
diseased in body and mind, and in
education the people are far in adj
vance Of their northern neighbors.
English is pretty generally spoken,
and particularly among the domestic
class. The products of the country
are very varied, and consist of rice,
cinnamon, cocoanut, paints, tobacco,
sugar-cane, and cotton, and latterly
coffee, cinchona, india rubber, and tea
have been added. The land is admira-
bly, adapted for the growth of rice.
The cultivation of cOeOanuts has been
gradually increasing, and, though a
large quantity is exported, a large
trade is done in the cOir fiber from the
ausk and in expressed oil from the
1ut. 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, during the occupation Of the
Dutch in 1740, the cultivation of cof-
fee was confined to the low-lying
country, but it was not until the oc-
;upation by the British, when commu-
nication between the hill country and
;he coast was made, that it began to
flourish, and since then it has been
gradually extending all over the CEN
trail and western provinces. The
opening of the railway between Kan
ly and Colombo did much to stimulate
The industry by supplying cheap free
labor and greater facilities for the
market. Large quantities of jungle
were cleared and planted, and every
hing seemed to insure a permanent
good investment, but an enemy ap-
cared in the field who began his
devastation and has continued steadi-
y to diminish the productive power
ever since till he has reduced the ex-
ports to less than a fifth of what they
were. The enemy is a minute fungus
on the leaf. 1t appeared in remote
corner Of one of the young coffee dis
tricts and spread with the greatest
rapiditY all over the coffee gardens.
The leaves assumed a bright orange
spot, and then they withered and de-
cayed. The consequences of such a
failure, following on the investment
Of number of planters in the high
districts, led to the most serious con-
sequences and ruin. These losses
convinced many that the climate and
character of the soil were admirably
adapted for the cultivation of tea, and
che result has been that thousands of
acres under coffee cultivation have
now been changed to tea, and the
Jungle is being cleared for the extern
sion of the cultivation Of the plant
GIaSg0tO Herald.
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