The Ordway new era., 1909-12-03
IRRIGATION IS OLD
Originally Used by SinghaIese Of
Island of Ceylon.
Works There Are Most Ancient and
Remarkable In World-First Tank
Was Constructed In Year
5O4 B. c.

Long before Romulus and Remus
were nurtured by the she-wolf, before
greedy Alexander wept for more
worlds to conquer. before Buddha
solved the problem OF human exist
ence, irrigation was lending its power
full aid to the maintenance of very
ancient people. And these people
were the picturesque. as well as in
telligent, Singhalese, the aboriginal in
habitants of the little island of Cey-
lon, of whose existence little Is known
by the average farmer. Yet this small
British dependency in the Indian
ocean. POLITICALLY called by her Sing
halese poets, THE Pearl Drop on
lndia's Brow" is the birthplace Of
irrigation, writes Florence B. Crofford
in Field and Ranch. And to-day por-
tions of this prolific little tropic island
depend altogether on irrigation for the
cultivation of its rice, or paddy fields.
and tea plantations, the former being
the chief source of sustenance of the
Inhabitants, the latter a great export
touching the happiness of many of
the tea-drinkers of the civilized world.
And why, you ask. should irrigation
be necessary on a small island In the
rain belt OF the tropics? In the north
ern portion Of Ceylon. owing to the
absence of mountains and rivers.
rainfall is restricted and when the
hot monsoons sweep over this portion
twice year, the moisture is sucked
from the air and the soil. as the hot
winds of the Great American desert
rob 1t of moisture and refuse to re-
turn a drop of rain to the parched
and barren soil.
The irrigation works OF Ceylon are
the most ancient and the most re-
markable in the world. The first
tank in Ceylon was constructed 504
B. c.. and the ancient Singhalese
kings extended them in almost incred-
ible numbers; the capital being in the
dry zone, n vast system Of irrigation
works covered the country like n net
work and supported dense popula-
ton. The vast number Of tanks con-
structed by this ancient people is
ascribable to the influence of the
Buddhist religion which. abhorring the
destruction OF animal life. taught its
votaries to subsist exclusively on veg
etable food. Hence. the planting of
gardens. the diffusion of fruit trees
and leguminous vegetables. the SOW
ing of dry grain, the building of res
ervoirs and canals. and the reclama-
ton of land in situations favorable
for irrigation.
The most remarkable of these an
cient engineering feats is the dam
ming of the waters of a river at kala-
wewa which formed a reservoir 40
| miles in circumference with an arti-
fetal embankment 12 miles long and n
| spill formed of hammered granite. A
canal more than 60 miles long carried
the fertilizing and life.giving waters to
the ancient capital city of Anuradha-
pura: and yet more wonderful to re-
late. is today fulfilling its mission Of
irrigating the paddy fields in the vi
cinity of the city with the unpro-
nouncable name, the British govern
ment having restored 1t about Is years
ago. 1t was constructed by King
Dhatu Sen about the year 460 A. D.,
by driving an embankment across the
Kala.oya river, which, flowing from
the vicinity of the great temple OF
Dambulla. reached the sea at Kalpi-
tiya.
Another great tank which has been
recently restored by the British gov
ernment Is the Giants tank, whose
area would have been equal to that
of Lake Geneva II the original stu
pendous plans had been carried out.
AS 1t Is today. the tank is capable Of
irrigating 10000 acres of yand. And
yet another great artificial lake
now being restored is Minneri. which
travellers have pronounced the lowell
est sylvan spot in all Ceylon. 1t was
built by NADIA Sen, 275 A. D.: its res
ervoir is 20 miles in circumference,
and lying. as it does, where numer-
GUS valleys, separated by low, wooded
steppes meet and mingle. the scene Is
indescribably charming-hills, hang
, ing woods and silvery waters call to
mind visions of Killarney warmed by
tropic suns. When completed, this
reservoir will irrigate $4,000 acres of
land.
There are SO to 60 of these large
irrigation works. while the number
of lesser village tanks Is reckoned by
the thousand. The British govern
ment is laboring assiduously to re-
store and maintain these great works
as well as the lessed tanks and chan
nels, and the result Is health. abun-
dance and happiness.