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outlying salt lands were notified that after two more years Government would cease to purchase salt in those places. Funds were allotted for construction of a saltern at Elephant Pass, near Jaffna, extending over nearly 400 acres, and of a smaller one of 60 acres at Palavi in Puttalam District. It was decided to defer construction in Hambantota till progress had been made with the other two.

The west coast manufacturers, however, strongly resented any change in storage arrangements, on the ground that they and their workmen profited considerably by the cartage, during the winter months, of the salt produced in the summer. They showed their resentment by refusing to make any salt at all in the year 1920, and in 1921 only a comparatively small quantity was outturned, and that only on the old method being allowed to continue. Meantime the new Government salterns at

Elephant Pass and Palavi have been pushed on. The latter is practically completed, and in 1921 produced 20,000 cwt., and is expected in 1922 to produce at least double that quantity. At Elephant Pass the work has been on a much larger scale, but food and labour difficulties there have proved very great. Very large bunds and other earthworks have had to be undertaken, and they are now in the final stages of completion, and it is confidently expected that salt will be produced at Elephant Pass in the season of 1922.

The method of manufacture of salt by Government in the new salterns may be briefly described as follows :-The New Methods. area to be worked is surrounded by embankments of sufficient height and strength to exclude surface drainage. The rainfall of the interior of the salterns has thus alone to be dealt with; this is got rid of by "breaching sections " in the bunds on the lowest side of the saltern and by drainage pipes aid under the surrounding bunds elsewhere.

The saltern is laid out on three distinct levels for

(a) Primary condensation.

(b) Secondary condensation.

(c) Crystallization.

The process of manufacture consists of pumping sea brine into the primary condensing area, where, by solar evaporation, its density is greatly increased. From this area the brine is passed by gravitation into the secondary condensing area, where continued solar evaporation brings the density up to saturation point. The saturated brine is then conducted by gravitation through channels to a very considerable number of comparatively small crystallizing beds where the salt forms and is collected into trolley trucks and taken to the place of storage.

The pumping of the initial brine into the primary condensing area is done by oil engines and centrifugal pumps. A large windmill has also been constructed at Elephant Pass experimentally to test the sufficiency of this much cheaper form of water lift for salt manufacture. So far it seems doubtful whether the variable character of the wind velocity will not make the windmill too unreliable to be regarded as any real economy; the coming season (1922) is expected to settle this issue finally.

Analyses.

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The cost of salt production in the Government salterns is expected to be considerably less than the cost of what is now purchased from local manufacturers, and the salt already produced proves conclusively its superiority in colour and quality. The following analyses of salt produced in the new Government salterns during the course of construction are sufficient to demonstrate the fact that a high standard of chemical purity can be obtained by proper methods of manufacture :—

The Salt Adviser is of the opinion that Ceylon is capable of producing very large quantities of excellent salt, and that there is a field in the Island for considerable enterprise in the manufacture of salt for export to Bengal and Burma, as also for the development of by-products of salt manufacture from the bitterns or mother liquor," at present thrown away in the process of manufacture of common salt.

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Food Fisheries.

Sub-section 13.-Fisheries.

The marine fisheries are still carried on in a comparatively primitive manner by local fishermen from outrigger canoes and catamarans working from the shore. Line fishing is practised far out at sea, whilst nets of various kinds are used in the inshore waters and estuaries. Considerable quantities of fish are caught, packed in ice, and sent to Colombo and other large centres of population from the fishing villages and towns along the coast which are tapped by the railway, even from so far distant as Jaffna and Mannar. Elsewhere all surplus fish is either dried or pickled. Owing to the two monsoons, the east and west coasts of the Island have their own distinct fishing seasons, and in consequence we find a certain amount of seasonal migration on the part of the more enterprising fishermen. Thus, we find that Sinhalese fishermen from Ambalangoda and Weligama go to Batticaloa and other parts of the east coast in the south-west monsoon, and there is a corresponding migration of Tamils from the north and east coasts to the northern portion of the west coast in the north-east monsoon. The available fish supply is, however, very inadequate to meet the growing demands

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of the Island, as is shown very clearly by the following table of fish imports during the years 1910 to 1921 :—

TABLE No. 46.-Value of Imports of Fish Goods into Ceylon.

With a view to increasing the fish supply, extensive experiments and investigations are being made by the Marine Biological Survey under the Director of the Colombo Museum and Marine Biologist. A preliminary survey of the coast has been completed, and two valuable trawling grounds have been examined, the one off Kankesanturai, with an area of 650 square miles, the other off Cape Comorin, outside the Indian territorial waters, which could easily be worked from Colombo, with an area of over 2,500 square miles. Apart from these two banks, the littoral waters on the whole are unsuitable for trawling. Enormous quantities of mid-water fish, however, abound everywhere; and there can be no doubt that modern methods of drift net fishing could be successfully introduced. The Marine Biological Survey is now engaged upon these problems, and there is no reason why an adequate supply of fresh fish and, with improved methods, a greatly increased quantity of dried fish, should not be produced from Ceylon littoral waters. From actual experiments made, the Marine Biologist has prepared a statement to show that commercial trawling could be carried on at a profit in Ceylon waters.

The Pearl Banks are situated in the Gulf of Mannar, between Mannar

Pearl
Fisheries.

and Puttalam. The oysters are most abundant on rocky" paars" in 5 to 9 fathoms. The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries are very ancient, and appear to be carried on under much the same conditions as they were 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. Pliny refers to Taprobane (Ceylon) as the most productive of pearls of all parts of the world," and in the" Mahavansa' mention is made of a present which included local pearls from King Vijaya of Ceylon to his Indian father-in-law about 550 B.C.

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Notable features of these fisheries are their uncertainty and their intermittent periods of unproductiveness, characteristics which have obtained from early times. The most noteworthy of these barren

14

34-20

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periods, omitting fisheries of negligible value, occurring during the British period have been

The most profitable series of fisheries on record was during 1903 to 1907, the value of the 1905 fishery alone being 3 millions of rupees, of which the Government share was two-thirds. There is an excellent prospect of a new series of fisheries in the immediate future, as large numbers of oysters have been found on the banks within the last year.

The window-pane oyster (Placuna placenta) is found in great abundance in the shallow backwater known as Lake TambleWindow-pane gam near Trincomalee. This oyster, which occurs in Oyster Fishery. large numbers, is found partially embedded in the soft mud. The oyster shells are used in some parts of the world as substitutes for window-panes, but in Ceylon the shell is not put to any use, the oyster being fished solely for its pearls. These pearls though abundant have no great value on account of their irregular shape and inferior lustre. They are used in cheap native jewellery, as well as in the preparation of certain medicines. Sometimes they are ground into chunam for the use of the wealthier people. The oyster beds are periodically leased by the Ceylon Government. The fishery of 1916-18 was the most profitable on record, but at present the beds are barren. The fishery is carried on from small canoes, and the diving is done by the villagers, chiefly Moormen, from Kinniyai. The Marine Biologist has made regular surveys of the oyster beds during the past twelve years, and a considerable amount of interesting statistical information has been compiled.

The tanks of the dry zone provide an abundance of good food fishes, which with care and organization could be converted Tank into a valuable source of food supply. Unfortunately Fisheries. up to the present the tank fisheries have been almost entirely ignored, except by the villagers in the immediate vicinity of the tanks. From the Anuradhapura District a small quantity of fish is sent on ice to Colombo by train.

Edible oysters are found all round the coast both in the open sea and

Edible
Oysters.

in the backwaters and river estuaries. Two or three different species are found in Ceylon, but the estuarine form is the most prized. There is a small but regular demand for oysters from Europeans, but the Ceylonese do not appear to appreciate them to any extent.

The bêche-de-mer or trepang is sometimes known as a sea slug or sea cucumber. It is found in shallow water around the Bêche-de-mer. coast, and certain species when dried are highly prized as a food by the Chinese. In the Jaffna District the better kinds of bêche-de-mer are found. Formerly the fishery was a considerable one, but its value has diminished in importance during

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the last few years. Given a certain amount of enterprise on the part of fishermen of the Jaffna peninsula, together with supervision by the Fisheries Department, there seems no reason why this industry should not become an important one.

Chank
Fishery.

Chank shells are used for the manufacture of cheap bangles. The Ceylon chank fishery is controlled by the Government Agent, Northern Province, and not, as in Madras, by the Fisheries Department. The fishing takes place off the Jaffna islands, and most of the divers come from India. Chanks are also found in the vicinity of the Pearl Banks, but fishing is prohibited there. About one and three-quarter millions of chanks are obtained annually from the Ceylon beds, and about half a million by the Madras Government from the Indian beds. But the Ceylon chanks are inferior to those found at Tuticorin, and whereas the former are only worth about Rs. 60 per 1,000, the latter fetch Rs. 160.

Hemp.

Sub-section 14.-Miscellaneous.

Some Agricultural Possibilities.

Several fibres grow readily in the Colony, and are exploited on a small scale for local requirements. Several species of Sansevera (bow-string hemp) grow commonly in many areas, and are utilized by the villagers. Mauritius hemp (Furcræa gigantea) was introduced into the Island in the early part of the nineteenth century, and is now to be seen in most districts in the form of hedges around small properties, in waste places, and along the railway line. It is only within the past few years that it has been exploited to any extent. The leaves of the wild plants are collected, the fibre beaten out by hand, and when dry it is made into twine or ropes, or is woven into thin mats or bags for domestic purposes. The villagers of the Dumbara Valley in the Central Province are the most interested in this manufacture of fibre articles, and their products are generally well made and of pleasing design. The plants of Mauritius hemp to be seen growing along the sides of the main line of the Railway are the remains of systematic planting. The proposal was to transport the leaves from these plants to a central factory, but the venture did not materialize, and the greater part of the plants have now been cut out. A small systematic plantation of Mauritius hemp may be seen at the Experiment Station at Anuradhapura, and within a year or two it is proposed to erect a small factory to manufacture the fibre. This fibre grows exceptionally well in all districts and offers ample opportunity for exploitation.

Sisal.

Sisal (Agave rigida var. sisalana) was first systematically grown on the Maha Iluppallama Experiment Station. Its growth was satisfactory, and upon the closing of this station a syndicate was formed and obtained a lease of Crown lands upon special terms for the cultivation of this fibre upon an