They had a pleasant stroll through the gardens, which cover an area of about one hundred and forty acres, and are beautifully laid out from one end to the other. A little river flows through the centre of the gardens, and in several places it has been widened into pools filled with aquatic plants. Altogether, the excursion of the morning was crowded with interest and instruction, and the boys returned to Kandy full of delight with what they had seen and heard.
RESIDENCE OF A COFFEE-PLANTER.
After breakfast the party remained in-doors for several hours, partly on account of the mid-day heat, and partly in consequence of a shower of rain that came without warning. In the afternoon they went to see a coffee plantation belonging to the brother of their entertainer, and to learn something of the coffee culture of Ceylon. Here is the result of their observations:
"Kandy is the centre of the coffee culture of Ceylon; coffee grows at an elevation of 1800 feet and more, and the centre of the island has been found well adapted to it. There are now about 1200 plantations—they call them estates here—of an average extent of 250 acres each. Coffee land is very dear: a good plantation, with the trees bearing, everything in proper condition, and well situated, is worth $500 an acre. Wild and uncleared land is worth $65 an acre, and the man who takes it must be at the expense of clearing and planting, and can expect no returns under six years. Much money has been made in the business, just as it has been made in America by raising sugar and cotton; and, on the other hand, much money has been lost. There are many men in Ceylon who are poorer to-day than they were ten years ago, in consequence of their losses in the coffee business, and if any young man in America has an ambition to come here to make a fortune by cultivating coffee, he had better stay at home.
VIEW ON A COFFEE ESTATE.
"Most of the coffee-planters are young Englishmen, with money or moneyed friends, who come or are sent to Ceylon to make their fortunes. The balance are generally the representatives of wealthy firms or individuals in Colombo, and owe their positions to personal influence or the advancement of a few thousands by way of security. An insight into the business may be obtained by glancing at the advertising columns of the Ceylon Observer, a newspaper published at Colombo. One firm advertises that it will make advances on crops not yet gathered, and another offers to make contracts for consignments. A man with money to lend desires a situation as manager of a coffee estate, and another who can control consignments wishes a similar place. We are told that nearly every house in Colombo is interested, one way and another, in the coffee estates, generally through advances made on the growing crops.