grow fat upon anything, but the generality will not improve to
any great degree. This accounts for the scarcity of fine meat
throughout Ceylon. Were the soil only tolerably good, so that oats,
vetches, turnips and mangel wurtzel could be grown on virgin land
without manure, beasts might be stall-fed, the manure doubled by that
method, and a profit made on the animals. Pigs are now kept
extensively on coffee estates for the sake of their manure, and being
fed on Mauritius grass (a coarse description of gigantic "couch") and a
liberal allowance of cocoa-nut oil cake ("poonac"), are found to
succeed, although the manure is somewhat costly.

English or Australian sheep have hitherto been untried--for what reason
I cannot imagine, unless from the expense of their prime cost, which is
about two pounds per head. These thrive to such perfection at Newera
Ellia, and also in Kandy, that they should succeed in a high degree in
the medium altitudes of the coffee estates. There are immense tracts
of country peculiarly adapted for sheep-farming throughout the
highlands of Ceylon, especially in the neighborhood of the coffee
estates. There are two enemies, however, against which they would have
to contend--viz., "leopards" and "leeches." The former are so
destructive that the shepherd could never lose sight of his flock
without great risk; but the latter, although troublesome, are not to be
so much dreaded as people suppose. They are very small, and the
quantity of blood drawn by their bite is so trifling that no injury
could possibly follow, unless from the flies, which would be apt to
attack the sheep on the smell of blood. These are drawbacks which
might be easily avoided by common precaution, and I feel thoroughly
convinced that sheep-farming upon the highland pasturage would be a
valuable adjunct to a coffee estate, both as productive of manure and
profit. I have heard the same opinion expressed by an experienced
Australian sheep-farmer.

This might be experimented upon in the "down" country of Ouva with
great hopes of success, and by a commencement upon a small scale the
risk would be trifling. Here there is an immense tract of country with
a peculiar short grass in every way adapted for sheep-pasturage, and
with the additional advantage of being nearly free from leopards.
Should sheep succeed on an extensive scale the advantage to the farmer
and to the colony would be mutual.

The depredations of leopards among cat