144 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1883. 



seen on the lower fields only; let your correspondent 

 take a walk as I have done through the upper parts 

 of the estate, and I think he will see substantial rea- 

 son for amending his previous report). 



Only let us have the old style of suushine in the 

 early months of the coming year, and I venture to 

 predict tliat coffee will once more mount Lis throne, 

 his old povereigaty indeed, but minified by hi? foes 

 and the follies of soi-distant allien, (much in the 

 proportion that the united Italy of today stands to 

 the splendid Roman empire of the auti-Chiistian 

 era) but his dominion will only endure so long as 

 his parliament of pJanters is a Uber;d-conservative 

 one and strong to act up to the spirit of thtir 

 Eciintilic conviction?. Let it not be supposed that 

 experience has yet taught ns everything: much, too 

 much remains to learn. .So much for tiie old staple. 



Cinchona appears to be teaching us its own lesson in 

 its own way ; no comment is necessary on the sickly 

 tree that has supervenid since the ps^-udo gentde, 

 grasping blade of the sliaver was introduced. Tins 

 evil and a glutted market, bid fair to e.xpel Ceylon 

 bark from the p\ilpits of tho Lane in a very few 

 years. 



It is a real pleasure to turn from these to lea, to 

 note the steady d.'mand that has arisen and is arising 

 for all but reckless, haphazard manufactures, the 

 pretty prices that all carefully-prepared parcels bring, 

 and above all the earnest way in which this enterprize 

 is at last being taken up. 



For my part I regard the liuds available for the 

 prolitable cultivation of tea in Ceylon to be e<iual to 

 any demand, even withou' the many thousand acres 

 of lowlying lands that could be utilized thenfor with 

 irrigation's artfnl aid in times of drought. 



That too fondly nurtured and codiUed iufant, the 

 fear of fever in corners yclept forbiddingly "white 

 men's graves," will, fed on the pap nf commonsense, 

 be transformed into the healthy embodiment of thrift, 

 exemplified in the lives of steady, prudent pUnturs, 

 o»ning no such laws as those that call that man 

 capable who treads upon his cojlies' heels, uriding 

 hinisoif, as if th.T,t were much, on knowing each indi- 

 vidual's name? (not to mention the problematic pe.li- 

 gree of his or her oufius and aunts), appearing in 

 the field, wet or fine, at periods regular as the pro- 

 verbial cl"ckworli ; whose manngement consists in tliis 

 and methndicalirnis as iu.ane and as iutellectnal as his 

 own kangaui's existence I This is not the man to 

 succeed ; method is much, grant you, but it is not all. 

 The mind must come into play, and experience Ih.at 

 will certainly 710I be gained by too honMtly remaining 

 on the tottani from year's end to year's end. 



Well-tried systems will be introduced from f irther 

 eastern lands, which will in process of time yield the 

 Palm to Lanka's improvements thereon. 



Most important is it in lea growing, a? in other 

 agricultural matter^", that the stock should hi sjund 

 and the rearing thereof .13 careful as the training of a 

 Derby favorite. 



The silver streak bro.adens from the vast bank of 

 cloud, broadens d.iily. On many, who appeared totally 

 iucapable of perception, its light has now beamed, and 

 this light will grow brighter and briglrer. 



Too long has the good barque " Ceylon Investments" 

 been terapest-tost. and well-nigh sinking 'neath the 

 waves of doubt and distrust. *rhe storm is almost 

 woru out ; we are making way now and before long the 

 watch will be able to make out the light that marks 

 the haven of prosperity, the hav.in whore she would be. 



She c,^rrics her complem»iit of passengers ; through 

 your columns their friends and relations will learn the 

 glad tidings of her safety. A protracteJ absence from 

 any loved object is surely worth the endurauja, when 

 we regard how the joy of meeting g.athers strength in 

 proportiou to the duratiou of such separation. 



"Love all its joys of today assuredly borrows 

 From yesterday's cares ; as all of tomorrow's 

 Cares lose their sting from yesterday's sorrows." 

 —Faithfully yours, 



P. T. L. 



HARVESriNG CINCHON.A. BARK. ' 



Jnly 23rd, 1SS3. 



Deak Sip., — Sufficient experience should now have 

 been gained in the harvesting of cinchona bark, to 

 enable some decision to be arrived at as to the best 

 and most profitable method to adopt. 



For my own part I am of the opinion that 

 coppicing will soon became more general than at pre- 

 sent and to a great extent take the place of shaving. 



In carrying out the latter method I have found : — 



1st. That trees bejonda certain .age, say eight years 

 and upwards, renew very slowlj' and in many in- 

 stances hirdly at all. 



2nd. That young trees of whatever age will not 

 stand repeated shavings at short intervals without 

 injury to their growth and health, especially the 

 former. 



If you attempt to shave ofteuer than once in 12 

 months the quantity of renewed bark obtained does 

 not much exceed J of the previous weight. 



3nl. That shoots from the stools of coppiced trees 

 renew their bark more readily after shaving than 

 original trees of the same age and size, and do not 

 appear to feel the operation so much. This may be 

 accounted for by their greater root-power. 



4th. That otiicinalis and calisayas are better adapted 

 than succirubras and hybrids for the shaving process, 

 as the bark appears to renew faster. 



3th. Th.at if the present favorite method of har- 

 vesting (shaving) be persisted in, it must be accom- 

 panied by liberal manuring to maintain the vitality 

 of the trees. 



I submit with some diffidence these points to jour 

 readers, but in the hope that others of jour numer- 

 ous correspondents will throw more light on the 

 subject by detailing their o.vn experience. — Yours 

 truly. A. VV. 



New Products. — Messrs. Lse Hedges & Co. have 

 introduced the seeds of further new products, the 

 Tonca bean (dipterijx ndorala), copai/era sp. and 

 Dragon's Bl?od, which .are cultivated profitably in South 

 America and whieh ought to succeed in Ceylon. We 

 have been favored with a few of the scetis of each 

 and they appear to be fresh and in good 

 condition. We trust the introduction of all 



three will prove a success. There is nothing like 

 multiplying the strings to the bow of the future. 



Te.*. — The following appears in the letter of the com- 

 mercial correspondent of the Times of India; — The Indian 

 tea planters are to be told it appears, that the customs 

 are not to blame for the bulking of the tea which iu- 

 flicts so serious a burden on the trade. The reason 

 for the process is that the weight and tare of the 

 packages for India are so very irre^'ular that no aver- 

 age cm b;j struck. The remedy for this — so the 

 customs authorities will suggest — is for the Indian 

 planters to lake auoiher leaf out of the Chinese 

 book. " The Chinese," says a writer of authority, 

 "carry on their tea business on true commercial 

 principles, while the Indian planters are still in the 

 wastsful stages of a half developed industry and have 

 not yet learned the full adv.ant.ige of the division of 

 labour. Thj planter is or tries to be, merch,ant, car- 

 penter, and engineer as well, and one meets with 

 persons holding shares in Via, estates who har- 

 bour the delusion tiiat they can not only send their 

 tea to Calcutta for sale, but ship it to London and, 

 passing over the maohmer.r of Jlincing Lane, follow 

 their pounds of tea into the consumers pot." 



