SEpmiBER 1, 1883.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



211 



and the pack!}- fields appeared extensive. When on a visit 1 

 to the Straits some years ago I naturally took some interest 

 in tobacco cultivation, and on passing through Butale, it 

 ooc-urred to me that the laud around was in many places 

 well suited for this industry. The native Sinhalese were, 

 as in most places I have passed through on this trip, 

 sickly-looking, while the Bloors always have at Butale, as 

 elsewhere, all the appeai'ance of health and vigour. As we 

 travelled from Moneragalla to "Wellaway, we frequently 

 met herds of tavalam cattle can-yiug stores and caddie-stutfs 

 to Blupany, from Koslande and Haldummulla ; evidently 

 preferring this more direct route to the recognized road via 

 Passera. ludiaucorn was plentiful and was offered us once 

 at KII23 per bushel, beautifully milled and clean looking. 



As we passed through the sandy beds of rivers, we 

 occa.sionally saw the tracks of a spotted deer or sambur, but 

 only once did we disturb some large wild animal upon the 

 side of the road, as we were passing through some forest 

 which went away with a crash, and, on our passing a stream 

 just beyond, we saw the fresh tracks of a sambur, which 

 must have been the animal started. It did not occur to us 

 that the country we passed through abounded with 

 game, but we thought it well suited for hunting with 

 hounds with guns in the likely passing places. Aboutfuid- 

 way between Butale and Moneragalla, I should think fine 

 sport might be obtained. The country thereabouts is ex- 

 ceedingly pretty ; full of open glades and small fore.st-clad 

 hills. Water, however, is scarce during the 8outh-"\Vsst 

 monsoon, but in February or March the weather and climate 

 should be thoroughly suitable for such sport. There are 

 roads, I am told, from both Ella and Passera to Butale; 

 so it would be easily accessible iu a day's journey. 



From Butale to AVellaway was about 12 miles, along an 

 almost straight road. At the last-named place we had a 

 look at the late Mr. Cruwell's Liberian nursery, and were 

 somewhat surprised to see how many of the trees were 

 still retaining their vigour in the scrub growing up around 

 them. 



In conclusion, I may only repeat what I have said be- 

 fore — that to my mind tlio.se interested in Moneragalla 

 have only to be careful and grow such economic plants as 

 pay them best, and unanimously determine upon and ob- 

 tain their outlet, and tbey are bound iu time to prosper 

 with a climate such as they have, with rarely a wet 

 morning, a good tavalam road to Yalcumbera, tavalam 

 transport cheap, rice from Batticoloa, aud the sea within 

 35 miles by roa<l. I hardly see why they should be in a 

 hurry for further cart-road extension for years to come. 

 Cocoa can be shipped without machinery to hidl and pre- 

 pare it ; .so in all probability, if this industry extends, 

 Batticaloa will be the outlet. W. F. L. 



the estates were in. MTien I knew them fh-st, and for 

 years after, they were in a mass of weeds; now they are as 

 clcttit as any young clearing, so clean that even the king of 

 clean weeding, P. M., would have a difficult task to find a 

 weed in seed to present to the superintendent, as he did 

 once to one I know with the remark " Give that to the 

 kangany Mootoo AUagan." At one time it was thought 

 you could not clean a weedy estate: if such is the idea now 

 I say go to Dumbai'a and see what has been done with 

 those places. I met one of the managers there, and he told 

 me he was weeding twice a mouth for STc. and another for 

 Rl . I could hardlj take it in untd 1 made fui'ther en- 

 quiries. After looking round I came to the conclusion 

 that those old hands down there can teach the younger 

 onesi in the new districts how to keep their estates in 

 good order for Uttle money ; I can see nothing but hard 

 pegging that could do it. I was told that the cocoa wUl not 

 do with much shade, and I saw fine old trees being cut 

 down, trees that have been landmarks since ever the estates 

 were opened. I only hope some of the superintendents arc 

 not taking down too many of the trees and letting iu the 

 wind but I was told cocoa could stand a good gust of wind 

 if other things are favourable aud other tilings are certainly 

 favourable in Dumbara for its growth. There is or was a 

 fine "cocoa walk" to the right of Poi-t of Spain in Tiinidad, 

 aud there was not a shade tree in it, but it was on the lee 

 side of the island. B. W. 



AN OLD PLANTER ON HIS TPvAVELS. 



I have been over a good part of the coffee, 

 tea, and cocoa districts. The former I need not say 

 much about, as I am not a man capable of domg justice 

 to the article that has sot its death-sentence pronounced, 

 but all unbelievers should read Mr. Bosanquet's paper, and 

 move a little about in the different districts with their 

 eyes open, and they will still see coffee giving good 

 crops and more that will do so when we get a good season. 

 If auyoue wants to see what coffee can do take a drive 

 out to Dumbara. Say take a trap and go out the new- 

 road and return by the"Gonawattie fen-y. "Tea is the tbiug 

 that is to do wonders for Ceylon' ' : well and good : it will 

 do where coffee won't, and I say go in for it, for there is 

 no doubt but it will pay well in some districts : take 

 Ambagamuwaand Maskeliya, they appear to be the home of 

 the plant, and it will I hope recoup the proprietors in these 

 districts for the loss they have been having for the last 

 few years. I only say this : don't be again putting all 

 youi' eggs in one basket, don't neglect good coft'ee as I see 

 many doing and putting in tea. 



Cocoa is far and away the product that takes my 

 fancy: my friend and I went out to Dumliara to see it in 

 its glory. No man that has not seen EajaweUe knows 

 what Ceylon is : both of us were amazed to see the cocoa 

 growing on patches that we had last seen as bare as the 

 Government road. Pallakelly no doubt carries off the 

 prize, but I believe the cocoa i.s older there than on the 

 other pliices. What stiuik jne was the perfect order all 



TEA SALES. 

 A vei-y excellent innovation has recently been made by 

 some of the leading brokers, who have been offering tea 

 at pubhc sale in larger parcels, instead of making a 

 separate offer for each lot of nine half-chests in a parcel. 

 The latter was no doubt an appropriate way of selling 

 tea when it was worth as many shillings a pound as it is 

 now worth pence, but with the present gi'eat consump- 

 tion it involves a wearisome loss of time to no good 

 purpose. The objection is made that to offer tea in very 

 large lots would diminish competition, and this is true, 

 but the offers might readily be made in lots of j say, 25 or 

 SO packages. At the present time, when trade is so dull, 

 the purchases of the majority of dealers are materially 

 reduced, and perhaps too large iiarcels have in some cases 

 been offered ; but there is surely a mean between offering 

 nine packages at one time, and putting up 200 packages 

 in one lot. Now that the great improvement of offering 

 larger lots has once been made— though, with the zeal of 

 reformers, the change made may have been too violent at 

 fij-st— it appears very unlikely that the old practice of 

 offering six to nine packages of Oongou separately will 

 be revived, for at the present day there is absolutely no 

 reason for the loss of time occasioned by such retal offers. 

 It is understood that this reform is due to the accept- 

 ance of a suggestion, made by one of the dealers, by the 

 enterprising fii-m of importers who have of late years done 

 so much to opeu up the tea trade. It is much to be 

 wished that they woidd go a little further, and iu addition 

 to offering Congous at sale in lai-ge lots that they would 

 invoice them in the snme way, abandoning at a blow the 

 whole antiquated, costly, and useless warrant aud weight- 

 note system, which causes all the delays in invoicing and 

 delivery, for which the tea trade is so notorious. Sup- 

 posing 200 half-chests at Is to be sold, instead of niakiug 

 over twenty separate invoices on the weight-notes, each of 

 which involve six or seven separate calculations or 120 to 

 140 iu all, the broker would invoice, say, 12,000 pounds at 

 Is., or £1.00, aud then add the lot money, and deduct the 

 deposit on the parcel iu a lump sum. The invoice would 

 be accompanied by the dock landing account, from which 

 the dealer would procure the separate weights, and check 

 the parcel. "Whendehvery was required, the dealer would 

 apply for the number of chests he wanted, and hand a 

 cheque of so much a chest, less deposit, in exchange for 

 which, as in all other branches of the Grocery trade, he 

 would get a dehvery order up to thevalueof his cheque. 

 On the supposition that the present deposit system is to 

 reniaiu unchanged, with its alleged advantage to the iarger 

 dealers, and its disadvantage to the importers iu limiting 

 the trade, some change would have to be made iu the details. 

 At present the form of the weight-nole gives the dealer 

 a probably not quite adequate security, but people accept 

 it, as losses have hitherto rarely, if at all, occurred through 



