278 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 1883 



(i per cent, whilst the average price o£ 15 million lbs. tea as 

 given by Messrs. Thompson *^ Co. is Is Ijd. I will not 

 multiply instances, those I have fixed upon including some 

 of the most flourishing concerns, and what the ettect of 

 a considerable fall of i)rice in their dividends would be 

 is evident. " Low prices" is even now the burden of most 

 reports. I have here the reports and statistics from which 

 these figures are taken, and shall be happy to shew them 

 to any one who cares to examine them. 



Finally I must add my testimony to that of others, and state 

 that I consider these districts judging from my Ceylon and 

 Indian experience, to be well adapted to the cultivation. 



The lay of land is perfect for a hill district. The soil 

 is in spots poor and not likely to gTow good tea, but the 

 large bulk of what I have seen has depth and is eminently 

 suitable, whilst the lower portions of the district, judging 

 from what I am to'd of ♦'.heir general character, coulil 

 scarcely be better. That there can be no fear as regards 

 elevation Mr. Armstrong's figures have conclusively shown, 

 and the elevation of much of the Darjiling tea adds 

 weight to the testimony. The white clay which is found 

 in the- flats in some localities should not, in my opinion, 

 be planted ; the free soil of the hill-sicles being much 

 more suitable. 



I should like to say more on this subject and many others 

 in connection with tea, but time will not permit and I must 

 pass on to other matters. 



Cajjdamoms. 



I will now make a few remarks on the subject of Carda- 

 mom Cultivation. This product, when planted in proper 

 situations, is about the most profitable that we have in 

 Ceylon at present; in unsiritable sites however it is usually 

 an uumitigated failvue. Shelter is essential to it, and it 

 grows best in hollows, protected from the monsoon winds, 

 and where there is generally an accumulation of rich soil. 

 It does not bear well in poor gravelly soil, but prefers a 

 rich loam. An important point regarding it is the cpiestion 

 of shade. This should not be too thick, so as to exclude 

 light and ah, but should be partial only, and in such places 

 cardamoms thrive best. A^hether or no any extent of it 

 can be planted in the open is as yet an undecided question 

 ^\ith many. My personal experience is against it, as I 

 have found that the growth of the plant is slow and the 

 r.icemes very short when much exposed. In some eases 

 individual plants in the open are found bearing fairly 

 well ; in other cases they do not bear at all in such .situ- 

 ations, but it would seem as if a partial exposm'e only to 

 the sun is not much against them. As to their cultivation 

 amongst the coifee, there can be little doubt that it would 

 be a success where the latter is thick, affording effectual 

 shelter to the young plants ; but in such situations the 

 coffee as a rule repays cultivation, and does not require 

 to be superseded by anything else. In a few words, plant 

 cardamoms under forest-shade on any suitable land, but 

 regartl its cultivation in the open anei amongst coffee as 

 an experiment only. There need be no fear as to its 

 bearing powers at this elevation, as I have cardamoms bear- 

 ing freely above the elevation at which coffee ceases to 

 crop. I would also mention that in the low-country, at a 

 few hundred feet only, they are bearing well. In a recent 

 letter to the Ohserver, on the subject of cardamoms, pub- 

 lished duriug my absence from the island, and couched 

 in somewhat vague and incoherent phraseology, the writer 

 states that the \-il!agers have not the best \ariety of 

 cardamoms, and that the somewhat obscure but very valu- 

 able so-calleel "Mysore" species should be rooted out. I 

 merely allude to the matter to re-assure those who may 

 have been misled by this rash statement, for, in the 

 Kotmale, Peradeniya and Kaudy villages, Malabar carda- 

 moms are freely cultivated, and those who know how to 

 distinguish- them run no risk in purchasing buibs from 

 these sources, whilst in high elevations the Jlysore bears 

 much more freely tli.ui the Malabar species. In good soil, 

 cardamoms should not be planted too close, 7 M 7 in most 

 cases, and 8 x 8 when the soil is exceptionally rich will be 

 found right. Holes IS in. wide and li; in. eleep should be 

 cut, and the plant put in shallow, the earth not above the 

 collar. This latter point is very important as deep plant- 

 ing is fatal. In purchasing bulbs, the closest supervi.siou 

 should be exercised, and all that are cut about and in- 

 jured (and the Sinhalese are very careless in this matter) 

 jhould be unhesitatingly rejected, double biilbs also should I 



always he insisted on, and two single ones instead, such 

 as the contractor will sometimes offer, be refused. The 

 plants will begin to throw out racemes in 18 months at 

 low elevations, but in these districts it will probably be 

 2i- or 3 years before they begin to do so. 



The cultivation of cardamoms is a very simple and cheap 

 matter, the stools must be kept clean and free from debris 

 of all kinds, especially when the plant begins to throw 

 out racemes. Weeding af'er the groimd is covered will 

 be found imuecessary , for nothing grows under their shade ; 

 it, is however, elesirable to send a few coolies occasionally to 

 clear up open spots and corners which sometimes get.dirty. 



In order to niak- the most of the cro^j to get the 

 highest value possible for the yield of the small acre- 

 ages we generally possess, the somewhat expensive method 

 of cutting 00 the capsules with .scissors must be under- 

 taken, and they must be picked when first turning 

 colour, before they are fully ripe. Eipe fruit in- 

 variably .splits, as also a very large proportion of what 

 is taken off without its stalk. The difference of value 

 between split cardamoms and those which are alone 

 fit for the home market is very great, as much as EI for 

 the former and 9s for the latter in some cases. As re- 

 gards yield, I have got crops varying from 120 to 300 lb. 

 per acre. The cost of putting cardamoms in Colombo is 

 40 cents per lb., the average price from 5s to (is, a calcula- 

 tion of I:;2 per lb. nett, is therefore, vei-y safe. The profit 

 which these figures leave is an ample one, and is shewn in 

 the appeueled estimate _ drawn from actual rcsufts. — [Mr. 

 Owen here introduced and explained the estimate appended 

 to Iris Manual. — Ec] 



Cinchona 



I will now say a few words oq Cinchona, though I feel 

 that after ilr. Christie's receut admirable littie es.say there 

 is not very much to be said. The advance in practical 

 experience regnrding this product has been very great, 

 antl in many eases I fear very bitter, during the last year 

 or two. AVe have learned where cinchona will /tot grow, 

 and that is an important point gained. I must, however, 

 differ from Sir. Christie in one point. I do tliink there 

 has been a very serious eleterioration in the vitality of the 

 stock, and I may state that Mr. Gammie, from his long 

 experience of cinchona cultivation at Darjiling, is of the 

 same opinion. On theKungbee plantation which includes 

 periodical plantings since the original old trees were put 

 out, there is a most marked falling off in the vigour of 

 the trees in successive years. In this case, close-planting 

 is certainly not the cause, nor is clean weeding, the trees 

 growing very wide apart in a wilderness of jungle. 

 Climatic influences are not a satisfactory explanation, the 

 period during which cultivation has been carrieei on being 

 so extensive. From my experience in Ceylon, I feel con- 

 vinced that the trees we ai'e now cultivating from seed 

 grown in the island have not the same vigour as the 

 original parents first planted, and that the second gener- 

 ation is even more enfeebled. It also seems to me that as 

 a rule, the parent trees do not now produce progeny with 

 the same vitality as in years jjast. The remedy for this 

 would appear to be fresh blood. EegarcUng the hybrids, a 

 class of plant originating locally, the case seems different, 

 and it would almost appear as if nature were pointing the 

 means by which the gradual extinction of the local cinchonas 

 is to be avoided. This subject and many kindred ones con- 

 nected with the cultivation of cinchona and the harvest- 

 ing of its bark, ai'e of great interest, and I should Uke to 

 enlarge upoii them, but time is short, and I must bring this 

 paper to a close. 



Speaking generally, it would appear th.at the most pro- 

 fitable way of cultivating our land in the future is to 

 keep up the very best portions only of our estates in 

 Coffee, and to cultivate these highly, spending what 

 we can afford upon them. The bulk of the coffee 

 might then with advantage he lined and plauteel with tea,' 

 suitable portions of the laud being kept in cinchona. To 

 cardamoms, any available forest of the right character 

 might be elcvoted. On many estates there is unfortunately 

 no forest, and the fact must be faceel that for tea culti- 

 vation considerable forest reserves are dcsu'able. AYhen 

 no wood is obtainable, the use of coke, or fuel brought up 

 byradway will be necessai'v, and this difficulty and the 

 necessary expense must be faceel from the first, and should 

 on no account bo ignored or forgotten. It may be of in 



