November i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



309 



STiGE I. (FiTtST Teak.) 



English. — Aa in standard \1II of Gorernment Englisli schools. 



Mathematics. — Arithmetic to the end of decimals and Book- 

 keeping. Algebra to the end of simple filiations Euclid I to III. 



Theoretical Agriculture. — Text:books, lectures, &c. 



Botany. — Histology Physiology and Cla.ssiiication, 



Chemist!/. — Chemical Physics and Inorgauic chemisty. 

 Stage II. (Secosd Year.) 



English. — As for Cambridge Local (Junior). 



Mathematics.— All the rules of Arithmetic. Book-keeping. Al- 

 gebra Euclid books I-VI. 



Agriculture. — Text books and lectures, and practical teaching, 

 experiments in drainage, manures, ploughing, &c. on the practis- 

 ing farm. ■ 



Sotany. — Agricultural and Economic. 



Cliemistrg. — luorgamic and organic. 



Stage HI. (Thihd Y£AB.) 



English. — As for Cambridge Local (Senior.) 



Maihejnatics. ...Algt^bra, Euclid, Mechanics and Trigonometry. 



Agriculturet — Practical teachiDg on the practising farm, cultiv- 

 ation of a plot of ground by ea^n student as provided in clause 

 11. — Lectures. 



Botany, — Arboricultnral and Horticultural. 



C'hernistrg.—OTg&mc. 



11. In the 3rd stage, a particular plot of ground on the prac- 

 tising farm will be assigned to each student, tho tillage, man- 

 uring &c. of which will be conducted entirely under the stud- 

 ents supervision and directions. No student will be oL^liged to 

 work himself, unless he wishes to do so, but he will be allowed 

 to supervise and direct a goyija working under his orders. Prizes 

 will be given to those students who best conduct the working of 

 their plots, 



12. In addition to the above prizes, there will also be awarded 

 prizes after the examinations at the end of each Term to the 

 student who obtains the highest marks in each of the subjects 

 taught in the school, namely. (\) English; C2) Mathematics, (3) 

 Agriculture, (\) Botany, (5^ Chemistry. 



But no prize will be given for English, Mathematics, Botany, 

 or Chemistry, unless the student obtaining the highest marks in 

 these subjects shall have abo obtained not less than 2-5 per cent 

 of marks in Agriculture. 



H. W. Gbeen, D. p. I. 



Office of the Director P. I., Colombo, 6th August, lbS3. 



COFFEE AND CHICORY; AND TEA. 



In the twcuty-.sixth report of the Commissioners of In- 

 land Revenue for the year ended Slarch 31st, l'^83, it is 

 stated that the quantity of chicory brought to charge 

 contimies to dini'mish, and it has been still fiu'ther 

 affected by the Act 45 and 46 Vict., cap. 41, passed 

 in August of last year, which repealed the duty formerly 

 chargeable on any other vegetable substances prepared 

 under the general name of chicory, but which are now 

 taxed by means of a label required to be affixed to 

 every package containing any ingredient other than coffee 

 or chicory, and mixed with or used as a substitutes for 

 coffee. The duty is one half-penny for every quarter of 

 a pound. In the year ended March 31st, 1882, the quan- 

 tity of chicory charged with duty was 2,869 cwt., and in 

 the year ended Jlarch 3id, 1883, the amount was 2,803 

 cwt. showing decrease of 66 cwt. With regard to coffee- 

 mixture labels, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue 

 publish a table giving the number of coft'ee-labels issued 

 up to March 31st, 1883, and the amount of revenue re- 

 ceived. The number of half-penny labels w,as— in Eng- 

 land, 1,122,613; Scotland, 32,.343; 'Ireland, 285,340— total, 

 1,440,305. Penny labels— England, 749,7n2 ; Scotland. 

 13,895; Ireland, 38,837— total, 802,434. The net amount 

 of revenue received from this source for tho United King- 

 dom was during the ye.ar referred to 6,344/. 2s 2ld. 



Turning from coffee to tea, it is to be uote'd that 

 a complaint from an Asanm tea-planter appears 

 in The Times of today. He writes arguing greater 

 facilities for transport between the tea producing dis- 

 tricts aud Calcutta, and states th.-it at present the 

 cost of transport on agricultur.il implements between 

 the two places is five times as great as the freight 

 to be paid on them from England to Calcutta. Your 

 tea planters are certainly blest in the absence of 

 such enormous disabilities, and, if only Sir Arthur 

 Gordon can Bee his way to extending with a 

 liberal hand the means of r.ipid and cheap transit 

 to and from the many districts in Ceylon available for 

 the growth of tea, yon will have little to fear from 

 any amount of competition by the tea planters of 

 Assam. — London Cor. Ser>t, 7ih. 

 40 



TEA AN1> THE PLANTERS OF CEYLON. 



{Glasgow JleraM, Sept. 6th.) 



The planters of Ceylon have for the last few years 

 been in a depressed state owing to the failure of tho 

 ccfifee tree to yield crop through the weakening effects 

 of leaf-disease (Be.melia Vastatrix). A silver lining 

 has, however, appeared in the cloud which has been 

 hanging over the island. Ceylon tea is exceeding their 

 utmost expectations, and it has been satisfactorily 

 proved that Ceylon can grow this product equal in 

 quality to India, and at a greater profit to the planter. 

 Five-year-old gardens are yielding as much as bOO lb. 

 per acre of dry tea, fetching good prices on the 

 London market. It is stated that owing to this large 

 yield, a cheaper labour force, and better communica- 

 tion with the seaports than what the Indian districts 

 have, the teas can be placed here at a considerably 

 less figure than by other tea-producing countries. As 

 a consequence, coffee land is being replanted with teis 

 and large acreages of new land are being opened up 

 in all parts of the island. It is estimated that at the 

 end of this year there will be about 20,000 acres 

 under tea, and the next few j'ears will see this area 

 enormously increased. 



Mr. William Cochran, of Dunblane, Perthshire, 

 writes : — Any ex-Ceylon planter or other individual 

 interested in the fortunes of that fair island, refer- 

 ring to your "Commercial Notes" of Monday, must 

 feel gratified to learn that the pecuniary gloom is 

 now being dispersed through the success which is 

 attending the planting and preparation of tea there. 

 For so youthful a tea-farmer a return of S05tb 

 of the finished article per acre from one area of 45 

 acres is most encoumgiug, and will undoubtedly lead 

 to future planting upon a large scale. In connection 

 with this pleasing result I wish you to place on record 

 the circumstance that in the month of April 1867, 

 a friend of mine, who had studied tea prepara'ion 

 elsewhere, and observed tliat Cej'lon was well suited 

 for the industry, interviewed some of the chief 

 l)eople in London connected with coffee planting 

 or interested in that island, and urged the desir- 

 ability of adding tea to its other products, as 

 crffee farming was even then in an unsatisfac- 

 tory condition. He explained how the industry 

 was managed in China andlndia, and offered his services to 

 start a tea garden as a model, or a number, in their midst. 

 To everything he said respectful attention was paid, 

 but not one of the gentlemm addressed would consent 

 to make a beginning, and all had numerous objections 

 to offer. He was told, for example, that the Ceylon 

 planters knew nothing about lea farming; that their 

 estates were already fully occupied with coffee ; that 

 labour was too expensive to admit of the fragrant leaf 

 being grown and manipulated to advantage; that, in 

 short, the game was hardly worth the candle, with other 

 equally erudite remarks, politely enough cxpreesed, to 

 get rid as soon as possible of the innovator. His argu- 

 ments thus fell upon sceptical ears, and nothing followed 

 for several years, nntil the pinch of the various coffee- 

 plagues c mc, when they were recalled to memory, and 

 tea planting began to spread. It is. therefore, eo far satis- 

 factory that the advocate of industry who, 16" years 

 ago, could point to hardly a single disciple lives to 

 see bis suggtstions extensively carried out in Cevion, 

 and that he rejoices to believe that this enterprise 

 may speedily be the nieaus of saving its surviving 

 planters from utter ruin. This anecdote seems to 

 be not without some applica: i .u to the proposal 'lO 

 conduct tea and silk farming on a large area iti the 

 north of New Zealand, which has been before the 

 public for the last four years. At first the suggestion 

 was received by many with smiling incredulity. A 

 spscies of mild and harmless oijposition toUowed, suc- 

 ceeded by much grave wagging of official Colonial heads ; 



