3'8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[November i, 1883. 



on attain iDg that age the percentage of quinine in 

 the bark begins to diminish.* 



I muBt not forget, dear Mr. Editor, to mention that 

 the bales sent in ISSl and 1883 bore di£ferent marks, 

 so that it was impossible for the above-named 

 gentlemea to know that the bark deiived its origin 

 from the same enterprise. But more than this : not- 

 withstanding that suooirubra bark con'ains consider- 

 ably mfre alkaloids than the bark which I shipped 

 yet, mirahile dictu, the latter fetched the same price, 

 and in some cases hii^her prices. 



When it is considered that the succirubra bark, 

 is par rxcellcHCf. the pharmaceutical bark, we must 

 come to the conclusion that the purchasers have set 

 at naught the amdyscs of Messrs. d'Ailly cSc Sons, and 

 that they have considered the bark I shipped suitable 

 for the preparation of quinine. 



Assume the price of sulphate of quinine to be 150 

 guldens per kilogram, then according to the analyses 

 made in Java (compare s. v. p. with that of Messrs. 

 d'Ailly & Sons) the purchasers have paid about 1 

 gulden per kilogram and for every 1 per cent of sul- 

 phate of quinine, whilbt, acccordmg to Messrs. d'Ailly 

 & Sou, 4 -50 per kilogram and for every 1 per cent 

 of sulphate of quinine should have been paid, seeing 

 that the bark fetched TOO guldens per kilogram. 



If the analyses made in Amsterdam were correct, 

 the purchasers stood to lose 300 guldens per kilogram 

 of sulphate of quinine. 



I thiuk that by the above I have fully established 

 the great need that the cinchona planters have for a 

 trust-worthy chemist, such as Bernelot Moens, to attend 

 to their interests in the mother-country. 



The editors of other Indian newspapers are most 

 eaiueslly requested to take the matter up. 



I thank you beforehand for the place which I feel 

 sure you will give this representation iu your ex- 

 tensively circulated sheet, and I remain with the greatest 

 re-pect. — Yours most willing servant, W. 



[Translated from the Bataviuasch Hantldshlad, 8th 

 September 1883.] 



' TEA IN CEYLON. 



Deak Sir, — The thanks of all interested in Ceylon 

 are due to Messrs. Armstrong and Owen for their 

 valuable papers on tea cultivation, which as far as can 

 be seen at present is to be the chief agent of our 

 return to prosperity. 



Mr. Owen's remarks on the late Mr. Cameron's sys- 

 tem of pruning and plucking seem to be backed up by 

 weiglity" reasons ; though it seems probable that 

 such a system in a latitude where the tree is forced 

 to take a season of rest at the end of such a vigorous 

 course of plucking, without producing any of the 

 breathing leaf it required, might be attended with 

 more disastrous results than in Ceylon. 



Docs it DOtsuggeetitself toyou after reading Mr. Owen's 

 paper, that the fact of ovtr cropping bein g possible, 

 tends to equalize the value of tea in the hills with the low- 

 country as regards yield. In tiie lowccuntry the climate 

 is capable of forcing out an amount of leaf which 

 neither the trees nor soil seem able to stand per- 

 manently, wheieas at higher elevations, a more vigorous 

 st\le of treatment might with safety be adopted, 

 the vigour of trees and quality of soil warranting 

 witlo It fear of exhaustion, even a heavier yield than 

 in the lowcountry. 



it Ceylon has the decided advantage over India 

 represented by Mis-srs. Armi'troua :<nd Owen, ihere 

 can be little doubt but th;it we shall erelong see ca- 

 pital diverted thither which would have been in- 

 vested in opening new gardens in India and that we 

 shall ere long fee many here with the object of in- 

 Testment. 



* '\\Tiat will the well-known quinologists Beinelot Moens, 

 Howard, he, say to this discovery of Messrs. d'Ally & Son. 



In view of this, would it not be lending a helping- 

 hand to coffee estate proprietors by increasing the 

 value of all existing properties if Government re- 

 fused to sell any fresh land foi- the present? I 

 do not think you could have had this view in mind 

 when you deprecated the withdrawal by Government 

 of the lots latelv advertized for sale ; but as there seems 

 little doubt that existing coffee estates are as well 

 suited for tea' cultivation as new land, it is an import- 

 ant one not only to estate proprietors and to the 

 credit of the colony iu preventing abrtudonment of cul- 

 tivation of eoffee eft 'tea, but also to the Government 

 railway— Ytmrs truly, MERCATOR. 



In calculating cost, it must not be forgotten that 

 we cannot rely npon present excl-aoge; and the (5d 

 per lb. cost of proHuction may again become Tid. 



ME. OWEN ON THE PRUNING AND PLUCKING 

 OF TEA. 



Oonoonagalla, Madulkelle, Sept. 29th 1883. 



Dear Sir, — If your correspondent " J. W." will 

 kindly read " Darjeeling Tea <'ompauy"for "Land 

 Mortgage Bank," an error which crept into my MS., 

 he will find my Gguree about correct (vide Indian Tea 

 Gazi'ttt of Juue 16th, 1883, page 276). The former 

 Company is a very flourishing concern, the latter is 

 not so, and in all comparisons I have alone selected 

 Indian plantations of the former description. 



I am sorry that he and you should agree thatmy 

 remarks on the late Mr. Cameron's pruning and 

 plucking are too sweeping. It must first be remem- 

 bered that Mr. Armstrong in Dikoj'a was addressing 

 an upcountry district and alluding solely to hill tea, 

 and that I premised my remarks by stating that I 

 alluled to tea as it was fitted for replacing coffee in 

 the coffee zone. The systems of pruning which are 

 advisable on the hills and in the lowcountry are by 

 no means identical. The vigorous and rapid growth 

 in the latter case necessitates a much severer mode 

 treatment than in the former. I had intended going 

 fully into this subject in the course of letters on In- 

 dian tea, but you- correspondent's remarks force me 

 to say a few words in defence in anticipation. Those 

 with whom Mr. Cameron most fully discussed the 

 subiect state that his intention was to cut the bushes 

 Bcross in a few successive years, after the pruning, 

 in the mode advocated by Mr. Armstrong. Theprin- 

 ciple which guided him was that of cutting down the 

 bush to commence with, and then for successive years, 

 their number depending on circumstances, cutting 

 through the young red wood of the previous year's 

 growth, for it is this wood which gives the most 

 vigorous crops. The system is identical with that ad- 

 vocated bv others, but we maintain that with young 

 tea at a high elevation, the bush should not be cut 

 too low. Apart fr 'm this subject, the great point 

 is that the severer the pruning, the easier should be 

 the successive plucking ; and the severer the plucking 

 thn severer does the following pruning become iu 

 order to remedy its effects. Now, had the lowcountry 

 places pruned by Mr. Cameron, been allowed to grow 

 well up and been lightly plucked, there would be 

 good pruning wood tlds year, and the bushes could 

 be cut across above last year's level, with the result 

 of a large crop. I have been told by one who knew 

 Mr. Cameron intimately that he saw that the plucking 

 had been too severe and admitted it freely. Wl-atis 

 the result? That the places in question have to again 

 in many cases prune lower than last ye,ar, because 

 the close plucking did not allow of the formation of 

 good pruning wood. Tour correspondent asks what is 

 the main result of the plucking. I say, thin wood 

 unlit for the knife. Now Mr. Cameron's object in this 

 plucking was an evident one and has been beyond 

 measuie successful. He has made fine teas which have 



