JXTNE 2, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



925 



-♦- 



To the Editor of the Ceylo?i Observer. _ 



PLANTING AND PLANTERS ON THE 

 NILGIRIS. 

 Neilgherry Hills, April 26th, 1S84. 

 Dear Sib, — I should be glad to see planters avail 

 themselves more frequently of thu r'pportunity a6forded 

 in your columns of ventilating freely various mooted 

 points couoerriing practical cultivation. For instance, 

 would some experienced planter give his opinion and 

 experience regarding pruning tea at high aii^l low 

 elevations 'I Suppose we started with the proposition 

 that tea atan elevation of 6,000 feet requires severer 

 pruning than tea at 3,000 feet, in order to force out a 

 decent flush within a respectable period of time after 

 pruning: how does experience support this theory? 



Officialdom in India thinks it is liigh time to assert 

 itself more fully and to bring pl.'iulers especially into a 

 due spirit of subjection and dependence. Owinj; to our 

 modern land rules strictly reserving all jungle and 

 swamp by our paternal Government, 1 was, a short 

 time ago, reduced to the alternative ot applying to the 

 Forest Department to grant me permission to cut a few 

 jungle poets, 'this permission was granted at the 

 i-iorbitant charge of six annas per post. My arrange- 

 ments were accordingly all made to cut and cart the 

 said posts, when I received another intimation rescind- 

 ing this permission. In my presumption I actually 

 imagined that some reason would be adduced to explain 

 this sudden inconsistency, just as if officialdom could 

 ever stoop to a "reason why"! My only consolation 

 was to behold a jungle cut down wholesale in order 

 to afi'ord fuel for Government purposes, although a few 

 posts could not be spared to your humble servant. 



The swamps being likewise reserved, we also are 

 obliged to apply to officialdom for permission to cut a 

 bundle of wattles. A local representative has liitherio 

 been empoweied to favour us with the required permit. 

 But this evidently fostered too great a spirit of inde- 

 pendence in us, for, on lately applying to the said local 

 personage for a permit, I was informed that an applic- 

 ation must be made in due form to the Forest Depart- 

 ment for a small bundle of wattles wherewith to repair 

 my cooly lines. This application I duly made, and am 

 now comforting myself with the reflection, that, after 

 my cooly lines have tumbled about the ears of my 

 unfortunate coolies, a permission from high ilficiiddom 

 will be received with the aforesaid permission. 



I trust, Mr. Editor, thnt you will, to the best of your 

 ability, combat the pievalent hot-headed, radical idea 

 that planters a' e prone to indulge in, namely that their 

 convenience can have any possible weight with the 

 Solemn dignity of otficialdom ! 



What a happy lot is ours with such a considerate and 

 truly consistent Government. — Yours faithfully, 



NOVICE. 



RHE.\ FIBRE AND SMITH'S MACHINES. 

 141, Fenchurch Street, London, E. C, 1st May 1884. 



Sir, — Our attention has been called to your issue of 4th 

 April. I'ermit us to give a few facts bearing upon this 

 subject. 



1st. — .Since 1862, nearly all the China gra.ss imported 

 to Europe has passed through our hands, and we have 

 been consulted on most of the new machines and processes 

 brought forward since thatdate. 



'liA. — Uy special request we in conjimction with Dr. 

 Forbes Watson investigated tlie theory and working at the 

 Favier-Fremy process in Paris in October last. 



:ird. — Our conclusions were unfavourable to its being 

 workeil successfully on a commercial scale. 



4th. — Shortly afterwards we were callc i upon to examine 



Smith's machine, and the results of the experimeats we 

 made on imperfect material were so remarkable, we were 

 convinced that we had found the machine that could ex- 

 tract the fibre Jit for market in one operation. 



5th.— The General Fibre Company was subsequently 

 formed on our recommendation to secure the patent rights 

 and to sell the machines, &c. 



6th.— Unavoidable delays connected with the formation 

 at the Company alone prevented Dr. Forbes AVatson leaving 

 in time for the Calcutta Exhibition. 



7th. — Further experiments show that the machine is 

 capable of extracting the fibre from nearly every plant, 

 yielding fibre from either .stalks or leaves . 



8th.— It will treat about 10 cwt. of green leaves per 

 hour, when properly handled at a very small cost. 



9th. — A considerable number of machines have already 

 been shipped and will shortly be at work in India, Africa 

 and America, &c., and are confident the results will be 

 sati-sfactory- if they are moperty handled, not otherwise. 

 -Yours truly, OOLLYER & Co. 



(From a former Ceylon Planter.') 

 " I wrote you last about the end of December, I think, 

 and have been intending to do so again for some time 

 past, but until now have not been able. Though no longer 

 a planter and not likely to return to Ceylon, I take still 

 much interest in the colony and all that concerns it, and 

 am always glad to have a look of your Weekly Observer 

 and Tropical Agriculturist, giving as they do so much 

 general and useful information. When I last wrote you, 

 our Company, of which I am Secretary, was just starting. 

 I sent you several papers referring to it, and also Dr. 

 Forbes Watson's lecture on Rhea. Under .separate cover 

 I am today sending to you a copy of our prospectus and 

 circulars referruig to om- machine— possibly you may have 

 seen these before. Further matter is now in the press and 

 will be sent you when completed. It was our intention 

 when I last wrote you that Dr. Watson and Mr. Death 

 should visit the Calcutta Exhibition to show our fibre- 

 cleaning niachine there. Most unfortunately it was found 

 impossible to get the Company floated in time, owing to 

 legal requirements, and the consequence was, that, by the 

 time Dr. Watson and Mr. Death could have started, it was 

 found to be too late for the Exhibition, and it was then 

 1 decided that Jlr. Death should go alone but that it would 

 I be better to put off his visit until next season, so likely he 

 will leave this for India about September next. The delay 

 I was a most unfortunate one, not only in losing us a session, 

 I but people naturally think that our macliiue has proved a 

 failure. Far from it ! Every day we become more con- 

 vinced of its success. Machines are now at work in vari- 

 ous parts of India, and we have got home samples of fibre 

 treated by the machine there. I shall send you samples of 

 aloe and moorva which have been sent home. Theso are 

 just as they left the machine without any after-process 

 of bleaching, and finer samples one could not possibly 

 wish. I also enclose a small specimen of rhea treated by 

 the niachine here in London. From advices lately received 

 I from India and Africa we learn that » tons of (/reeii leaves 

 can be passed through the machine in a day of ten hours. 

 Outturn of dry fibre must of course depend on the per- 

 centage of fibre in the plant operated on, wliich varies 

 from li to h per cent. 



I think I mentioned to you that it was after Dr. Watson 

 and Mr. CoUyer, our Managing Director, had gone 

 thoroughly into the Favier-Frt-my process, " weighed it iu . 

 the balance and found it wanting," that thoy made their 

 experiments with Death & Ellwood's machine with such 

 excellent results ; any one can see what must be the result 

 of treating a plant with a strong solution of caustic soda. 

 It is possible to do so without deteriorating tlie fibre as 

 well as dissolving the bark '; The Johore Rhea Company 

 which you refer to iu your weekly issue of April 4th has 

 not, as far as I am aware, been floated, nor is it fikely to 

 be so. I wish the Lini-Soie syndicate (G. W. H. Brogden 

 & Co. — Manager Edward Oasjier) could float it, as sooner 

 or later they would be customers for our machine. But 

 even allowing that the Favier-Fremy process is a success, 

 it would never prove to the planter the boon that a simple 

 machine like Death & Ellwood's will. T'le latter will 

 extract the fibre from everi/ known fibre-jielding jilaut 

 (except coconut and bristles) iu the condition most suited 

 for the market here, whereas the Favier-Fremy can deal 



