November i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



343 



TEA-PLANTING PESTS. 



With our past experience of the "enemies of the 

 coffee tree" and of other tropical products, no 

 one in Ceylon could have been saugume enough to 

 expect that our new and promising tea industry 

 would continue long to be free from enemies 

 and pests. " In the sweat of thy face shalt 

 thou eat bread " would not be true of tlie Ceylon 

 tea planter if all were to continue couleur de rose. 

 Our correspondence columns today shew that the 

 enemies of the tea bush are already making their 

 appearance and we are asked to give some inform- 

 ation on the subject. 



We suppose black grub must be the worm from wliicli 

 tea suffers in China .and for which shells of shrimps 

 are used as a remedy (see letter of "Goiya" page 352). 

 The existence of the vermiceous pest and the use 

 of the crustacean remedy are alike new to us. It 

 would be interesting to know how the shrimp-crusts 

 arc applied, because if merely broken the efl'ects on 

 the wjrms may be entirely mechanical. If the 

 shells are finely pounded or burned, we do not see 

 why lime from other sources might not be equally 

 efficacious. Can "Goiya" or any other correspondent 

 afford further details of the China pest and the 

 American remedy ? Where did the Chinese obtain 

 shiimp-shells before couununieation with California 

 was established ?* 



Much more serious as a tea pest is ''red spider" 

 which is sure to afi'ect tea culture in Ceylon as it 

 has affected the same culture in India and elsewhere. 

 We recently saw it at a high elevation in Uva, but 

 we did not take the grave view of its existenco >, men 

 an old planter (the Visiting Agent of the estate m 

 question) held. ^Ve mentioned recently the opinion 

 of an Indian planter that the wetness of our climate 

 would be against persistent attacks of this pest. Some 

 tea leaves have reached ns from Maskeliya with a 

 query ' ' What is there on the tea leaves ? The thing 

 is alive." Our entomological referee decides tliat "the 

 thing" is "red spider," acarns tclarim The insect 

 is no new thing in Ceylon, any more than in con. 

 servatories and on cultivated produce all over the 

 world. Attacks of this "blight" afi'ect tea adversely in 

 India for one or two seasons, and then the enemy departs. 

 We have never heard of the blight becoming chronic and 

 generally disastrous like hemileiii vastatrix m the 

 case of coffee. It is especially amenable to the sul- 

 phur, or sulphur and lime treatment, in couscrvatories, 

 and we believe on estates also. Oue good thing we 

 see stated about "red spider" is that it cliiefly affects 

 the older leaves. It differs from the coffee fungus 

 in always appearing first on the npper portion of 

 the leaf, and the outside leaves of a bush are attacked 

 first. On this as as on all otlier subjects planters 

 give the most opposite opinions. We have quoted 

 tlie opinion of an Indhan planter that we have too 

 nuich rain for the abiding of this pest, and in the 

 index to the Tea Cyclopasdia we find, "brought on 

 through sudden changes in the weather ; continuous 

 rain tlie best remedy for ; cultivation and rain in 

 themselves not a remedy for thi^ ; favourable inlUience 

 of cultivation and rain, by gi\ing strcugtli and 

 growtli to tlie bush, assists in enabling it to witli- 

 stand ; plain water syringed well through the tree a 

 remedy for ; syriuging with thin mud and blue 



* After writing the above, we referred to the luilian 

 Tea C'yclopajdia, where the statement embodied iu our eorre- 

 spouiients's letter is quoted, with the remark added : "The 

 matter is curious if true." 



clay a remedy for ; water no use as a cure for,' 

 and so on. Lime is stated to be a remedy. One planter 

 recommends that the Ifeen be allowed to grow for a 

 time without plucking ; another advisei severe pru- 

 ninij and the burning of tlie prunings. A stili' sol- 

 ution of clay no doubt smothers the mite, as the 

 itch insect is said by some to be smothered by 

 sulphur applications and not killed by the chemical 

 effects of the sulphur. The difficulty would be the 

 cost of syringing mud clay or water. Clay and cow- 

 dung mixed well with water are stated to be a remedy 

 and "cold ash" is noted as a preventative. Early 

 pruning is adduced as one cause; also bad cultiva- 

 tion, but it sometimes attacks the best cultivated 

 estates as severely as the worst. Not merely H 

 want of manure blamed, but fresh manure is said to 

 be a cause. Hard plucking is one of the causes 

 enumerated, and light pluckiug and late pruning 

 recommended as remedies; proper plucking, manuring 

 and giving suthcient rest to the trees, the only way 

 to keep it off; snaking the bushes a remedy; throwing 

 clods a remedy. "Putrid soil" is several times re- 

 ferred to as a cause, and water as the only remedy, 

 We can find no more agreement amongst Indian 

 planters as to the cause and remedy of red spider, 

 than aiuongut Ceylon planters as to the cause and 

 cure of our coffee fungus. We must just hope that 

 the tea pest (red spider) m.ay never become prevalent 

 with us. If it deed, we suspect there will be no bet- 

 ter remedy than a mixture of lime and sulphur. Of 

 course, alf the defence which good, careful cultivation 

 can give, the tea will get. 



NEW PRODUCTS IN CEYLON: 



LowcouxTEY Planting Report : 



LiBERiANCon-KE— Pepper— Cacao— Tea— Vanilla— 



Fbuit — KuBEEU — Nutmegs, &c. 



EstatenearHenaratgoda,100teetabove.sea-level,Oct. 7, 1883. 



The result of the south-west monsoon, has been 

 abundance of r.iiu, but very little wet weather. The 

 general character of the season was alternate sun and 

 shower, varied by a fierce storm, from time to time, 

 and spells of dry weather of from eight to twenty days. 

 I had only about BO.OOO tea plants to put out ; I began 

 in April, and availed myself of every suitable day, or 

 part of a day, yet it was near the end of August _ before 

 1 finished, and I was caught more than ouce, in hot 

 sunshine, with from 500 to 1,000 plants out of the 

 ground. 



The COFFEE has sustained a series of attacks of H. T. 

 individually slight, as compared with that at the end of 

 last year, but very iujmious to the crop. When the 

 fruit was the size of peas, as much as one-third dropped 

 from the trees seriouslv affected. I live in terror of 

 another severe attack before the crop is ripe. 



I boUeve it is fully (.stablished, that cacao requires a 

 deep light loum, and perfect shelter for success, but 

 even within those limits, this plant is somewhat puzzling 

 in its conduct. I have trees here as fine as I can imagino 

 any of the same age to be anywhere, but within 20 feet 

 of the finest and with no perceptible difference of sod 

 or shelter, I find it absolutely refuses to grow. I planted 

 12 acres this season, chiefly at stake and uuder partial 

 shade, but on the whole, it is not over and above satis- 

 factory—nothing to compare with a small extent on another 

 place, where it was a complete failure four years ago, 

 from sheer ignorance of what it wanted. I had the 

 promise of a large crop on the liest trees early in tho 

 season, but most of the puds faih-d, jirolialdy from lui- 

 favourable weather, at tho most critical point ot time ; 

 there are still however, some trees bearing from 50 to 

 100 pods. , . i J 



About 18 months ago I proposed to try and 

 get peppor-vincs to attach themselves to the rocks, 

 and to that end got several coolie loads of cut- 

 tings. As I knew nothing of the in.itter, I left 

 it hi the hands of the \-illage people, who never own 



