November i, 1883,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



353 



the neccBsity of it. I trust you will allow Die liere to add that 

 I think it c«ijecially fortunate, and I am hoai-tily glad to eee 

 Mr. Ledger hiinnelf agaiu coming forward — wi»hing him all 

 succcsa — for, certainly, no man, when iti» considered what 

 he has done for the euterprite throughout, it may be said, 

 the cinilized world, and in recollection of the altogether in- 

 adequate pecuniary return afforded him, has so thoroughly 

 earned a right to support and conlidence, and a fortune on it. 

 7. In my letter published, owing to a mistake in punctu- 

 ation, I am made to speak of C veyde as the finest cinchona 

 known. A fullstop placed before instead of afttr *' the 

 finest cinchona known," and it wiU be seen to apply to G. 

 Morada. ]''or the reasons afterwards given, I cannot regard 

 At. verde as generally the most valuable variety, tlirough it 

 may be found best suited for very low elevations. 



0. R. 



CATERPILLARS ON TEA. 



Dikoya, 5th October 1883. 



Dear Sik, — By post today I send you a few out of 

 many thousand caterpillars which have completely 

 denuded some tea trees of leaf. I do not fear a tangible 

 pest of this nature, but, as it is new to me aud may be 

 io to others, I should be very much obliged to you if 

 you would kindly find out for me what they are. I am 

 keeping some to see what they turn to. PLANTER. 



[This is the larva of a moth, probably Sephina Oinijala, 

 but our correspondent should send a few down in the 

 chrysalis state for identification. — Ed.] 



CINCHONA BARK: A HINT TO PLANTERS. 



Colombo, 8th October 188.3. 



Ukau Sib, — The prices of cinchona bark in London 

 have fallen no less than fifty per cent, within the 

 last three months ; they are now low enough to cur- 

 tail the export of bark from South America in timey 

 In the meantime it should be the policy of ever, 

 planter, who can by hook or crook manage it, to 

 allow his bark to increase in value on the trees. 

 Like wine or spirits, its value increases the longer 

 it is kept; nay, it is better than these, as there is 

 no charge for warehouse rent. If the market at home 

 is flooded with weak shavings, a recovery in prices 

 cannot take place. As long as the price of quinine 

 is eight shillings per ounce, five-pence and six-pence 

 per unit of quinine are not the fair values of bark. — 

 Tours truly, A MERCHANT. 



TEA VERSUS COFFEE. 



Dear Sir, — Excuse me, sir, just for a moment, but 

 1 muyl have a word with "An Old Coffee Stump': 

 Look here, stumpie, what are those remarks you are 

 going tomake on me? — out with them — what 's the use 

 of all this babbling and moan ? you 're run out, done 

 up, not worth a dump : not but that there are a few 

 respectable families doing well, but in the main you 

 know, it 'e no use, you must go ; we both cart'l live 

 together. 



What do we care for leaf-disease or grub (or you 

 for the matter of that) ? we are strong and healthy 

 immigrants on a new soil, and having left red spiders 

 and green flies behind us* are hoand to have a good 

 time of it here, ha ! ha ! 



You and the cinchonas don't seem to have pulled 

 together very well : now that's curious ; for my part 

 I am on very friendly terms with them, and in fact 

 they tell me that my presence has been doing a lot 

 of good to them, my strong tap and lateral roots 

 opening up the soil and enabling them to throw out 

 new roots and get along capitally. 



I don't profe'.B to know much of your diseaseB, but 



• Both cxiit in Ceylon, but as yet neither has shown 

 badly.— Ed, 



I am not surprised the planters should turn to us. 

 Look at the money they have spent on the very best 

 doctors and medicine for you and no good has been 

 done, and you were then left to Nature, hoping that some 

 good might come of that ; but no go : you ivorCl exert 

 yourself. Ingrate, bah ! LEETLE TEA-PLANT. 



PLANTING UP COFFEE ESTATES WITn TEA, 



TEA ESTI.MATES, &<;. 



Dear Sib, — I beard a passing planter remark to- 

 day that nobody liad takiin the slightest notice of 

 Mr. Northmore's mathematical demonstration of the 

 practicability of getting tea into line by planting it 

 in amongiit the coffee accorkling to his sketch, for 

 the simple reason, said he, that it is a perfectly 

 useless suggestion, aa there arc not two estates in 

 Ctjlon lilted hotli, wayst. The better plati is (to save 

 new lining) to strike a base line at right angles to 

 existing coffee lines from which to work up and down, 

 letting the direction be always the name as the coffee, 

 though different in width ; ergo : if a cooly starts 

 work from this base line at a peg exactly in the 

 middle of the working line, he will have no difficulty 

 in following it up or down, putting in the tea ac- 

 cording to a measure he carries with him. If he 

 starts flush with the coffee, or if he starts one foot 

 to the left of his coffee line, or one foot (or more 

 or less) to the right, he can keep this distance in 

 his eye the whole length of the line. Here, of course, 

 the old coffee lining will be the guide as to direc- 

 tion. Sooaetimes that is wild enough, but new tea 

 lines, probably, would not be better done than these 

 old ones by tlie old planters. 



As regards tea jat :— The science of evolution shows 

 that the embryo and young of all species of animals 

 and plants have features characteristic of their remote 

 origin, which wear away and disappear as they at- 

 tain to maturer age. Now some of my seeds — ob- 

 tained from the same source — came up nearly jet black, 

 while others came up to the surface quite a light 

 yellow. Is it worth while to carefully sort these out 

 and keep them separate ? Are the jet black seedlings 

 not from an inferior ntoch ? and the dark coloured ones 

 generally, in proportion as they are so coloured ? This 

 was a question put to one durai the other day, which 

 he said he could not auswcr. But he said he had 

 read Mr. Hay's pap-r on pruning and plucking tea, 

 aud his estimates ; all of which, he said, were after 

 bis own heart : short and practical and to the point, 

 mullum in parvo ; and, as a lesson to tea planters, 

 quite worthy to rank alongside Armstrong's and 

 Owen's. They have all had their fling at poor old 

 Cameron, because I suppose, the time is come when 

 it is necessary to give his system its quietus ; but, 

 that done, it is time his memory were left to rest 

 in peace. He was the right man providentially sent 

 to Ceylon at the right time. ■ • • j\yg h^yg 

 omitted a passage for reasons which we are ready to ex- 

 plain privately. —Eo. C. 0.] He set matters right for 

 the time being, as cultivation was needed in bis day. 

 Had he lived, it is only fair to suppose he would 

 not have been a single step behind the experts of 

 today in adapting his system to the added years of 

 hie estates. He was of a most open, generous dis- 

 position, concealing nothing, but imparted to everybody 

 aud anybody all he knew gratuitously lor the asking. 



As regards -Mr. Hay's estimates, the opinions I have 

 heard expressed are that they are fair, and that the 

 man who could realize them in actual working from 

 beginning to end would be fortunate. Perhaps a, 

 trijle more added to Ist year's " Superintendence," 

 to " Cost of Land," and generally t> " Interest," to 

 "Contingencies," to " Felling and Clearing," " \Veed- 

 iog," "Transport" and "Money Charges"; and just 

 a shade taken off " Returns per Crop " (to make all 



