December i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



With reference to the above notes, the figures given 

 for cost of production and manufacture,— viz., 12ic per 

 lb. to grow the tea, 27ic to pluck manufacture aud 

 ship it, and 10c to deliver it to London buyers,— 

 tiJOUL'h no more than safe at th*t time, may be 

 modified under present conditions, in consequence 

 of labour now being cheappr (it was then reckoned 

 at 4O0. per man) and weeding contracts lo.ver, also 

 because manufacture is better understood. 



It IS not too much to say now, that, with good manage- 

 ment, a favourable situation for transport, and a yield of 

 400 lb. per acre, s^ch a yield may be grown for 10c and 

 niauufactured and put on board ship at Colombo for even 

 LOc or 2-Ac more, and so laid down in London for 40o or 

 4'-Jc per lb. This, however, is not to be attained with- 

 out effort. There must be skill, knowledge, diligence 

 and prosperity, it may be fairly doubted whether it 

 has yet been achieved with a garden of any consider- 

 able extent, but it is believed that it may be done. 



rerhaps, for an ordinary Ceylon garden, with its 

 vacancies (speaking of the tea now in bearing), 4.5o 

 will be nearer the practical result than 40c, but this 

 13 simply to allow 12 per cent for waste aud unfore- 

 seen contingencies. Be it understood, we are speaking 

 rnerely of the work and upkeep. There is no provi- 

 sion here for plant, or renewals, or interest on capital 

 and such necessary things. 



As to Viirnndrs, doubtless the older gardens have 

 many, but now that the enterprise is well launched, 

 this most important particular is sure to have atten- 

 tion, and people will not be content to cultivate a 

 tenth or more of their fields yielding no return. 



One word as to machiiit'.n/. It is not a neces- 

 sity, and it should therefore not be reckoned as 

 '■ plant," as some recent authorities on tea have 

 been understood to reckon it. In the writer's 

 oi'inion, it should not be employed unless the 

 saving in labour or fnel will pay for it in three years, or 

 say in the time which it may be expected to endure. | 



acre is provided, so if the planter manages his own estate 

 he gets that as income as well. 



The value of Is 4d per lb in London is -warranted by 

 actual valuation and sales. An unsorted sample growii 

 in the neighboiu'hood of Kitoolg.alla and Yattiantotte (Yac- 

 dessa district) made by a native on R20 per month, the 

 superintendent having no previous experience, was valued 

 at Is 3Jd. Windsor Forest Pekoe Souchong recently sold 

 at Is 4d. Two or three years ago such teas would have 

 been well worth Is lOd to 2s, and should the market 

 recover, as it seems very probable it may, good estates 

 will be worth El,200an acre. 



The yield of 400 lb, owing to the youth of the enter- 

 prise, has not been so widely verified by the present writer 

 as to render this calculation pci-fccthj satisfactory, but 

 planters may judge for themselves what may be done 

 when they kuow that double and more than double that 

 yield is often procured in India under favourable condi- 

 tions (Some of our readers may probably have definite in- 

 formation as to yield per arm which wo should be very 

 glad to know). From observations which are now be- 

 ing made, there is reason to believe that the trees on an 

 acre of coffee shed considerably more than 400 lb of 

 dried leaf per annum, in addition to then- yield of crop 

 and husk. 



The following table, which is calculated upon the basis 

 above described, may bo found useful : viz., 

 A yield of :iOO lb. per acre gives R62'50 profit per acre. 

 " '. 350 „ „ „ „ 81-25 „ 



.. " ^9^ , ., inn,. „ 



" " iSi " " " " llS-7:) ,, „ 



.' .. 600 .. .. .. .. 137-50 „ 



» .. •'^■■'0 „ „ „ „ 156-2.5 „ 



" .. 000 .. .. „ „ 175 



■> >> 050 „ „ „ „ 193-75 „ 



.. ...700 „ „ „ „ 212.50 „ 



.. .. '-jO „ „ „ „ 231-25 „ 



Colombo, 21st Xov. 1879. S. 



This is a vevy simple guide, and will be fonnd cor- 

 rect, whereas if the contrary view -is acted upon, and 

 a third or so of the cost of machinery is not cbarffed 

 annually to manufacture, the apparent cost of. works' is 

 misleading. 



The foregoing calculations are for hand labour through- 

 out, but there will be no great difference if machinery 

 is used and duly charged to current expenditure. At 

 the same time, machinery is often a great convenience 

 and may s.Tve night-work, aud, where labour cannot 

 be concentrated in the required numbers (as in Assam), 

 and when fuel is short it allows of a larger acrea'-'e 

 being opened than would otherwise be practicable. 

 Such gardens work at a disadvantage in this particular. 

 To construct now a similar table of returns to that 

 attached to the notes of 1879, let us take gross aver- 

 age value at Is 3d per lb., exchange at Is 8d per 

 rupee, cost of growing the lea at R30 per acre, and 

 other expenses 35o per lb. then 

 A yield of .300 lb. gives R SO gross profit per acre 

 3,50 ,, 100 



400 „ 120 



450 „ 140 



500 „ 160 



and so on, every additional oO lb. yield increasing 

 the profits by R20 per acre. 



For every penny improvement on Is 3d in the .sell- 

 ing average, add 'R.5 per 100 lb. yield. Thus, a yield 

 of 400 lb. with selling average Is GJ, returns KISO 

 gross profit per acre, insteail of R120 as above. 



It will be seen that the assumed average is a penny 

 per lb. lower, but the exchange is a penny per rupee 

 more favourable now than in 1879. S. 



Colombo, 22nd Oct. 1SS3. 



TEA AND COFFEE IN DIMBULA. 



{rroceediiigs of the Dimhula Planters' Asaociatinn.) 



IGth October 1S83. 



The Ch.^iemax introduced Mr. C. A. Hay to 



the meeting, to whom they were much indebted for 

 attending and undertaking to give them further in- 

 formation on tea cultivation. 



Samples of tea manufactured on Abbotsford, Lonmay 

 and Mayfield were tasted, the samples from the fii-st- 

 mentioned estate being pronounced the best. 



Mr. H.\Y then read as follows : — 



•Mr. Chaiiman and Gentlemen, — I have much 

 pleasure in attending this meeting today, and will 

 try to answer tbe questions you have placed before 

 me, with regard to the cultivation of tea iu Dim. 

 bula. 



The first is : — 



I. — What class of tea is best suited to this district 

 which ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 elevation ; and is 

 seed from Ceylon estates or Indian preferable ? 



In my opinion the very highest class of Assam 

 hybrid is the best for all elevations iu Ceylon, (and I 

 think it would be a mistake to plant pure indigenous, 

 as the climate of Dimbula is not steamy enough. Of 

 course, it would glow as well, but I am afraid it 

 would not flush as quick as the hybrid plant. Locally- 

 gi-own seed has done quite as well as Indian when 

 planted on good soil but there is no doubt that when 

 seed from trees that have been giving heavy crops 

 for some years is put in poor soil it becomes iu 

 appearance very low class. If Indian seed can be guar- 

 anteed and it arrives in good order, I would prefer 

 it myself to the locally-grown. 



II. — What distance apart should tea be planted 

 and what is the best means of adj usting your distance 

 to coffee 5' x G' ? 



Having seen some very nice-looking young tea 

 gi-owiug on Rituaghcria estate, t have come to the 



