3?4 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[Decehiber I, 1883. 



conclusion that 5x3 would be a very good dis- 

 tance. By planting thus tlie lines of coS'ee would 

 not be inLcif.red viitii. On poor soil, I think closer 

 planting mouUI be bettor. 4x3 or 4x4, but, on really 

 rich land, I would advocate the, planting as far apart 

 as X 4, as there is no doubt that tlioy would not be very 

 long in tilling up the space, ju Iging f rom the way the 

 bushes <.Q Abbolsford are gi owing. * 



III. — Do you consider that coffee injures the grow- 

 ing tea and can they be grown together without pre- 

 judice to one or the other ? 



Up ti the 18th mouth I consider it rather an ad- 

 vantage to have the coffee as a shade to the young tea 

 aud a protection from wind, but as soon as the first 

 prauinj is done it must be decided which is 

 to be the principal product. If the tea, then out with 

 the collee. If the colTee fchould happen to have some 

 5 cwt. an acre then the tea can be pruned down and 

 left, but I don't fancy any gentleman with coffee 

 which looks like giving a heavy crop will wish to 

 plant up with tea. 



IV. -What is the best way of planting in cultivat- 

 ed laud — holing-dibbliug, forking, or otherwise? Kindly 

 give the cost of the operation j'ou recommend. 



I would strongly recommend the digging of good holes 

 15" deep and 9" broad. There are many wbo consider it 

 quit'i sufficieul to fork up the soil as they say it is not 

 necessary to hole when new top soil is not to be put 

 in. By the forking system it is impossible to tell 

 whether the plant's future home is free from 

 stones, or whether there is not a nice big rock a 

 few inches from the surface. Now by holing, as you 

 are all a%vare, it can be at once seen whether the 

 work is done carefully or not I must say I have seen 

 plants doing very well indeed and they lia<l only been 

 put in with an alavanga. StUl, I do not beli-.ve in it. 

 When your holes have been carefully cut, filled in, and 

 the plants planted you have the satisfaction of know- 

 ing that the best has been done. 



Holing. 

 The cost of cutting pegs and lining is ... E500 

 Holing @ 100 per man 2,904 5x3 = 10-15 12o0 

 4x3= 12-GO 



Filling in 250 holes per cooly 5'00 



Planting 300 per cooly fair amount ... 4 25 



E26-7o 

 Of course this varies a little according to plants per 

 acre. Tueu there is the price of seed and other K20 

 per maund for making uuraeries. However it maybe 

 manageJ at a lowei rate. 



V. — What is your opinion of planting at stake, 

 with sproutfd seed and with unsprouted seed? 



I have only tried it once niysollin this country on steep 

 land, and am sorry to sar it was ouly partiallj' suc- 

 cessful. The seeds were all germinated aud carefully 

 put in holed land well drained, but .soon after hav- 

 ing- some severe rain I found great quantities ex- 

 posed. I do not sie however why it should not be 

 carried out with success, if the ground is staked as 

 is done in India, the stakes being driven well in 

 with a mallet so as to insure their remaining firm 

 for at least (5 mouths. The holes are then cut on the 

 lower side close to but allowiuj; sufficient space (an 

 inch or so) for the stake to hold. On 1 eing filled in 

 the seed or seeds can be put in directly behind the 

 stake about 4 or 5 inches off. At eaili stake the 

 same thing being done the measurement is exact, 

 and the lines perfectly straight. The distance at 

 which the seed is put in is known, aud the stake 

 being secure there is no necessity for the weeders 

 to scrape oft' the tops of the young plants. I think 

 that unless on very fiat land plants are much better 

 than seed at stake. 



Vf. — Do you consider a large growth of weeds 

 injurious to the plants, aud, is monthly weeding 



best or periodical forking ? I can speak from 

 experience as to their actually doing no harm 

 to the tea bushes. I have "seen young estates 

 in India, opened out, planted, and, for the first year 

 and more nothing clone except keeping the weeds clear 

 from the young plauts, all up aud across the lines 

 being high in weeds If labor could he spared this 

 was occasionally cut down with a sickle. Cn old estates 

 I have h.ad to wander up and down lines after pluok- 

 ers up to my knees in grass and weeds, yet the tea 

 fiuUied well. I believe our Indian Hauiie is much the 

 same as whiteweed, except that it grows hiL'h with- 

 out flowering. This is or was plentiful in the Darjding 

 district and Doars, yet 1 have seen no harm done by 

 it growing amongst the tea. If it is from a pecuniary 

 point impossible to keep tea perfectly clean ; try and 

 keep round the stem clear and the bush will flush 

 quite as well. I am no advocate for letting weeds 

 grow, and consider it best and cheapest to keep the 

 estate perfectly clean. Of course if at the height of the 

 plucking season labor is scarce and one cannot borrow, 

 by all means let the weeds look out for themselves 

 rather than lose the leaf. An occasional forking with- 

 out manure I consider very benetical, and in India it 

 was always considered by doing this that the flush 

 was brought on quicker'. I am sure no reasonable 

 being would try to make his weeds grow. 



VII. — What do you recommend with regard to pluck- 

 ing ? 



I have already written my ideas upon this subject 

 but will be happy to read them over again, ( Vide 

 Observer, Oct. 4th, 18S3). 



VIII. — \Vh.-it do you think will be the cost of plant- 

 ing coffee land with tea and bringing it into bearing? 

 The same amount as for forest land, less cost of laud 

 and some other items : this I have already made an 

 estimate for and it has been published, (vide Observer 

 4th Oct. 18S3.) 



Nurseries. — 1. Is it best to germinate seed before 

 getting into nurseries ? 



It is not necessary. jMake yoar beds near a strean 

 or where water can be easily cairied, and do not put 

 manure. It is much oetter that the plant should 

 go into riclier soil, if possible, than the nursery. I 

 need not attempt to describe the process of making 

 beds. All I can say is, the beds being made aud the 

 seed ready at hand, put as much as will be required 

 for a day's planting into a lar^'e tub and float off all 

 the light seed. PI mt the heavy geud about 4 inches 

 below the lines and 1 to IJ inch in the rows, enough 

 to allow a f n-k to be put down behind each row at 

 time of transplanting. The light seed can tiien be 

 put broadcast on beds by itself and thus economize 

 space aud save expense in making beds for seed that 

 may not be geod. 



2. t>hould beds be shaded, and, if so, in what way? 

 A little fern shaiie is all that is required. At some 



times of the year it is notnecessary. I have seen very good 

 shai e made with lemon or uiana grass put ou thick at 

 first, and, when the seed showed signs of coming above 

 ground it was thinned down aud allowed to remain aud 

 decay. 'To save it trom beiug blown or washed away, a 

 piece of coir was st-etched along each side of the bed 

 aud pegged down w ith sticks at intervals. 



3. In tran.«planting from the nurseries, is it best to 

 prune the taproot or not ? 



It is preferable to leave it alone. Take the 

 plant out 01 the nursery as carefully as possible, 

 and see that the hole is deep enough to receive it. 

 Of course, if this t^p-root is very long, it must be cut. 

 By only digaing the nursery beds lightly long tap 

 roots me avoided. In the plains of India, ]>lants won't 

 s and root pruning as they have not time to recover, but 

 here in Ceylon they don't appear to mind rough tieat- 

 ment. 1 believe I make no rash statement when I say 

 tiat I have heard that agreat quantity of the plants 



