44S 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[December i, i88j. 



and Mr. Moak is good enough to reply as follows : — 

 " Knglish Foundry coke costs R50 to Rj5, and is not 

 suitable for a stove except there is a strong draught 

 or blast to make it burn well. Gas coke is delivei-ed 

 nt Colombo station (and I agi lent free for a fort- 

 night, if retarned to the Gas Works free of ohnrge) 

 at RIS'75 per ton, and the carriage to Naw'ala- 

 pitiya is R14-70 for one ton, E2940 for two tons 

 or auy qu mtity up to four tons for the R'29-40, 

 S'> that it is much cheaper to get a four ton lot ; 

 a special quotation would be given for latter for 

 a trial. Tlie Gas Works coke is best for stoves, only 

 retinii'ing a wood kindling and fair draught, and 

 broken small for use. Coal costs E20 to E,SO at 

 Colombo station, and as per bargain about lending, 

 hire, or purchase of bngj." It will be observed that 

 four tons gas coke can be delivered at Nawakpitiya 

 for R26'10 per ton. We suppose it can be delivered 

 at Hattoa 9 or 10 months hence by rail for E30, 

 so that the tea planters in that quarter can then 

 give it a fair trial, if indeed they, as well as others, 

 do not begin at once. — Ed.] 



CROTON SEEDS AS A MARKETABLE 

 PRODUCT. 

 W. P., 12th November 1SS3. 

 Dear Sir, — Would one of your cDmmerical readers 

 in the Fort kindly answer at any rate some of the 

 following queries aneut croton seeds ? 



1. Is there demand for it in small quantities (down 

 to 5 lb. or so), and, if so, what price is obtainable ? 



2. Is it necessary to cure the seeds in any way ; 

 or i.<; it marketable in the husk, merely dried in 

 the sun ? 



3. Is it necessary to pack the seeds carefully so as 

 to exclude damp &c ? 



Auy other information will be thankfully received by 



yakko. 



[Our correspondent will find information in last 

 volume of the Tropical AijricuUurisl regarding croton 

 seeils. Mr. Holloway says Ihe seeds must be dried, 

 sliuUi'd, and dried again in the sun : this is all the 

 preparation required. The seeds can be picked in 

 Vags. oOs a cwt. has been offered at home for Ceylon 

 c:'otou seeds. — Ed.] 



CEYLON TEA: GOOD ADVICE FROM MESSES. 

 W. H. THOMPSON & Co. ABOUT PLUCKING. 

 Kandaloya, 13th Nov. 188.3. 

 Dear Sir, — Perhaps the following extract from a 

 letter just received from the Messrs. Thompson, Lon- 

 don, may prove of interest to your readers, treating 

 about the vexed question of plucking as it does : — 

 " Y'our ti-as, as all have done this season, show a 

 marked improvement on the produce of former years 

 and are quite free from faults. We cannot advise you 

 to make any change in your system of manufacture, 

 seeing what excellent results in this case have been 

 produced. Yours are now fully up to the average 

 standard of Ceylon teas, ami only fall short by the 

 specinl strength of Lookcondura, the rich malty 

 liquor of Galleboclde and the tine flavour of Bool-wood. 

 I'lieee gardens, with one or two others, show better 

 results and higher prices, due, perhaps, to exceptionally 

 favourable soil, position and class of plant, but you 

 have no reason to be dissatisfied with your teas. 

 PliKicing. — Many, we think, err in allowing too long 

 an interval between the diifereut pluckings, thus let- 

 ting the leaf grow too large ; where labour will permit 

 it is found better to go over the bushes oftener, 

 taking a finer leaf which will give a higher grade 

 withuut in the long run reducing quantity." 



Them's my senlimtnts as to plucking. — Yours faith- 

 fnlly, JAMES WIGHT. 



CEYLON VS. INDIAN TEA SEED : PRACTICAL 

 EXPERIENCE OF A VALUABLE KIND. 



13th November 1883. 

 Dear Sir, — After reading " Planter's " sweeping 

 remarks on Assam and Ceylon tea seed in your issue 

 of the (jth instant, the following returns from locally 

 grown seed may not be uninteresting. 39.} niaunds of 

 seed were purcliaeed, about Hi of which' came from 

 Mr. Howie then on New Forest, and the remainder 

 from Mr, Armstrong of Rookwood. From this 

 seed, one million one hundred and eight-three thou- 

 sand plants (1,183,000) have been planted out, aud 

 there are still a few thousands m the nurs- 

 eries. Nearly all the plants w-ere put out before 

 the end of January last, and their growth and 

 regularity are most satisfactory. Now for Indian tea 

 seed, seed specially selected by a planter who went 

 over to India for that purpose : out of nine maunds 

 supposed to be delivered in good order, 51,200 plants 

 have been put out ; there may be a couple of 

 thousand small ones left in the bed^). So far as "jat" 

 goes the local seed carries the palm. My own opinion 

 is, when local seed of known qualiiy can be procured 

 for original planting, don't hesitate in availing your- 

 self of it, and, if possible, arrange to get seed of a 

 good jat from India to supply with.* H. 



BOILING TEA SEED. 



14th November 1883. 



Dear Sir, — In reply to your query about boding tea 



seed in the old days in India I send jou a v 'rbatim 



extract of two paragraphs from the "Tea Cyclop.'edia." I 



had to borrow the booi from a neighbour to take the 



extracts, else I would have sent you the book itself. 



Yours faithfully, 



Extracts from "TbeOiigin and Future Prospects of Tea 

 in India," by Samuel Baildon, author of " Tea in Assam": — 



" It is a subject for regret, aud one which cannot be 

 denied, that the crash in tea was in a measure due to 

 the dishonest practices of sundry ' tea concern promoters.' 

 Estates were sold at many times their v.alue, false re- 

 presentations were made as to existing arrears, and the 

 actual state of affairs generally discovered too late. Men 

 to m.-inage gardens were recruited from anywhere ; ordin- 

 ary seamen and captains, professional men, others who 

 had failed in everything else, all — nearly all of them — ^as 

 gnorant regarding the industry tlicy were entering as 

 could have been the case ; gardens were made in places 

 where tea was the last thing to plant ; extravagance was 

 indulged into the fullest extent: and so the end came." 



" I have been informed of a case where a few small 

 estates were amalgamated and sold to a Company in 

 London, and the ' promoter,' finding people red-hot to in- 

 vest in tea, considered it a good time for making a 

 private harvest, .and in the particulars of the three estates 

 he included and actually sold a 100-acre garden which 

 had no existence, writing to his representative by next mail 

 to buy seed at any price, clear and scrape something 

 near 100 acres aud plant the seed, as it had been sold." 



" Sundry mercantile men in Calcutta were convicted 

 of boiling the tea-seed after it was sold, to prevent its 

 germination, and to retard the success of the i)urchasers 

 who were embarking in tea. Another practice, when it 

 became known that tea did not usually yield until three years 

 old, was to reckon the year (or thereabout) which the 

 seed had taken to mature from the blossom in the 

 parent bush, so that when it was planted the garden was 

 one year old.' " 



The above extracts have been copied from " The Tea 

 Cyclopredia." 



[We have both books, but we regard the boiled seed 

 statement as an outrageous fiction. — Ed.] 



* As nearly as possible 30,000 plants to the maund. — 

 Ed. 



