478 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1884. 



REPORT ON CEYLON TEAS BY MESSRS. 

 W. J. & H. THOMPSON. 



Kanclal Oya, 2l9t November 1883. 



Dear Sir,— In addition to Messrs. Thompson's re- 

 marks on iilucking, they have been kind enough to 

 report on Ramples of tea sent them to determine 

 whether a liyhl or a full fei-tuentation m.-jkes the best 

 tea : you will observe the question is still left rather 

 unsettled : — 



"We report on your samples in detail as follows: — 



" Brol-eii Pekoe" FuUFerraent. Superfine wiry leaf, full of 

 yellow tip, even bright infused leaf, rioh full flavor, value 

 3g 3d to 3s 6d nominal. 



"Do. Light Ferment. Similar style of leaf but tip less 

 showy, infused leaf rather duller or greenish in color, more 

 flavor with less richness in cup, value 3s 2d to 3s4d. 



"Pekoe Souchong. Full Ferment. Bold handsome leaf 

 with tip, good infused leaf, good fuU flavor. Is fid. 



" Do. Light Ferment. Very similar character but slightly 

 inferior in leaf and liquor. 



" From the foregoing you will see that we give the pre- 

 ference to the full fermented tea, but there is really very 

 little choice: some might evenhke the others better for then- 

 extra flavor. 



" The Broken Pekoes are teas of fancy character, and 

 taking leaf and liquor together are choicer than any tea 

 which we have seen imported in hull- from Ceylon al- 

 thouah special samples up to the standard have been 

 made' from time to time. We assume that you cannot 

 ship any quantity of the tea, but even if not it is most 

 satisfactory to find that you have been successful in manu- 

 factiu-ing "tea as near perfection as po-ssible." 



I may mention that the samples were from leaf plucked 

 of medium fineness, off the same field, treated with no 

 especial care but in the ordinary way. The full fermented 

 tea was fermented 3i hours, and the lighter fermented 

 only 1 hour and 20 minutes. It is rather startling that their 

 values should approximate so nearly and that there should 

 be stiU a doubt which is the best tea, the fact is, I suppose, 

 that there is a demand for both qualities but that the 

 demand for the lighter fermented tea is fluctuating and un- 

 certain,— Yours faithfully, JAMBS WIGHT. 



KHAKI DYE. 



Colombo, 23rd Novembar 1883. 



SiB^ — Could you kindly inform me through the 

 medium of your paper where I can get drill dyed 

 brown or kharkee color for shooting purposes, in 

 Colombo.— Yours obediently, SHIKARI. 



[With the abundance of raw material for dyes in 

 Ceylon, tliere ought to be no difficulty. Where are the 

 Coinmlio dyers? Failing them the cloth can be ob- 

 tained from India. — Ed.1 



LEAF FUNGUS DOES NOT PREA'^ENT 

 FRUCTIFICATION IN COFFEE ? 



Dimbula, 1883. 



Dmii Sir, — The latest coucln^ions of astronouiors 

 and eteorologisls leave no doubt that all vegetable 

 and animal life exbta through the sun and its 

 atmosphere, but they do not say that all decay is to 

 be attributed to the same causes. 



In your edi orial note you tell me that the black spots 

 on the coffee leaf luave their origin in the atmosphere. 

 It may be so, but it certainly requires som.T explan- 

 ation of how it is the cause of life and also the cause 

 of decay. 



You also tell mo that //. V. is a distinct external 

 fungus, and in consequence does not grow on decay- 

 ing master. 



The general term of fungi represents the varied 

 members of tl is extensive class of plants, but very in- 

 adequately, since the class c^xiprthends, beside-i the 

 trut? mu broom' or fuuiii, mcuilds, morels, mildew^, 

 bliglita an 1 pufl'halls. 'I'hen fl. V. must belong to one 

 of these and be governed by the same laws, one of which 



is they grow for the most part upon decaying matter. 



You tell me that all the evidence is .against me. 

 If you would put down on paper a few items I should 

 have the chance of refuting them. * 



During the past three months my tune has been 

 occupied in finding out at what time of tlie life of 

 the leaf tho //. V. begins to appear, and I ni.ay safely 

 s.ay that it seldom if ever makes its appearance 

 before they have attained the age of two months ; 

 from this and other nndeniaWe facts, I am cnuviiiccd 

 that //. V. cannot be the cause of the unproductive- 

 ness of our coffee for the bean is only a transform- 

 ation of the leaves, combined with albumen ; it is 

 therefore easy to gee that fungi hab nothing to do 

 with fructification. [Q. E. D.— Ed. C, ] 



In a manual of structural botany by Cooke (page 

 104) is the following: — "A great many fungi are 

 true parasites producing diseased states of corn and 

 dry i-ot in wood, and are found growing upon but 

 without any great injury to other plints." — Yours 

 truly. J. HAWKE. 



P. S. — I am sendius you some fibre, and would 

 thank you for your oijinion of it. 



SULPHURIC ACID FOR GERMINATING SEEDS. 

 Central Province, 25th November 1S83. 

 Dear Sir,— The use of sulphuric acid in germinating 

 seeds is alluded to in several places in your valuable 

 publication, the Tropical Aijriculturist, but the modus 

 o^ye»'a;((/« is in no instunce described. I shall, therefore, 

 be much obliged if you or any of your corre.spondeiita 

 can kindly furnish me with information on the 

 following points :— 



(1) How many parts of water should be mixed 

 with one part of pure sulphuric acid? 



(2) Should the seed be soaked in the solution, and, 

 if 80, for how long ? — Yours truly, R. R. 



CURING SKINS OP CHEETAHS, ETC. 

 Beruwala, Kalutara, 26th Nov. 1883. 

 Dear Sir, — After skinning your animal, place the 

 skin in a large cauldron in a mixture of alum and 

 water and boil slowly until water begins to bubble, 

 then remove it and scrape the inner-side well until 

 all grease, &c. is removed, then boil again to a 

 lesser heat and remove and scrape again, after which 

 vva.sh the skin in tepid water and dry in tl:e sun — 

 a little powdered chalk may be applied to the inner 

 side after it is dry. This will soften the skin like 

 kid or chamois leather. C. A. R. 



PREPARATION OF TEA BY HAND AND 

 MACHINE. 



27th November 1883. 

 Dear Sir, — In response to Mr. Owen's challenge, I 

 have now to poin t out that the figures givi^n in Mr. 

 Armstrong's paper for maunfacture, which Mr. Owen 

 quotes and endorses, are incorrect. 



The paragraph in question rnns as follows : — 

 " By hand withnriug 1,600 lb. leaf 2 coolies 



rolling .. , 40 



firing and charcoal.. 16 



Total for 400 lb. tea 



By machine withering 

 rolling 

 firing 



58 



2 coolies 



3 



3 



saving in labor on 400 lb. tea 50 coolies. This really 

 represents a saving of 7^ cents per lb." 



Taking Mr. Armstrong's r:ite, which 1 find to be 



* It is surely for Mr. Hawke to_ prove his position that 

 U. v. is the result of vitiated juice.— Ed. 



