February i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



567 



New Guinea, Fiji and Ihe wilds of Australia for sugar 

 land could only be induced to undertake the cultiv 

 tion in Ceylon, an era of untold piosperity bo'h for 

 natives and Europeans would be at hand. The vilLigers 

 wcmld each be growing his cane-patch for the ceiitial 

 mills from stools supplied by the companies, or by 

 an enterprizing Government, or would find remuner- 

 ative employment on tlie ailjacent estates. Roads, 

 trumwaye, or even railways would permeate the sugar 

 districts, and fever, poverty and starvation would cease 

 to haunt a great extent of the lowcountry of Cey- 

 lon. For Queensland, Borneo and Fiji, where theie 

 are not half the facilities for obtaining a constant 

 supply of che.ip and efficient labour, and where tbe 

 soil and climate are no better suited fur the cultiv- 

 ation tlinn in many parts of Ceylon. Sugar is rapidly 

 extending, vast mills co.'rting fabulous sums have been 

 put up, tramways laid down on the estates, steamers 

 empldjed for the carriage of the produce and vast 

 fortunes are rapidly being accumulated by the fortunate 

 proprietors. 



>fow, Mr. Editor, seeing it is proved that at Badde- 

 gama sugar, and first-rate sugar, is now made, 

 although at first equally a failure with the Dumbara 

 estates, why not employ a Bmall space in your 

 viiluable paper in drawing the attention of wealthy 

 Australian capi alists, such as those who founded ihe 

 Colonial Sugar Company, etc., to the great fac.litics 

 for this cnlr vation in Ceylon? Htre they will find 

 labuur cheap, and abundant vast tracts of land ready 

 for the plough, and, let us hope, under Sir Arthur 

 Gordon, an energetic and enterprizing Government to 

 back them up and assist ihem with grants of land 

 on easy terms, mid enaUe them to make a start in 

 opening up the wildernesses of Ceylon and benttitting 

 the proverty and fever- stricken natives. — 1 enclose my 

 card and remain yours, VEDDA. 



Lieutenant Colonkl Edward MoSEi', whoso pre 

 vious works on Indian tea have for some years been 

 accepted as an authority in this country, has just pub- 

 lished another small pamphlet on the same subject 

 which lie heads, " The Tea Controversy (a momentous 

 Indian Question) — Indian versus Chinese Teas. Which 

 are adulterated, which are better?" The pamphlet 

 is chiefly intended for the purchasers of Indian teas 

 in England. As might be imagined, the author is 

 strongly in favour of Indian tea, though he somewhat 

 lessens the value of his opinion when he admits, as 

 he candidly does, that " regarding China Tea, I claim 

 no more than a general knowledge but it is the know- 

 ledge of one whose attention during a quarter of a 

 century has been given to all that appertains to tea. 

 I have, further, during all that time, watched closely 

 the race between China and India in its varying aspects, 

 and thus known intimately the conditions of the time 

 gone by, when Indian Tea was unknown except to 

 a few, and those that exist today, when the Indian 

 imports from nearly one-third of the consumption in 

 Great Britain." Still Colonel Money argues out the 

 question of superiority fairly enough. He shows that 

 the indigenous tea of India is superior in many res- 

 pects to that of China, but that it may be improved 

 m hardihood by "a dash of the Chinese plant in it." 

 He gives the following reasons for this tnperiority, 

 which h« boldly challenges any one to deny. Indian 

 teas are, he says. — 1. " Grown on large estates, the 

 cultivation and nianufacture being euperiuteniled by 

 educated and skilled Englishmen. 2. Manufactured 

 iu a dean way by machinery, as opposed to hantl 

 manufacture, which is the reverse of cleauly. 3. Vn- 

 adulterated. 4. Stronger, thus going further, and in 

 C"nsequ--nce more economical. On this point. I have 

 th'.wn ihat a i-uperior class ol plant, and ii hotter 

 and therefore more suitable climate, neces.sarily give 

 tbia Buperior strength and body to the Teas. In con- 



clusion, I say, if Indian Tea is the better and the 

 more ecc'nomical, why not discard the «ouful mixtures 

 offered on all sides and at least give it one fair trial 

 to sati.'fy yourself? BJieve mo if you drink ludiau 

 Tea for one week, you will, I know, endorse all I 

 have said in its favour, and drink no other ever 

 after." — En<ilv<hman, .Ian. 11th. 



Ceylon (iAMBoGE. — We have been furnished with 

 the following extract, evidently taken from the i'uhlic 

 Ledger : — 



" Gamboge. — Of 23 boxes 15 boxes sold, good pipe partly 

 run £15 17s 6d, ditto run and slightly damp il5 os, fair 

 and course mixed itl317s (3d to £14, ordinary coarse £11 

 15s, lump and pipe £11, pickings £11. 1 box Virgin 

 from Ceylon sold, tears at £14 5s." 



The prices are per cwt, so that the Ceylon " virgin" 

 gamboge sold in London for over 2s 6'd per lb. 

 The merchant who shipped the cnnsigumeut tells us, 

 he is prepared to pay I!l per lb. for all that is 

 brought hiin iu the form if " tears," that is clean 

 and free from pieces of bark. The tree is indigenous 

 and plentiful, and the proper mode of obtaiuirg the 

 gum IS to make an incision in the bark and let the 

 yellow liquid a UQ into a section of bamboo aud there 

 dessicate. From articlts which have previously ap- 

 peai'iri in our paper it will be seen that the true 

 gamboge tree is Garchiiu Banburii. 



Beche-de-Mek.— In my report for 1881 I suggested the 

 imposition of some royalty on the beche-de-mer trade. 

 The discovery that these marine slugs subsist largely on 

 Uving coral which is known to exist extensively around 

 the coast of Ceylon in shallow water sufficiently explains 

 the fact of the abundance of these animals in the Gulf of 

 Slaunar. An examination of the export Customs returns 

 would show whether trepang is shipped from Ceylon to 

 Singapore iu sufficient quantity to render worthy of con- 

 sideration the question of the imposition of an export 

 duty ou the article. The prices realized by the sale of 

 trepang at Singapore are, according to quality, as follows : — 

 Dollars per | Dollars per 



picul. 

 Trepang, Blah, (cut 



open) ... 35 



„ Hitam bulat 30 



„ Pamkn ... 35 



„ Gamat tikam 50 



„ Euangkulet, 



No. 1, large 



„ No. 2, 



Calculating tbe dollar at 



rupees, and the picul at 



30 



20 



picul 

 Trepang, Euang- 

 kulet No. 3... 12 

 „ Ealat passier 12 

 „ Lebin kulet 



limao 

 „ Jepoou 

 „ Karang 

 ,, Kachang goreng 

 nominal value of 



•12 

 20 

 16 



J 8 

 the nominal value of two 

 133^ lb, the Singapore prices 

 range, therefore, "from R13 lo nearly IMiO per hundred- 

 weight. Still higher prices are realized in Chiua. — J/r. 

 Hauijhton's Report on Mannar for 1882. 



C'ROUND-NUTS AT Tkincomalbe. — A correspondent 

 writes on 24th -Jan. :— I find nninquiry from 'an 

 upcountry planter far from encyclofSidias, &o.,' 

 what giound-nuts are? This vegetable is succese- 

 fully grown here at Kinniyaq on the west, and 

 Nill.'ivelli on the north of this district ; and ji'i it was 

 only recently exhibited to His Kxoelleney the (Governor 

 at the Horticultural Show, it strikes me at once to 

 an.swer the query. ' It is Arachie iu botany — kind of 

 earth pulse belonging to the pea tribe — bolaniealiy 

 related to the bean tribe — grows only in sandy soil in 

 climate at least as hot as of the south of Frar.ce, being 

 iintroduced there from Spain- said to bo a native of 

 America, Brazil, Africa and warmer parts of Asia. It 

 is sometimes called underground kidney beans, earth- 

 nuts, American earth-nuts and Mandubi. Yields from 

 80 to 100 fold — seeds eir pulse are eaten boiled or 

 roasted. It contains oil equal to olive or almond oil 

 for lamps or table, and is said to be much used iu the 

 manufacture of soap and chocolate. The roots have 

 qualities of liquorice and the herbage is good for cattle 

 food.' Two different species are cultivated in this 

 district and only enough for local consumption — value 

 1 eeer at 6 cents. 



