'^uu 'TROPICAL AaRicuLTumsf. [Nov. t. im. 



■I i|iiiirhjiii r«nirin •>m 



>.. 



and damping it gets in river transport, and the 

 only principal road to Kalutara now ia Hooded 

 repeatedly during the year, and stops short seven 

 nrilcs from the railway. At this point a large 

 cart bridge was put up some years ago at con- 

 siderable expense {and the road nut cvntinncd a foot 

 hi'i/ond it ! I), so that carts come to the bridge 

 and turn without crossing it, there being no road. 



TLANTING IN NETHERLANDS INDIA. 



(From the Straita Timen.) 



We understand that Mr. Teves, one ot our 

 townsmen, along with an experienced Deli planter, 

 and on account of an enterprising tobacco grower 

 in Mid .Tava, will proceed to British North Eorneo 

 to ascertain how matters stand there, and how 

 far that article can be successfully cultivated there 

 for the European market by the methods pursued 

 on the East Coast of Sumatra. It is dej)lorable 

 that enterprising Hollanders must look to British 

 colonies for advancement in the cultivation line, 

 notwithstanding the circumstance of Holland having 

 niagnilicent colonial possessions. The British 

 seem to have the knack of better knowing how 

 to encourage private enterprise and backing 

 it up than our Government. We look forwards 

 with interest to further jiarticulars of this under- 

 taking owing to so little being known as yet of 

 British North Borneo. Sainarang Locoinotief. 



At Buleling in Bali so says a Surabaya news- 

 paper, the tobacco hitherto grown was used only 

 for native consumption. The quality, however, 

 has proved so excellent and the leaf so choice 

 fhat the article has some chance of being grown 

 at a profit also for the European market. Bali 

 may hence at some time become a rival to Deli. 

 Experiments in this direction have not yet been 

 made but no doubt will soon be, judging from 

 appearances. 



Du. BoNAViA, in a letter to the Gardeners' ('hro- 

 uic/e (July 31, p. 147), gives a glowing account of 

 the beauty of the Cassia ti.''tula tree, or "amiltas," 

 as he calls it. When iu bloom he considers it to be 

 one of the sights of the Indian flora. An avenue of 

 the trees iu bloom would, he says, be worth a trip 

 from any part of the world to see. Wheu in full 

 Hower it is a perfect cascade of canary-yellow spra3'. 

 He remarks that there are two varieties, one with 

 bright green leaves throughout, wliich has liowers 

 of a pale yellow, avid the other with fiuc maroou- 

 brorze leaves wheu young, but turning greeu later 

 on, and bright canary-yellow flowers. — rharmaceutical 

 Journal. 



iJxviiiUMKXTAL ToB.U'co Ci'LTUUK. — On .soiue ground 

 rented by Messrs. CABihU & Co., at Plaistow in Kent, 

 fi nunibir of varities of the Tobacco plant are 

 now lindergoiiig ;v course of trial, bo a.s to ascertain 

 the varitics best suited to our climate, Tlie tjrouiid 

 U so far isuited to the groivth of the plant it being 

 iv'.'li sheltered, Lut although its ana doea not cscecd 

 three-quarters of un acre, there appears to be consider- 

 iible diversity in its fertility, as is shown by the 

 Varying heights and strength of the plants ; and the 

 lowest part of the grountl is liable to be iloodcd by 

 >yatcr from a neighbouring ditcb. These drawbacks 

 «'ouH be avoid: d by deep digging after an even distrih- 

 ntiou of homogeneous well-rotted in.nnure, and by 

 oilier obvious change-:. 'J'lic sorts grown are Havana, 

 iSpmish Sced-Leaf, i^'lorida, ViUow I'ryor, Hester Vir- 

 ginii, rcnnsylvania, One Hucker, Kentucky, \^u-ginian, 

 15ig ]''redcrick, Mnryland Broadleaf, Island Broadleaf, 

 >\'hite Burlt^y, ^\'hite Stem, "b'ellow Oronoco, Con- 

 necticut, and G'.asuer. The most prc-nusing Tobaccos 

 are those which are long jjinted and broad-leaved. 

 Tho^e carry their foliage ch' ir of the soil, and are 

 iu toueequwitt not diipfigurcd by dirt vr injured by 



worms and slugs; the air gets better amongst them 

 than is the case with the short compact-habited sorts 

 whoso leaves, as in the case of Cann's Seed-Leaf, lie 

 on the ground or nearly so. Glasner, Connecticut, 

 Pennsylvania, and AVhite Burley are each more or 

 less, so far as could be seen now, of this close dwarf 

 habit. The other kinds differ from these iu being, 

 as we have said, of an ascending habit, with long in- 

 tervals between the leaves. Some h.ave slendt^r foliage, 

 pendulous at the tips; other support the leaf horizon- 

 ;j tally, or nearly so ; and in scarcely any of them are 

 the various hues of green ahke. The plants are now 

 growing fast, and if the weather continues warm, 

 without rain, gr«at progress will be made before we 

 get frost in that part of the country. The method 

 of cultivation adopted is that generally advocated by 

 men of experience in the United States of America. 

 the plants being set out on light hillocks standings 

 feet apart in the row, and 4 feet between the rows, 

 the greater space affording means of getting amongst 

 the plants with the cultivator iu the early stages, and 

 with the hoe later. Topping the plants as they show 

 the liower-buds and have developed nine leaves, with- 

 out reckoning the bottom pair, and constantly re- 

 moving laterals, requires the constant attention of 

 the man in charge of the crop. If it should be found 

 to answer, and our GDvernment lix an Excise tax on 

 each plant, as is done in Belgium, it would prove a 

 source of revenue to our small farmers and cottagers, 

 as the profits per acre are considerably higher than 

 those from corn, &c. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Tea Peosi'Ects in Inwa. — From the Calcutta 

 "Commercial Letter" in the latest P/oKt'gy we take 

 the following : — 



The following are the tigures published by the Cal- 

 cutta Tea Association, giving correct estimates of the 

 crop. The previous estimates of the Indian tea crop 

 given iu their Circular, dated 8th May last were : — 



Estimated 

 crop ot 1S86. 

 lb. 

 . . 35,133,494 

 . . •2-2,908,180 

 . . 13,302,800 

 1,346,800 

 3,250,000 



Assam 



Cachar and Sylhet 

 Darjeeling, Terai, and Dooars. . 

 Chittagong and Chota Nagpore 

 Dehra Dun, Kumaon, and Kangra 



Total . . 75,941,274 



From figures since obtained, a revised estimate has 



been prepared based upon actual results up to 31st 

 August, showing the following figures : — 



Manufactured up to 31st August 1885. 1886. 



lb. lb. 



Assam .. .. .. li),520,520 18.910,054 



Cachar and Sylhet .. 11,749,129 13,004,412 



Dsrjeeling, Terai and Dooars 7,076,594 8,769,820 

 Chittagong and Chota Nagpore 589,154 651,057 



Total .. 35,935,397 41,335,343 

 Ixevised estimate of crop, 1S80;— 



lb. ,. 



Assam ■ , , . , . ,, ;t'i,5H4,Jj,*;J 



Cachar and Hyllict - , , , . , ■2-J,U74,0'^r 



Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars.. ,, 13,Ol4,4^i^ 



. Chittagong and Chota Nagpoic .. 1,316,5' " 



Dehra Dun, Kuuiaou and Kangra . . 3,500,000 



Private and Native Gardens (estimated) 2,000,000 



Total . . 74,489,579 



The consumption of Indian tea in India and the 

 rc((uireincnts of Govcrunieut being estimated at IJ 

 million lb., and the exports to the Australian Colonies 

 and other places beiii'' calculated at 2 million lb., 

 thtrc should remain about 71 inilliou lb. for ship- 

 ineut to Groat Britam against 65] million lb. shipped 

 during the season of 1885-86. 



Adding 13 million lb. out of a total of 11 million 

 exported from Ceylon, we get ><i million lb. of 

 Indian and Ceylon tea for the United Kingdom in 

 IS8(>-87. But the Indian and Ceylon seasons clo not 

 quite correspond, 



