Oct. i, 1886,3 



THB TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



223 



fact, the oldest Tea in Madulsima is only two 

 »ud a halt' years old, but so rapid has been the ex- 

 teosicu of this cultivation, that there are now 2,000 

 acres under Tea, and 600 will be added this season. 

 On Fva Estate there are 400 acres of Tea, and here 

 the first planting only, 18 months old, is as fine a 

 cover of Tea as any in the Island, and the question 

 of flushing may now be finally set at rest, as growth 

 during the dry months of June and July has proved 

 to be fully as good as anything in Kandyan country. 

 The flush on trees 18 months old cut down to the 

 hard wood in June, in one month from cutting, gave 

 a growth of ten to fourteen inches. On Galoola 

 Estate the Tea is even finer and more luxuriant and 

 stronger in growth at the same age. I have mentioned 

 these two Estates without disparagement to other 

 Estates, simply to shew what may fairly be expected 

 from Tea in Madulsima and Hewa Eliya. Much 

 of the Tea is quite equal to a yield of 600 lb. made 

 Tea to ^the acre, and when the ground is not too 

 steep to fork in manure I see no renson why the 

 maximum Ceylon yield of 1200 lb. should not be 

 obtained. The character of the plant in Uva is es- 

 sentially different from the Tea shrub raised from 

 the same jat of seed at a similar elevation on the 

 Kandy side. The growth is much stronger and thicker, 

 and lateral branches are thrown out with more regularity 

 l^from every eye on the stem ; the foliage is denser, 

 and the leaves remain longer on the bush and are 

 of a darker colour ; the stems of the young shoots 

 are thicker, and the brown or ripe wood follows more 

 quickly on the flush ; the leaves are also thicker and 

 heavier, and it will tie found in practice when pluck- 

 ing, although I have had no opportunity as yet of 

 fully verifying the correctness of this statement, that 

 a given number of tips, including the Souchong leaf, 

 will perhaps weigh as much as 20 0/0 more than 

 lowcountry grown Tea. It will probahly be found 

 necessary to pluck what usually termed fine plucking, 

 and there may be found some difficulty in the 

 manufacture at first, but the samples of made Tea 

 I have tasted and tried, although only roughly made, 

 bear me out in all I have previously said as to the 

 value of Uva Tea — they have both strength and 

 flavour. Several Tea factories are being erected in 

 the District, and before 1886 closes, Uva, or at least 

 Madulsima. Tea will have proved itself in the market. 

 Most of the E.itates have a small reserve of forest 

 which will last some time, and charcoal may be had 

 from the low country in any quantity, but a cart road 

 is much wanted from end to end of the District, that 

 is from Passara to Roeberrj' Estate. There are no 

 bridges of any size required, and a good gravel road 

 might ^be constructed for say R12,000 per mile. 

 At present length and difficulty of transport are the 

 great drawbacks to this District. No Estate will be 

 able to send down full chests of Tea, and even half- 

 chests will be difficult of transport to the cart 

 road. — Local '' Advertiser." 



4 



THE COLONIAL EXHIBITION.— NO. VII. 



CEYLON. 



From all poin*;s of view the collection from Ceylon 

 is one of great interest. Tea, as might be supposed, 

 occupies a prominent position, numerous samples 

 being exhibited, some apprently of excellent ([uality. 

 The preparation of Tea for the market is well 

 illustrated by a series of photographs. In the course 

 of ten years the Tt^'a industry has mii velloi sly increased 

 in Ceylon. In 1876, :.'82 lb. only were exported, and 

 iu 1885 it had reached 3.7!Hi,684! lb. — this increase 

 being the result of a high quality Tea, the distinguishing 

 characters of which are described as richness of 

 flavour combined with strength — '• the re.sults of most 

 careful cultivation and systematic attention to every 

 detail of manufacture." In the excellent Illc.strated 

 Handbook and Catalogue for Cei/l on, which has recently 

 been published, it is said that "On a Ceylon Tea 

 estate the leaf is never allowed to be handled from 

 the moment it passes into the factory to the time 

 it is bulked in a huge heap preparatory to packing 

 iu chests ; every stage hi the delicate operation is 

 passud automatically, and thus the mo^t rigoroui* 



cleanliness and freedom from possible taint is secured." 

 Amoiipsi spices, Cinnamon takes the most prominent 

 place. Magnificent bundles of this bark are shown, 

 together with chips and clippings. These chips, it 

 seem.*, are largely used in the manufacture of Thorley's 

 cattle food, as well as in perfumery, and in the 

 distillation of Cinnamon oil, a good deal of which is 

 also made in the island. Jiiggery, which is a coarse 

 description of su^ar obtained chiefly from the Palmyra 

 Palm (Borassus flabciliformis), was exported from the 

 Northern Province of the island during the past year 

 to the extent of nearly 7,000 cwt., valued at £2,000. 

 Besides this large consumption of Jaggery iu Ceylon, 

 the trade mijiht be made one of great importance, 

 as there is at present an active demand from Europe. 

 Under dyes and dye stuffs we find Jackwood, the 

 wood of Artocarpus integtifolia, which, it is said, 

 " dyes an extermel_y useful yedovv, aud is ufsed by 

 the natives for dyeing house mats, fibres for orna- 

 ment, as well as for giving to cotton and silk cloths 

 the peculiar pale canary colour which is required for 

 the robes of the Buddist priesthood. It is not 

 exported." 



Of Anatto, of which there are some fine examples, 

 both of seeds aud paste, the Handbook says : — " This 

 useful and rather delicate orange red dye is obtained 

 from the pulp surrounding the seeds of Bixa orellaua. 

 This dye is largely used in Europe and India iu 

 dyeing silks and also for colouring cheese and other 

 articles. The pulpy matter is separated from the 

 seeds by boiling, and when dried pressed into cakes 

 and shipped. It is imported into England chiefly 

 from French Guiana where it is native ; but the plant 

 is an ancient introduction to Ceylon and is now 

 semi-wild." 



Besides a large collection of small wood specimens, 

 of which there is published an excellent list, there 

 are some remarkably fine examples of the choicer 

 cabinet woods such as Caiamander, T.imarind, Satin- 

 wood, &c. Of the first of these, obtained from 

 Diospyros quercita, it is unsatisfactory to known that 

 it is becoming extremely scarce. The tree is of slow 

 growth and the forests in the south of Ceylon are 

 now denuded of all their Caiamander trees of a size 

 suitable for furnishing cabinet wood. Of Satinwood 

 the produce of Chloroxylon Swietenia we also learn 

 from the Handbook that the " trees are common 

 enough in the northern, eastern, aud north-western 

 forests, but the proportion of these which yield 

 " flowered Satinwood " is very small, and this des- 

 cription of wood is therefore comparatively high in 

 price. One would not think there was any scarcity 

 in Satinwood when one sees such elaborate show-cases 

 made of it in which the Ceylon Teas are exhibited, 

 and the use to which it seems to be put in Ceylon 

 for carriage building. 



The Ceylon court is well arranged, and the Hand- 

 book and Catalogue is one of the best of the Exhibi- 

 tion Series. John B. Jackson, Curator, Museums, lioyal 

 Gardens, Kew. — Gardeners'' Chronicle. 



♦ 



Coffee Roasting. — " It is a nice task to brown coffee 

 just right," said a New York coffee-roaster the other 

 day. "Nearly everybody browns coffee too much. 

 It comes out burned instead of browned, although it 

 is greatly to the interest of the wholesalers not to 

 brown it too much on account of the loss of weight. 

 "\^"hen the berry is roasted until it becomes red, in- 

 stead of chestnut colored, as is customary, it preserves 

 its maximum weight and aroma. One hundred pounds 

 of berries roasted properly lose but fifteen pounds 

 in weight. As usually roasted they lose twenty pounds, 

 If roasted long enough the berry glazes over and 

 turns dark brown. It loses a fourth of its weight 

 in the process." " Why does the grocer overroast 

 his coffee, theny" was asked. "Th-^ trade demands 

 it. The coffee that is made from over-burned berries 

 is black, and the flavour is rank. The popular taste 

 is educated to choose black coft'ee, aud would find 

 the light-colored liquid made from the reddened berries 

 rather insipid at first, and would refuse to buy 

 enough to learn to admire the rich flavor of the 

 reddened berries." — Ainerkan i'aper. 



