t.S6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Sept. i, 1886 



RAINFALL AND TEA IN MASKELIYA. 



Theberton, :i.;3keliya, IGth August 188(;. 

 Dear Siit, — As I expect weather reports will be 

 o£ interest this extremely wet month, so far, I 

 send you it, and also for August 1882, to the 



heaviest previously for 



. 1882. 





OS 



2-40 

 4-31 

 7-21 



o-t;3 

 1-or, 



4-42 J- c 



Total 



I believe Theberton, has the reputation of being 

 the wettest estate in Maskeliya. I feel sure if the 

 rainfall was taken on old Laxapanagalla, it 

 would show an average of J to J more per annum, 

 particularly if taken close under the Laxapanagalla 

 cliffs. 



I would mention that the average for August 

 for the whole month for 6 years is 37-47 ; so 

 this year, we are above the average in 15 days. 



Tea, this month, you may say, is at a stand- 

 still, and no wonder, after such a fall of rain. 

 The temperature has been low in mean maximum 

 G6"' mean minimum 64^. We ought, before long, 

 to be in for a good spell of iine weather, as 

 noon as this burst has blown its self out. — Yours 

 truly, T. J. GRIGG. 



AN EXEMPLARY AGRICULTURAL STUDENT. 



Dear Sik, — You will be glad to learn that the 

 scientific education imparted at the Agricultural 

 School to intelligent boys is just beginning to bear 

 fruit. That Mr. John Gabriel Atapattu of Dehiwala 

 is making a proper use of his education and know- 

 ledge of botany is clear to anyone who takes the 

 trouble to vibit his vegetable garden in his own 

 property in Dehiwala. Only the other day an Eng- 

 lish gentleman in high position condescended to 

 visit Mr. Atapattu's garden, and, whilst he kindly 

 promised to supijly tomato and other seeds to Mr. 

 Atapattu, at thn same time expressed his pleasure 

 at the way iu which work is done there. Mr. 

 Atapattu feels the sugger.tioiis made by that gentle- 

 men valuable and of great encouragement to him. 

 It is to be hoped that other agricultural students 

 v,-ill follow in the wake of Mr. Atapattu and each 

 of them will endeavour to spread a knowledge of 

 im))rovcd scientific cultivation among his neigh- 

 bours.— Yours faithfully, AGRICULTURIST. 



COCA CULTIVATION IN SOUTH AMERICA 

 SiK, — I should be glad if any of your corre- 

 spondents through the medium of your paper could 

 give me any information as to " Coca," what sort 

 of soil is the best and at what elevation ought it 

 to be grown because it would be worth trying as an 

 experiment.— Yours truly, INQUIRER. 



To a German friend in Colombo, we are in- 

 debted for the folio vving extract from the letter of 

 a South American^authority on " Coca " ; — . : 



" "With refertnce to the manner of raising, drying 

 and preparing coca on the spot, he writes as follows : 

 — Tvfo-tliirds of an aore is cleared about each cottage 

 and planted with coca and bananas. Durinar the first 

 two years the workmen are paid regular wages for 

 clearing the land and planting and caring for it, but 

 during the second year only one or two workmen are 

 needed. After the second year the gardens of the 

 workmen begin to yield and no more wages are paid 

 to them; they work three days i week for rent and have 

 the other four days to themselves. The price of 12 pesos 

 "(about ."Hs 4d each) per sesto (i* what weight) is 

 as low as coca can be raised with .'iny profit, 

 ;md there is no proTsability that it will go 

 beyond this point and remain there for nny coa- 

 siderablc time. The grade of coca raised on this 

 land is very superior. With reference to handling 

 and drying coca leaves I will state that Mr. C'.'r 

 remark concerning it has been anticipated in previous 

 rape -ts. Coca must be dried in the shade ; it is 

 impossible in that climate, artificial heat i •. ruinous. 

 No process is superior to rapid sun-drying for. the 

 reason that it is perfect. Von will see from previous 

 correspondence that I obtained same assayed results 

 from a given quantity of fresh leaves, that I did from 

 the same quantity after proper sundrying. The 

 J lorest coca assayed, that is the poorest grade of 

 p-roperly dried leaves, yields 8-lOths per cent of 

 cocaine ; the best yielded IJ per cent." 

 Ed.] 



Tea in Japan. — The Japan Weekly Mail 

 states : — Transactions in tea continue on a large scale, 

 and a further decline is reported on all kinds of leaf 

 on offer. Again the issue of June 26th, states : — 

 The tea trade has again been extensive, and though 

 prices were easy early in the week, a firmness has 

 characterised later dealings which indicates that 

 sellers have the best of the position at the close. 

 The grades principally dealt in have been medium 

 and below, and of these the shipments, both here 

 and at Kobe, have been heavy. There have been 

 but few complaints about the leaf sent in so far 

 and the season bids fair to be a good one for 

 growers. 



Bltje-gdm Oil, — In Mr. Lawson's report on the 

 Nilgiri gardens we find the following paragaph :— 

 During the year 20 lb. of the oil of the leaves of the 

 Ev.cali/pius glohulus were sent to the Madras Medical 

 Department. The last consignment was .so'd at hte 

 rate of E3-3-0— 5 shillings per pound being the whole- 

 sale English quotation. The processes required for 

 the manufacture of the oil are very simple and inex- 

 pensive, and I think it is a pity that those who have 

 large plantations of these trees should not endeavour 

 to utilize them for this purpose as well as for fuel. 

 The way to extract the oil is as follows : — The young 

 shoots, having perfectly matured but not old leaves, 

 are passed through an ordinary chaff-cutter and cut 

 into chips not exceeding one inch in length ; the smaller 

 the chips the more readily is the oil extracted from 

 them. Tliese chips are then macerated in water over 

 night and put the next morning into a still, which 

 18 kept boiling, till the greater part of the fluid has 

 past over as vapor. This is then shaken up with a little 

 common salt to cause the complete separation of the 

 oil from the water; the oil is then decanted from the 

 wat«r and passed through a sheet of filtering paper, 

 when it is ready for sale. Instead of passing the leaves 

 through a chalf-cutter, it would be better to pass them 

 through some crushing michine, as the object is to 

 smash up the hard cells, which sum und the cavities 

 into which the oil is passed by the secreting cells. I 

 do not know of such a machine, but I should think 

 that some modification of the old-fashioned mangle 

 would prove effective. EucalyptuH ohliqua, E. sidir- 

 opMoia, E.piperita. and other s^veet- smelling varieties, 

 all rif whicn are said to yield valuable .-ils. giow freely 

 on the.ie Hills; they arc m eh more bf^«»utifui in their 

 general a,spfct and their timber is greatly superior to 

 thj.t oi the ]■'. glohubar. "' ■ ' 



