Feb. I, 1887.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



535 



!^H!! 



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To the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer." 



THE APPLICATION OF LIME TO CEYLON 

 PLANTATIONS. 



Watagama, Jan. 20th. 

 Deab Sir,— I have to thank you for kind notice 

 of my favorite district in which I have worked the 

 last 28 years with such good success, Panwila and 

 Watagama. I am glad Mr. Hughes has brought for- 

 ward the great benefit to be derived from the applic- 

 ation of lime, for I can without fear of contradiction 

 say it has baen more by the application of coun- 

 try-burnt coarse lime with small quantities of 

 manare when wanted, and forking now and again, 

 close draining at 1 in 30, not 1 in 15, using the 

 soil* out of drains with the manure when forking, 

 that Maria first and now Raxawa (a tine tea and 

 cinchona estate near Panwila) have been made 

 valuable and paying properties. I propose for the 

 6oil that is hard or stiff in coffee, tea, cinchona 

 or cacao, to use burnt country-lime which as a 

 rule is coarse, in preference to the finely burnt 

 coral lime ; as I found in practice the former proved 

 the most beneficial and acting on the soil much 

 longer. In working up soil with Hme for grain cul- 

 ture no doubt, Mr. Hughes' recommendation of fine 

 lime is best. In Ceylon, and in the low-country 

 particularly, it is well once every five years to sow 

 kurakkan seed and when 6 inches high to give 

 a lime dressing and then fork it in. This I have 

 proved a great success and not very expensive ; 

 this here takes the place of clover in England. I 

 also find that 20 bushels per acre is quite sufiicient 

 to act on the soil to be repeated after two years. 

 Yon must, however, either apply compost manure 

 or fork in young kurakkan when required.— Yours 

 truly, J- HOLLOWAY. 



GOW'S PATENT TEA MANUFACTUEING 

 MACHINE, "THE MONARCH." 



Mariawatte, Gampola, Jan. 21st, 1887. 



DE.iE SiK, — The above machine has been erected 

 in Mariawatte factory by permission of Mr. 

 Rutherford, and was tried under Mr. Gow's per- 

 sonal supervision, on the 15th and 16th instant, 

 with satisfactory results, the work on the 15th 

 being done in the presence of the following gen- 

 tlemen amongst others : — Messrs. Megginson, David- 

 son (Kalutara), W. D. Bosanquet, Blackett, T. N. 

 Orchard, J. Drumniond, T. C. Owen, J. Anderson 

 (Matale),S Hayes, Carry, Gibbon, J. C. Ferguson, &c. 



Notes having been more carefully taken on the 

 16th than on the loth, it will be best to give 

 particulars of that day's work. The leaf plucked 

 on the 15th amounted to 1,0:0 lb., and a com- 

 mencement was made at 9 o'clock a.m. on the 

 16th, with a charge of 350 lb. about a quarter 

 withered, which, after being worked in the "Monarch" 

 for -15 minutes was ready for rolling. The whole 

 of the leaf was worked oil in charges increasing 

 from 350 to 628 lb., according to tiie progress of 

 the natural wither, the last charge (628 lb. 

 of nearly full-withered leaf) being ready for roll- 

 ing at o o'clock p.m., after being 30 minutes in 

 the "Monarch." 



The leaf was rolled heavily, and, when taken out 

 of the rollers, broken up, sifted Sec, was ready 

 for the dryer, the usual time taken to ferment 

 being thus saved. 



The first charge consisted of part of the pre- 



* Soils were not considered good by some, but I 

 kaow the soil and what I could do with it in our 

 district, 



vious afternoon's leaf, the last charge being part 

 of the raorning leaf, so that the last of the leaf 

 was put into the rollers about the time when, 

 according to the ordinary system of manufacture, 

 the first of it would have been only fully withered. 

 As there seems to be an impression that leaf can 

 be brought in from the field and manufactured 

 at once by means of this machine, it may be 

 well to mention that it must be partially withered 

 on the tats before the work can be begun. Green 

 tea can, by means of the " Monarch," be made 

 from newly plucked leaf. 



The consumption of fuel to make 1,0001b. tea 

 was as follows : — For the boiler 3 cubic yards, for 

 the " Monarch " 4 cubic feet, for the " Victoria " 

 2-J' cubic yards. It took only 10 to 15 minutes 

 to get the heat in the " Monarch" up to 180°, 

 and it was kept at 140 ° to 1 80 ° during the work 

 with the above quantity of wood. 



The machine takes about 2 horse-power to drive it. 



The tea made was of a good black colour, with 

 a fine show of bright tip, and the liquor was pung- 

 ent and flavoury, and creamed down well, while 

 the fermentation was bright and even. Some 

 of the advantages claimed for this machine, 

 which in this trial seem to be borne out by the 

 results, are : — That it perfects the withering and 

 fermentation by artificial means, and thus saves 

 time in manufacture, obviating the necessity, in 

 wet weather, of keeping the leaf on the withering 

 tats for more than one day ; that it gives a good, 

 even fermentation within a given time ; that, after 

 commencing manufacture, the leaf can be worked 

 straight through all the other processes without any 

 intermediate delay ; that, with the machinery used 

 here, a great saving can be effected in fuel for 

 the boiler and " Victoria " dryer, owing to the 

 continuity of the manufacture ; and that night 

 work can, to a great entent, be avoided. 



Mr. Gow also contends that the leaf, in con- 

 sequence of its gummy condition on leaving the 

 " Monarch," rolls better, and that this advantage is 

 apparent in the sorting ; that the tips are multiplied 

 by the opening of the convoluted buds in the fer- 

 menting process in the " Monarch." 



The great test that remains to complete the 

 success of the machine is the London Market, and 

 if teas made on this system pass muster 'favour- 

 ably there, I think Mr. Gow may well be con- 

 gratulated, and will deserve the thanks oC tea 

 planters for having conferred such a boon on them. 

 —Yours faithfully, GEO. D. JAMIESON. 



Notes on Coi'eee and Tea (cy a Tea Plantek). — 

 Have been for a long trip upcountry and was sur- 

 prised to see a lot of coffee looking Al over Dira- 

 bula and Dikoya. Tea ideas are again being turned 

 topsy-turvy : Mr. Gow says he will make as good 

 tea as can be made, in a few hours from plucking 

 and certainly his experiment was " feai'fully 

 and wonderfully made" according to old ideas. 

 Some men are discarding the spheroid in Barber's 

 Roller and two men told me that it rolled better 

 without spheroid. 



Tka. — It is curious to note that, in spite of the 

 rivalry of Indian gardens, the Chinese find it pro- 

 fitable to export a by no means inconsiderable 

 quantity of tea to Calcutta. During the last offi- 

 cial year they sent us 52,123 lb. The trade is said 

 to owe its existence solely to the very inferior 

 quality of the tea, which is sold at a correspond- 

 ingly low price ; a principal consideration with 

 many who from choice or necessity regard its 

 cheapness as the first essential of a purchase. 

 The trade, however, is steadily declining, and ten 

 years ago the importation amounted to 692,852 lb, 

 —Tmcs of India, 



