March, i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



633 



CEZL3S[ U?JOJirili' PLVNriN'J EEPORT.j 



COFFEK CROPS IX THE KAN'DVAN DISTRICT— THE NEW TEA j 

 ROLLEB OF KIXMOXD AND RICHARDSOX — KiXDY AGRI- I 

 HOUTfCULTUU-VLSHOW— SUCCESSFUL FLOATING OF A LOW 

 COUNTRY TEA COMPAN'y — TEA CLEAUINQS BUHXF Oi'F O.V i 

 SU.VDAVS— CABDAJfOM PLAN TINt) — CllBAF LAIiOUll. 



28th Feb. 18,S7. 

 In all the Kandvan districts and especially in 

 Dumbara there has been a tine blossom on the 

 coffee. It has been very magniticent in Dumbara, 

 as much as eight cwt. an acre said to have been 

 out. The rain which followed a few days later 

 must have given it every chance to set, and although 

 a set blossom in that part is not by any means a 

 harbinger of a sure crop, still it is so far on the way. 

 There is more blossom still to come, so that the 

 trees will have enough to do to carry it. 



The new roller of Kinmond and Richardson is 

 doing gook work, I learned. One who has seen 

 it at work speaks o£ it as " a stylish machine," 

 being " neatly made, nicely fitted and very corns- 

 pact." He adds : " We put in 3i)01b. of leaf for a 

 roll, although it will take up to 4501b. and the 

 work was splendidly done. The leaf was well withered 

 and the machine had every chance of showing 

 what it could do, and I must say it prove;! to 

 us all present that it was able to do good work." 

 At the Agri-Horticultural Show which is to be 

 held in Kandy if each maker would forward a 

 specimen roller there would be a tine opportunity 

 for the public seeing the different michines, aad 

 especially if they were in motion, which ought to 

 be arranged. A reward for the best tea rolled on 

 the spot might well tind a place in the prize list, 

 and what would hinder the firing off" of the samples 

 in one of the driers which might ba on exhib- 

 ition ? An opportunity would then be given of com- 

 paring the merits of the diff'erent makers, such as 

 otherwise would be impossible. The made teas 

 might also be judged. I incline to think, that for 

 planters at any rate this part of the exhibition, 

 if carried out, would be as popular as any and 

 not without value in an educational light. 



One of the lowcountry tea Companies — which was 

 held to be bound to come to grief from the number of 

 V. A.'s which had shares — is doing very well and 

 full of much promise. It is said that they ex- 

 pect to declare a dividend of 20 per cent next 

 year! Happy shareholders I If this tine return does 

 come how these V. A.'s will open their eyes? As 

 to the croakers who saw in the accumulated wis- 

 dom of the V. A.'s a source of danger which 

 might wreck an-y enterprise, even the most promis- 

 ing, they may safely be left to come to a better 

 state of mind, and recognize somehow that the 

 Company has been mercifully preserved. 



It is strange how such things at times come about. 

 I know a tea clearing which was burnt off' on a 

 Sunday, the Sinhalese contractor deeming that a 

 lucky day — and which immediately became the sub- 

 ject of prophecy. With a fine sense of justice, it was 

 sure by those who took up their parable that the 

 eff'ectof this supposed breach of the fourth command- 

 ment, would bring with it disaster, not on the Sinha- 

 lese sinner nor on the European manager, but 

 on the innocent proprietors in England, who had 

 no say in the matter. The clearing would never 

 thrive, it was said, and from its earliest date it 

 inherited a curse. But like threatened men, who 

 live long, cursed estates don't do badly, and the 

 clearing in question can today be favourably com- 

 pared with any I know. I am very glad it is so : j 

 otherwise one's sense of what is right would have 

 been confused past all hope. i 



In a quiet way in different districts there is 

 land being prepared for the planting of cardamoms 

 during the next S.-W. monsoon. Those who pre- 

 tend to know say " Now's the time," and hold 

 out prospects of a good return. 



Group of coolies are on the move, and kanganie<? 

 seek employment for them at moderate advances. 

 Many estates have men at the Coast recruiting 

 and more are going. This is really the way to 

 solve the la'jour difficulty, and not go on buying 

 up gangs here at enhanced rates. 



Pei'I'eucoux. 



PEARL. 



Pearl. — A peculiar product of certain marine and 

 fresh water molluscs or shell fish. Most of the mollus- 

 cous auimils w-.ich are aquatic and reside in shells are 

 proviile.l with a fluid secretion with which they line 

 their shells, and give to the otherwise harsh granular 

 material, of which the shell is formed, a beautifully 

 smooth surface, which prevents any unpleasant friction 

 upon the extremely tender body of the animal. This 

 secretion is evidently laiJ iu extremely thiu semi-trans- 

 parent films, which, in consequence of such au arrange- 

 meut, have generally a beautiful irridesceuce, and form 

 in some sp-.ciea a sufficient thickuess to be cut into 

 useful and ornamental articles. The material itself ia 

 its hardened condition is called nacre by zoologists, 

 a,nd by dealers Mother-of-Pearl. Besides the pearly 

 lining of the shells, detached and generally spherical 

 or rouiided portions of the nacre ard often found on 

 opening the shells, and there is great reason to sup- 

 pose these are the result of accidental causes, such as 

 tha intrusion of a grain of sand or other substance, which, 

 by irritating the tender body of the animal, obliges 

 it iu self-lefence to cover the cause of offence, which 

 it has is na power to remove; and as the secretion 

 g03s on regularly to sujjply the growth and wear of 

 the shell, the included body c )ustantly gets its share, 

 an 1 thereby continues to iuorease iu size until it be- 

 I comes a pearl. The Chinese avail themselves of the 

 I knowledge of this fact to compel one species of fresh- 

 water mussel, Unio Hyria, to produce pearls. Iu order 

 to do this, they keep the Unios in tanks, and in- 

 sert between the shcil and the mantle of the animal 

 either small leaden siiot or little spherical pieces of 

 mother-of-pearl. These are sure to receive regular 

 coatings of the nacreous secretion ; and after a time 

 look like p ^arls formed under ordinary circumstances. 

 These curious people also practise another trick upon 

 these animals; they insert small images of the Buddha 

 stamped out of metal, which soon become coated witli 

 the pearl secretion, and are cemented by it to the 

 shells; to those ignorant of its origin, the phenome- 

 non is a supernatural testimony to the truth of Bud- 

 dhism. Examples of these curiosities are to be found 

 in many of our museums. 



A plan of making pearls was suggested to the Swed- 

 ish Government by Linnceus. It consisted in boring 

 a small hole through the shell of the river njussel, and 

 inserting a grain of sand, so as to afford a nucleus for 

 a pearl. The plan at first succeeded sufficiently well 

 to prove its practicability, and he was rewarded by a 

 sum of monej' (£150) but it failed as a profitable specu- 

 lation, and was abandoned. 



The exact nature of the secretion has never been 

 satisfactorily determined ; it is, however, ascertained 

 that it is deposited in thiu films ; wliich overlie each other 

 irregularly, au 1 to this peculiar disposition of the 

 plates, the beautiful irridesceuce of common pearls is 

 attributed. This formation was a great puzzle to the 

 ancients, amongst whom they were highly prized. Dio- 

 scorides and Pliny mention the belief that they were 

 drops of dew or rain which feii into the shells when 

 opened by the animals, and were then altered by some 

 power of the animal into pearls. This opinion which, 

 obtained all over the east, is thus charmingly alluded 

 to by Moore : — 



