May 3, 1887.] 



TriiJ TROPICAL AGKlCULTURlSf. 



7&i 



the high place which Ceylon tea has since taken in 

 the Loudon market. 



The present manual is one of a series issued by the 

 Cei/loH Ohsi'rver press, and is intended to be a com- 

 plete hand-book to all the multifarious duties of a 

 successful tea-planter. Colonel Money's " Essay," and 

 the " Tea-Planter's Vade Mecum, " both publications 

 having special reference to the circumstances of Indian 

 t'ardens, have hitherto been the only books on the 

 subject. 



As stated in the preface, Mr. Owen's manual " is 

 more a compilation of the opinions of others and the 

 results they have arrived at than an original v^ork." 

 The very valuable notes of one of the earliest and 

 most successful of Ceylon tea planters, Mr. Armstrong, 

 of Rookwood, form an important portion of the book. 

 The compiler wisely avoids an extended disquisition 

 on the original home of the tea plant and on the 

 question whether the " Assam tea tree " and the 

 '* China bush " are specifically distinct. In the latest 

 works on the subject they are both included under 

 Camellia thrifcia. Griff. There is no doubt that the 

 Assam tea tree — for in a wild state it often reaches 

 ■40 to 50 feet in height — is indigenous to the moun- 

 tainous district lying between South-Western China 

 and the River Brahmaputra. It is probable also, 

 although not clearly proved, that the China tea plant 

 — of a somewhat shrubby habit — is derived from the 

 same stock; although, as we now know, it was greatly 

 altered by persistent cultivation for several centuries 

 in a soil and climate different from those of its ori- 

 ginal home. The China tea plant has been found 

 wild in no part of Cliina. Under cultivation in Cey- 

 lon the Assam variety is suited to the plains, a hybrid 

 form IS sought for mid-elevations, while the China 

 variety is useful only for the highest elevations up to 

 8000 and 7000 feet. Mr. Owen recommends that for 

 all new plantations the best " jat " of Assam or hybrid 

 plants should be obtained, as " no amount of career 

 skill will make up for a bad class of plant put into 

 the garden at the outset." To a beginner in Cey- 

 lon, or to a planter, in any other country, unacquainted 

 ■with the particular methods pursued on Ceylon 

 estates, the book would prove at first somewhat per- 

 plexing. Too much knowledge is assumed on the 

 part of the reader as regards the important ques- 

 tions involved in the selection of land, while as regards 

 " the details of cultivation the particular " fads " and 

 ''fancies" of individual planters are too largely dwelt 

 upon. It would have been more to the purpose to 

 present a clear and simple statement of the first prin- 

 ciples upon which the growth and culture of the 

 tea plant, as a plant, should be based, in order to pro- 

 duce the best results. As regards the details of the 

 manufacture of tea, quoting authorities is no doubt 

 the best course, for the process of manufacture cou- 

 Bists of a series of purely empirical operations, and 

 a statement of principles alone would not meet the 

 case. After discussing selection of land (Chap. 1.), 

 varieties of the tea plant (Cliap. II.), seed and nur- 

 series (Chap. III.), lining, holing, and planting (Chap. 

 IV.), field cultivation (Chap. "V.), topping and prun- 

 ing (Chap. VI.), plucking (Chap. VII.), and manu- 

 facture (Chp. VIII). ,the writer devotes the remain- 

 der of the book to buildings end machinery (with 

 plans), and to statistical returns connected with yield 

 and cost of production. 



The rapid progress made by the tea industry in 

 Ceylon is exemplified by the fact that, while in 1878 

 only 'i8'2 pounds of tea were exported, during the 

 past year 1680 the exports reached over 7,(X)0,(X}0 

 pouncltj. The probable exports in 1887 are placed at 

 12,000,000 pounds, while in 1888 they are expected 

 to reach 30,000,000 pounds. So far, the price of 

 Ceylon tea has maintained a slight advantage over 

 Indian teas— the average price during 1883 being Is. 

 3Jd per pound for Ceylon tea, as against Is Irfd for 

 Indian teas. The combined effect of large shipments 

 of Indian and Ceylon teas will no doubt lead in time 

 to a displacem.ent of much that now comes from 

 China. And while the general character of tea ob- 

 tainable in European markets will improve, there 

 obviously must come a fall in prices for which both 

 Indian and Ceylon tea planters must be fully pre- 

 jpwed. At the Colooiftl aad Incliaa iExbibitiou, tlsanke 



to the energy of Mr. J. L. Shand, Ceylon tea was 

 admirably brought before the English public. Tea 

 from Natal, Fiji, and a small sample from Jamaica 

 were also shown ; but the tea from fiji possessed 

 such special qualities that we shall probably hear 

 more of this promising article. 



To return to the subject of this notice, the " Tea- 

 Planter's JNIannal " is a useful summary of the know- 

 ledge gained respecting tea-planting in Ceylon, and 

 it embodies much valuable information for the use 

 of practical planters. What fault there ia to be found 

 is not with tlie book itself, but with the system of 

 cultivation it inculcates— a system which unfortunately 

 appears to be adopted in the treatment of most tro- 

 pical economic plants by European planters. These 

 plants are treated too purely as so many " rupee 

 making' machines. Too little attention is given to 

 the characteristics and habits of the plants as living 

 subjects, and too much to the details of an unsym- 

 pathetic and essentially artificial system, already 

 proved in Ceylon to be unsuited tothe coffee plant, 

 but into which there is now a strange tendency to force 

 the tea plant. As there are diversities of soils and 

 climates, so there are also diversities of industrial 

 plants exactly suited to them. "Where all such con- 

 siderations are ignored, there is danger both to the 

 plants and the planter ; and this danger ought in 

 the present case to be avoided. D. M. 



— Nature. 



N.B. FOR Cetlon Tea Pl.^nteks. — Says the 

 Produce Markets^ Review : — 



The rapid increase in the production of Ceylon tea, 

 and the augmented quantities brought forward at the 

 public sales, will necessitate the importance of avoid- 

 ing smnli breaks a.s much as possible, and Importers 

 will study their interests by giving this subject their 

 attention. If the Ceylon season's out-turn reaches the 

 estimate of from 14,000,000 lb. to 15,000,000 lb., it is 

 evident that, with the anticipated larger imports of In- 

 dian tea, the trade will have httle time to devote to 

 exr-eedingly small lots. Of the 1 ,621 packages of Ceylon 

 offered this week, no fewer than 76 breaks consisted 

 of ten chests and under ; and, when it is considered 

 that the same expense and time are necessary to sample 

 and value these trifling lots as is required for parcels 

 of four or five times the size, it will be obvious to 

 Importer.s that they will consult their interests best 

 by combining lots as- much as may be practicable. 

 Very small lots in times of pressure stand little chance 

 of being properly tasted, whereas if five or six were 

 clubbed together the trade would give them a due 

 share of attention. 



The Kalut.\ra. Tea District is described as 

 the scene of great activity at present — not only 

 among the planters in overtaking flush, and manu- 

 facturing tea, but in the erection of new factories 

 and other indispensable buildings — the number em- 

 ployed (artisans and other Sinhalese, apart from 

 coolies) is very considerable, and the money spent 

 must benefit thousands all along the Galle road. 

 The best carpenters are from Ambalangoda. A very 

 narrow escape from lightning was experienced hj 

 the much-liked Chairman of the District P. A., 

 Mr. Morison, whose bungalew on Culloden— on 

 the top of a high rock,~was struck in his absence 

 and some damage done in a place where he 

 usually sits when at home. The electric discharge 

 ran from the factory chimney, down the three 

 wires supporting it, and killed the three trees to 

 which they were tied. No wonder though lights 

 ning conductors have since been fitted up fof 

 bungalow and factory. Some coolies in the factofy 

 were paralysed so completely that life seemed to 

 have departed from them ; but by the use of 

 mustard plasters over their bodies and whiskey 

 given internally, after a time pulsation \yas res- 

 tored, and in a few days they were about tbeit 

 work ae usual. 



