April 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



823 



AS TO HEDGE PLANTING. 



TO THE EDITOn OF THE " INDIAN TEA GAZETTE." 



Sir, — "Would any of your reader.s enlighten rae whether 

 he tried planting on the Itcdyt' .'iygicm; if .so, with wliat 

 result. This is quite distinct from close planting, which, 

 with the soil and climate of Assam, is, I think, a mistake. 

 I have planted 5 acres of laml at 5' x IV, putting two 

 seeds to a stake. If there be no accommodation for the 

 bushes to grow, I shall then cut the bushes, so that 

 they may be 5' x 3'. There is in my neighboiu-hood a 

 garden planted 6' x 6', from which the proprietors have 

 got something like 7 mauuds per acre this sea.sou. I 

 wonder whether the yield woidd not have been 1.5 nuaunds 

 per acre if the bushes were 4' x 4' instead of C x 6'. 

 Yours, &c. — A Voice troji Assam. 



SHIPMENT OF 



WOOD FOR 



AND THE 

 BOXES, 

 by Sir Robert Phillemore. 



TEA, 

 TEA 

 Judgment was delivered 

 The learned Judge, after reviewing the facts, stated that 

 the plaintiffs, to succeed in the action, had to show that 

 either the cargo was shipped in good order and delivered 

 in bad condition, or to point to some cause of damage for 

 which the shipo^vllers were responsible. The bills of lading 

 contained the words " shipped in good order and condition" 

 and the clause " weight, quality, and contents unknown. " 

 The shipowners by these words must be taken to speak 

 only to the external comlition of the goods and the pack- 

 ages containing them. The plaintiffs had proved that the 

 tea itself was in good condition when shipped, but not that 

 the eases were of a proper quality or in good condition. 

 They had therefore endeavoured to show that the cause of 

 damage was the foul condition and defective ventilation of 

 the ship. The evidence as to the condition of the ship 

 when the tea was put on board, given by the captain and 

 officers anil surveyors at Shanghai, led the Com-t to the 

 conclusion that the" Asia" was in a clean and proper con- 

 dition for carrying tea, ; and this Wew was corroboraterl by 

 the surveys held in London on her arrival. As to the vent- 

 ilation, the Elder Brethren were of opinion, ami he agreed 

 with them, that the ship was sufficiently ventilated for 

 carrying a full cargo of tea ; tea being a dry cargo and not 

 liable to sweat. Some of the plaintiffs witnesses had also 

 stated that tea damaged by want of ventilation lost its 

 crispness, which it was admitted was not the case here. 

 The plaintiffs had therefore failed to discharge the burden 

 of proof that lay upon them. The defendants, on the other 

 hand, had jnit forward a theory, which was supported by 

 the erideuce of eminent chemical e.Tiperts — viz., that certain 

 of the woods now often used in the manufacture of tea 

 chests, when subjected to the heat of a tropical voyage, 

 gave off acetic acid, which formed a deposit of acetate of 

 le.ad on the leaden Huings, perforating the lead, and com- 

 bined with the smell of the wood itself, imparted a sugary 

 smell and taste to the tea. Samples of the wood and lead 

 had been examined and found to contain such deposit and 

 perforations. The evidence of these witnesses was unshaken 

 in cross-e.iiamination, and was to a certain extent corrobora- 

 ted by the plaintiffs' expert witnesses called in reply, and 

 to his mind the theory seemed a consistent one. He, 

 therefore, gave judgment for the defendants, with costs. 

 — Home (Old Colonial Mail. 



TEA— HOEING. 

 The year now in its infancy, will, we trust, be a more 

 successful one for the Tea Industry than the one just 

 ended; and at its close we hope we may be able to offer 

 our congratulations to planters. To effect this planters must, 

 as long as production is in excess of consumption, keep 

 quality steadily in view. That this subject is nearly thread- 

 bare we are aware, but we contend that it must be reiter- 

 ated. Last year was an extraordinary one for the produc- 

 tion of leaf, we are afraid, however, that quality was not 

 kept in riew, and hence, although we do not consider the 

 fall in prices entirely due to coarse plucking or careless 

 manufacture, we must ])lead guilty to belie%'ing that it was 

 partly so, a-s the Hushes came onit more quickly than they 

 could always be removed, and hence to some extent the 

 deterioration of quality. Rapid flushes are more easily man- 

 ipulated into good tea than slow ones, and in order to pro- 



duce these, attention to cultivation is absolutely necessary. 

 Hoeing, we are afraid, is often performed in a perfunctory 

 manner, and as much attention is not paid to it as to some 

 of the less important branches of cultivation. It is much 

 easier to tell the 15aboo to send so many men to the hoe 

 than to go ovev each man's work carefully and see that the 

 hoe is shoved in properly. The Baboo is delighted to show 

 a fine surface all powtlered down like a flower garden, en- 

 tirely forgettmg the important fact of shoWng the hoe in 

 six inches deep, and turning up the clods so as to show 

 the reality of the work and obtain the full benefit of the 

 first rains. Provided one could be assured that the hoe 

 was actually put in, there is no objection to the smooth- 

 ing over of the surface, especially on flat gardens ; but we 

 contend that the supervision such as gardens can afford, 

 is not sufficient to go carefully over each day's work and 

 see that a six inch hoeing has been given. In order to 

 ensure as much as possible the reality of the hoeing, let 

 the earth be tiuued up in large clods, which are standing 

 witnesses of the reality of the work done. On teelah 

 gardens this is also a great preventative of waste, as the 

 early rains instead of running along the surface of smoothed 

 ground, fill up the interstices between the clods, and be- 

 fore the second hoeing comes round, the surface is as a 

 rule smooth. On teelahs as much hoeing as po.s.sible shoidd 

 be done round the teelahs. Many of the old teelahs were 

 so planted that this is impossible, but where practicable it 

 should be done. In former years, far more than is the 

 case now, various expedients were resorted to, in order to 

 prevent wash. In our estimation pitting and terracing are 

 the most serriceable. Many people object to these as not 

 giring room for cultivation, but it should be borne in mind 

 that both these pits and terraces can be broken up in the 

 cold weather and reformed preparatory to the opening of 

 the rains, and that too with most beneficial results. That 

 tea can be expected to go on yielding year after year 

 without a good hoeing, is surely now an exploded idea, 

 and we have no iloubt but that substantial evidence could 

 be adtluced by planters that those who hoe deeply, bc^ it 

 on teelahs or flats, on terraces or pits, attain the best re- 

 sults both as regards quantity and, of course, a relative 

 ratio of quality. The chit chal of a few years ago, we 

 venture to hope, is now a thiug of the past, and we also 

 hope that the kodali or hoe now in use will soon be an 

 obsolete implement replaced by a good substantial fork. 

 In old garilens more especially harm is done by the hoe, 

 as in very many instances the soil is so washed awiiy that 

 each blow of the hoe severs from the parent stem many 

 useful lateral rootlets, and although all might not escape 

 with impunity from the fork, yet the chances are that but 

 few would be injured. AVe therefore recommend planters 

 tx> hoe deeply and carefully, and to give as much attention 

 to this simple operation as their other duties will admit of. 

 — Inilii/o I'/a/itri-^' Gazette. [Forking an<l hoeing has been, 

 and doubtless will be, the rule in Ceylon. Terracing is 

 generally impossible, but pits at frequent intervals are feas- 

 ible and ought to be resorted to'. — Ed.] 



NEW PRODUCTS IN THE NILGIRIS, S. INDIA. 



GRASS WATTLE — .lAI.AP. 



The following are extracts from Mr. Jamieson's report on 

 the Botanical Gardensof theNilgiris. audwe call the attention 

 of Planters to the excellent fodder-jiroducer (Tagasaste.)— 



Tacjasaste (Cytisus proUferns). — Of all the plants with 

 which I am acquainted none seem to have taken more 

 kindly to the soil and climate of the Nilgiris than this 

 shrub. The growth which it has made could not. I think, 

 be exceeded in its native habitat. Many of the plants made 

 a growth exceeihng 20 feet in two years and have flowered 

 and seeded abundantly. Tliey were cut over at 2^ feet from 

 the ground and have since pushed vigorous young shoots. 

 This plant, I feel sure, would grow freely all over the 

 Nilgiri Plateau and would be especially valuable in localities 

 such as Kartary and Kalhatti, where grazing is year by 

 year becoming more scarce. Mr. Christy, of London, in 

 his pamphlet on new Commercial plants, makes the follow- 

 ing remarks on the propagation aiul value of this new 

 fodder ])laut; "The seed can be sown broadcast in the 

 ordinary way. It is well to soak it in hot water for a few 

 hoin-s before sowing so as to soften it and allow the seed 

 to germinate more quickly. When the plants come up top 



