980 



THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[]VSE I, 1883. 



duceJ China ; and the resulting hybrid. The pioneer 

 work was done by Goveriunent who gladly retired 

 in favour of that private cnterprize which, in the 

 face of vast difficulties, has done so much fur India. 

 Virtually comuienciiig thirty years later, the prospect 

 is tliat we, in Ceylon, shall more than compete with 

 our Indian precursors in the enterprize, and, if the 

 Indian estates have been all formed with locally 

 groun seed, we cannot see any reason why that ex- 

 ample as well as others should not be followed in 

 our island. Granted, plants from good Assam seed, the 

 seed of such plants ought to be as good as any imported. 



Gentlemen,— I have been asked by your Honorary Se- 

 cretary to make a few remarks on Tea, and its probable 

 future in the uiicountry districts of Ceylon, and I pro- 

 pose now confinmg mj'self to the foUoMTUg heads, namely, 

 Seed, Laud, Planting, Pruning, Picking and Yield. 



Some 00 or 40 yeai's ago, the pioneer pkmters entered 

 Assam, wliich was at that thue in rather an uuci\ali;;ed 

 tate, bringing with them tea seed from China, and 

 also Chinamen to guide them in the cultivation and 

 manufacture of tea. A considerable area was planted up 

 in different parts of the valley, before it was discovered 

 that a plant closely resembling the Cluna bush, although 

 larger in leaf and growth, was growing wild in the 

 forests. Seed fi-om tins tree was procm'ed and planted 

 beside the China cultivation, and, in the fertiUziug of the 

 two jats, i.e., the Chnia and the iudigenous, we have 

 the hybrid, which is considered the harcUcst and strongest 

 yielder of all tea plants. There are of course many 

 degrees of hybrid, but the kind preferred is the large- 

 leaved, bright-green plant, leaning more to the indige- 

 nous, yet combining the hardiness of the Oluna with the 

 yield and strength of the former. I have been asked 

 whether it would not be better to import seed from 

 India in preference to the seed proem-able here, and in 

 reply I would say, (nlr the best Ceylon seed if you can 

 get it. No doubt there is better seed in IniUa, but the 

 difficulty is to get it here. The Siugloo estate for ex- 

 ample in Assam sells its indigenous seed at E120 permaund, 

 and this, if procured, would doubtless prove a good in- 

 vestment, but, generally speaking, the risk is vei-y great, 

 both as regards soxmdiiess and jat. A really good hybrid 

 sells for about R.)0 a mauud in Assam ; so it seems doubt- 

 ful that you could buy the same article here in Colombo 

 for E40 or E4.5. I must say, however, that I saw seed- 

 lings a few days ago in Mr. Skrine's nursery in Dikoya, 

 raised from some " Amluckic '' seed bought in Colombo, 

 wliich were all that could be desh-ed as regards jat. To 

 those who contemplate large extensions, and wlio must 

 import seeds, I would say buy from some reliable agent 

 in Calcutta yoK.rM'IJ\ have it carefully packed, forwarded 

 as soon as possible, taken immediate dehvery of in Colombo, 

 brought to the estate, sweated and planted, by which 

 meaus it is quite probable that To per cent of the seed 

 will be found good and germinate. I have heard that the 

 Cliiua plant has been advised for the higher eicvatious of 

 Ceylon. The idea is an utter fallacy. There is httle or 

 no excuse for plantmg China in Northern Assam, and 

 there is less here, as our cLunate is a tropical one. 



Land. — The lays of land ln-.-it suited to tea are the flat and 

 undulating. There are some estates ru Maskehya, which 

 I have seen, that answer to this description. By way of 

 example I would mention liittern, Xintyi'e and Laxajmne; 

 in Upper Maskehya Alton and Glenugie are also suit- 

 able. The soils pecuhar to the upcouutry arc, I believe, 

 very favom'able for tea, beiug light and friable, with a 

 tree subsoil, impregnated more or less with ferruginous 

 matter, while the regular rainfall aud tropical c.imate are 

 conducive to a quick growth and regular iiushes. I con- 

 sider the labor in Ceylon as second to none in the east, 

 and a point of the greatest consideration to the tea planter 

 biicause it is owing to the facilities there are in procuring 

 coolies, and working them clieaply that he will be able 

 to produce his teas at a cheaper rate thau they can in 

 Iinlia. .A-ssam at the present moment is very ba<lly olT 

 for labor, and you can imagine the ditiiculty, when liSU 

 to lUOO for coolies per head is paid tn contractors before 

 they can be landed on the estate. Tor this sum you have 

 an af^rccmcut for 3 years, niucli of vvhich time the co-ilie 

 may be down with fever, to say nothing of the loss in- 



curred through mortality, which is heavy. Another ad- 

 vantage I would point out is that of cheap transport. 

 There are few colonies better if so well oft in this respect. 

 Thus with a good supply of labor and cheap transport the 

 Ceylon tea planter has the advantage of his brother 

 in India, in that he can produce his teas at a lower 

 figure, while the yield of tea obtained on an average is, 

 we now know, much better. 



Plantikg, — In planting up old coffee with tea, I would 

 advise the holes to be cut about 15 inches deep, aud about 

 S inches in diameter. These again should be 3 feet k 3 feet 

 apart on the steeper lands, and 4 feet "^ 4 feet on the 

 flat. Sould the laud be very steep I would advise it being 

 planted up closet'. As regards planting seed at stake 

 and transplants from nurseries, I advocate the latter 

 as being the safer method. Seed put out at stake 

 in old coffee land have not the advantage of the ori* 

 giual surface soU, while it runs the risk of being 

 washed out by heavy rains, or being eaten ott' by poochies 

 before it can get a fair start. Planting at stake is I 

 know considered the cheaper way of putting out tea, 

 but when you calculate the loss through seed not germinat- 

 ing, insect pests, &c., I think you will find the system of 

 nurseries and transplants the cheaper in the end. There 

 arc supposed to be 32,000 seeds in a mauiul, and supposing 

 it were purchased locally, and delivered the same week it 

 was picked, I see no reason why 25,000 seeds at least 

 should not germinate, aud turn out well. When planting 

 at stake in Assam 2 seeds at least (and often 3) are put 

 into each hole, thus at 3ft. x 3ft., 4,840 holes to the acre, 

 would reqiure 1 mauud of seed to 3 acres. Supposing again 

 25,000 seeds out of 1 maund of 32,000 germinate, and turn 

 out well in the nurseries, they would be sufficient to plant 

 up 5 acres at the same distance apart. The advantage 

 thus clearly lies with the nurseries. It is a popular idea 

 in Oeylou that all seed that floats in water is bad. This 

 is not so. The slightest contraction of the kernel may make 

 the seed float, while it miy be quite good if sweated. 

 I would not care to sell seed on these conditions. The best 

 aud fairest test I know of is that of taking 100 seeds or 

 less, breaking them, and so finding out the percentage of good 

 or bad. 



NuESERiES. — In making nurseries, the land should be 

 chosen in some level protected part or parts of the estate, 

 where the soil is really good. Nurseries made on the side 

 of a hill exposed, dry, and weather-beaten are seldom 

 great successes, or so good as they should be. The beds 

 again .should be as broad as possible, say from 4 ft. to 

 5 ft., aud the seeds put in 3 inches apart in regular hues, 

 so as to enable the plants to come up evenly. As regards 

 shade aud protection, I am in favor of stielcini/ in ferns, 

 if procurable. They save wash aud help to keep the beds 

 damp, which is all that is rtquh'ed. Straw or grass is of- 

 ten spread on the beds, but it should be removed as soon 

 as the seedlings appear, as its weight might hamper 

 their growth if put on thick. I have noticed often that, 

 in planting out here, very small seedlings not more than 

 4 inches high have been taken from the nursery. This 

 is a great mistake. I would put out nothing, if possible, 

 under 10 inches in height. I have always found that the 

 larger and stronger the transplant the quicker start and 

 growth, as there is no doubt that the smaller ones feel 

 the co!d and exposure, which, to say the least of it, must 

 check their growth for a time. 



Phu.N'ikc! and Plucking. — After a lapse of two years or 

 nearly so, pruning and plucking will become the next con- 

 siderations. These are most important stages, and are 

 either the making or marring of the plant — at least for 

 a time. Tea should not be pruned with a view to pluck- 

 ing before two ye.ars or more. 1 know that it has be- 

 come the fashion in Ceylon to cut down 18 month 

 old plants, aud to bolster them up with cowduiig, with 

 a view to getting a crop. IJut I put it to you, gentlemen, 

 as practical planters, whether the few miserable pounds of 

 tea olitaiued can compensate for the stunted growth that 

 must ensue. In Assam, where the growth is as strong, if 

 not stronger than Ceylon, no young tea is touched with 

 the knife liefore the end of the second year, aud after that, 

 it has a few months' grace before hard plucking isresortcd 

 to in its third year. It surely requires no tea expert to 

 tell you that the tea plant requires .lome root, growth and 

 strength before it can be called ou to give a return, aud 1 



