November i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



419 



AMKKICAN BLIGHT ON AFPLE TREES. 



A practical gardener and horticulturist snpj'liea us 

 with the following cure for American bliglit on apple 

 trees : — The best time for operating on the trees is the 

 end of May or the beginning of June. Bare the r^iots of 

 the affected trees of soil, and leave them exposed for a 

 few days to the air. Prepare a wash composed as fol- 

 lows : — Boil 1 lb. of tobacco in a covered saucepan 

 for an hour in two quarts of water, vStrain off the 

 water for use. Make into a paste, with warm water, 

 2 lb. of soap, 2 lb. of flour of sulphur, and a gill of 

 turpputine. Mix this paste up well in the tobacco 

 water, and add as much more warm water as will 

 bring tbe whole mi.xture up to five gallons. Then 

 scrape off all the rough diseased bark from the stem of 

 the trees, and with a hard brush scrub the trees with 

 the wash, which should be applied warm, say at a 

 temperature of 115 degrees. Then saturate the soil you 

 have drawn away from the roots with ammouiacal 

 liquor from a gas works, or if you cannot get that, 

 use stale urine (a month old), or a strong brine of 

 common salt, and return to the roots the soil so 

 saturated again. With this treatment I have always 

 managed to destroy the blight, and keep my trees in 

 healthy condition. [Treatment which, in a modified 

 form, might be found useful as a remedy for blights 

 on fruit-trees in Ceylon. — Ed.] 



ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF PRODUC- 

 TION OF CEYLON TEA. 



The manager of one of the largest tea " consers " 

 in Ceylon writes : — 



" I enclose this year's estimate in rough : if there 

 is any information you are welcome to it. The 

 charges in some cases are high, but I have to make 

 preparation for making other 40,000 houijht leaf : 

 hence </(e machine and additions." 



Rough Estimate fOR 1882-3 : — 

 Salaries: — European 25000 



Do. Conductor 40 00 



Do. Tealiouseman ... 2500 =3,78000 or 9-450. 



Allowance, 2 men per day on an average R21 per 

 mouth or for 12 mouths R252— '630 



Weeding 160 acres at 1-76 per acre = R3, .384 -00—8 '40 



Pruning 135 acres 5x5= 235,170 trees and 25 

 acres 4 x 4 = 68,025 or 303,195 trees at 150 trees per 

 man, 2,021 men = K666*93 or 427 per acre ; if it can be 

 done for that,— 1-667. 



/?o«rf« :—Upkepp of estate roads. Road to the gap J 

 share repairing culverts, &o., K15000 — -375. 



Drains : — Keeping clean and blasting stones Rl 

 per acre R160 — -400. [.\fter indicating that re- 

 pairs will be needed for stores, bungalows and lines, 

 the writer proceeds as below.] 



Cattle graziug .32 head, cutting bedding and grass 3 

 meu per day R.368 28— 9:^7. 



/"i'-CiTOorf :— 3-20 culiic yards required for 40,000 lb tea, 

 and it costs 75 cents pir yard delivered in Factury, or 

 R240-00 or J cent per lb — -600. 



Pluckbuj : — 160,000tbgreenleafat2centsper Iti, women 

 for the past year having averaged 16 lb per dtty, 

 E3200-00 or 8 cents per lb tea. 



Withering : — One man every night as watchman and 

 witherer R120— -4.\ 



Rollng : —On an average 44 men per mouth, 

 E174-24 --4.33. 



Drying: -On an average ,52 meu per mouth 205".52 

 — -5!U 



Sifting — Cleaning out red leaf and sorting 400 00 

 — 1000 a pound. 



This estimate is for 40.000 lb tea or .3J m,aunds per 

 acre. I might make 50,000, it I could guarantee cu.sIl 

 ami labor. 



Cost of redrying, packing in boxes, soldering linings 



solder, shegt lead, closing boxes and hooping them li 

 cents per lb. R600— 1-500. 



.Cost of boxes in Colombo 1-80 say RS |)ut together, 

 and, as the average tveight often in boxes i* 90 lb., 450 

 boxes roughly would be required KOOO.O'J or 2^ cents 

 per lb. 



Carriagi' : — About same as last year, lead, solder, nails, 

 machinery, store charges, &c., R180 — 450. 



Despatch carrying boxes to Gap at 15 cents per box 

 or for 450 chests 1167 -.50. 



Tea chest average weight is 114 lb. gross and 450 

 weigh 51, .300 lb. or 23 tons, and rail freight is 14 70 

 per tonR3.38-10— -845. 



Cart hire to Nawalapitiya 23 tons at 9 — R207. 



Tools: — New drying machine say £87-00-00 in Lon- 

 don and at Is 8d it comes to RI,032 — landed at 



estate cannot eay. [It will certainly cost Rl 300 



Ed. C. O.] 



0/her tools : — Repairing vetta cutties, repairing forks 

 &c., RIOO. 



Contingencies:— Medical Assessment R80, stationery 

 R20, Dol nsbage road, estate books, report forms, &c. 

 Hospital charges. 



Charcoal for heating store for withering about 100 

 maunds at Rl per mauud RIOO. 



Es. Cents. 



Salaries ... 3,78000 9-450 



Allowance ... 25200 630 



■Weeding ... 3,38400 8400 



Pruning ... 666-93 1-667 



Eoads ... 15000 2-375 



Drains 

 Stores 

 Bungalow 

 Lines 

 Cattle 

 Fu-ewood 

 Plucking 

 AVithering 

 EoUing 

 Drying 



Sifting and packing 

 Eedrying and sold- 

 ering 

 Boxes 

 Carriage 



Despatch 



160-00 

 600-00 

 100-00 

 132-00 

 368-28 

 240-00 

 3,200-00 

 120-45 

 174-24 

 205-92 

 40000 



Tools 



Coutingeucies 



Charcoal 



600-00 

 900-00 

 18000 

 67-50 

 ■10 

 -00 

 1,13200 

 300-00 

 1110-00 



...i 33S 

 i 207 



400 



1-250 



250 



330 



927 



600 



8-000 



300 



433 



510 



1-000 



1-500 

 2-250 

 450 

 168 

 845 

 501 

 245 

 750 

 250 



17,660-42 or 40206 44-099 by fracts. 

 All the lead, hoop-iron, solder, &c , was taken at the 

 rate three years ago, but instead of R25 a owt. , for 

 lead it cost this year 13 to 17 only ; weeding is high ;al80 

 my pay may appear high on 156 acrte, but then it is the 

 outside leaf that raises certain charges. 



MADRAS GOVERNMENT FARMS. 

 Paddy — Suoak-cane — Arro-weoot— Tobacco — 



CASn.AEIANA. 



(l'>om the Madras Mail Sept. 29th.) 

 We have only now received a set of three reports 

 for 18S0-.S1, submitted to the Government in June, 

 July, Hnd September of last year, by Mr. W. R. 

 R'bertson, .Superintendent of the Government Farms. 

 Fodder ci ops were raised on an area of 36 65 acres. 

 Further txperienee confirmed the opinion long ago 

 expressefl that South-India is remarkably rich in the 

 poises^ion of fodder crops suited to the different 

 soils, and the widely differing conditions of climate 

 which characterize the cropping sensuns. It is worthy 

 of notice that, in so short a growing period as six 

 weeks, fair crops of fodder were provided, We Botiee 



