February i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



649 



for RSO a month, biit, though vahiable on large pro- 

 perties as aids or to leave in charge of small places 

 opened up, it would be running a risk, particularly 

 with this comparatively new product, to entrust the 

 important work of opening up any place to such men, 

 unless their employers have been pi'actical planters 

 and can spare time to attend to the work in part, 

 and not only make frequent visits, but occasionally 

 stay on the land when the hardest part of the 

 work is being done. Planting seed at stake is con- 

 sidered a clieap way, but it must be attempted only 

 under certain circumstances. It succeeds on fresh 

 virgin soil, where the lay of the land is not too steep, as 

 rainstorms displace the seeds. The rains too should 

 last long. In low districts shading after the plants 

 show is necessary, and this is an expensive item. It 

 is found cheaper in the end to transplant plants 

 from nursery beds, as no shade is then needed, and 

 the vacancies ai-e very few, and, besides, bad varieties 

 of plants can be thus avoided. 



c. The upkeep for the 2nd year includes the cost 

 of supervision, the keeping of roads and drains in 

 order, filling in of vacancies of plants, weeding, etc. 

 The growing of Ceara rubbers along boundaries, 

 roadsides, ridges, etc., can be attended to by the 

 party superintending and will require very little ad- 

 ditional outlay, about RSO or a little less for every 

 1 ,000 rubber trees. A 50-acre tea-clearing will admit 

 of 4 to 5 thousand rubbers being put out as above 

 suggested. Urange, citrou, shaddock, lemon and lime 

 plants, if preferred, can be planted instead by those 

 who contemplate preparing scented teas. It is a mis- 

 take to suppose that orange and lime trees take 7 

 years to blossom and fruit. Plants 8 inches liigh have 

 gi'own into fine trees and blossomed in 20 months. 

 So that the propi'ietor will not have to wait long to 

 exclaim, — 



Bear me, Pomona ! to thy citron grove ! 

 To where the lemon and the piercing lime, 

 With the deep orange, glowing through the green, 

 Their lighter glories blend. 

 il. In the .3rd year in addition to the ordinary 

 expenditure there is the cost of the erection of tea- 

 house and the purchase of trays, etc. A small tea- 

 leaf rolling-machine and drying and firing apparatus 

 are not necessarily required, but, as they clieapen the 

 cost of manufactui'e, it is desu'able to ol)tain them. 



e. As regards the yield in low altitudes, 300 lb. 

 per acre in the 4th year is below tlie usual estimate, 

 provided no tea is gathered in the 2nd and 3rd 

 years and the trees are allowed to develop jiroperly. 

 The bad effects of picking tea off young trees can 

 be seen on some places in cei'tain districts. The 

 price of tea in the European and foreign markets 

 varies from 9d to 2s 8d (4.5 cents to Rl -35) per lb. ac- 

 cording to quality and grades, and, as 60 cents per lb. 

 all round for good tea delivered at Colombo is not 

 too high a figure to fix as the local value, 50 cents 

 per lb. can therefore be safely relied on. 



There are two things to be aimed at in order to 

 increase the profits per acre : increase in the yield 

 of leaf and decrease in the cost of manufacture. If 

 a maxinuuu yield of 600 lb. an acre of prepared tea 

 is olitained at a cost of 20 cents per lb., then the 

 profit at 30 cents per lb. would give RISO peracre. 

 Even if the cost cannot be reduced to less than 30 

 cents a lb., by good manufacture it is possible to 

 secure a local value of 60 cents per lb., and this 

 wonld still secure RISO per acre. At 60 cents a lb. 

 costing only 20 cents would leave a profit of R240 

 per acre, and this is what every tea planter should 

 try to obtain. To give an idea how the cost of 

 manufacture can be lessened, we will talie the cost 

 of picking of the leaf. A skilled han<l will pick 20 

 lb. of green leaf when there is a good flush on, 

 while an ordinary picker will do his 10 lb. to 12 lb. 



a day. As it takes about 4 lb. of green leaf to make 

 a lb. of tea, this item will cost nearly double, if all 

 the pickers only pick 10 II). a day. Again a sharp 

 boy drawing a pay of 16 cents per day or a woman 

 25 cents will pick as much as an adult man drawing 

 37 cents per day. By proper management in regulat- 

 ing and distributing labor much can lie done to increase 

 the profits per acre. 



Tiiere ,are numerous publications on tea plantinc 

 in Indian tea districts, which furnish valuable informa- 

 tion, but, as the climate, cost and kind of labour, 

 transport, etc., of this island varies from that pre- 

 vailing in those places, some discretion must be used 

 in following up many of the hints given in them. 

 W. PROWETT FERDINANDS. 



" PREPARED COCOA " IN CEYLON. 



Greenwood, Madawalatenna, Ceylon, 15th Jan. 1883. 



Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure to submit to you 

 a sample of prepared cocoa, grown and manufactured 

 on my estate. 



As cocoa succeeded so well, I sent home an order 

 for the machinery necessary to manufacture the raw 

 material aud it is said by the gentlemen to whom 

 1 have submitted samples, that I am able to plac-; in 

 the Ceylon market manufactured cocoa equal to the 

 best that can be imported, and 1 think that you will 

 agree with their verdict. 



Of course, at present, the afl'air is iu its infancy 

 and will improve by rxperieuce. You will please ob- 

 serve that the sample before you which is taken frum 

 the bulk is manufactured entirely fiom cocoa and 

 sugdr, without any tlarouring from spices or essences. 



It is my intention to produce an article purely 

 local, so that I shall only avail myself of the ingredi- 

 ents which CeTlon affords and I hope that ptitting 

 before the public a firstrate article manufactured from 

 Ceylon products, I shall be able to show that we 

 can produce in the island as thorough and genuine 

 manufactured cocoa as any of European manufacture. 

 — I remain, yours truly, A. v. D. POORTEN. 



[The sample we have tried we consider to be fully 

 equal to " Epps' " well-known preparation : we wish 

 our correspondent all success in his undertaking. — Ed.] 



PRICES AND YIELD OF RUBBER. 



1 7th Jan. 1883. 



Dear .Sir, — Will you tell me, through the medium 

 of your paper, what the ruling rates for l.ist year 

 for rubber were ?— Yours, ENQUIRER. 



[Our correspondent should refer to Lewis k Peat's 

 London Price Current, given each mouth on the last 

 piige of the Tropical Agrkulturist, aud he will there 

 see that tlie price ranged from 9d to Is lOd for 

 "common, foul ami mixed Calcutta rubber" to 

 2s lid to 3s 2d for "good to fine pinky and white 

 Madagascar or Mozambique kinds." We expect that 

 cultivated and carefully-guthered Ceylon rubber will 

 top tlie market by-and-bye. Some of our planters 

 have 100,000 trees flourishing, and, if tiiey only 

 gather J lb. per annum, the result ought to be a 

 comfortable addition of i,'2,,500 to the income of 

 their plantations, counting rubber at 23. per lb. — Ed.] 



TEA.KUBBER, &c., IN THE KALUTARA DISTRICT. 

 Dear Sir, — I send you some account of tea and 

 other products in Kaltitara, which will show that the 

 district is not going to be behind others, notwith- 

 standing the unsatisfactory results from Liberian coffee 

 aud cocoa cultivation. The cultivation of tea is now 

 being rapidly and extensively carried on in the district 

 and it has been found to be a very remunerative 

 one. Te^ grows luxuriantly, giving several flushes, 

 and, aB it yields very little fruit, this is suppostd to 

 be a. good sign. A Maskeliya report speaks of 



