October i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



261 



acreage under mature plants is given at 3.847J ; im- 

 mature 1,699* ; total under tea 5.516J ; reserve4,705; 

 yield of tea 865,661 lb. ; average per acre 225. We 

 have noticed that the average is raised by Travancore, 

 where 89 acres under mature plant are represented 

 as yielding 11,150 lb. of tea, or 371 to the>rre lb. On 

 the 77 estates situated on the Nilgiris, the averag 

 was only 229 lb. per aore, with 73 lb. in Madura and 3U 

 in Malabar, Ceylon has gone quite ahead of Southern 

 India in this matter of tea-culture, but we cannot 

 doubt that the planters of Wynaad, Travancore and 

 Coorg will yet take up the enterprize in earnest, 

 Our difficulty, ere long, will be want of sufficient labour, 

 we fear. 



In British Burma there are 4 estates, 1 in Akyab 

 and 3 in Tougho, with 153J arces of mature plants 

 and 6 inmature, the reserve being ouly 31^. The 

 yield of tea was 16,553$ lb. ; an average per acre of 

 108 lb. The forests of Burmah could, no doubt, grow 

 tea well, but at present there is no labour. The 

 figures for all India, as supplied for 18S2, are, pro- 

 bably, still fairly applicable. Correcting the absurd 

 figures 1,890 opposite Kangra; we get about 1,600 tea 

 estates* for all India, with an acreage of mature 

 plants of 207,862; immature 40,375 ; total area under 

 tea 248,237, of which an appreciable proportion must 

 be devoted to seed- bearing. Let us say the odd 7,862 

 acres over the round 200,000 ? The quantity of land 

 " taken for tea but not jet planted " is consider- 

 ably more tban twice the cultivate area, the figures 

 being 660,203J. The quantity of tea yielded was 

 60,017,398J, of which only 995,792 lb. was prepared 

 as "green." The average for all India was 289 1b. 

 per acre, but, if we take only the great tea districts 

 of Assam and Bengal, we get fully 300 per acre, thus: — 



Assam 2901b. 



Bengal 309 „ 



2)599 



299$ 

 or in round numbers 3001b. per acre. How far this 

 rate is susceptible of correction by excluding seed- 

 bearing areas or of improvement, we cannot say ; 

 but we should think, that, when railways enable fert- 

 ilizing substances to be applied, the yield can be 

 increased. It seems clear, however, that Ceylon (if 

 railway construction is not stopped and the roads are 

 not rendered impassable by being left unstamped and 

 unbliuded) has, and always will enjoy, superior advant- 

 ages of climate and facilities of transport as well as 

 of labour probably. There is the great fact already 

 fairly established that the average yield of tea in 

 Ceylon may be taken at twice 300 lb. per acre, the 

 figures for the best tea districts in India. 



In coffee Ceylon has always taken the lead of India, 

 hut in both countries the plant lias now fallen into 

 "the sere and yellow leaf." There are only 15 acres 

 returned as under coffee in Bengal. For Madras we 

 get 17,887 plantations in 18S2, but, of course, small 

 native patches have been included to make up this 

 number. The acreage uuder mature plants is given 

 at 56,391 ; immature 9,064$ ; taken up for planting 

 but not yet planted (much of the reserve will, no 

 doubt, be suitable for tea) 46,012$. The total acre- 

 age is 11,468. The average yield of coffee per acre 

 of mature plant was given at 196 lb. in 1882 against 

 287 in the previous year, 294 in 1880 and 325 in 

 1879. The fall in four years from 325 lb. per acre 

 to 196 lb. shows the effects of leaf-disease, which 

 in Ceylou also has brought down the average yield from 

 600 lb. to 200 lb. per acre. The cost of cultivation 



* One, belonging to the Assam Company, is over 6,000 

 acres in extent. — Ed. 



(upkeep) per acre varies from E42 inTinnevelly and 66 

 to 22 on the Nilgiris to 237 in Malabar. The yield 

 of coffee went down from 18,548,640 lb. in 1881 to 

 11,042,S73 in 1873. "Malabar" fell off more than 

 one-half, from six millions to three. The Nilgiris, in- 

 cluding the Oucuterlony Valley and South-East 

 Wynaad, fell from 10 millions to 6. For Mysore 

 we get for "plantations" the outrageous number of 

 23,338. The area under mature plants is given at 

 7S,608 acres, immature 20,332 ; reserve 45,796 ; total 

 area 144,736. Here there was an increased yield in 1882, 

 4,469,087 1b. against 4,069,313 in 1881. But the rate 

 per acre is given at only 57 lb. Of course the rate 

 one European estates must be much higher. The 

 cost of upkeep per acre is given at R5 (!) to 150 

 per acre. Coorg shows 4,672 plantations " exclusive 

 of the unauthorized cultivation on pasture-land." 

 The acreage under mature plants is given at 40,800 ; 

 immature 7,350; reserve 27,772; total area 75,922. 

 The yield was 6,902,0001b. in 1882 against 13,721,000 

 in 1881. The rate per acre is only 224 lb. against 

 340 in 1881. The cost of upkeep is given at E25 to 

 100 per acre. 

 The figures for British India ars thus ; — 

 Plantations ... 45,898 



Mature ... 175,807 acres. 



Immature ... 36,753$ ,, 



Reserve ... 119,580$ „ 



Total ... 332,141" 



Yield 18S2 ... 22,416,000 lb. 

 Do. 1881 ... 36,341,000 „ 

 Rate per acre, 18S2 128 „ 



But the figures for the two feudatory states of 

 Cochin and Travancore have to be added. Here 

 "plantations" really mean proper estates, of which 

 17 are returned for Cochin, with 1,7574 acres under 

 mature plants; 573 immature; reserve 5,920$; total 

 8,251. The yield was 706,5151b. in 1882 against only 

 465,155 in the previous year.- The yield was at the 

 rate of 402 lb. per acre ; cost of upkeep R23 per acre. 

 For Travancore 62 plantations are down (against 74 

 for 1881) ; with 6,737 acres mature plants ; 1,088 im- 

 mature ; 5,069 reserve ; total 12,894. The yield in 1882 

 was 1,339,078 lb. against 1,815,050 inl851, and the yield 

 per acre (strange contrast to Cochin) only 169 lb. 

 against 259 in 1881. The totals for Cochin and Travan^ 

 core :— 79 plantations ; 8,494$ acres mature plants ; 

 1,661 immature ; 10,989$ reserve; total 21,145. The 

 yield in 1882 was 2,045,593 lb. against 2,280,205 in 1881, 

 and the rate per acre 211 lb. against 268. The grand 

 totals for coffee in India are 45,977 "plantations"; 

 184,301$ acres mature plants ; 38,414$ immature ; 

 130,570 reserve; and total 353,286. The yield in 

 1882 was only 24,462,453 lb. or 133 lb. per acre 

 average, against 38,621,844 in 1881. The yield in 

 1879 was close on 43 millions of pounds. 



The exports of coffee from the ports of Cochin 

 and Travancore had risen from 2,200,000 in 1SS0 

 to 3,233,895 lb. in 1SS2-; a curious result, due, prob- 

 ably to a remission of export duty ? 



Our readers will thus see that tea, which 

 some score of years ago was in the depths of de- 

 pression, his revived and is progressing in India 

 while coffee in India as well as in Ceylon has fallen 

 on evil days. Such tides of depression and vicissitude 

 are common to all human enterprize, prosperity 

 and adversity coming and going, apparently in cycles 

 nearly coincident with decades. Let us hope, that, 

 while the course of tea continues to be prosperous, 

 coffee may once more revive and hold its head up 

 with the best and most profitable of tropical pro- 

 dues. The provision of facilities of transit is the 

 one grout aid which Government can give to suoh 

 a result, 



