September i, i S.' THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



™3 



hot water from the engine, and thoroughly swept 

 clean, and dried. The boiling hot water from the 

 engine dissolves any coagulation of juice there may 

 be, and renders it easily removed, whereas it would 

 not yield to cold water, and if the latter is used, in 

 a short time the stench from the tables would be very 

 bad, and although it might go on for sometime with- 

 out materially altering the value of the teas, it 

 would still be apt to create a prejudice against teas 

 otherwise most carefully manufactured." And in con- 

 clusion (and it must be our conclusion too, for today), 

 he says, with regard to fermentation, "we do not 

 think there is very much more to say, except that 

 plauters should beware of fermenting China leaves as 

 much as Hybrid; for if this is done, the China leaf 

 somehow loses all its sharpness and briskness, even 

 if we cannot go the length of calling it pungency, 

 and coming into contact with fully fermented Hybrid 

 or indigenous teas, suffers very much in comparison. 

 It should be remembered, then, that it is always 

 safer with regard to China tea to have it rather 

 tinder than over-fermented ; for whilst a tea made 

 from Hybrid indigenous plant gains in thickness and 

 strength, a tea made from China plant gets dull and 

 Hat, by no means desirable qualities." 



THE RAINFALL FOR THE FIRST HALF 

 OF 1884. 



Through the courtesy of the Public Works Depart- 

 ment, we are able to publish a table of rainfall 

 for the first six months of 1SS4 at many of the prin- 

 cipal Btations in Ceylon, by which our readers will see 

 that in nearly every case the deficiency on the averages 

 established by the results of similar periods in pre- 

 vious years is very great. There has been some 

 delay in publishing this return which was so promptly 

 furnished at our request, in consequence of the 

 P. W. D. return from Nuwara Kliya being imperfect. 

 A reference to the Survcyor-Geueral's Department 

 has brought us, not only the correct figures for 

 Nuwara Eliya and the average, but the results ob- 

 taiued at ilakgala, a new station, where the observ- 

 ations are taken by Mr. Noek of the Government 

 Gardens. Nuwara Eliya is on the midway table-land 

 which divides Dimbula and neighbouring districts 

 from Cva. Ilakgala is a grand isolated mountain at 

 a distance of seven miles from Nuwara E!iya by 

 the road to Uva. Mr. Clements Markham tixed on 

 a plateau under the summit of this mountain for 

 the commencement of the ciuchona experiment 111 

 Geylon ; and now that there is no further occasion 

 for special attention to cinchonas, except the rarer 

 kinds. Mr. Nock is with great success cultivating, 

 for distribution, numbers of plants belonging to temp- 

 erate as well as tropical and sub trop-cal regions. 

 The elevation of the spot in the Gardens at whicti 

 the observations are taken is 5,5S1 feet, or 059 feet 

 below Nuwara Eliya which is 6,240 feet above sea- 

 level. A comparison of the results obtained at two 

 places so close together and yet with topographica 

 conditions so different (Nuwara Eliya being an elevated 

 plain, inside an amphitheatre of hills, while Ilakgala 

 is an isolated mountain facing and dominating the 

 vast plain of Uva) cannot but be interesting. Here 



are the figures : — 

 Months. 



January.,, 

 February 

 March ... 

 April 



Nuwara Eliya. H,m 

 Inch 

 .,, V4® 4-67 



- 

 ... 319 3-90 



302 



May 

 June 



Inches. 

 5 01 

 4 '88 



4 48 

 2o3 



Total... 17-98 2015 



The rainfall at Nuwara Eliya to "0th June 1884 

 was short of the average of 14 years (39-34 1 

 by considerably more than one-half. Ilakgala being 

 a new station has no average to show, but, looking 

 at its position, head and shoulders above all ai 

 it, we are not surprized to find that, short as the 

 raiufall has bem, an excess of somewhat over 2 inches 

 is shown in favour of Ilakgala over the hill encircled 

 upland plain. Still the drought must be very I . 

 to many of the numerous plants which Mr. Noek is 

 eo arduously and so intelligently striving to acclimatizo 

 and grow. 



As we take the figures for station after station 

 occupied by officers of the P. W. D., the dn 

 of the first half of 1S44 becomes only the more ap 

 parent. Colombo is not included in these P. W. 1 1. 

 returns, but we know from the figures supplied by 

 tho Surveyor-General that the rainfall at the capital « a . 

 one-third short-of the average of 14 years : 27 -So inches 

 only against 41-10. At Negombo the total was 21 90 

 against an average of 33/74 ; Awisawella 55 70 against 

 74-44; Kalutara 32 "72 against 48'57 ; Padupola (the 

 rainest station in Ceylon) only 43*25 against 83-10; 

 Pelmadulla 68'91 against 69'45 (no appreciable fall- 

 ing off); Nawalapitiya 45-22 instead of 5G-75 ; Katugas- 

 tota 1G-S9 against 37-08 ; Matale 15 ; 40 against 35"55 ; 

 Dikoya 51-04 against SO'OO, or, in this exceptional 

 case 1 inch above the average ! Dimbula, however, 

 which marches with Dikoya, although it is further 

 away from "the Peak," received only 33'14 inches 

 instead of the average of 51 '60. Dikoya seems to 

 have intercepted the rainfall which ought to have 

 passed on to Dimbula. The Nuwara Eliya and Pus- 

 sellawa returns are imperfect. Halduramulla got 49-70 

 inches, but no average is shown. We should say 

 the raiufall in this case was ample; but Badulla 

 show-s a beggarly account of only 1701 inches for the 

 six months. This means severe drought. Kurune- 

 gala hud little more than half the average, 22-8'J 

 against 41-.3S, while Chilaw showed 14 GO against 

 22 87. Puttalam had only half the average," 8--11 

 against 1G"23. But the case of Mullaittivu was de- 

 plorable : only 2 V7 inches against 12'63. Jaffna got 

 4-49 instead of 7'77 ; but Vavuniya Vilankulain 

 showed only 7'9G against 15'GG. Mannar got only 

 2 iuche3 of raiu in six months, instead of the low 

 enough average of 1075 ; but Maunar is the most 

 arid place in Ceylon. Mihiutale got 1159 against 

 an average of 1521 while Tangalla got 20'70 in lieu 

 of 2C'56. Xissaniaharama got 10-25 instead of 16-72, 

 and Matara 2334 against 27'90. Galle received only 

 33-67 against 52 03, and Hambantota (the next driest 

 station to Mannar) 457 instead of 10 50. Irakka- 

 man showed 14 '50 instead of 2 1 35, and Rukam 12'04 

 as compared with 18'32. Kalmunai showed 11-50 as 

 against 14 34, and, though last not least, Trincomalee 

 6-94 instead of 14'SS. 



In this list of 32 stations, only at one, Dikoya, 

 did the rainfall exceed the average (an except no 

 which we caunot understand), and in one other case 

 the delieieucy was small. In the va.-t maj irity of 

 cases, the deficiency ranged frctn one-half to one-third 

 on the averages. There is rfason, therefore, to ap- 

 prehend that either August and September will be 

 very wet months, or that we shall have an excess- 

 ively rainy northeast monsoon. July made but 

 feeble attempts to supply the eleDcierjcy of the six 

 months. We Bins* jim* watch and wait for the - 

 of the pendulum. As a general rule, seasons right 

 themselves and give averages of rainfall in periods of 

 five years, 



