November i, 1884.] THE TROPTCAL AGRICULTURIST. 



39i 



An Enemy of Tea. — A correspondent writes: — "I 

 send sorre tea leaves with white blotches on, apparently 

 eggs. Can you tell me what they are, and if a pest we 

 need have any fear of? I have taken all the leaves that 

 were affected oil' the tree. No tender leaves had any 

 ou, and it was only this one bud of an inferior jat " 

 The eggs are those of a scale bug. 



Cinnamon-. — The average yield of an acre may be put 

 down at a bale of 100 lb; and the ruling price being 34 

 iints per lb. out of which 16 cents must be paid for pre- 

 paration, it will be seen that Cinnamon yields only about 

 K18 per acre. Deducting cost of upkeep, the nett result 

 to the proprietor is almost n il ! Of course, there are 

 estates whose yield is double of that indicated, and whose 

 average prices — ranging from Is. to 2s 2d. in the London 

 Market— are more than double the local rate, which reaily 

 represents the value of badly grown aud badly prepared 

 bark; but still it is tolerably certain that, except about 

 a dozen estates— chiefly in the Negombo and Ekelle dis- 

 tricts — the rest yield but very small profits, if any. The 

 attempt, by combination, to reduce supplies, b}' ceasing 

 to prepare chips and coarse bark which yield a minimum 

 of profit, having failed, the present prices will result in 

 much of the Cinnamon in the hands of small proprietors 

 being snuffed out by neglect, or being wisely replaced by 

 coconuts or paddy. A large number of plantations have 

 been brought to the hammer within the last few years, 

 xaA it is not unlikely that many more will follow ; but the 

 reduction of exports is not yet. — "Examiner." 



FimsEs. — It is very fortunate for the sake of the experi- 

 ment in Rhea fibre, that the Glenrock Company have 

 plenty of capi'al togoupon; and we may rest assured 

 that under the able management of Mr. J. W. 

 Miochin, no expense or pains will be spared to render 

 the experiment successful. From some figures we 

 extract irom the Madras Weekly Mail, it appears that 

 £5 i< considered sufficient for the upk-ep : this we 

 consider is much under the mark, we think £10 will 

 be nearer. To yield what is expected of it, ,the 

 Rhea must be highly cultivated ; it will require much 

 manure, as it is an exhausting crop ; but as the 

 market value is placed very low, at only £30 a ton, 

 there is here a large margin to fall back upon. Dr. 

 Forbes Watson estimates the process of cleaning to 

 cost fr<>m £7 to £9 per ton. It is estimated that an 

 aero will produce 10 cwt. of clean fibre per annum. 

 This at £15 would not leave much margin for profit. 

 Cultivation per acre £5, cleaning say £4, would leave 

 but little for freight and other charges. Indeed, fibre 

 to be profitable must give at least £30 an acre. This 

 perhaps will yet be accomplished. — S. I. Observer. 



Coffee and Pepper.— Panwila, 27th Sep'.— O ce 

 more (this is now the fifth year) I am able to invite 

 one and all to come and see — for seeing is believing— the 

 splendid coffee crops on this estate (Maria), though we 

 had a dry season, some leaf-dis-nse and but; very bad in 

 patches : this is further proof what can be done by careful 

 cultivation during these trying times— a stitch in time 

 saves nine — >hat this system carried on on this estate is 

 a safe one. I am also glad to say there is a fine cacao 

 crop on the trees : in fact a lot of trees are bearing 

 too heavily, but the trees are in good heart. These 

 are also being carefully nourished same, as coffee, 

 aud both thrive and bear well side by side. It is a 

 pleasure to see also the crop on the large crolon-oil 

 trees and some of the pepper-vines, &c. , &c. This 

 is the time for new capitalists to come to Ceylon, 

 to buy up good or abandoned estat s : there are 

 many estates which, through had supervision, ne- 

 glected or careless cultivation, want of funds, &c, are 

 now for sale; these can be planted up again with new 

 products, as subsoil is still good and be made paying 

 estates : some hav still good, coffee which can be 

 worked up. Careful attention must be paid aud actual 

 wants supplied in time of need. Superintendents must 

 be careful agriculturists, not simple overseers of work : 

 then new products will pay. 



The Granada Cocoa Crop amounting to 3,825,000 lb. 

 is larger than that of the previous season. The 

 increase is due to the cultivation of cocoa being in 

 greater favour than that of sugar cane ; which, owing 

 to capitalists refusing to advance on crops that have 

 ceased to be remunerative from over production, is 

 dying out. — S. 1. Observer. 



Tea in S. India.— We hear that tea has attracted 

 much notice inWynaad. Owners in the Ouehterlony 

 Valley are now making extensive additions to the area 

 under tea. A block of tea cultivation on the Chembaly 

 estate, adjoining the above property has a trial tea-pl nid- 

 ation upon it of some 12 acres ; the five years old trees, 

 Assam Hybrid variety, are of magnificent growth ; and 

 both soil, situatiou and climate are well'adapted for 

 tea cultivation. In the Ouehterlony Valley, Captain 

 Griffin's tea has already averaged 400 lb. an acre, the 

 average price of w.-.ich, was a year or s > ago, 2s. Id. 

 is now Is 3d. — S. J. Observer. 



Coffee-Planting in Ceylon and Southern India. 



The South of India Observer writes : — " We ob- 

 serve more letters in the Mail deploriug the situ- 

 ation, and planters 'V. R. ' and others seem to have 

 but little hope of coffee. Why Ceylon planters should 

 be cited as skilful cultivators puzzles us. have they 

 not lamentably failed, though they were in possession 

 of a climate superior to Wynaad or Coorg ? There 

 is one thing that should strike planters, that is, if 

 the trees on a coffee estate have once yielded good 

 crops why they should not do it again. The climate 

 has not changed, the tree demands nourishment which 

 it does not get, the result is, short crops and dis- 

 ease." The sneer at Ceylon planters is unmerited. 

 A fair degree of success rewarded their efforts, as 

 well as those of the brethren in Southern India, 

 until the calamitous advent of the debilitating leaf- 

 disease. Even after its appearance manures were 

 liberally applied until many planters found that they 

 were merely feeding the fungus. 



Tun high Charges ok Calcutta Auents on Tea 

 are thus noticed in the Pioneer: — 



There is a good story told of the London and North- 

 Western Railway, that in one of their advertisements the 

 printer had inadvertently dropped the letter " 1," and that 

 consequently consignees were requested to come forward 

 and pay the " awful " charges ou their goods, or they 

 would be sold on their account and risk. We never see a 

 Calcutta agent's account of his dealings with a tea garden 

 without being reminded of this advertisement, for the whole 

 vocabulary of forms of charge seems to have been ex- 

 hausted therein. Commissions for buying the articles re- 

 quire,! on the garden, with probably trade discount tor 

 selling the tea, and for advancing money ; charges for office 

 allowance, for postage, for petties invariably figure therein, 

 it seeming to be a cardinal axiom with some tea garden 

 agents that the shareholders exist for them, and not they 

 for the shareholders. It is an old saying that Iudia is for 

 tin- Civil Service, to which we would add, aud the Civil 

 Service for agency houses in Calcutta, who invite them to 

 come confidingly into their little parlours aud leave their 

 savings with them, when they will deposit them so safely 

 and securely in such a nice little thing in tea that their 

 minds will be at rest for ever. It is strange what an 

 attraction a tea garden has for a Bengal Civilian, or a 

 Military man in civil employ ; and how eagerly he rushes in 

 to open out new concerns and add to the fat commissions 

 of the Calcutta agents. " Blind unbelief is sure to err"; 

 so says the hymn, but it is a very safe stand to take 

 when the prospectus of a new Company finds its way into 

 your hands. Of the 98 Companies quoted on the Stock 

 Exchange here, 19 are at a premium, 13 are nominally at 

 par. and 66 are at a discount ; 43 are returned as having 

 paid no dividend for 1883, and 5 have not advanced as 

 yet to a dividend stage. It seems clear that if tea is to be 

 cultivated successfully for the shareholder, some radical 

 change must be made in the present system, but the subject 

 is large enough for a special letter, and we will postpone 

 its consideration for the present. 



