496 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST [December i, 1884. 



Now, I should not of course take notice of this 

 method of advertisement, but for this: it is import- 

 ant that the efforts being made by Government to 

 extend the cultivation of new varieties of cacao from 

 the Gardens should not be interfered with by 

 the circulation in the public press of false statements. 

 It is this consider t on alone tint leads me to 

 think it desirable to put ou record positively that 

 the cicao seed in question was quite ripe enough for 

 planting, the best proof of which is that the purchaser 

 reports that they have grown into fine young seed- 

 lings, which shows among other things, that, however 

 "practical" a man may be, he is proue to make 

 serious mistakes if he be in toe great a hurry to rush 

 into unnecessary criticism. — 1 am, sir. your ob> client 

 servant, HENRY TRIMEN, Director, R.B.G. 



EARLY MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR IN 

 CEYLON. 



Sir,— I daresay many of the readers of the popular 

 T. A. are not aware that sugar was cultivated in 

 Ceylon at a very early period. Silu Maha Tissa, the 

 Mahachula mahatisso of Tumour, having, it seems, 

 learnt that what he earned by his own labour would be 

 a more meritorious offering than any other he could 

 present, worked in disguise as a cooly at a sugar 

 estate near Sva nagari, not far from Anuradhapura, 

 for the space of three years that he might gain a 

 hi"h reward from offering the produce of his labour 

 to the priests. 



The article of sugar is frequently introduced by the 

 native writers, but, as may be supposed, it was not 

 made for exportation at this early period, and the 

 cultivation and manufacture of the article was not 

 therefore widely and generally known.— Yours truly, 



ENQUIRER. 



THE LARGE ACREAGE.YIELD OF TEA 

 IN CEYLON. 



Colombo, 22ud Nov. 1S84. 



Dear Sir,— From what appears in the Indian and 

 English newspapers, the possibility of Ceylon tea 

 estates yielding annually from 100 to 1,000 lb. of 

 made tea per acre is generally disbelieved by those 

 interested in Indian tea estates, because such yields 

 cannot be obtained from the richest Indian soils, aLd 

 it is broadly asserted that it is impossible for Ceylon 

 soils to give for any length of time the large yields 

 which are being constantly reported in the Ceyion 

 newspapers. 



Those who are of this opinion iguore altogether the vast 

 difference between the situation and climate of Ceylon 

 and India, China, and Japan. 



Planters in Ceylon know perfectly well, that the 

 large yields obtained by them are not owing to the 

 richness of I he soil of their estales, but to the extra- 

 oidinary suitableness of the Ceylon climate lor tea 



growing. . 



In India, China, and Japan, tea plucking is 

 confined to about four months in each year, the jielc! 

 of tea per acre is, therefore, regulated more or less by 

 the state of the weather during the plucking season. 

 In Ceylon, tea planters except during the time of 

 pruning are able to pluck all the jear round ; they 

 have therefore ten to twelve months to harvest their 

 produce, instead of the four of northern climates. 



As a rule, our rainfall is so well distributed, that 

 the yield of one month (when in full bearing) 

 may be taken as a guide to the yield of the 

 succeeding months. Planters are thus able to estimate 

 their acreage yield, with considerable nicety, as it is 

 found, that, if, from occasional periodsof dry weather, the 

 yield ot one or two months falls short of the average, 

 the recuperative effect of following showers, is so 



great as to makeup for temporary shortfalls. Now, in 

 Northern India, if the weather is unfavorable during 

 any of the four cropping months, deficiencies of yield 

 cannot be made up during the remaining eight months 

 as in Ceylon. 



1 say, then, that Ceylon tea planters, in their extremely 

 favorable climate, enjoy ..n advantage over all other 

 countries, but those similarly situated, which more 

 thau compensates for supposed inferiority of soil. 



It is a moot, qnesti n, however, whether the Ceylon 

 soils under the influence ot" a moist and forcing climate 

 is not sufficiently good for a large acreage production 

 of tea ; if they are not, the poverty can "be economic- 

 ally counteracted without' the danger of the disap- 

 pointing results, which have too frequently attended 

 the high cultivation of coffee. We all know how 

 often the effects of manuring the latter have been 

 entirely destroyed by a couple of days' bad weather 

 during the blossoming time ; in the case of tea, such 

 a disappointment would be impossible. 



One of th'- drawbacks to tea-planting in Ceylon is 

 the excessive and constant supervision required. 

 Plucking, manufacturing, packing and dispatching 

 goes on without interval all the year round. 

 The cost of superintendence must be an increasing 

 item as estates come into bearing ! And, at the rate 

 tea planting is going on iu the island, a very large 

 number of assistant superintendents will be required — 

 one superintendent will be unable to supervise all the 

 work on a large tea estate, and the days of coffee 

 estate pluralities are over. 



Considering that tea-making in Ceylon is In its 

 babyhood, the high place which Ceylon teas have 

 taken in the London market illustrates, in a re- 

 markable way, the intelligence and ability of the 

 Ceylon planters to adapt themselves to the altering 

 agricultural circumstances of the colony, and to show 

 how the experience gained during half-aeentury in 

 the management of Tamil coolies enables them 

 to carry on cultivation as cheaply as in countries 

 where the cost of labor and food is much leBS. 1 

 think, in a very few years hence, there will be com- 

 paratively few complaints of inferiority of qualities 

 from the same district and elevation. 



There is no doubt, when skill iu manufacture is equal- 

 ized over the various districts, distinctive qualities 

 arising from difference of elevation will be readily 

 distinguishable At present what is produced at little 

 over sea-level sells as well as that grown at six thous 

 and feet: the strength of the lowcountry product 

 appears to compensate for the flavor of that of the 

 higher districts, but the time will come when afternoon 

 connoisseurs will be able to appreciate the difference 

 between tea lantana, lea nillu and tea rhododendron. 

 Without having to pay for broken pekoes. Each district 

 will in time have its distinctive charaeteiistics of strength 

 and flavor. — -Yours truly, C. 8. 



DRYING CACAO (COCOA) IN THE SUN : 

 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. 



Sir, — I routine to trouble you with a few lines 

 on the principles of cocoa drying by the sun and by 

 heated air. I am given to understand that cocoa dried 

 by the sun fetches 8s or 10s a cwt. , more than 

 air dried. It is worth while therefore to endeavour to 

 assimilate air-drying to eun-drying as far as possible. 



There is a difference of principle or process in the 

 two methods. The one is expelling vapour by heal, 

 the other is drawing off vapour by dryness of air. 

 Of course, there is to some extent a combination in 

 both, but in sun drying, heat is the chief factor. In 

 air-drying, dryness of air is the chief. To indicate 

 clearly the two processes, suppose a cloth dipped in hot 

 water and then exposed to the air, vapour will come 

 from the clolh in a visible form, i.e., vapour will pass 



