February 2, 1885.] THtt TROPICAL AGRTCtTLTURIST. 



Gti 



THE ACREAGE OF BEARING TEA ON 

 ABBOTSFORD ESTATE, CEYLON, 5,000 

 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. 

 A Ceylon correspondent of the Indian Tea Gazette, 

 has insinuated that the produce of a number of fine 

 trees scattered over the plantation went to swell the 

 returns from the acreage shown as bearing. The several 

 thousands of s^ed- bearers scattered over Abbotsford 

 were, of course, referred to, and we can only repeat 

 that not a leaf from any of these went into the 

 returns of 1SS4, recently published. But there aie 

 pruned trees along paths and drains, which were 

 plucked. They were, however, estimated for acreage, 

 the (pace they cover having been over rather than 

 under estimated for extent. The figures for the acieage 

 of seven to eight years old tea, which produced 50Gi lb. 

 average per acre in 1SS4, are thus made up, as has 

 frequently beeu stated : — 



Cattle-shed field ... ... 15 acres. 



Bungalow , , . . ... ... 5 ,, 



7-years old ,, ... ... .".. 70 ,, 



90 „ 



Add bushes along roads and drains, 



a liberal estimate 20 ,, 



Total 110 acres, 



to which total the returns referred. 



We may add that the late Mr. Cameron advised 

 the plucking of the seed-bearers, but this advice 

 was set aside, Mr. Chisholm Fraser having stated, 

 what proved to be correct, that Hush from such 

 trees gave weak tea. Before 1SS4, therefore, the 

 plucking of the big nnprnned trees kept for se;d 

 was deliberately discontinui d. 



We may add thai, some of the trees left for seed- 

 bearing (superior hybrid Assam jat) have neither 

 blossomed nor fruited at the high altitude, though 

 from eight to ten years old. The late high wind, 

 some readers will he sorry to hear, proved fatal to 

 the giaut tea tree (SS feet circumference) before the few 

 first blossoms it began to show had passed into fiuit. 



COKE AS FUEL FOR TEA MACHINERY. 



In Nov. 1SS3, Mr. Monk, of the Colombo Gas Works, 

 enabled us to answer a que#y from Maskeliya about the 

 use of coke as fuel for tea driers. After showing that 

 Euglish foundry coke was unsuitable, apart from the 

 price, R50 to R55 per ton, Mr. Monk stated the 

 terms on which local gas coke could be supplied. 

 In reply to a note about coke for a household stove, 

 Mr. Monk wrote a few days ago, giving details which 

 may be interesting and useful to our tea plantiug 

 readers : — 



"If the coke is required for tea-drying machines we 

 will send a four-ton trial lot for K1875 per ton 

 delivered at station or wharf here, cash; or R2075 per 

 ton cash within six months. Bags are lent free of charge 

 for a fortnight; if not returned free of all charges wilk- 

 in 1(> days. GO cents each charged for them, 30 to 33 

 per ton. 



"Mr. Horsfall,17, Hospital Street, is trying coke with 

 one of the American Evaporators (Davies's) drying cardamoms 

 just now, hut how he is succeeding I don't know, as he may 

 not have had trial long enough yet to give an opinion. 

 There must he considerable advantage with coke for tea 

 drying machines: no smoke, and, if any, fair draught': any 

 heat can b< obtained, and, as it is all pore fuel, no waste 

 nn il burnt to fine dust small enough to pass through a 

 tea sieve— none other should be thrown away, as the ashes 



will all burn, either to keep down heat when too strong 

 by damping fire a little, or by opening damper a little 

 more to give draught enough to burn the ashes. The 

 coke should be broken to prices, not larger than an ordinary 

 size orange : sometimes pieces of coke are vory much 

 larger." 



" P.K — I may add.no probablity of price of coke ad- 

 vancing over R20 per ton nett here unless coal increases in 

 price which is not probable for some time. 



" As all drying machines are regulated in temperature 

 under sight of a thermometer, I presume much economy 

 of fuel may be effected by a careful person in charge having 

 damper open only suflicieut to get desired temperature : 

 if damper open too much, much of heat merely passing 

 away by the chimuey. " 

 In his letter of Nov. ISsS, Mr. Monk stated : — 



"The carriage to Nawalapitiya is R14'70 for one ton, 

 R29'40 for two tons or any quantity up to four tons for 

 the R29'40, so that it is much cheaper to get a four ton lot ; 

 a special quotation would be given for latter for a trial. The 

 Gas-AVorks coke is best for stoves, only requiring a wood 

 kindling and fair draught, and broken small for use." 

 At R'29'40 for four tons to Nawalapitiya, the rate 

 per ton for railway carriage would be R7'35 to Nawala- 

 pitiya, and in proportion for greater distances, we sup- 

 pose. The distance from ( 'olombo to Nawalapitiya is 

 87 miles, while the distance thence to Nanuoya will 

 not be one half more, only 42 miles or rather under. 

 But say that one half is added to carriage, that 

 would be about RU per ton from Colombo to Nanu- 

 oya. Tbe total cost of a ton at Nanuoya would thus 

 he R2975, say R30. How does this compare with 

 wood fuel, looking at the superior heating power of 

 the coke and the absence of smoke? 



PROGRESS OF PLANTING IN CEYLON. 



It is interesting after a considerable interval to 

 mark the evidences of progress along our railway 

 line. The Liberian effee aud cacao seen in the 

 Pulgahawcla district looked healthy and vigorous ; 

 the Kadugannawa plantations Bhowed an encouraging 

 covering with the same new products intermixed with the 

 grass fields wisely grown where wash had done its worst. 

 Mariawatte, Sinnapitiya aud several other tea clearings 

 in the Gampola neighbourhood looked refeshingly green; 

 while with Ambagamuwa commenced a wider field of 

 tea operations in numerous clearings young and old with 

 shrubby plants of the type becoming so familiar 

 everywhere in cur planting districts. A companion 

 who has had experience higher up, declared the 

 growth to be less satisfactory at this medium elev- 

 ation than on good, eoil at G.000 feet aud upwards. 

 But not only good soil, but shelter and an easterly 

 exposure, must be c mditions of success in the latter 

 case. A glimpse of the great Kadawella tea-house 

 in the middle of the wide-extending " gardens" is 

 caught from the train before entering in the long 

 extending Watawala valley through fields of coffee 

 which, with lines and groves of cinchona at intervals, 

 look as healthy and vigorous, although not so lich 

 in crop, as ten years ago. A picture of desolation — 

 weeds and walking-sticks — in approaching Hatton is 

 succeeded, after passing through the long tunuel, 

 by a stretch of country where coffee to the ordiuary 

 glance gives not the slightest indication of a decay- 

 ing industry. Surely Dimbula never looked better in 

 its coffee and cinchona groves apart from the pro- 

 mise of tea, at this season of the year, even in 

 the days when leaf-disease had not interfered with 

 tbe crops of from 4 to G cwt. per acre. 



But what a splendid series of tea gardens were 

 lost (for some dozen or fifteen years) when the 

 Kotagaloya valley was cleared for the production 

 of fragrant berries rather than the fragrant leaf. Surely 

 all the conditions required by the tea planter are found 

 between Poolbank aud Craigie Lea— the perfection of 



