February 2, 1885] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



649 



♦ 



To the Editor of the "Ceylon Observer." 



LEAF DISEASE AND THE LIME AND SULPHUR 

 CURE. 

 Yercaud, Shevaroy Hills, India, 13th Dec 1834. 



Sir, — I have lately been realing a book published at jour 

 Office, called " The Campaign of 1879 against Coffee Leaf- 

 disease by the Coffee Planters of Ceylon," which is almost 

 entirely composed of extracts Iron) editorials and letters 

 which appeared in the Ceylon Observer of that year. Tins 

 book asserts that Mr. D! Morris discovered a cheap and 

 perfect specific for leaf-disease in the year 1879. His cure 

 was to dust the trees with a mixture composed of 3 parts 

 of caustic coral lime to one part of Uowers cf 

 sulphur by weight; and it was a'so recommended 

 that quicklime should be strewed or. the ground to dis- 

 infect the soil, primings, fallen leaves, &c. It was claimed 

 that the cure was perfect, and that the cost of the materials 

 in Colombo was less than B20 per acre of 1,200 trees. 

 Can you. or any of your readers, inform me whether this 

 cure is still practised ; and, if so, whether it continues to 

 he thoroughly successful ; also, if it is not now practised, 

 why it has been abandoned ?— for application by the coolies' 

 hands is said to have been tried and found practicable 

 and extremely cheap. One still constantly reads^ of estates 

 being abaudoned in Ceylon on account of leaf-disease, and 

 in your November number, at page 391, you say: — "A 

 fair degree of success rewarded their efforts [Ceylon 

 planters] * * * * until the calamitous advent 

 of the debilitating leaf-disease. Even after its a 

 appearance manures were liberally applied, until many 

 planters found that they were merely feeding the 

 fungus." From this one would infer that the vaunted 

 efficacy of the lime aud sulphur cure was no greater than 

 that of the numerous specifics which have been tried and 

 found wanting. But I should much like to know all about 

 it, and should be very glad if you or any of your numer- 

 ous readers could kindly enlighten me.— I am, sir, yours 

 faithfully, ROBERT GOMPERTZ. 



[The history of the case is but too simple. The cure 

 was effectual in clearing bushes and even estates of the 

 pest. But as it was impjssible to apply it simultaneously 

 to all the coffee bushes in the island, the ubiquitous 

 fungus in a few mouths re-appeared on the estates which 

 had" been treated with lime and sulphur and the contest 

 had to be abandoned. All that could be done was done, 

 but the fungus prevailed. And now the most sanguine 

 can] but watch and wait.— Ed.] 



THE CLIMATE OF THE NILOIRIS i PROBABLE 



CONSEQUENCES OF THE HEAVY YIELD 



OF TEA IN CEYLON , HOPE FOR 



COFFEE, 



December 10th 1884, 

 Sib,— With fefercllce to youi' comment in the December 

 Bomber of your esteemed periodical re Mr. Lawson's 

 report on tho Nilgiri cinchona plantations, allow me to re- 

 mark that the occurrence of a killing fro.it and abnormal 

 season, onco in about thirty years, by no means constitute 

 an " unsuitable climate.'' The climate of the Nilgiris is 

 as suitable for the growth of cinchona as the soil is. 'With 

 fair treatment canker is almost unknown, at least west 

 of Ootacamund. With only one weeding and forking in 

 the one year old cinchonas seems to get along fairly, Indeed, 

 the cost of upkeep of private cinchona estates on the 

 Nilgiris is being reduced to a very low figure in these hard 

 timtfs. What little cultivation is given is chiefly bestowed 

 upon supplies aud young plantings. 



No doubt it is very gratifying to our Ceylon brethren 

 to turn out from 800 to 1,000 lb. of made-tea per acre, 

 butl would advise them to make hay while the suu shines; 

 for, at that rite, nature will doubtless square the account 

 in a few years time by calling a halt to enable the ex- 

 hausted (not impoverished) functions of the tea bushes 

 lo recruit, Some one, or more, functions of the tea plant 

 Will thui he temporarily suspended, which will be the 

 dyiial fos a general out-weals of rod- snider. &e, 

 82 



In my humble opinion this was the secret of the disastn us 

 Hemileia wstatrix, and, if I am right, your coffee bushes 

 ought, with fair play, to resume their temporarily sus- 

 pended functional duties, and coffee look up once more 

 in Ceylon. Unlimited yield in a forcing climate cannot 

 continue for an indefinite period of time. Meanwhile, ws, 

 poor planters, in more temporato climates, will make shift 

 with our modest three or four hundred lb. per acre, and 

 quietly hide our time which, accordingto Nature's own law 

 of compensations will surely come.— Yours Faithfully, 



ONE OF THEM. 



P. S.— So far we have scarcely had a single touch of frost 

 yet, but fine, mild, growing weather, which, after last year's 

 abnormal weather, is only another illustration of the law 

 of compensation. 



OLD AND NEW LAND FOR TEA. 



20th Jan. 1SS5. 



Dear Sir, — Seeing my letter (page 003; in print, I at 

 once perceived its s-ns of omission and haste, in tliat pure 

 of it wheie 1 refer to partially-neglecti-d laud thrown 

 out of the area of regular eultivat on. I did not mean 

 that 6uch land should be wholly abandoned if planted 

 with tea, but "seemingly" only, a3 I rather care- 

 lessly wrote. Going through it occasionally with 

 quintanies, to keep out " mill shedy," guavas and 

 mana-grass, is a very simple matter compare. 1 wiih 

 heavy weeding. lam trying it on a small scale, and see 

 no reason to fear (after 18 months only). 

 "S.'"s strictures, page 633) with the light I afforded him, 

 are justifiable ; aud I think the man who would do 

 as he questions would be " insane " ; so, also, would the 

 man be insane who would wilfully let his land into 

 weeds. But given a weedy estate, however it became 

 so (O, ghost of " Old Hand " !), it is not wise to keep 

 a larger acreage clean than can be profitably culti- 

 vated, as most planters admit and practice. It was 

 of parts of such land (to be seen anywhere upcountry) 

 of which I spoke, and not as " S." insanely suggests 

 that a man should leave it all and go home. Albiit 

 I have an abandoned estate in a certain good tea dis- 

 trict, which I should now be extremely glad to find 

 had been well planted with tea five or six years ago ! 

 But thia en passant. 



I do not "advise" anyone to bo "insane," but 

 land otherwise lying idle, but kept free from jungle 

 growths, might, in many instances, be triated as I 

 suggest, under given circumstance. The idea was sug. 

 gested to me by an experienced Indian tea planti r ; 

 and, if I am not misinformed, a certain well known 

 and well-kept tea estate was in its first jear sub- 

 ject to this process, when, before the advent of Mr. 

 Cameron, tea was a doubtful enterprise. 



But let "S, " look at this question all round. The 

 point in discussion iB ; Old land in hi</h districts Witts 

 new land in low districts. "S" eii her does crdoes 

 not know all the difference between them in extreme 

 cases. Let me enlighten him, Riding through an old 

 district a »hort time ago, I saw much old, washed- 

 out land? upon which hot a vestige of surface soil re- 

 mained, planted with .tea, and clean as a plate This 

 is old land at a high elevation. C mpaie this with 

 newly- cleared forest-land in the lowcountrj , is v.-iy 

 opposite. The litter should probably revert to im- 

 penetrable JUDgle in one year, if neglect, rt, and there- 

 fore must be kept clean. The former kind may be seen 

 any day upcountry, after years of neglect, through 

 which a horse might easily be ridden. I know such 

 an estate co planted with tea aud so abandoned, tliat 

 might now be inexpensively reopentd as a tea estate, 

 if the jal Wf-re better than it is. 



" S.'' too loses sit;bt. of the bea'ings, which the jibe 

 of spurie'us " Old H'>ud"(in your issue of the 15th (should 

 have impressed upon his memory, viz. '■ hard times," 

 " poor man," " next year, " the ghost of " last year, ' 

 &«, Let him rtad Mr. Talbot's, picture of tlr 



