March 2, 1885.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



707 



The Position and Prospects of Ceylon Tea arc 

 thus noticed iu a letter received by us from an emi- 

 nent London firm :—" The strides made by the Ceylon 

 Tea Industry are very gratifying, and, if your planters 

 can maintain their present high standard of quality, 

 they ought to be able to gaiu ground rapidly both on 

 India and China, what with the climate of Ceylon, 

 plentiful labour, ready access to shipping ports and 

 comparative nearness to Europe." 



Ceylon and its Tea Industry.— Mr. Arthur 

 Thompson (of Messrs. W. H. & J. Thompson of Mine- 

 ing Lane) who recently visited the island is good 

 enough to write by this mail to us : — " Having seen 

 several interested in tne island I am glad to say 

 that on the whole they seem more hopeful in the 

 general outlook than was the case some six months ago. 

 Of course their mainstay is tea, and iu this view, 

 after having seen even the little I have, I can fully 

 concede— given ' good management and care ' from 

 the first operation, say the selection of seed, down to 

 the liual tiring and packing. On these heads they 

 should feel pretty sale judging from the good cult- 

 ivation that is shown almost universally through each 

 district. So that, if in a few years I am able to return 

 for another visit, I shall hope to see Ceylon sending 

 several milliouslb. of tea leaving asatisfactory result to 

 all concerned and making up to some extent for the 

 disastrous results of coffee." 



The 1'laxting Season in Ceylon. —The news 

 from the Planting Districts is of weather entirely 

 favourable to coffee blossoms and crops, but far 

 too dry for tea flushing in several districts. It 

 would look indeed as if we were in for another dry 

 season, although, of course, it is too early to say so 

 yet. Some natives however allege that we are in for a 

 dry cycle of years, their coconut crops having fallen off 

 considerably this season and last, for want of the usual 

 amount of rainfall. At the same time over a large 

 extent of our planting country a large abatement in 

 a rainfall rising to 150 and 200 inches may be dis- 

 couated without detriment to tea, although of course 

 very much depends on the distribution. Whatever 

 be the weather, it is reassuring to know that 

 so many of our planters are able to derive bene- 

 fit from it. Nowadays all is not dependent on 

 coflee blossom ; but one may hear : " this weather is bad 

 for my tea, but it will give me some more coffee 

 crop ; or it is good for the cacao or the oardamoma ;" 

 while cinchona is pretty well independent of all 

 weather. Iu this counection it is interesting to know 

 that Liberian Coffee is by no means a failure in every 

 case in Ceylon although its further planting has 

 been stopped. On one carefully cultivated plantation of 

 200 acres the crops have been equal to 3 and 4 cwt. 

 of clean coffee per acre for two or three years, and 

 as much as 5 cwt. per acre is promised this season. 

 One of the most flourishing experiences of eticao 

 cultivation is in Western Dolosbage under Mr. 

 Drummond's care, showing that, where the soil is good, 

 a very liberal rainfall is an advantage. The cacao there 

 has scarcely suffered from any of the evils complained 

 of elsewhere. It is satisfactory to learn that after a 

 a thorough inspection of a good many districts of the 

 island, so good a planter and shrewd an observer as Mr. 

 Wm. Kollo is well satisfied with the prospects of 

 the Colony especially from tea cultivation. At the 

 same time, Mr. Rollo is one among not a few pro- 

 prietors who even all through the late years of depres- 

 sion and leaf-disease have made their plantations in 

 Ceylon pay their way and a good deal more — indeed 

 old places iu Dolosbage. have been doing fairly well 

 while now under tea they promise to take a new 

 lease of a paying existence. Careful economic work- 

 ing of plantations which were opened at a moderate 

 expenditure and with no heavy capital loans to pro- 

 vide for has generally give satisfactory results even 

 iu the darkest years iu this Colony. 



Kabalmara (Albizzia Stipulata).— A correspondent 

 writes from Kadugaunawa : — " Will you kindly pro- 

 cure me, through your columns, identification of en- 

 closed branch ? Is it or is it not kabalmara gahaf 

 The Sinhalese are very conflicting in their statements. 

 If it be kabalmara, it will require watching when 

 upgrowu, as the specimen from which this branch is 

 taken is greatly encumbered with dead wood around 

 the foot of the tree, and, on examining stump-ends of 

 these shed branches, I find them bored through and 

 through in such a manner that the least wind topples 

 them over. There is good seed on the tree yet; it I can 

 obtain assurance of its identity. " The specimen is 

 that of Albizzia atipulata, and the kalialmara. The 

 branches of other species are also very brittle and 

 liable to be blown down during high wiuds. 



Negro Horticulture in Demerara is thur described 

 by the Rev. Ignatius Scoles iu " Sketches of African 

 Life in British Guiana": — 



Pumpkin creepers may be seen struggling all about, 

 bearing at intervals their heavy fruit, and climbing up 

 bush or broken branches placed there to dry the clothes 

 upon. A few sugar-canes may group themselves in some 

 odd corner, noddiDg to the wind, and tempting strange 

 boys to come and taste, and try how sweet they are, 

 for it is the only cane that gives them any consolation 

 in their younger days. There, too, the bright green 

 plantaiu luxuriously nourishes, sending forth with such 

 vigour its long split silken leaves, quite gigantio in their 

 size, waving them in the wind or gracefully bending 

 them at the slightest breeze, while from each succulent 

 stem a huge and heavy buuehs of finger-shaped fruit in 

 profusion hangs. Of tropical plants there are few to 

 compare in general beauty of foliage to the plantain and 

 banana, producing leaves so large and green and yet so 

 delicate and graceful. These two plants, though of the 

 same genus, seem to possess the same specific difference 

 we recognize between the hard winter or biking pear and 

 the soft summer jargenelle. The banana has something 

 of the flavour even of this latter fruit, while the other 

 is rather in taste like a raw potato, and like it cries out 

 loud for cooking. The plantaiu consequently ranks as a 

 vegetable; the banana as a fruit. The plantaiu, more- 

 over, is the African's main support, the corn of this 

 country where wheateu corn will {not grow. But to return 

 to our garden. Some coconut trees grow thero too, lean- 

 ing all about, or unlike most of the palm-tree tribe, 

 they persistently refuse to grow upright. Where industry 

 is at work many other things can be made easily to 

 grow. For instance, cassava from whence bread and 

 6tarchare made, yams, purple and white, sweet potatoes 

 all yellow, and no relation whatever to the European, 

 potato, tanias, garden egs, ochros, black-eye peas, &c; 

 but the African does not show his industry that way, or 

 make the most of the good things God has given him 

 so uulike in this respect is he to the thrifty French- 

 man who turus all things to good account, and as the 

 saying is, will make an excellent soup of a few stones, 

 provided you give a little piece of meat and a herb or 

 to flavour them with. To procure, however, some of the 

 more dainty plants for dinner use, or flavour purpose, 

 much trouble is taken and wonderful preparations are 

 made. Every empty box or oilcan, every leaky sauce- 

 pan, or broken pot, or 6poutless jug, or damaged vessel 

 half-hidden and of suspicious origin, is preserved, and 

 one aud all they are brought together piled upon boards, 

 and supported by barrels close to the steps filled with 

 well nourished _ earth, and then planted with the pot- 

 luxuries of African life. There grows the red pepper 

 aud yellow pepper, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, celery, and 

 sage tufts of lemon grass for fever purposes, cochineal 

 plants for cooling poultices, aloes aud a host of little 

 herbs, as fancy might demand or taste or cookery re- 

 quire. Nor are bright and garden flowers neglected ; 

 they too flax their delicate roots in many an empty bis- 

 cuit box, sardine or salmon tin. and the choice rose-bud 

 or pink is picked from these aud placed in David's 

 button-hole when he takes his walk on a Sunday morn- 

 ing, thinking of his soul, or goes on Monday evening to 

 the dignity ball in town, thinking of something else. — 

 Iiuyal Gazette. 



