March a, 1885.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



^73 



CEYLON UPCOUNTRY PLANTING REPORT. 



GOOD YIELD FROM YOUNO COFFEE— CACAO AND ITS ENEMIES : 

 JUNGLE PIGS AND PORCUPINES— THE CACAO CROP — GOLDEN 

 VISIONS— PLENTY OF LAND OFFERING FOE TEA CULTIY- 

 AT ,ON — THE CEYLON CO. LD. AND O. B. 0. ESTATES: A 

 SCRAMBLE FOR 1IIEM AMONG FINANCIAL COMPANIES LIKELY — 

 CEYLON TEAS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A FALL IN PRICES. 



3rd February 18S5. 

 It is not often we hear of young coffee doing well 

 in these days, nor indeed of people bold enough to 

 plant it. It has been generally recognized for some years 

 back that young coffee does not grow as it used to 

 do, turning out bad in every wy. It is alt the more 

 worthy of record therefore tnat such a young clear- 

 ing as LTappootella did its 5 cwt. per acre last season 

 at two years old, and a half of that i» again ex- 

 pected from the same coffee this year. 



Cacao has already so many enemies, that it is far 

 from pleasing to learn that our jungle pig has to be 

 added amongst those. So expert has it become in its 

 endeavours to get at the cacao pods, that it is almost 

 rivalling in intel'iijence its learner 1 brother at home 

 which at country fairs is the delight end surprize of 

 the simple bumpkins. Intelligence of this kind may 

 be admired but it is not appreciated, and one is 

 almost inclined to indulge in Btrong language when 

 you come upon the havoc these marauders have made : 

 but when the animal goes the extreme length of 

 undermining the tree whose pods are beyond reach 

 until such time as it topples over, then, I think, it 

 is serious enough to justify a re-.ort to expletives. 

 There is one comfort about the matter, that the jungle 

 pig is easily scared, and as Ramasami has a weak- 

 ness for his unclean flesh he is always willing and 

 anxious to borrow the estate gun aud ammunition, 

 sit up for a night or so, and do his best to enter- 

 tain the grunter with a few slugs. 



But, as an enemy of cacao, the porcupine is worse. It 

 roams all ovor the place, gnaws the stems of the trees, 

 tears the bark off in strips, breaks down the hranches, aud 

 destroys the pods. The brute is also so difficult to get 

 at, sneaking out in the darkness and giving few opport- 

 unities for a shot, let the shikari be ever so watchful. 

 I got a suggestion just lately well worth a trial when 

 porcupines are troublesome. It was to tie splints of 

 bamboo round the stems of the trees. This is worth 

 a trial anyhow. 



The cacao crop is not turniog out so well, I learn, 

 as would be liked, but, remembering the drought of 

 last year, perhaps more than there was a right to 

 expect. In Dumbara however not much more than 

 haif uf last season's returns can be expected in this. 

 On individual trees you see and hear of wonderful 

 bearing. Many a golden vision is built ou them, 

 and the happy possessor puzzles himself what to do 

 with his prospective fortune. One such made this 

 nice little calculation. He was standing before a 

 fine specimen of what a cacao tree should be, and, in 

 counting the pi els said to himself : " Ten cwt. an 

 acre at the least. I sold my last lot of cacao at 

 R45 per cwt. in Colombo, aud have a hundred acres 

 coming into bearing. One hundred acres bearing ten 

 cwt. at R45 per cwt. ! Ah ! what would I do with 

 all that money?" Ceylon has been so " sair hauden 

 doou " of late that one can sympathize with the 

 puzzled planter, aud his golden vision. May it be 

 realized. 



I remember meeting a man who made a similar 

 kind of calculation regareling Liberian coffee. Seeds 

 were then selling at 50 cents each. He had several 

 acres of Liberian just coming into bearing, and reduced 

 the price to 12 cents each as an absurdly low figure. 

 Out of the maidni crop he showed on paper — well, I 

 forget really what it was, but it was dazzling enough 

 to make him talk of investing the proceeds in 

 consols and retiring to live on the interest thereof ! 



85 



Land suitable for tea is for offer in every district 

 of the island. It is amusing, if one be on the hunt, 

 what a selection of good, bad arcl indifferent places 

 are pressed on one us "just the thing you want." 

 Kverv shuck estate almost, whose name was inglorious 

 in the days of the glory of effee, anel which has 

 sunk below the horizon for the last ten years at any 

 rate, rises "blushing like the morn, " as its fortunate 

 possessor insinuatingly poiuts out its wonderful cap- 

 abilities to produce, tea. No mau neeel be in a hurry 

 to buy for want of i ffers, for the sellers are very much 

 in excess of those who wnul-l invest. Still the price 

 of land creeps up, as it is bound to do in the face of 

 the success which tea undoubtedly is 



The Assets Company of London is not going to have it 

 all its own way. One large firm at home has its agent 

 here busily employed valuing the C. C. L. and 0. B. C. 

 estates, with the view of taking them over. It is 

 more than likely that there will be a scramble among 

 the London financial compaoie^s for bargains in es'ates, 

 which may reasouably be expected to become valuable 

 properties ere. many years are passed. But small 

 capitalists mayask: — Is it necessary that these properties 

 should lie put up in the lump? It should be a question 

 with those interested i( more might not be realized 

 by S'lling each estate by itself. 



As to the fine prices our teas are getting in the 

 Loudon market, a frieod at home writes : — " Ceylon tea 

 has for some time enjoyed what is known as *a 

 fancy price' far above the real market value of the 

 tea, and, if the quality goes down; it won't fall a few 

 pence per lb., but it will be a ruinous fall, ami 

 the wise men will be ';bose who u-e nothing but 

 picked seed, send home only the best tea, aud work 

 their estates as against a price of Is per lb anel not ran 

 away with averages of Is fiei and over. You will be eloing 

 a good turn if you can impress ou any planters (what 

 I say about ' faucy prices.' My remarks tire quott'd 

 from one of the best authorities of the trade here, 

 and, although Loudon cannot grow tea, it h.s all to 

 do with enabling it to grow in Ceylon aud elsewhere." 



Peppercorn. 



NOTES FROM AN "OLD CEYLON COLONIST." 



W. S. AND PROTECTION — " TURNING THE CORNER " AND 

 AGRICULTURISTS AT HOME — It. B. T.'S GOOD STORY OF 



economy in excelsis. 



North o' the Tweed, Jan. 8'h. 



Tragical Agriculturist just in. It is interesting 

 and very pleasing to hear once more of such 

 a good old fellow-planter as W. S who writes from 

 the " Blue Mountains," anel yet one cannot help heav- 

 ing a sigh for the granel olel times of coffee planting — 

 never likely to return in our day any more than the 

 Protection <V. S. vainly and very mistakenly sighs 

 for. It is very gratifying to hear such encouraging 

 accounts of tea. I only hope it will not be ruined 

 by over-sanguine estimates ; for, apart altogether from 

 the action of the arch-enemy Hernileia vast n trie, the 

 inflation of a dozen years ago would have proved 

 ruinous to thousands 'by causing the misguideel 

 0. B. C. to empty its coffers into the laps of men 

 who were never known to be guilty of a elecent day's 

 work. 



If you have turned the corner in Ceylon, it is 

 evident enough that agriculturists at home have not 

 yet reached the worst. Yet, who that enjoyed the 

 late glorious summer and wituesseel the bountiful crops 

 could have believed that for the Scotch farmer this 

 would prove the most ruinous season on record. Yet 

 such it apparently is. Farms are being given up in 

 every direction : even food may be over-pr duced. The 

 best loaf bread is now sold at Id per lb. " We simply 

 cannot pay rent, "saiel an honest farmer to me the other 



