May i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



803 



Tamjiacia, of similar origin, i3 similarly unidentified : — 



It strongly resembles Tampinnis, but it is stringy and 

 not so lustrous as that fine wood aud must not be confounded 

 with it. The tree grows to a height of 100 to 150 feet and a 

 diameter of 3 to 5 feet. The wood is principally used lor the 

 heavier parts of wooden bridges and for piles. 

 Kapur Bakooh (Dryobalanops camphora) must not 

 ba confouuded with the true camphor treo : — 



This tree is found in Borneo and Sumatra. It grows 

 to a great height and girth. It is used for planking prahus 

 aud in house building and is justly much esteemed by 

 the natives, who are very partial to it owing to its last- 

 ing and generally serviceable qualities. This tree yields 

 the Oamphor gum so highly valued by the Ohinose for its 

 supposed medicinal properties. 



Finally, we have Buixow Bunciah, not identified 

 botanically : — 



It is a large handsome tree, the wood of which is suit- 

 able for some kinds of furniture. It is scarce. In colour it 

 is grayish yellow and in many cases prettily grained. 



Following the list of timbers are an account of 

 the mode in which the experiments were conducted 

 and elaborate tables showing the results. Pieces of 

 the woods, 3' x 1J' x 1J' clear span 2' 6", were tested 

 with weight at the centre. The breaking weight 

 for one specimen of Darroo was so high as 1>S36 lb. ; 

 Ballow 1,264 j Tampinnis 1,850; Miraboo 1,374; 

 Kladahg 1,286; Kraugie 1,656; and so forth. There 

 are notes as to toughness, fracture, detlection, &c. , 

 interesting mainly to scientific or practical men, who 

 can, no doubt, obtain copies of the work. We can 

 only give the more popular portions. We may say, 

 in conclusion, that we have been greatly impressed 

 with the enormous timber wealth of Malaysia and 

 the Eastern Archipelago, aud the importance of its 

 being cared for aud properly utilized for the benefit 

 of the world, instead of being recklessly sacrificed 

 to the greed of Chinese speculators or the waste of 

 gambier growers. For this reason wo are glad that 

 so much of Borneo and New Guinea have passed 

 under the rule of civilized nations who will not 

 neglect prudent forest conservation any more than 

 encouragement to legitimate planting enterprise. Mr. 

 Newton's researches and the mathematical tables and 

 diagrams furnished in his work will be valuable 

 guides to distinguishing really valuable timber trees 

 from the mass of useless vegetation which abounds 

 side by side with such timber. 



COFFEE, TEA. AND CACAO BOUND KANDY. 

 Kandy, March 25th. 



Boseneath is a sight, of beauty with snow-white 

 ricldy-perf umed blossom such as is now becoming rare. 

 While tea grows anywhere, cacao only in select places. 

 On Gongwanly the plants ore magnificent, and Palle- 

 kelly was a most pleasing surprise eonsidi-ring the 

 drought. So on Anniewatte and other places around 

 Kaudy. Jlelojieltis is little feared now. The late 

 showers have freshened up all Nature, and Kandy 

 is greatly improved, as the drives around are : it is 

 certainly one of the most beautiful towns in the world. 



TEA PLANTING IN CEYLON- 



COLONEL MONEY CK1TIC1ZED. 



(To the Editor " Ceylon Observer.") 



Colombo, 21st March, 1885. 

 Dear Sir, — Whilst recognizing fully the benefits 

 which Colonel Money has conferred on the tea in- 

 dustries of India and Ceylon, by his works on tea 

 planting and manufacture, I do not thiuk the re- 

 marks in his letter No. 1 which appears in your issue 

 of the 16th iustant, respecting tea planting in Cey- 

 lon, should, in the interests of our lea planters, be 

 paBaed over without notice, as they aro likely to 



mislead those who are not acquainted with all tho 

 circumstances whioh will, in time, probably place the 

 Islaud in the first rank of tea-producing countries. 

 Colonel Money is deservedly so high an authority 

 in everything relating to the cultivation of tea, that 

 I feel great difiidouce in venturing to criticize any 

 remarke of his, and I should not have thought of 

 doing so, if he had not himself expressed his want 

 of knowledge of many of the circumstances conneoted 

 with the growth of tea in Ceylon. 



In the third paragraph of his letter, he says:— "If 

 Ceylon extends gradually, and not in the mad way it 

 is doing now, we may yet see tho day when the de- 

 mand will overtake supply, and decent prices result." 

 It is a moot point when prescience, energy, progress 

 and self-preservation assume the character of insanity ; 

 but if there ever were circumstances which would 

 justify what the Colonel calls madness, they will, 

 I thiuk, be found in thoso which have been expatiated 

 upon in the local press. 



Tho experience gained by Ceylon tea planters, and 

 recently made public, proves, that, as long as couly 

 labour in the colony is about 37 cents per diem, it 

 is possible to cultivate, manufacture, pack and tran- 

 sport tea to Colomb o for 26 to 30 cents per pound. 

 Assuming, however prices may advance during the 

 next year or twol from exceptional causes, that 

 the average of Ceyon tea in Colombo, two or three 

 years hence, will not exceed 50 cents per pound. 

 There will be still a difference of 20 to 24 cents per pi iiinl 

 between cost and proceeds, aud taking the average 

 yield of the colony at the reasonable estimate of ! 

 I 350 lb. per acre, there wonld be B70 to B84 per acre 

 1 as a return on the capital invested. When I say that 

 I tea planted during the past four or five years, and 

 that which may be planted during the next year or 

 two, has not, and need not, cost, with suitable build- 

 ings and machinery, on an average more than B200 

 per acre, I think few planters will say that I am 

 putting the cost at too low a figure ; but if B50 to 

 B100 is again paid for waste laud, and if palatiil 

 buildings are constructed, and the most costly machin- 

 ery put up out of capital, then Colonel Money will 

 be right in accusing us of that madness, which has 

 contributed so much, in the majority of cases, in receut 

 years, to the unremunerative cultivation of tea in India. 

 It will be admitted tho returns of R70 to K84 per 

 acre, which are eejual to 37 to 42 per cent on capital 

 on the above bases, are ont such as would discourage 

 progression, especially as we know that it 

 would not be under the influence of inflated prices, 

 but of such a low rauge as to leael to a gradual 

 reduction in the supply from our chief competitor, 

 and serious losses to a ve ry large number of Indian 

 planters. 



In the fifth paragraph Colonel Money somewhat in- 

 sinuates that Ceylon planters aro greedy, and foolish, 

 in taking all that their climate aud cultivation gives 

 them, aud points to Indian planters as paragons of 

 prudence and self-denial, for "they give the plant a 

 rest, a holiday for three or four mouths." I suspect 

 human nature is the same in India as in Ceylon, and 

 that the Indian planter would, if he could, follow the 

 example of his Ceylon brother, and make hay whilst 

 the sun shines. 



If tea plaots require rest as Colonel Monoy says 

 they do, manuring will certainly not give it in Ceylon; 

 on the contrary, in our moist climate, it would, and 

 docs, increase the number of fishes, aud to refrain 

 from plucking them woulel only necessitate the more 

 frequent use of the knife, which, think, is a'ready too 

 severely usetl to force the yield. The la-ge yields 

 obtained here are, I suspect, the result of our having 

 planted descriptions of tea which in our climate give 

 large heavy leaves. When prices of tea fall below 

 26 to 30 cents per pound in Colombo, maxims of 



