Gj8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1885. 



No. II. 



ASSAM-HYBRID TEA 6,000 FEET ABOVE SEA-LEVEL YIELD- 

 I NO 50O LB. AND UPWARDS. 



Mr. Rossiter's tea factory is situated close to the main 

 road on Fairyland about 3 miles from Nuwara Eliya, 

 and in it he prepares the leaf plucked f*oin the 

 hybrid tea in the surrounding garden ; from the field 

 of China on Hazel wood three miles away ; from some 

 14,000 bushes in bearing of fine Assam tea on Capt. 

 Bayley's Pedro property close by ; from Mr. Grin- 

 linton's Portswood estate, two miles farther on ; and 

 from Kandapolla, six miles distant from the factory. 

 These properties as yet have so small an area, or 

 rather number of bushes ready for cropping, that 

 it suits the proprietors very well to allow Mr. 

 Eossiter do the plucking with his own coolies and to 

 receive payment at the rate of 4 cents per lb. for the wet 

 leaf. As yet it is the day. of small things all round 

 for tea crops in this neighbourhood ; the total out- 

 turn from the Fairyland factory last year not exceed- 

 ing 15.000 1b., although during 18S5 Mr. Kossiter 

 hopes to prepare and dispatch some 30,000 lb. Enough 

 has, however, been done in plucking leaf from mature 

 trees carefully counted, to give the informal ion de- 

 sired by our correspondent "Moderation" aa to the 

 probable yield of tea at a high elevation Of course 

 it may be said that cultivation carried on in com- 

 para'.ively small patches and the statistics of harvesting 

 from trees irregularly planted with abundance 

 of room, afford no fair criterion for a regularly 

 planted garden. But the mar-in afforded by last year's 

 experience is we think wide enough to allow for any such 

 deductions. In our last we said the hardy China tea 

 scattered over rather more than 30 acres on Hazel- 

 wood, had given in 18S4 about 300 lb, made tea per 

 artre. The return was fully equal to this if allow- 

 ance be made tor numerous blanks and for somewhat 

 irregular plucking during part of the year. But there is 

 the greatest contrast iu the world between the hardy 

 China alongside the Hakgala road, and the luxuri- 

 ant Assam hybrid bushes from 5to S years old seenon 

 each side of the Udapussellawa road, on Fairy- 

 land, ov scattered over one or two fields of Capt. 

 Bayley's very line Pedro property, and again in the 

 rich hollows of Portswood (Mr. Grinlinton's). Both 

 of these latter arc primarily cinchona plantations 

 which have yielded already heavy crops of bark 

 f.orn most valuable groves of officinalis and ro- 



husta trees— some of really splendid growth still 



covering large portions; but both proprietors are 

 going in extensively for tea, having flourishing nurs- 

 eries with a good jat of plants ready to cover a 

 considerable area now to be cleared, Captain 

 Bayley has had bis tea bushes which have been 

 plucked during 1S84, carefully counted, the result 

 being 11,000 which if taken as equal to 5 acres, shows 

 a return of n0."i lb. oi made tea per acre. Mr 

 Rossiter's trees on Fairyland are fully older and 

 they have certainly done wonders, since he says that. 

 offO 28S lull bearing trees, there have come no loss than 

 11,5051b. of wet leaf or 2,870 lb. of prepared tea 

 Tbis would be at the rate of from 900 to 1,000 lb. 

 per aciel We have not got the number of trees in 

 bearing on Portswood ; but the full return of each 

 month's plucking as kept at the Tea Factory is as 

 follows : — 



Made tea (J) 2,876 2,527 1,388 8,257 



Capt. Bayley remarks of the Pedro tea :— 



I gave you the yield for 10 months once before; the 

 other two mouths have brought down the average, but it 

 seems to me satisfactory for 6,500 feet above sea-level. 

 The tea was allowed to grow up anyhow and was pruned 

 down with catties as I wanted to let light on to the 

 emebona I planted between. I am going to have it pruned 

 down now somewhat more scientifically, and will see what 

 it docs after that. 



Mr. Kossiter says of the same tea and of the prospects 

 generally of the neighbourhood : — 



I am satisfied that the clearing would have given fully 

 double the quantity it did, had it been properly pruned 

 early in the year. At all events it is satisfactory to know 

 that land at this elevation is safe to yield over' 500 lb. of 

 tea per acre per annum and that without any extraord- 

 inary cultivation. For planting a new clearing here, I 

 would advise 4 y. J, and if the vacancies are kept fil'led 

 up as they occur, the clearing sheltered and the young plants 

 protected from the cold winds, the owner is 'safe to get 

 as follows: — 



2 years from planting 1601b. per acre, 



3 do do 300 do do 

 ■i do do 100 do do 

 5 do do 500 do do 



Tins latter figure can be kept up for years to come for 

 our soil is second to none in the island, and our climate 

 is perfection for the endurance and lasting of the tea plant. 

 Theteaabovementioned, runs unto 6,500 feet above sea- 

 level, very nearly as high as any on the Olipbant e tate, 

 where the result of cropping for some years has not 

 given so good an average return, we believe. There 

 was some talk of tea of an inferior jat being con- 

 demned to be pulled up on this properly— a mistake, if 

 committed, we should think— seeing that even the 

 small-leafed hardy China tea is well adapted for 

 high exposed situations, and on Hazelwi od, Mr. 

 Kossiter quite expects it to yield up to 400 lb. per 

 acre this year. Farther Eastward in Udapussellawa, 

 we learn that on Goatfell estate tea is doing exceed- 

 ingly well up to 0,800 feet. We suppose this is 

 about the highest clearing in the island? 



Portswood and Tulliboddy (recently purchased) 

 together make tor Mr. Grinliriton a compact property in 

 one block of about 500 acres, much of it covered with 

 valuable and promising cinchona. The bark now 

 being harvested is very line and samples of • renewed ' 

 lately analyzed in London from tbis estate have 

 vielded splendid results. Tea is however to be 

 freely put out on both places as well as on 

 Messrs. Delmege's Court Lodge estate above, 

 where the cinchona fields protected by blue gums 

 also look very flourishing ; the most satisfact- 

 ory experiment of this kind however in the 

 neighbourhood of Nuwara Eliya is found in the regular- 

 ly planted fields of cinchona vith belts of blue gums 

 on Lovers Leap estate. Altogether as a Cinchona and 

 J ea district, the neighbourhood of Nuwara Eliya and 

 Kandapola, nearly all over 6,000 feet altitude, affords 

 much reason for anticipating good and permanent results, 



