664 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March 2, 1885. 



In isso 

 1881 



1882 

 1883 

 1884 



lb. 



from India over last. In the paet four years, the de- 

 liveries of China tea have decreased 5,238,000 lb., 

 while Indian in the same period has increased 

 14,202,000. The increase in Java has been from 

 1,315,000 lb. to 3,709,000,a rise of 2,394,000. In stocks 

 the figures for China show a decrease from S(U, millions 

 of pounds four years ago to S'2h now. In Indiau there 

 has been a rise from 18i million to 26^. In Java tha 

 rise in stocks has been from 411,000 1b. to S76,000 lb. 

 There is a table which shows monthly imports, 

 deliveries and stocks for the six years from 1879 to 

 18S4. From the figures we gather that the deliveries 

 of Indian tea in 1S79 were under thiee millions of pounds 

 per mensem. 



3,650,000 

 4,072,000 

 4,208,000 „ 

 4,925,000 „ 

 5,253,000 „ 



So that the increase of deliveries in 18S4 over 1883 

 was equal to 328,000 lb. per month. The prospect is, 

 that, if supplies keep up, the monthly consumption of 

 Indian tea iu 1S85 may closely approach the average 

 of six millions of pounds per mensem. That figure was 

 exceeded in May 1S84, when -6, 002,000 pounds of Indian 

 tea were delivered for home consumption. Counting 

 the seasons from 1st June to 31st May, the deliveries 

 of Indian and Ceylon were : — 



For 1881-82 ... 46,761,000 lb. 



1882-83 ... 56,621,000 „ 



1S83-84 ... 00,469,000 „ 



The figures For Ceylon tea alone from 1st June to 31st 

 December 1884, were :— 



Import ... 1,421,000 lb. 



Delivery ... 1,179,000 „ 



Stuck ... 545,000 ,, 



In a few years hence, those figures will be left very far 



behiud. 



The summing-up of the whole matter as regards 

 local enterprize is, that, even at present low prices, 

 tea can be profitably grown in Ceylon, and that, in 

 view of the rapid increase in the consumption of all 

 teas, but especially of Indiau and Ceylon sorts in 

 Britain, the prospects of the "new product" here are 

 exceedingly good. 



PLANTING PIONEERS IN BURMAH : 

 Tavoy— and Mr. J. D. Watson. 

 The voyage from Rangoon to Tavoy River has been 

 so often described that I will skip over that part, 

 and merely state that after a pleasant run of 29 hours, 

 we found ourselves at the usual anchorage of the 

 A vagyee at a place named Sinbugyin, some 25 miles 

 below the town of Tavoy. This distance was travers- 

 ed in the Launch Opal belonging to the B. I. S. N. 

 Coy. and used for the conveyance of passengers and 

 mails as there is an insufficiency of water fur the 

 Avogyee, but I have been informed that (luring com- 

 ing N. E. Monsoon it is the intention of the Company 

 to" do away with the Opal, and carry a small launch 

 on board the Ayagyee lor the conveyance of mails 

 only, so that after this new arrangement comes into 

 vogue, passengers will have to find their way to and 

 from the B. I. S, N. Coy's steamers a? best they may, 

 a proceeding I think very likely to lead the majority 

 of intending voyageurs for Tavoy, to avail themselves 

 of the services of the Burma Steam Tug Coy, whose 

 vessels steam within about a mile from Tavoy, and 

 and are moored alongside a floating stage, which is 

 certainly a more convenient mode of transit than 

 haviug to make the trip down to the B. I. S. N. 

 Coy's steamer in a native boat. Moreover, if I mis- 

 take not, the passage money via Maulmain to Ran- 

 goon is the same as going direct, and the amount 

 paid for coolie hire on oue's traps in shifting them 



in Maulmain would be counterbalanced by the sav- 

 ing of boat hire from Tavoy to Sinbugyin and vice 

 va> sa. 



Tavoy is a pleasant place, and I was not a little 

 surprised at the comfortable houses built and inhabit- 

 ed by the natives, which are far superior to those 

 of o her towns I have visited in Burma, notably 

 Rangoon, Maulmain, Bassein, and Akyab. 



The streets are fairly wide and well laid out, and 

 altogether there was a sleepy, prosperous look about 

 the place that 1 was certainly not prepared for. There 

 is a fair bazaar where most comestibles can be obtained, 

 with the exception of mutton which is somewhat 

 rare. Of course the ubiquitous Chinaman was to be 

 found, and judging from the well-to-do, sleek expres- 

 sion on their faces, and the substantially built houses 

 they occupied as a rule, I came to the conclusion 

 that "John" was accumulating a pile. One peculiarity 

 I noticed in the construction of the houses occupied 

 by the Burmese, viz that instead of bamboo matting 

 for walling, dunnee leaves are extensively used, and 

 I faucy it is much cooler, at all events a house can 

 be ruu up far quicker which is one recommendation. 

 While in Tavoy I made the acquaintance of a Mr. 

 James Watson a ci-devant coffee planter in Coylon, 

 who has determined to see if coffee and tea, cinohona 

 &c, cannot he raised equally well in these parts. He 

 very courteously invited me out to his estate, which, 

 by the way, he has called the " Model Duke Estate" 

 consisting, if 1 mistake not, of some 150 to 160 acres, 

 and siluated about 3 miles and a half out of Tavoy. 

 I spent a very pleasant day and was most hospit. 

 ably entertained by him. After breakfast he took 

 me over the estate, and although of curse I have 

 no experience of coffee or tea planting, yet I was 

 much struck by the neat and systematic way in which 

 the garden was laid out. Mr. Watson seems very 

 sanguine of success and I sincerely hope he will in 

 due time reap the reward of his labour and if he does 

 there is no doubt others who will follow in his foot- 

 steps and thus open c>ut a new Bource of industry aud 

 wealth for JBurma. I had intended procuring some 

 valuable information from Mr. Watson, previous to 

 leaving Tavoy, but unfortunately I had no opportun- 

 ity. I hope, however, to see him again ere long, 

 and as on the occasion of my visit in question he very 

 kindly promised to give me all the information he 

 could on these subjects yon may, I think, safely look 

 forward to receiving an exhaustive account before loug. — 

 Rangoon Gazette. 



Coffee and "Black Bug." — In speaking the other 

 day of the destruction wrought by bug, we referred 

 chiefly to old estates in Matale. Hunasgiriya, Hautane 

 and Kadugannawa. In Pussellawa we learn that 

 the enemy was successfully fought with mana grass, 

 lime and manure. In most other places, fortunately, 

 tea was ready to be planted where the coffee had 

 given way and the growth is most promising. The 

 Hunasgiriya Tea Company will soon have 2,000 acres 

 under tea. 



" Fry's Ceylon Chocolate," made up in neat 

 packets bearing the proper island mark of a splendid 

 tusker elephant amidst palm trees, is amongst thee 

 latest importations of Messrs. Maitland & Co., Limited, 

 Colombo. We read:— "This chocolate possesses a 

 peculiarly fine aud delicate flavour, somewhat different 

 from that of chocolate prepared from cocoa grown in the 

 Western Hemisphere ; and it will, we believe, be 

 appreciated by many connoisseurs. The successful 

 cultivation of cocoa in our Eastern dependencies mark3 

 a fresh departure iu the trade in this increasingly 

 important article of food and drink." We can testify 

 to the goodness of the chocolate made from the 

 choice cocoa imported from the island of Ceylon. 



