926 



JTftE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1885. 



To the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer. " 



ASSAM HYBRID TEA : ONE STEM OR MANY. 

 New Brunswick, Maskeliya, 24th April 1SS5. 



Dear SlK, — I see "Experience" in your issue of 

 the 16th instant, wishes to know where I get my 

 authority for saying, Indian tea planters are in favour 

 of the plan, "to keep the stem of the tea tree or 

 bush clean s ; x inches from the ground by pulling off 

 all sucker^ aud side shoots below that height." I quote 

 from the book on " Tea Cultivation in Southern India 

 and Ceylon," by a Neilgherry tea planter, published by 

 you in 1SS0, as follows :— 



"If the plants are as I advise good hjbrids the 

 planter should be very careful to train them all as 

 well as he can do to grow with clean single stem 

 for at least six inches from the ground. This is 

 done by pulling off as they appeur all suckers aud 

 side shoots below the prescribed limits " (page 25) ; 

 and further on he says : "' In the case of the hybrid 

 or indigenous plant we must look first to the single 

 centre stem, or at any rate, if the plant has been 

 neglected in its earlier days, to the two or at most 

 three stems that spring from the root, aud from those 

 give the bush the form we wish it to take" (page2(j). 



This is so contrary to what is universally practised 

 in Ceylon, in fact to what I have been doing myself, 

 that thought it well to call for discussion on the subject. 

 I have not had sufficient experience to say which 

 mode is the best, though I incline to the Ceylon method, 

 as the great object is to get as much red wood as 

 possible, but there is no doubt the suckers or side 

 shoots will kill out the centre stem, and we are 

 told that this is the object to be obtained. I should 

 of course adopt that which would give the greatest 

 yield of leaf. 



I should like to hear the opinion of one who has 

 tried both methods ; if there is such an one in the 

 island, I trust he will kindly come forward and give 

 us the benefit of his experience— Yours faithfully, 



A. E. WRIGHT. 



N,B. — It is advisable we should consider this matter 

 well now, as it will be impossible to revert to the 

 Indian system, when our trees grow up, whereas we 

 could adopt the Ceylon method at any time hereafter. 



[It is the fact, we believe, that planters who com- 

 menced on the system recommended by a Nilgiri 

 planter have ultimately encouraged instead of eradic- 

 ating suckers, the object being to get as dense a 

 surface as possible of Hush-bearing wood. There is 

 also the fact that in the hot moist climate of Ceylon 

 it is next to impossible to prevent the growth of 

 suckers which in time become additional stems. — 

 Ed.] 



THE QUESTION OF TEA. PACKING, &c., 

 IN COLOMBO. 



Sir.,— Between you and me, I fancy that sorting 

 will continue to be done on the estates ; and that all 

 that we can hope for in Colombo is to get the bulking, 

 final firing, and packing. 



In the case of small parcels, too small to ship by 

 themselves, some people evidently do think it is worth 

 the extra expense of sending tliem to me for shipment, 

 "T. P." to the contrary notwithstanding. 



But, as regards larger parcels, there is no doubt 

 about it ; it is cheaper with present arrangements to 

 send them down ready bulked aud packed for shipment; 

 and every cent that can be saved in this way to 

 the planter is a perfectly legitimate saving, and one 

 which, as a tea producer, I as much as anyone 

 else am interested in securing. 



On the other hand, however, I feel perfectly 

 certain, that, in view of the scarcity of wood in some 

 districts, means will ere long be devised of saving 

 the cos-t of transport on shooks up and down— aud 

 tea lead too. It only remains for some inventive 

 genius to devise the package. 



I believe myself that we shall yet see tea 

 coming down in bags. I saw a sample bag the other 

 day at Messrs. \V. H. Davies & Co.'s stores, which 

 I think contains the germ of the invention. 



The weak point about, it at present is the fasten- 

 ing—and the first cost. I gave them my idea as to 

 a remedy for the first-mentioned defect ; and, if 

 that can be satisfactorily cured, we may safely leave 

 the adjustment of prices to competition,— Yours truly, 



C. W. H. 



[If, as we expect, not only Europeans, but the natives 

 in the lowcountry especially, are to become great tea- 

 growers, we may feel sure that, eventually, much 

 of the store-space and of the labour of women and 

 children in and around Colombo, formerly devoted to 

 coffee, will be utilized for tea. Neither " C. \V. H.," 

 nor we, meant to write with reference to the present 

 time : let us wait till even the SO.OOO acres of tea 

 now growing are in full bearing, and, if, with large 

 sales of tea in Colombo, there is not a considerable 

 change in the present arrangements, we shall be 

 much surprized. — Ed.] 



TEA PREPARATION AND COST IN CEYLON. 



Strathellie, Nawalapitiya, 4th May 1SS5. 

 Dear Sir,— I have today seen "C. VV. H." 's letter 

 published in your issue of the 1st of May. He will 

 see from my previous letter on the cost of tea pro- 

 duction that (as your correspondent "T. P." has 

 since pointed out) the 547 cents per lb. for actual 

 cost here last reason of manufacture and tea-house 

 sundries, was exclusive of "gathering," the cost of which 

 item was given separately by me ; neither was " interest 

 on machinery, buildings " &c. included. 



As far as I am able to give them in detail, the 

 following are the items comprized in the above sum, 

 which " 0. W. H." asks for : — 



Cents per lb. 

 Rolling aud firing ... 1-84 



Sorting and packing ... 050 



Boxes (20 lb. to 100 lb. nett) lead, 



hooping aud solder for ditto. ... 283 



Sundries, watchman, &c. ... 030 



Total as above, ... 5'47 cents. 



—Yours faithfully, ARTHUR E. SCOVELL. 



JACKSON'S VICTORIA TEA DRIER. 



Strathellie, Nawalapitiya, 6th May lSS, r >. 



Deak Sir, — I yesterday witnessed, with some others, 

 the working of Jackson's Victoria drier (class B) just 

 erected at Carolina factory. 



Mr. Jackson has so far given us the best roller, 

 and I should now say that the above machine will 

 prove itself the "Excelsior" amongst driers. The 

 priuciplc (automatic in action combined with a con- 

 stant draught of fresh heated air) appears an excellent 

 one. Reliable data as to Capacity will be obtainable 

 after the machine has been in full work for some 

 time. The rjuality (appearance, " nose," Ac.) of the tea 

 1 saw turned out was er|ual tn the result of the 

 "Sirocco" and superior to that of " Kinmond." 

 Jackson's drier, like his roller, is » fine specimen of 

 Marshall .S; Sons' work : made to las/.. — Yours faith- 

 fully, ARTHUR E. SCOVELL. 



