234 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1885. 



There are two "Excelsior" rollers, and room is 

 provided for an additional two, when required. 

 One of the rollers was fitted with a granite stone 

 rolling cap, which one might fancy heavy enough 

 to crush tea leaf into a pancake : but it seems 

 it does not do so, nor break the leaf in the least. 

 I did not however see the machine at work, as the 

 lower table which bad been fitted with a facing 

 of marble slabs had come to grief, the slabs having 

 got cracked through the shutting of the door under- 

 neath. Mr. Jackson is going to try a brass- 

 faced table as an experiment, which is thought 

 ■will do well. The marble one, I was told, gave 

 complete satisfaction, before the shocks of the 

 banging door cracked it. The new brass one is 

 not likely to go in this way. As to the big "Victoria 

 drier, it's a great machine, does a great deal of 

 ■work, and costs a great deal of money : on it has 

 been expended a wonderful amount of brain and 

 thought, and it has b»en brought to such perfec- 

 tion that two coolies can easily manage it and 

 enjoy, at the same time, that much coveted ideal 

 of the Tamil— an easy job. The hum from it is 

 like a spinning mill ; it has potentialities which 

 I feel sure were never dreamt of by the inventor, 

 for I fancy it will yet become a favourite deity 

 with Ramasami, and have fowls, arrack and fruit 

 offered to it, so that the teahouse coolies may 

 find grace in the eyes of the roaring Swami 

 within. In the days gone by there was, on most 

 estates, a water-wheel Muniandi, who insisted on 

 his due share of divine honour ; but in these late 

 years I have heard very little of him. Unlike 

 our own people, who want hard times to make 

 a saint of a sinner, the genius of the Tamil race 

 runs in an altogether different groove. Big wages 

 with them seems to be an essential to the lull 

 development of the religions emotions, and, for the 

 very good reason that an afternoon sacrihce is 

 only another name for an evening revel in the 

 lines. Short work and little pay did more to 

 dethrone " Wheel Muniandi " than— well the labours 

 of the Tamil Cooly Mission, faithful though they 

 be ; and although it seems a big thing to create a 

 cod, still I fancy that the good wages of the tea- 

 house coolies will be potent enough to accomplish 

 this, and house him in the " Victoria Tea Urier. 



The -working of the drier is evidently perfection. 

 The leaf is tumbled in at the top, and comes out 

 at the bottom without any handling during the 

 process— the manufactured article. But it has been 

 already explained fully in your pages, when the 

 Carolina drier was described. The Mariawatte one 

 however, is a very much larger machine, and 

 Mr. Jackson is of opinion that m full work it 

 could deliver considerably over 300 lb. of dry tea 

 an hour. As to the quality of tea, we will soon 

 learn how it pleases in the London market, as a 

 break from flie Carolina drier was sent home 

 some time ago, although unluckily detained owing 

 to the late block in the Canal. . 



The "Eureka" sorter did its work well, and is a 

 complete handy machine. To the end of it was gear- 

 ed the new "Invincible" tea mill or cutter, a toy ot 

 a thing in size, into which the large bold leaf 

 was sifouted, and reduced into a beautiful regular 

 sample, and this uithont much dust. The machinery 

 I understand, was erected under the supenutendence 

 of Mr Jackson, and started witliout a hitch, grati- 

 fying alike to that gentleman and the fortunate 

 proprielors of Mariawatte. . ., , t i. i 



But after our eyes had been a.atisfied, I turn to 

 figures and ask :-"How much does this complete set 

 of tea machinery cost erected in the factory ; and 

 the answer is "Somewhere between KIG OUO and 

 K17,000 1" It is not everyone who can dance to 



that measure. Indeed when the factory is com- 

 pleted it will be a costly building, and E60,000 

 or KTO.OOO will more nearly represent its price 

 than the E40,000 which was the original estimate. 

 There are few proprietors in Ceylon in these days who 

 have such a sum to expend, and fewer still have 

 the cour.age to spend it. Nevertheless to have such 

 a complete factory in our midst, whose best points 

 we can cojiy, and whose mistakes we may avoid, 

 is a great boon to Ceylon. Mr. Jackson, whose 

 experience of Indian tea gardens is considerable, 

 does not think there is an equal to it in India. 

 This may be a prejudicial opinion ; still for all 

 that, Mariawatte has evi-ry reason to be proudly 

 satisfied. Mr. Jackson has "a wrinkle " for extin- 

 guishing fires inltea-houses. It is simple enough : 

 buckets all round the building and always full ot 

 water. When a fire breaks out at night, the watch- 

 man has at hand what in most cases Bill at once 

 extinguish it,', whereas to run for help, gives the 

 fl.ames time to spread, and the help arrives often 

 too late. This seems to me valuable advice. 



Mr. Jackson is leaving for home now. Don't you 

 think it well to have him interviewed ? I hear he 

 has some ideas on the advantages of turbines over 

 waterwheelB for tea work, and has stores of tea lore 

 in general which would prove interesting to the 

 readers of the Observer as well as those of the Trap. 

 ieal Agriculturist. 



I cannot close this long letter, without expressing 

 my thanks to Mr. Jackson and Mr. Orchard, for 

 making a chance outing such a pleasant one, and 

 our party returned from Mariawatte feeling that 

 like the three jovial huntsmen we had 



" Powlert up an' down a bit, and had a rattlm' day." 



Peppercorn. 



YIELD OF ACREAGE UNDER TEA IN 



CEYLON. 



This subject has not, as far as I am aware, been en- 

 tered into by others, at least I cannot find any record 

 of it in the Tea literature of Ceylon. 



Many individual Estates have been quoted as pro- 

 ducing heavy crops, and Proprietors and Supenntend- 

 ants have vouched for the large yields which are being 

 obtained per acre off certain Estates. 



When, however, we compare the acreage under Tea 

 in the island with the amouirtr of our exports of the 

 product, it does not, up to date, shew that the average 

 yield of our Estates is likely to exceed that of ladia, 

 for many years to come. 



The last published returns of Indian Tea Companies, 

 representing 42,355 acres, showed a return of 311 lb. 

 per acre, and it will be seen with a reference to the fol- 

 lowing statement that we have only reached an average 

 of 210 lb. per acre, and will not exceed this before 18»8., 

 This, of course, we attribute to our trees not being 

 matured, but look forward to, at any rate, as good a 

 yield per acre as India in the future. In my opinion, 

 it is doubtful it our average yield will exceed that ot 

 India to any appreciable extent. 



I think, we can, with a fair amoimt of correctness, tore- 

 tell what the yield of our .icreage will be up to 188S, 

 but any calculations going beyond that date would not 

 come within the pale of accuracy or practical usefulness. 

 I have for the year 1888 estimated a yield ol 

 20i million lbs., and I think it is reasonable to suppose 

 that wo shall obtain in that year au average of 210 lbs. 

 per acre off P9,000 acres in bearing. , , _ , 



Mr W. Anderson in Jlarch last published a statement 

 showing that there were 85,800 acres under Tea in Cey- 

 lon at the end of 1 884. I am of opinion this is somewhat 

 in excess of the actual acreage at that date, and 1 proter 

 to take 72,000 acres as being nearer the correct amount. 

 No statistics .ire yet available for the acreage P a"*^^ 

 this year, but I think in taking the total at 102,000 

 acres to the end of 1885, I shall not have exceeded tho 

 actual amount planted. 



