410 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. i, 1885. 



MR. VMIK ON UVA AS A TEA PRODUCING 

 DISTRIC^T. 



Sir, — Tliu suitability of ITva for tea, tlie subject of 

 your " special correspondent's '' .article iu your issue of 

 the 17th C)crober, is of great iuiportauce to a large 

 portion of the planting cflinmunity; and, although I 

 v.oulil not wish to detract from the merits of Uva as 

 a tea-producing district, I would suggest caution be- 

 fore embarking heavily iu this product. iVIy acquaint- 

 ance with Uva is limited to a stay of a few mouth.'? 

 on i'itaratraalie. Dambateune, and the neighbouring 

 estates in 1S70, hut I can remember enough of those 

 places to feel confident that tea can be successfully 

 grown in that part of Uva. 



"SVhether the drier portions of the district would 

 prove as suitable I dare not say. On my return from 

 the Darjieliug tea districts, I, too, like IMr. Christie, 

 nioditied my views with regard to the suitability of 

 various climates for tea; Ijut, upon mature reflection, I 

 am not prepared to accept witliout reservation the 

 statement that a rainfall of about 100 inches per an- 

 num in itself constitutes a suitable climate for tea. 

 My impressions, after becoming acquainted with 

 the climate of Bengal, with its five months of winter 

 or drought, were that by comparison the clim.<\te of 

 Uva would be far more suitable for tea than that of 

 Darjeeling, but the rainfall returns as given by your 

 corrrespoudent are not to my mind so satisfactory as 

 they might be, whereas I should consider the rain- 

 fall of Singtou (Kington?), as given by Mr. Christie, 

 very nearly perfection for an Iniiuii tea estate. By 

 reference to the figures befo-r- mc, I note that of the 

 total rainfall of llfl'40 inches, as ranch as 118 29 

 inches fell iu eight successive months, unbroken by 

 any semblance of a drought. 



Now, although r.ri'cssiru rain with no gleams of 

 sunshine has a prejndical effect on the Hushing capa- 

 bilities of tea, there are no climatic conditions for 

 luxuriant vegetable gi-owth equal to thorough 'and 

 excessive moisture wtth licnt; and the Darjeeling 

 climate when tea is growing is more like a vapour 

 bath than anything I know. A thick and steady 

 drizzle all day, with an occasional break in the clouds 

 and a gleam of sunshine alternated with heavy shower.s, 

 is the nearest description of the Darjeeling cliinate 

 I can give. Ferns, orchids, mosses, and begonias sim- 

 ply revel iu the moistiu'e, and if pulled uj) and thrown 

 down on a hare rock in May would ])robaltly be found 

 growing iu Septenilter. 



Now, has Uva 7 or 8 months of anything like this? 

 And is the rainfall distributed in the same way as 

 iu lud'a? If so, with its more jrcnial climate all the 

 year round, and its rich soil, this favored district 

 might have every acre under tea with safety. There 

 is nothing in Nature so prejudical to the rapid and 

 free circulation of sap as lack of moi.sture in the soil ; 

 and if dvu'ing the rainy months iu Uva droughts of 

 3 or 4 weeks should occur, I fear flushing would be 

 checked very materially, and the planter would be 

 divided in opinion as to whether he should prune a 

 second time or not in the same year. For tea to give 

 high yields, coniinuouf flushing is necessary, and on 

 the duration of thi.s continuous flushing depends the 

 number of mauniis per acre secured, I do not fear a 

 drou^iht for tea by any nieaiis, but what I ih fear is 

 two or three 4lvoughts or a plucking season broken by 

 iutervii's ni very dry weather combined with a light 

 and free soil, the intention and scope of this letter 

 Is net to fO'u'cl a note of alarm with regard to Uva 

 as a tea-producing district, hut to urge caution in em- 

 bark ng ill it on a large scale. In a soil retentive 

 of moisture, tea wou'd probably stand a few ".spells" 

 Of dry weather without any appreciable diminution in 

 yie'd, but it must be borne in mind that i he even and 

 vigorous How of sap desirable for free and eoidinnous 

 liiishiug may be checked by excessive wet on a cold 

 and clayey soil or by droughts on a fret; and dry soil, 

 and the.<le checks indnee " bangy," and consecpiently 

 a decreased yield ; but I have no doubt that the 

 liguics of the Uva rainfall will in numbers of cases 

 b« found all that could be desired. 



With regard to Kaluphani, if wind is the only ob- 

 stacle there to the successful cultivation of tea, I 

 wouhl say plant it by all means, for steepuc^ss is of no 

 consequence if surface wash is provided against; and 

 iu the Darjeeling hills wind is not fcai ed by the plant- 

 ers except for their buildings, the roots of which 

 are kept on by means of large stoncts plaet^d upon 

 them, though these are occasionally carried awav, roots 

 and all, in the windy month-*.— Tnos. l''.viat. Lyndford, 

 Oct. I'J.— Local "Times." 



ABOUT THE PEESEKVATIOX OF WOOD. 



CAllBOLINKUM AVENAKIU.S. 



{Imiiortitnt for Exportation.) 

 [The substance thus noticed iu the Indiun Mi^rcuri/ 

 is worthy of attention, especially now that it is so 

 difficult to obtain railway sleepers which will not rapidly 

 decay. If Oarboliueum will really enter the pores of 

 the wood, than the only limit to its use will be its 

 price — Kd.] 



Everywhere where wood is much exposed to the 

 weather and the wet, constant and just comiilaiuts 

 are to be heard respecting its speedy decay. AM 

 the coatings of paint or tar are useless in the attempt, 

 of staying the ravages of decay, for they cover only, 

 stopping the pores, the surface of the wood, and thus 

 at most resist the influence of air and damp from 

 without. But in the case af timber which is only 

 imperfectly dried, these means prevent evaporation 

 of the natural moisture of the wood, causing stag- 

 nation when it will frequently be observed that 

 timber left entirely uncoated will withstand decay 

 a much longer period. In the preservation of wood 

 the success depends not alone upon the exclusion 

 of air and water, but equally upon an aijplicatiou 

 of such a means as may secure the destruction of 

 the nitrogen embodiment of the same. 



Already some years ago a specific preparation to 

 oppose the cause of these complaints — an antiseptic 

 oil known by the name of '• Carbolineum Avenarins" 

 found iutroductiou, which owing to its incontrovertible 

 advantages in the preservation of every class of 

 timber and its extremely low price, has recently 

 been accorded in Germany, Austria, Switzerlaiul, &c., 

 a much more general and ever increasing application 

 by the state, the military and civil authorities, for 

 railways, in carriage-building, house-building and iu 

 the industrial establi.^iraents, as likewise and promin- 

 ently ia agricultur.al circles. 



Few discoveries of recent date will he of such 

 general interest to so many branches of trade and 

 of agriculture at the same time, as a cheap and 

 approved practical prei>aration, which may be applied 

 by anybody with the greatest of ease for the pre- 

 servation of timber. 



That a demand exists for a means of preserving 

 wood which is used for such a variety of purposes, 

 is evidenced by the manifold efforts made everj'- 

 where to achieve the object. 



'• Carbolineum" is a very liquid oil, of less gravity 

 than tar, and far exceeds the latter iu eflicieucy, 

 beauty of appearance, relative cheapness, iu fact to 

 eucli au extent that even gas-companies producing 

 tar as a bye-product able of di.sposiug thereof 

 without costs, prefer to apply the former. 



Carbolineum is easily applied, to dry wood as well 

 a.'» green timber, readily enters into the pores of 

 the wood conferring upon the same a tasteful 

 appearance resembling a coating with varnish, whereby 

 the grain of the wood is not extinguished, and 

 durability united to cheapness. 



Carbolineum may be applied even on the top of old 

 tar, or oil-paint coatings, as on the other liand also 

 after complete iliyiug, l.insced oil varnLsh lu' oil-paint 

 may be coated upon the former. In connection with 

 railways for the coating of goods-sheds, goods-waggons, 

 &c.. it apjiears of immiueut importance. Tar affords 

 only a black, after sonic little time a dirty grey 

 Luc, which is not to be compared with Catboliufum, 



