^54 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, i886. 



the great central basin is planted with different kinds 

 of acacias and wattles. From here you will obtain 

 your first views of last year's clearings, on the 

 northern side of the main basins, and the appear- 

 ance of the well-grown bushes, in dead straight 

 rows on the opposite slope, will compel you to confess 

 that we are more than justified in entertaining the 

 idea that we can grow tea, which, age for age, 

 will bear favourable comparison with any in the 

 country. Before reaching those fields, you will have 

 to pass along the road, which now forms the bound- 

 ary line of the 200 acres of the higher fields of 

 this basin, still maintaned under coffee cultiv- 

 ation. The trees are a Very picture of health, 

 and have, what in these degnerate days 

 may be called a good crop on them, i. e. a fraction 

 over a couple of hundredweights an acre. 

 All the lower portions are planted with tea. Pass- 

 ing through these you will enter the large clearing 

 you looked into from the southern side of the 

 valley. Beyond this again, comes an unbroken 

 field of 200 acres, backed by a large block of 

 jungle, having walked through which, you will 

 find yourself, in the first planted field of this estate, 

 and, I feel confident, the appearance of this will 

 surpass the most sanguine expectations you may 

 have formed of the rapid growth on this side of 

 Nuwara Eliya. If you have the time, and do not 

 feel too tired, when you reach the top of this 

 field, you should make a point of walking as far 

 as the patana and trig. — distant only a hundred 

 yards or so. Here, if you are at all subject to 

 giddiness, you had better not approach within a 

 couple of paces of the edge of the precipice, which 

 descends almost sheer into the lowcountry, thousands 

 of feet below. Were it not that I have already 

 dwelt at some length on the wonderful grandeur 

 of the scenery in these parts, I would fain linger 

 lovingly on the magnificent expanse of hill and 

 valley, and huge rock, " piled by the hands of 

 giants for god-like kings of old," to be seen from 

 this coign of vantage. I have often thought, that 

 if we had any grounds for believing that the 

 Mount of Temptation reared its noble head, in this 

 island of ours, then this point might justly tender 

 its claim to such distinction, for if all the kingdoms 

 of the world may not be viewed from it, nearly 

 the whole extent of the newly created XJva Pro- 

 vince may be seen to great advantage, and surely 

 no one will dare deny that this is the next best 

 thing! The vast stretch of unbroken vegctalion 

 is diversified by tiny patches of paddy cultivation, 

 glowing in all the fresh, green delicacy of youth. 

 or bending calmly to the inevitable as they find 

 themselves chameleon-like, changing to a golden 

 yellow, or, here and there, shining like shields of 

 burnished silver, and giving expression to this 

 fair picture, as the eyes mark the light of in- 

 telligence on the human face; the bold lines of 

 deep green vegetation, provoked by the waters of 

 the great river, and its affluents ; the jungle-clad 

 alopeu of the long ranges of hills which form the 

 back ground away to the west, with their shape- 

 less patches of another shade, telling whero the 

 destroying angel of chena cultivation (^a^c the 

 mark I) has been at his fell work— all forming a 

 Uiosaic, a thousand fold more varied and pleasing to 

 tlie eye than any that has ever come from the hand 

 of the most skilled artificer. 



The sun will have passed the zenith on the west- 

 ward course ere you retrace your steps to the bungalow, 

 but you will be able to ride more than three miles 

 of the way, and a bath and breakfast will re- 

 fresh you sufficiently to make you enjoy an hour's 

 stroll in the cool of the evening, through the lower 

 fieldb of tea iu Ibe ueiebbourbood of the bungalow. 



Next morning you will commence the return 

 journey to Passara making straight for Galloola to 

 breakfast. Most of your way will be through estates 

 already seen, until you reach Cocagala, whence you 

 should take the lower road, which will enable you 

 to have a good look at Dunedin, where tea planted 

 a year ago is flourishing, and gives every promise 

 of a profitable career. A pretty large area, planted 

 with seed at stake on this property in November 

 last, shows by its satisfactory gi-owth the forcing 

 natui-e of the clim^e. 



Passing through the lower portion of Forest Hill, 

 planted a couple of years ago with succirubra cin- 

 chona, you will be struck with the splendid growth 

 of what is, as well as what is not, intended to cover 

 the ground. You will not fail to note also the fine 

 cardamoms planted throughout the belt of forest, 

 reserved near the stream. 



Another half-hour's ride will bring you into a 

 fine forest of cinchonas, in the bottom of Battawatte, 

 which is of special interest as being planted on 

 the much-despised (by a certain journalist) Uva 

 patana. Extensive preparations in the shape of 

 nurseries are, I understand, being made on this 

 estate, against next planting season, and when the 

 fine soil of Battawatte has had some of its richness 

 extracted, to produce fine flushes of tea, I venture 

 to suggest, that it will rank second to none in the 

 district. 



From this estate to Doomoo is but a few hundred 

 yards, and you will enjoy the ride through this 

 pretty little property, where the coSee seems in no 

 way affected by the ravages of that feU pest 

 Hemileia i-astatii.r. This promises to be one of 

 those places where the plucky old monarch will 

 make a last stand, and die game, if die he 

 must, — and this would seem to be his fate. Poor 

 King Coffee! 



A few minutes more, and you will find yourself 

 under the hospitable root of Galloola bungalow, 

 where your unannounced presence will prove a source 

 of geiuiine satisfaction, to your pro- tern. host. I 

 am only one of the many, who have crossed the 

 threshold of Galloola, in season and out of season, 

 and have thereby taxed the good nature of .T. H. B. C. 

 to a point, which would have far exceeded the 

 breaking strains of courtesy with most people, only to 

 meet, time and again, with the cheeriest and most 

 genuine of welcomes. 



If you have a quarter of an hour to spare, the 

 time would be well spent in having a look at 

 the tea-house, not that there will be anything of 

 much interest in it to you, who have already seen 

 so many such buildings, but by reason of its being 

 the first building in the district, which could advance 

 any pretension to such a dignity, and further on ac- 

 count of its having a genuine leaf-rolling machine. A 

 wonderfully ingenious pieces of machinery it is too, 

 as you will admit when you have seen it, and I 

 hope its inventor, Mr. I'ratcr, who is as popular 

 as he is clever, will receive his reward in the shape 

 of large orders from Madulsima, as soon as the large 

 area of tea now planted, and to be planted, in the 

 district, comes into bearing. That this machine is 

 the genuine brain-fruit of him who has perfected 

 the invention, and given it his name, there cannot 

 be the doubt that is inseparably connected with 

 the bringing out of other machines I could 

 mention to you ; for when it was in course of 

 construction, and when its inventor was puzzling 

 his brains about some of its minor details, I 

 1 pressed upon him the advisability of visiting one or 

 ' other of the tea gardens, where he wonld have an 

 j opportunity of witnessing other men's machines 

 I at work, and thus be able to form an opinion of 

 what watj vranted iu bis owu, but be decUned the 



