Mav I, 1886.J 



THE TROPICAL AGR1CULTURI5:T 



R07 



An Alliterative Tea Cihcclab. — We have re- 

 ceived by the mail a handbill issvied by a tea firm 

 in London of a very ingenious design. The virtues 

 of the tea sold by this tirni are set forth in a 

 paragraph every word of whieli commences with 

 the letter T. The following is a specimen : — 'T will 

 turn the termafjant's tirade to tractable tacit tender- 

 ness, 't is transcendental to the trashy Teas time- 

 serving tradesmen tender ; thoughtful theorists tell 

 tales that twill turn the Tea trade " toi)sy-(urvy. " 



Fi.SE I.sDiAN CoFFKKs.— Saj s ilcssrs. Patry & Pas- 

 teur on March -ioth : — The bulk of the cargo ex "Clydo" 

 lias now passed the hammer ; the quality, we have 

 no hesitation in saying, is the finest we have seen 

 for some years, the color being bright and the bean 

 large, plump and well made. Should the cargo per 

 " Straits of Gibraltar," which is shortly due, turn out 

 of equal qnality, we are inclined to think a new and 

 profitable era is dawning for growers of Indian coffees, 

 especially as the supply of Ceylon will be very limited 

 on account of the extension of tea cnltivation in that 

 sland. 



ToBAcro. — The late Under-Secretary tor India has 

 won perhaps rather a precarious boon for Knglish 

 agriculturists in securing the abolition of the restric- 

 tions on tobacco cultivation. It is always an un- 

 certain crop, and probably in the English climate 

 would never be otherwise than speculative. At the 

 same time it exhausts the soil severely, and re- 

 quires much greater heat than an ordinary summer 

 will give for developing a tolerable flavour. Still, 

 in these times of depression it is quite fair that 

 the chance of trying it should be opened to the 

 English agriculturist, and possibly remedies may 

 be found for some of the more obvious difliculties. 

 Regulations will have, however, to be issued for its 

 cnltivation and taxation, as if it were grown free 

 while imported tobacco is heavily taxed, the result 

 wonld be a bounty in favour of its home produc- 

 tion. The first experiments will probably be made 

 in Lord Harris's own county, Keni. 



Brick Tea. — In noticing a Government Report 

 on Agriculture in Assam, the Inillnti PlanterK' 

 (Sitzelte states : — 



Clause 11 ends with an interesting note about 

 ■• Brick " tea. We look upon this as an excellent 

 outlet at sonic future day for our coarser class of 

 leaf if we could establish a trade with Thibet and 

 the Ifholeas tor it ; the subject is well worth 

 the attention of our planters. Houghly speaking, 

 the method of manufacture is, to n ix the tea leaves 

 with rose-water, and allow them to ferment for a 

 day or two. Decomposition having then set in, 

 the whole mass can be worked up like clay for 

 brick-making; it is then put into moulds, made 

 into bricks, and dried. The Thibetans put a small 

 portion or this into an earthen vessel, churn it up 

 mixed with water and sometimes a little ghee, until 

 the whole mass becomes a frothy, milky liquid, 

 when they consider it tit to drink. So far as we 

 can gather, no art is required in the manufacture 

 of brick tea, and it is supposed that the Chinese 

 use all the leaves gathered from prunings for its 

 manufacture. 



Our Thade witu Cevlos.— The direct 

 trade between the United States and Ceylon 

 during the year 1881, the latest for which there 

 are returns, is given by Consul Morey as follows : 

 Import from the United States direct was 

 $3i),408 wortli of kerosene oil ; and the exports 

 to our country were ll,08!l tons, valued at 8912, ">;57. 

 The only marked feature in this return is the 

 increase in coconut oil of * 12,.543 ; the total 

 quantity being §1.50,000, and largely in excess of 

 any previous year's showing. There \taR also an 



increase of nearly 170,000 with respect to plumbago, 

 though the quantity shipped was below that of the 

 previous year by ;!,000 tons ; a circumstance prob- 

 ably indicative of a renewed demand in America for a 

 superior quality of that aiticle. Of the ex2)orts to the 

 United States, coconut oil and plumliago amounted 

 to »82rj, 000, leaving only about Jllw.OOO for all 

 other articles, the chicfest of which were 

 citronella oil, Arabian coffee and coir yarn. The tolal 

 trade of Ceylon was as follows : Imports, *17,:W1,000 ; 

 exports, *l)i 107,000. Among the imports the 

 following were the principal articles : Cottons, 

 ?2.'200,000; rice, »7, 100,000 ; coal, $1,1122,000 : iron 

 and steel goods, glassware, liquors, kerosene, and a 

 variety of general manufactures. While Ceylonese 

 produce reaches this country direct to the value of 

 nearly $1,000,000 per annum, only .\raerican 

 kerosene finds its way to that colony. The fault 

 is undoubtedly largely our own.— .-tOTcr/can Ex- 

 porter. 



CrNcnoNA Cultivation in Bolivia. — The fol- 

 lowing article from the latest Cliemist and Dnififlist. 

 showing what German Colonists are doing in Bolivia 

 in plantations of cinchona, is of interest to Ceylon 

 planters : — 



The ruthless destruction of the cinchoua forests in 

 llolvia by the Indians an,l half-castes, who mouopolised 

 tiic collection and felled the trees, or striped them in 

 so careless a fashion as to well-nigh destroy thera, has 

 lately caused tlie Bolivian Goverument to resort to the 

 formation of plantations or fj'/itiaUs, which are mostly 

 worked by German colonists. During the seven years 

 which have elapsed since the first commencement was 

 made, these iilaotatioiis have been extended over large 

 tracts of grounil in the districts of Guanay, Longa, 

 Yuilgas, and Mapue, jiarticularly iu the latter. The 

 greater part of the plantations are found in the broken 

 and undulating region of the Andes, where they are 

 situated on the mountain sidesandalong the valleys, at 

 an altitude of 3,300 to 3,900 feet abov.i sea-level,"wliich 

 is found to be as high asit is desirable to cultivate. A 

 single tree yields from 15 to 20 lb. of seed, which is col- 

 lected in the begimiiug of the Bolivian summer tNov- 

 eiiiberaud December). The seed is thickly sown in 

 boxes or iu beds of 13 by 3 feet, well watureil, and when 

 theyoum; plants have grown to a height of C iucbes, 

 and have developed a few leaves, they are transplanted 

 into pits of 8 to 10 inches deptb» ami about 0.' feet apart. 

 They are ligbtly covered with twigs and leaves to pro- 

 tect tbeni during the next three months against the 

 sun's rays, the soil around is carefully hoed, and this 

 careful nursing is continued for two years, when they 

 maybe considered out of danger; the loss meanwhile 

 averaging frequently as much as 23 percent, .\tter six 

 years the tree should be about Hi feet high, with a 

 diameter half-way up the trunk of 6 inches. If the bark 

 is of the choicest quality the trunk is straight and re- 

 sembles that of an orange tree. If the tree is left un- 

 disturbed until its cleveiitb or thirteenth year, it will 

 have attained a diameter of over 12 inches, but its bark, 

 although more close-grained and heavier, i.** lessrich in 

 quinine. The best results are obtained by gathering the 

 biirk about the seventh year. The bark is collected by 

 ninkiiig a transverse incision in the trunk a few inches 

 from the grouiul, and a second incision 24 inches higher ; 

 two vertical incisions, diametrically opposite one an- 

 other, are then niiido, an. I the bark peeled off. When 

 the tree is stripped it is cut down one foot above the 

 ground, and from its base, which has the bark iqatn it 

 preservi^l, about twenty fresh shoots sprout up; these 

 are after a while cut off, with the exception of the two 

 or three most vigorous ones, which are allowei! to re- 

 main. .\ tree yields on an average about 5 lb. of hiirk. 

 This bark, spread ou' in a paved court, dries rajiidly in 

 the dry season, but during the rainy season it takes 

 nearly three weeks. As said above it is only a few yearfi 

 since the systemalic culture of einchona bark baa be- 

 come a factor in the resources of Bolivia, and it will be 

 some years more before this cultivated bark will take 

 ittipoiitinu among commercial products. 



