746 



THE; TROPICAL AGKICULTURIST. 



[Mav 1, 1886. 



DiMBiiLA AND DiKOYA, March 1886. — We are now 

 haviiig very dry weather during the day, the heat being 

 excessive. This for coffee is splendid weather, and al- 

 ready a blosaora has heen forced out with more in spike, 

 but it is only after all a feeble effort as compared with 

 what a coifee blossom should be. For the last three 

 weeks the air has been thick with smoke from the burn- 

 ing coffee. Kvery one who has planted tea is anxious to 

 get the coffee out as quickly as possible. Tea does not 

 make much progress this weather, but the acreage 

 planted must be enormous. — Oor. " Oeyion Advertiser." 



Fuel has ou many tea estates become a .serious mat- 

 ter for consideration, more especially where there is 

 no water-power, and steam-power will have to be used. 

 There is no doubt that fuel will have to be imported. 

 Coke will most undoubtedly be the best fuel for the 

 tea dryer, but it is both costly and bulky. Ordinary 

 bituminous coal makes too much smoke, will soon choke 

 the flues of the Sirocco, which will need constant clean- 

 ing, and create dirt in the tea house. Welsh coal will 

 most probably be used, but surely we should be able 

 to get a compressed fuel specially adapted for use in 

 the Sirocco, and I will call the attention of Messrs. 

 Davidson, manufacturers of the Sirocco to this. They 

 must provide us with fuel specially adapted for use in 

 fhi Sirocco, and at a price laid down in Colombo which 

 will not be prohibitory. — Cor. Ibid, 



Coca.— We understand that the next meeting of the 

 Linn;ean Society will be .shown a very fine specimen of 

 the coca-plant, bearing a quantity of red berries This 

 coca-plaut shows a remarkable likeness to the cacao- 

 plant (Tlieobroma cacao), which accounts for the pecu- 

 liar smell of cocoa eometimes adhering to parcels of 

 coca-leaves, and which on some occasions has led to 

 their refusal by buyers, who were under the impres- 

 sion that this smell had its origin in some form of 

 sophistication. A firm of London druggists have re- 

 ceived a consignment of coca seeds, which are intended 

 for .sliiitmeut to the colonies, where there is some 

 talk of raising coca plantations. Hopes are enter- 

 tained that a successful cultivation in Ceylon or other 

 parts would drive the South American coca out of 

 the European market, as in that case the American 

 growers would bo able to obtain a comparatively better 

 price for it from the natives than they could realise 

 here. — Chemist and Ilrnrigist, Feb. 1886 



Tea. — South African and other Colonists are turning 

 their attention to tea planting. Tea cultivation on an 

 experimental scale has been carried on for some tii^ie 

 iu Natal, with such success that one of the planters is' 

 sending a " sample " of a ton of his produce to the 

 forthcoming Colonial and Indian Exhibition. In fact, 

 the rapid extension of tea-planting in that Colony has 

 attracted the attention of Ceylon planters, several of 

 whom have paid a visit there to judge for themselves 

 of the prospects of the industry. Only the other day 

 a .vhare in a tea "garden" in Natal was advertised in 

 the London papers as being for sale. The example 

 of Natal will very probably be followed in other parts 

 of South Africa, while several districts in Australia 

 and New Zealand claim to be able to grow good tea. 

 Baron Ferdinand von Muller advocates the cultivation 

 of the shrub in Victoria, where plants introduced by 

 him and experimentally grown have been known to 

 produce seeds. — Home and ColoniaVMail. 



Tekebbne is the popular medicine of the mo- 

 ment. Dr. Murrell published an article in the 

 Britifh 21edical Journal of December 12th, in which 

 he stated that he had obtained excellent results 

 Ifi eases of winter cough by the use of pure 

 terebene. The dose he advises is from 5 to 20 

 minims on sugar. He also administers it as a 

 spray, from one to two ounces to be diffused and 

 inhaled every week. Terebene, he finds, also re- 

 lieves flutulence and acidity, and combined with 

 equal parts each of oil of cubebs and oil of sautal 

 wood, wixed with liquid vaseline and used in an 

 atomising apparatus, he has found to yield ex- 

 cellent results, not only in winter cough but also 

 in post-nasal catarrh, as well as in impro\inp 

 (be tone of the voice. Tetebeue ii a moleeulai' 



modificaton of the spirit of turpentine, and is 

 usually obtained by acting on turpentine by .5 per 

 cent, of concentrated sulphuric acid and distilling 

 repeatedly. It is a product very similar to sanitas. 

 — Chemist and Drniigists, Feb. 1886. 



Madulsima Tka. — We received samples the 

 other day of the first tea made well-known on a 

 Madulsima plantation where a large area has beens 

 planted with tea. Messrs. Willson & Co. have been 

 good enough to give the folowing report on the 

 same — a report that ought to encourage tea planters 

 in that nitimn thule of the Uva districts : — 



" No. 1 : Broken Pekoe Is 8d to Is 9d — blackish 

 greyish, little mixed leaf, little flaky, some pekoe ends ; 

 good strength, but dull flavor. 



"No. 2 : Pekoe Is Sd up — blackish, greyish, mixed, 

 choppy'leaf, fewjpekoe tips ; doll flavor, fair [strength, 



" No. 3 : Pekoe souchong Is Od ; fairly twisted, 

 blackish, greyish uneven leaf, few pekoe tips ; dull 

 flavor, rather thitf. 



'■ The above samples, having been kept in paper, hava 

 een rendered duJl and fiat.'' 



The samples did not get fair play, having been 

 sent forward in paper and they lay some day 

 exposed before examination. 



Tea in Uva. — An Uva planter writes : — Mr. — ^- 

 was as pleased as he was surprised with the wonder- 

 ful growth of lea here, said he liadu 't seen any- 

 thing to approach it on the other side. This was very 

 high praise, seeing that he had seen tea in so 

 many districts before he came this length. I have 

 been the greater part of today with coolies cutting 

 down my oldest tea which will thus be ready for 

 plucking towards end of April, and will afford a 

 capital opijortunity of testing its flushing capacity 

 throughout the dry months of June, July and 

 August. 1 hope, and really think that the result 

 will be such as to put an effectual and evcrlastfl 

 ing stop to tliat grave shake of the head and it- 

 concomitant expression " Will it flush ?" which 

 some of our as yet unbelieving Kandy-side friends 

 are wont to assume whenever the subject of tea 

 cultivation in Uva is brought foiward. A good 

 many thousands of pounds of tea will go forward 

 from Uva this year, and next year we shall be 

 in the thick of it. Oh, for the Railway ! 



ScijJNnricTEA Making. — It must be kept in mind that 

 during the raivj/ season the process of artificial wither* 

 ing becomes naturally divided into two parts. AVhcn 

 the leaf is brought from the garden ontinirdli/ drip/nn;/ 

 vith rain, it seems to us useless to begin withering 

 till the leaf is rendered outwardly drj. In wet 

 weather, therefore, our first operation is to place the 

 wet leaf into our drier where the rain is cpiickly 

 evaporated, and in this part of the process a temper- 

 ature of ll'l ^ may be used with impunity. This we fancy 

 is the source of the miscjiicejiti n\ we are rectifying. 

 It will be fully understood, howe^'er, that this teiMper- 

 ature applies only to tbeevai»oration of the rain-water 

 on the leaf, and even iu this oparation we wouhl nd- 

 vf'cate a soiiK'what more moderate temperature — say 

 100° F. So soon as the leaf is thus rendered out- 

 wardly dry, the second part of the withering process 

 is begun, and in it we use no artificial heat. It will 

 thus be seen that we are in exact accord with the 

 writer iu your coluimis : and as he is doubtless a 

 prai^tical planter, it is gratifying to us to find that 

 while lujiiitentionally misrepresenting us, he so fully 

 confirms the piincipte, as regards temperature, upon 

 which we }trnceetl. We will only further add that 

 notwithstandiug the opposition to our process of 

 " experts " at home, we are arranging to have it pract- 

 ically tested iu India audin Ceylon during the approach- 

 ing .season. jAji£sA.R. Main. 



Jno. Dii'K. 



Glasgow, Feb. WKh.—rianters' Ouutte. 

 [Those trials will be the true test of the merits of 

 the invention, but we believe Mr. Armstrong and a great 

 many other,^ would object to warm air even iu the 

 lenjoval of moisture Jrom the leaves.— EP.l 



