and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society,— May, 1912. §61 



Potatoes 



Kye and Barley 



Corn and other grains 



Beet Molasses 



Kefuse 



Seed fruits 



SI one fruits 



Wine leos (grape) 



Other farinous material 



Germany on the other hand used produce 

 more suitable to her climate thus : — 



2,800,461 tons 

 312,775 do 

 144,259 do 

 45,407 do 

 2,273,474 gallons 

 2,317.880 do 

 5,049,372 do 

 14,109.293 

 3.0U4.881 tons. 



Without exception everything is agricultural 

 produce. 



Ceylon — 1 know no more of the East— pro- 

 duces one in particular — and scores of farina- 

 ceous and fruit productions that yield a higher 

 return than anything grown in the West. 



The whole question of Excise from the indus- 

 trial—and not the moral — point of view is one 

 that should be given the greatest attention to 

 by the planters. 



If the Secretary of the P. A. cares to commu- 

 nicate with me I am at his disposal and would 

 be quite prepared to lay a paper before his 

 Committee. — Yours obediently, 



D. M. WE1GEL. 



TEA CULTURE IN AMERICA. 



From a " First Paper " on the above by 

 George F. Mitchell, Scientific Assistant, Drug- 

 Plant, Poisonous-Plant, Physiological and Fer- 

 mentation Investigations, Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 and Secretary, United States Board of Tea 

 Experts, we quote the following interesting 

 extract :— 



Comparison of Labour Costs. 



A careful comparison of the labour required in 

 the field and factory work of a given tea area 

 in the Orient and at Pinehurst shows that in 

 the Orient at least twice as many labourers 

 are required as at Pinehurst, where mecha- 

 nical devices in the field and factory are used. 

 It is granted that wages are much higher in 

 this country, even among the Southern negroes, 

 although of late years wages have materially 

 advanced in parts of the Orient. Thus a differ- 

 ence in thecost of labour, which would appear to 

 condemn the attempt to establish a tea industry 

 here, does not exist to the extent usually be- 

 lieved. However, economy makes it necessary 

 to substitute for hand labour improved and often 

 special forms of agricultural implements. 

 Plucking Tea at Pinehurst. 



Although there are probably not more than 

 five flushes, there may be twenty or more pick- 

 ings due to the fact that all the shoots in a flush 

 do not develop at the same time; hence pluck- 

 ings are necessary at frequent intervals to keep 

 pace with the continued development. 



71 



At Pinehurst the plucking is done by coloured 

 children, who, with proper supervision, soon be- 

 come expert] in their task, and, if available 

 statistics are correct, equal and sometimes sur- 

 pass the tea pickers of the Orient in the quality 

 and quantity of leaf plucked. 



Underfavourableconditionsthe children aver- 

 age each day about 40 pounds of green leaf, 

 which equals 10 pounds of dry tea ; but some 

 have plucked as much as 75 pounds, which is 

 equivalent to 18J pounds of dry tea. At present 

 the Pinehurst gardens yield annually up to 600 

 pounds of finished tea per acre, depending on 

 the variety and age of the plants, fertility of the 

 soil, rainfall, temperature and fineness of 

 plucking. 



"Shelter" or Sugar Tea. 



An interesting experiment has been made at 

 Pinehurst in raising tea under shelter sufficient 

 to protect the plants from the direct sunlight. It 

 is also done in Japan, where the finished product 

 is styled " sugar" tea and is highly appreciated, 

 commanding an extra high price. The content 

 of thein is very large and that of tannin quite 

 small as compared with other teas. The leaves 

 attain a very large size, are quite silky, and as- 

 sume a decided blue colour. The cup qualities 

 are excellent, being delicate in flavour, free from 

 astringency, and fairly fragrant. 



At Pinehurst a garden of two-thirds of an acre 

 has been covered with a frame, elevated so that 

 the mule3 may plow under it, and spread with a 

 rather open wire mesh on which the screen is 

 placed. [At first a covering of matting was used, 

 which was rolled up at nightfall and spread in 

 the morning during the development of a flush, 

 but kept rolled up for a few days after the tea 

 had been gathered. This procedure was too ex- 

 pensive in labour, and now pine straw spread over 

 the woven wire is kept in place during the whole 

 of the cropping season. Nevertheless, in view 

 of the small yield, the cost of production is high, 

 although the finished tea readily brings $5 a 

 pound. — Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, April. 



THE CULTIVATON OF JAVA-NATAL 

 INDIGO. 



Or " Indigofera Arrecta." 

 Some Questions for Baron Schrottky. 



We have already shown why this species of 

 plant has been a disappointment in Behar. The 

 Behar climatic conditions are uncongenial to it. 

 But in Ceylon we have conditions practically 

 similar to those that prevail in Java, and if in 

 Java 32,000 lb of green plant can be obtained 

 from one acre, then it should be obtained from 



