562 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



one acre in Ceylon. The Baron tells us that a 

 second cutting from a crop grown in Ceylon this 

 season has already given 14,500 lb of green plant 

 and that the prospects of a good third cutting 

 are very hopeful. 



In Behar Java thrived only in the very best 

 lands, but in Ceylon, a climate so thoroughly 

 suited to it, such a careful selection of land will 

 probably not be necessary. Given this big yield 

 of green plant per acre, and taking as correct 

 what Baron Schrottky tells us about paste, let 

 us see what he predicts for Ceylon. 



Ordinarily speaking 100 lb of green'plant gives 

 2£lb of standard indigo paste, and it has already 

 been arranged that this be sold, landed at 

 Colombo, at 8 annas per lb. Given an outturn 

 of 32,000 lb of green plant per acre, one acre will 

 give 800 lb of standard paste, the value of which 

 will be Rs 400, and it must be acknowledged 

 that this is a very satisfactory result. As will 

 be shown later on, this means a return of nearly 

 100 per cent on one's money. 

 Improvements in Manufacture by Scientific 

 Methods. 



This is a point on which one must speak with 

 some reserve. The Behar planter is much averse 

 to scientific methods of manufacture, and the 

 proof of this is that, although so many processes 

 have been tried in Behar during the last 20 years 

 there is hardly a factory that does not work in 

 the ordinary way nowadays. 



As a rule they have been found too expensive 

 and the buyers of indigo have generally set their 

 faces against them. The Baron enumerates four 

 different processes in the one manufacture and 

 people think this means too many chemicals and 

 a prohibitive expense. He has claimed that by 

 hia processes he has obtained not 2| lb. from 100 

 maunds of green plant but as much as 3| lb. 

 This means 1,067 1b. of standard paste valued 

 at Rs.533. 



This is a marked increase, but people[are in- 

 clined to say : — Such a nice profit can be ob- 

 tained from an yield of 2£lb. of standard paste 

 per 100 maunds of plant, why ply for a higher 

 result by using materials which may ruin every- 

 thing? As is well known the Baron's glucosode 

 process was tried in 1906 and 1907, and planters 

 who tried it commented favourably on it; and 

 yet no one in Behar is trying it at the present 

 day. In answer to these objections the Baron 

 says he introduced this process in 1906 and only 

 perfected it last year and that the indigo made 

 by it at first was boycotted by buyers, who 

 would not take any indigo with chemicals in it. 

 The stuff being unsaleable, the planters natu- 

 rally abandoned the process. 



The Baron in his pamphlet quotes letters from 

 certain dyers in England who are giving his 

 standard paste a trial. The fact that they are 

 giving it a trial and that they are inclined to 

 look upon it with a favourable eye would show 

 that since his process has been perfected, any- 

 thing injurious to the indigo made has been 

 eliminated, for we presume the paste on trial 

 has been manufactured by his scientific methods. 



Men like dyers, before trying an article, 

 generally assure themselves of how the stuff has 

 been exactly made. It is rather early to pro- 

 nounce a definite opinion on this part of the 

 Baron's scheme; but, as he knew that his indigo 

 was boycotted because it contained matter 

 which was considered injurious, it is most likely 

 that he has now avoided this danger. We have 

 seen that a large acre outturn may be expected, 

 that the paste will probably be a success and 

 that it is possible the results will be even more 

 satisfactory by the employment of scientific 

 methods of manufacture. Now comes the all- 

 important question of costs, and we only wish 

 the Baron had been a little more explicit in his 

 details on this point. 



Given 32,000 lb. of green leaf per acre and 

 2| lb. of standard paste per 100 lb. of green leaf 

 he calculates the expenses per acre at R200 (the 

 selling price of the paste made being R400), but 

 he adds there is the further cost of rent of land 

 and of the factory. 



We would like to know exactly what these 

 R200 include. We presume it includes all 

 charges for chemicals and manufacture, and that 

 factory would include all other charges. Where 

 is that important expense, the price of Java 

 indigo seed, included? This seed is very expen- 

 sive, costing in the neighbourhood of R60 per 

 maund and each acre will require R15 of seed. 



However, this may be only an initial expense, 

 for we see no reason why seed should not be 

 grown in Ceylon successfully. This has proved 

 an utter failure in Behar; but, as has been poin- 

 ted out before, Behar conditions are not suited 

 to Java indigo. 



If Ceylon can grow an indigo, which gives 

 somewhere about 32,000 lb. of green plant per 

 acre, and if the Baron can sell the paste made at 

 8 annas lb. landed in Colombo and the expenses 

 are kept down to, at the most, R250 per acre, 

 then the iudigo industry should thrive in Ceylon. 

 Baron Schrottky adds to these profits R148 per 

 acre — value of seeth. Such- a profit could only 

 be reckoned on in the event of tea and obher 

 planters buying the seeth from the factory. 



