and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



103 



TEA NOTES. 



Mexico as a Tea-Gkowing Countky.— With 

 the object of securing reliable information as to 

 the possibilities of agricultural development in 

 Mexico, the Government of that country com- 

 missioned a foreign expert to investigate agri- 

 cultural conditions in various tropical and sub- 

 tropical countries. According to the latest re 

 port of the British Consul-General at Mexico 

 City, this expert has recently returned, and now 

 advises the Government to establish a Mexican 

 Department of Agriculture. He urges that 

 Mexico has special advantages for the growing 

 of tea, cacao, rice and fruit of many kinds. 



The Disposal of Tea Prunings.— In referring 

 recently to the views of Messrs. Joseph Fraser 

 and Bamber, Dr. Willis and Mr. Petch on the 

 disposal of tea prunings— whether by burying 

 or burning— we alluded to the last-named 

 as being inclined (at any rate 18 months ago) 

 to support burying, except where a field is 

 subject to root disease. We are, however, 

 reminded by one who has followed the Govern- 

 ment Mycologist's work closely that we would 

 be wide of the mark if we assumed that Mr. 

 Petch believes in burying prunings under any 

 circumstances. We certainly did not assume 

 this, for his paper of May 1907 was very strong 

 against burying where root disoase existed; 

 he also pointed out the difficulties often ex- 

 perienced in securing rapid decay of prunings 

 buried in holes. Mr. Petch has, we hear, 

 rather been devoting himself to urging the 

 burning of them for the last four years and 

 holds there is as yet no evidence whatever 

 in favour of burying : that, in fact, there is 

 scarcely a set of figures dealing with any 

 cultivation in the Island which will bear 

 five minutes 1 examination : and that until 

 Mr. Joseph Fraser submits his figures to 

 criticism, they must scientifically be regarded 

 as non-existent ! The Experiment fetation 

 Committee, we believe, have not always found 

 figures reliable facts to go upon ; and what 

 passes for experiment in tropical agriculture 

 has before this been proved to be futile imitation. 

 We trust, however, that Mr. Joseph Fraser 

 may have something to say on the subject ere 

 next Pitakande meeting comes along. 



INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION. 



(Meeting at Calcutta on Dec. '22.) 

 Mosquito Blight. 

 In connection with the pamphlet recently 

 published by Mr Antrara on Mosquito Blight, a 

 letter of 17th December from Messrs Shaw 

 Wallace & Co. was read. They urged the im- 

 portance of joint action being at once taken by 

 Proprietors to deal with the blight in view of 

 the "danger that, if remedial measures are de- 

 layed, it may increase to an alarming extent. 

 They emphasised the point made by Mr Antram 

 in regard to the necessity for thorough satura- 

 tion of the bush in spraying, and expressed the 

 opinion that the Committee should impress on 

 Proprietors that spraying should be pursued 

 with more ^vigour and perseverance than 

 hitherto, and that every precaution should 

 be taken to ensure thoroughness. But 



oven spraying to this' extent would not, in 

 their view, be sufficient, unless the blocks of 

 tea treated were absolutely isolated : and it 

 was with this in mind that they suggested that 

 if headway against the blight were to be made, 

 joint measures in the affected districts would 

 be imperative. As they pointed out, it would 

 be hopeless to carry out protective measures, 

 however complete, in any one garden, if the 

 surrounding gardens took no steps and re- 

 mained a recruiting ground for fresh infection. 

 They considered that members should be cir- 

 cularised with a view to inducing them to com- 

 bine in the matter. — The points raised by 

 Messrs. Shaw Wallace & Co. were discussed at 

 length by the Committee who were in com- 

 plete agreement as to the desirability of ener- 

 getic combined action being taken on the lines 

 indicated. The only question was as to how far 

 planters would undertake the expense of spray- 

 ing areas not obviously suffering from the 

 blight. — As a preliminary step it was suggested 

 that some group of gardens in one of the affected 

 districts might be approached with a view to 

 get them to combine and take the most thorough 

 measures — especially in the matter of spraying 

 the whole area of their tea — for one or two 

 seasons. If this could be arranged and the 

 method were found to be effective, the Com- 

 mittee would be enabled to recommend a similar 

 policy to all members of the Association with 

 much more confidence. Before, however, taking 

 any steps towards having the idea put in force, 

 it was decided to send to the two Branches anil 

 to the Dooars Planters' Association copies of 

 Messrs Shaw Wallace & Co's letter explaining 

 to them the Committee's views and asking their 

 opinions on the feasibility of such a scheme as 

 that suggested. Messrs Shaw Wallace & Co. 

 were to be thanked for their letter and to be in- 

 formed of the action taken, 



MONEY FOR THE EAST INDIES. 



Easier to get than for the W. I. 



"Theobroma," writing to the "Standard,' 

 says : — " Speaking at a dinner given at the 

 recent .Rubber Exhibition, Sir Henry Blake 

 observed that ' it seemed much more difficult to 

 get money in London for the West Indies than 

 for the East. ; This is undoubtedly the case, for, 

 whereas 



HARDLY A WEEK PASSES WITHOUT SOME 

 IMPORTANT PLANTING COMPANY 



being successfully floated in connection with 

 Ceylon, the Malay States, or the Dutch East 

 Indies, he would be a bold man who relied on 

 public support for a similar undertaking in the 

 Antilles or British Guiana. Probably the vicis- 

 situdes of the sugar industry are largely respon- 

 sible for this caution on the part of capitalists, 

 but in many of the islands this product is only 

 of secondary importance, while in others it is 

 practically non-existent. I would suggest the 

 formation of a committee to investigate and de- 

 termine the causes of the financial disability 

 under which the West Indies labour, whether 

 political, administrative, economic, geographi- 

 cal, climatic, or racial, and to correct any erro- 

 neous ideas which may exist in the popular mind 

 as to their productive capabilities." — 11. and C. 

 Mail, Dec. 25. 



