and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



581 



in. The vetch might be taken as an example, 

 for by the aid of the mineral manures it would 

 be in a position to obtain its own nitrogen 

 from tlio air, especially if aided by the dril- 

 ling of some fertile soil witli the seed, and 

 thus, when ploughed beneath, it would not 

 only provide a quantity of humus and make 

 the soil more substantial, but provide feed- 

 ing matter for the succeeding crops. There 

 is no likelihood of a loss of the potash or the 

 phosphates owing to heavy raiu, although, 

 under certain circumstances, a loss of nitrogen 

 might be sustained. A crop of vetches sown 

 in spring and ploughed beneath might be 

 followed by a crop of rape or rape and mus- 

 tard, either ploughed beneath, as in the case 

 of the vetches, or fed off by sheep receiving 

 artificial food. And so, from year to year 

 until a sufficient time has elapsed to induce 

 the grower to attempt a potato or a corn crop. 

 This he would do on a scale not too exten- 

 sive, taking every care to provide manure. 

 I am speaking of a farm upon which it is 

 impossible to use dung, owing to the fact that 

 crops are not grown with which to produce 

 it. In course of time— that time depending 

 upon the original and substantial character 

 of the soil, for the more it approximates to 

 loam the better it would bo, and the earlier 

 it could be cropped with grain — a great improve- 

 ment would be made. It is impossible to con- 

 tinue to plough a largo quantity of green forage 

 beneath the soil from year to year without 

 obtaining some tangiblo result. The soil would 

 gradually accumulate fertilising matter in such 

 quantities that it would be able to grow good 

 crops of grain, roots, and potatoes, and, indeed, 

 of a variety of other plants, and with these chiefly 

 consumed upon the farm, manure would be 

 made, and the larger the quantity the bettor for 

 distribution on the land. Thus, by the aid of 

 the dung of the farm, it would not be essential 

 to purchase so large a quantity of artificials. 



Some years ago an agricultural scientist in 

 France made a number of experiments on a 

 somewhat extensive scale, with the object of 

 ascertaining how a soil should be composed in 

 order to produce the largest yield of the leading 

 crops grown by farmers. He found tiiatif the 

 four typical varieties of soil, thoso chiefly com- 

 posed of clay, chalk, sand, and peat, were mixed 

 together in equal volumes, he obtained the best 

 results. Such a soil was mellow, oasily worked, 

 rich in lime and humus, and capable of retain- 

 ing moisture in hot weather, while responding 

 well to artificials. There are, indeed, certain 

 varieties of plants with which the gardener is 

 better acquainted which require soils of differ- 

 ent types, but this fact can easily be verified by 

 any observant man who examines the weeds 

 which grow on every class of soil, Ho will, for 

 example, find the sandwort, the field madder, 

 the mugwort, and bent grass upon sandy soil ; on 

 chalk land he will find the spikenard, the yellow 

 hawksbeard, and the wooly thistle; and so, in wet 

 soils, in marshes, on gravels, and clays, different 

 varieties of plants are found which are seldom 

 seen in other places ; indeed, the weeds, like the 

 timber trees, indicate very closely the variety of 

 soil upon which they grow. The farmer, how- 

 ever, is compelled to adapt hie crops to tho soil 



he farms, and it is for this reason that he has 

 adopted certain methods which enable corn and 

 other crops to grow with freedom and success. 

 If a soil is damp, he drains it ; if it is tonacious 

 like a heavy clay, he endeavours to reduce its 

 tenacity and make it porous by the addition of 

 sand, lime, the ploughing in of green crops, 

 heavy dressings of farmyard nianure, and plough- 

 ing at particular seasons, when it falls to pieces 

 and provides a liner tilth. So it is with soil of a 

 sandy character, which fails to hold sufficient 

 moisture for the use of plants, which is but 

 slightly fertile, deficient in humus, lime and 

 such materials as clay, which are best calculated 

 to make it more substantial and adapt it to 

 retain moisture and prevent the loss of nitrogen, 

 which is so easily carried through it by the rain. 



Meklin. 



— The Field, April 17. 



THE TEA SEASON IN JAPAN. 



The new tea season is about to sot in. The 

 first shipment of new tea this year, says the 

 "Mainiohi Dempo," was made by the "Korea," 

 which left Yokohama for San Francisco on April 

 24th. In anticipation of the rejection of 

 the proposed tea duty in America the Yokohama 

 and Shizuoka tea markets are now actively pro- 

 paring for the opening of tho season. This 

 year's tea crop is not particularly different from 

 that of last year, but the state of the markets at 

 home and abroad seems to be very promising. 

 The amount of tea exported from Japan between 

 May, 1908, and April, 1909, was 32 million 

 pounds, showing a decrease of about two million 

 pounds as compared with the previous year. In 

 consequence stocks of last season tea in America 

 this year are not so heavy as in ordinary years, 

 while the remnants of old tea in Yokohama and 

 Shizuoka, which will be exported in the course 

 of the present month, do not exceed four million 

 pounds in quantity. Thus stocks of old tea are 

 comparatively low both at home and abroad. 

 Moreover, the conditions in America in respect 

 to the demand for tea are improved, the finan- 

 cial crisis of last year having nearly passed away. 

 On the other hand, the money market in Japan 

 is easy. The situation is, therefore, advanta- 

 geous for tea transactions at present. Accord- 

 ingly, tea merchants in Japan are more encour- 

 aged than in ordinary years, and it is believed 

 that tho amount of exports will be larger than 

 last year. The standard price of new tea is ex- 

 pected to be somewhat lower than the average 

 price last year (Y.24 or Y.25). The direct ex- 

 portation of tea from Shizuoka is yearly on the 

 up grade in volume. The Fuji and Kyodo 

 Companies ac Shizuoka, as well as the local 

 branch of Messrs Jardine, Matheson & Co., 

 have already commenced the necessary pre- 

 parations. Tho favourable market conditions 

 there will be maintained as hitherto in compe- 

 tition with the Yokohama market. It is ex- 

 pected that nearly all the representatives, in 

 chai"ge of tea, of various foreign firms in Yoko- 

 hama will return to Yokohama by the "Siberia." 

 — Times of India, May 15. 



