August i, 1889/J THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
113 
To the Editor. 
CEYLON TEA IN AMEBIC A, MB. MCCOMBIE 
MUBEAY ON. 
Philadelphia, 25th May 1889. 
Deae Sib, — I see by the Observer that planters are 
slow to take up shares in the new Company. It seems 
to me inconceivable that such can be the case when so 
much is involved. I do not purpose remaining in the 
field as a public advocate any more ; the planters 
having an able representative in Mr. Pineo, who will 
shortly fill my place in this respect ; but I would 
just say that the sooner the planters make a name 
for Ceylon tea in America the better for them. The 
value of Ceylon tea for years to come will depend 
upon the amount of advertising done on its be- 
half. The biggest men in the tea line in this 
city all say the same about Ceylon tea. It must 
be sold cheap — that is at a sacrifice — to get it 
into the market, or a demand must be made by 
advertising to make a value for it to the dealer. 
I have now changed once more for the better, 
and am doing business in one of the best equipped 
stores in the city (half share in a new and entire 
building) supplied with every convenience for making 
tea and coffee, ladies' retiring room, &c. &c. We 
have our own coffee roaster and machinery and 
hope to do good business in the future. I ex- 
pect Mr. B. B. Arthur from New York to see me 
every day. He has a beautiful store in New York 
city, fitted up in the Oriental style, and, like the 
man himself, in a very substantial way. He means 
business, and will succeed in the end, although 
he finds already that it means war to the knife. 
I had much pleasure in spending a day with him 
a week ago, and look forward to a visit from him 
next week. My Denver man is doing well and 
deserves more support than I can give him, but 
I have said my say on all such subjects. I have 
to thank you for the courtesy you have always shown 
me in placing your columns at my disposal, and I 
only hope that my views as expressed, from 
Lime to time, will prove helpful to those who are 
about to enter the field in the cause of the Ceylon 
Tea Enterprise in America. For my own part, I 
will fight the fight which is set before me in my 
own small way, and if my present step proves too 
ambitious for my means, which is not impossible, 
I will at least die hard in fighting for the best 
interests of Ceylon generally, and my late fellow- 
planters in particular. 
In retiring from my self-imposed duties as corres- 
pondent in favour of one whose interests and connec- 
tion with the planters is now more immediate, I 
wish every success to the new and all-important 
undertaking, and would give but one last word of 
advice to the planters in closing, viz., Consider well 
what you decide to do ; but, having decided, work 
unanimously. J. McCOMBIE MUBEAY. 
TOBACCO: JAFFNA GBOWN. 
Uduvil, 21st June 1889. 
Sir,— I send for your inspection samples of 
tobacco recently raised in Jaffna from seed ob- 
tained from Deli on the eastern coast of Sumatra. 
This variety is so peculiar to this localityand obtains 
such high favour in the European markets, the 
dissemination of the seed is prevented and guarded 
against by planters with the utmost jealousy. 
For flavour and odouv of no other variety is said 
to oqual it, and the cultivation yields very profit- 
able results in Sumatra, notwithstanding the ex- 
cessive cost of labour and necessity of allowing 
the land to lie fallow for four years after each 
crop. With the object of testing the suitability 
of Jaffna ooil for it, a small quantity of the Deli 
seed was procured with great difficulty, and culti- 
vated in a plot at Uduvil in Jaffna. The land 
selected" was not rich, but richly manured with 
faitayard manure. These were planted in a lot 
with the ordinary Jaffna variety and throve well. 
The leaves were of a larger size than those in 
Deli, but, compared with the Jaffna tobacco, were 
much smaller. The height of the plants averaged 
seven and a half feet with about 12 leaves each, 
while the native variety yielded only about 7 or 8. 
The shortness of the leaves allows 1,500 plants 
to stand in an area occupied by 1,000 of the Jaffna 
variety. In curing I have followed as much as 
possible the method I observed at Deli, but owing 
to the shortness of the crop and the want of 
special appliances, the process was not entirely 
successful. One obstacle in the way of securing 
fine aroma is the want of summer rains which 
would have washed away certain bitter principles 
exuded by the leaves. 
On submitting to local experts the tobacco was 
pronounced as finer than the local kind, but the 
great point to be ascertained is as to whether 
the variety as produced locally would suit Euro- 
pean tastes and suitable for export. If this be 
favourably reported on, there is a great future for the 
only paying agricultural industry in Jaffna — that of 
tobacco culture — which is becoming depressed owing 
to cheap production in India and elsewhere. Any 
information as to the quality of these samples 
and their probable values and direction for curing 
will be of great benefit. — I am, sir, your obedient 
servant, A. CANAGASABHA PILLAI. 
[We referred the sample to experts in Colombo ; 
and in returning it they say they have examined 
the new product with much interest. " The sine 
and shape of the leaf," they say, " are very good. 
Texture too leathery for fine tobacco fit for export. 
It is also too weak, i.e., not elastic enough, due 
no doubt to faulty preparation. Color abominable, 
unfit for any purpose except fi ling, cause probably 
insufficient and (or) faulty system of drying. Of 
fermentation there is not a trace, the quantity 
being probably too small to bring it on. But for 
the absence of this latter and the very bad 
color the tobacco might have been fit for export 
but would have fetched but a poor price owing to 
its inferior texture and the fact that it has been 
manured which gives bad burning quality." The 
sample may be seen at this office. — Ed.] 
PADDY (BICE) GEO WING IN CEYLON: 
mr, Elliott's experiments at galle and batticaloa : 
answebs to criticism. 
Batticaloa, 25th June 1889. 
Dear Sir, — My statement of expenditure included 
all the outlay entailed including the necessary 
amount of watching. 
Mr. LeMesurier's estimate of the oost of watching 
is a perfectly theoretical one and shows that want 
of knowledge of the practical cultivation of paddy 
which has led to such misconceptions. No paddy 
field in Ceylon has a separate watcher to whom any 
special allowance is made for this duty ; and in 
Galle and most of the Southern Province, the 
fields are not specially "■watched.'" They are 
ploughed, sown, and the cultivators go about other 
occupations. Some go coal trading to Galle and 
even farther, arranging for some female " people of 
the family " or neighbour to keep an eye on the crop 
and turn the water on and off. They return at 
harvest time, when the orop is ready to out. Even 
