176 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September 2, 1889. 
Mine is 58 acres coffee land planted in 1871-74, 
and 4 acres cinchona land planted in 1881. Total 
62 acres; elevation 4,400 to 5,000. Tea planted May- 
August 1884:— 
Crop July 1885 to July 1886 . . 4,820 lb. leaf. 
]S86 „ 1887 ..20,188 
1887 ,, 1888 ..50,959 
1888 „ 3 889 ..59,324 
This last pruned at a wrong season. Q. L. 
D. 
July 25th, 1889. 
Sir, — In answer to your correspondent's question 
as to what is the yearly percentage of increase 
of made tea per acre planted on old coffee land, 
I herewith send you an account from this estate. 
There is no doubt about tea paying on old coffee 
land which gives a yield of 371 lb. per acre at the 
age of from 5-6 years, and this with medium plucking; 
when in full bearing this estate should give an 
average of 300 lb. per acre. A. 
Table showing acreage, age, made lb. tea per acre, 
and yearly percentage of increase per acre : — 
Made Tea Percentage of 
Increase. 
110 per cent. 
58 „ 
Madulkele District (about 4,000 feet). 
Acres. 
Age. 
per Acre 
21i 
4-5 
177 
5-6 
372 
175| 
3-4 
96 
31 
4-5 
179J 
GEMMING IN CEYLON. 
Further interesting information on this subject 
will be found in our columns on the present 
occasion ; and at length we are able to announce 
an approach to business in the direction we have 
so long desired to see. A Syndicate of European 
gentlemen ia said to have taken over from a 
well-known native proprietor in the Gem districts 
some thousands of acres of land with a view to 
form a Ceylon Gemming Company ; and we have 
seen a draft prospectus headed the " Kakwana 
Gemming Company" showing that there are two 
" Eichmonds in the field." We do not see why 
there should not be half-a-dozen ; for certain 
we are that Oeylon offers a better field for British 
capitalists than Burma does at the present 
stage, and yet here is how the Pioneer relates the 
rush after shares in the Burma Company : — 
The faith of the public in the Burma Ruby Mines 
may be judged from a statement made by Sir Lepel 
Griffin at the general meeting of the Company, to the 
effect that within a few hours of the issue of 200,000 
shares there were applications for 2,762,000. On the 
other hand Dr. Noetling of the Geological Survey in a 
letter elsewhere incidentally remarks that he would 
far rather have shares in Burma Oil Mines than in 
Burma Rubies. 
It is not simply in respect of precious stones 
that Ceylon presents a good field for the invest- 
ment of British capital of .this time of day ; but 
we can also point to our valuable mineral 
" plumbago " hitherto mined for solely by natives 
under very great disadvantages. Several of the 
plumbago pit owners have lately, however ( through 
the aid of our enterprising local Iron and En- 
gineering House, Messrs. John Walker & Co.), been 
ablo to apply pumping and other machinery, and 
a great improvement may henceforward be expected 
in the working. Still this exemplifies the pri- 
mitive style of mining in Ceylon, plumbago 
having been an important article of export 
for fully 40 years back, while only now to any 
groat extent is the aid of European machinery 
called in. In the case of our Gem-pits and the 
searching for precious stones generally, the ar- 
rangements are still of the most primitive 
eharaoter. We wish a full measure of success to 
the enterprising gentlemen who are promoting 
the first two Companies likely to occupy the field. 
Tea. at 5s. pee lb. — There is a retailer in 
London who sells tea at 5s. the pound. But then it is 
"The perfection of tea. In the present rage for 
cheap tea it may seem extravagant to pay 5s. p er 
pound, although at this price it only costs 5-8ttis of 
one penny per cup, including milk and sugar. The 
Standard of the 10th of September states that, at 
Uji, in Japan, some teas are valued at 60s a pound. 
Connoisseurs in tea should try a sample half-pound 
of Hands' Afternoon Tea, free by post on receipt of 
Postal Order or stamps ior two shillings and sixpence." 
A Garden eb's Ideas of Colombo Vegetation. — 
By the S. S. " Orient " which left our harbour this 
moroing there was Mr. James MacRae proceeding by 
her as head gardener to His Excellency the Governor of 
Adelaide, South Australia. Mr. MacRae, who hails from 
West Prince's Street, Glasgow, was selected amongst 
a host of applicants to fill up the post, he having 
served for upwards of ten years in the capacity of 
gardener under a rich banker in Wall Street, New 
York ; subsequently being employed by Messrs. J. & G. 
Thomson, the renowned shipbuilders. During his stay 
in Colombo, he spent the whole of yesterday in 
visiting Victoria Park, the Cinnamon Gardens, the 
Port gardens and all places of interest where a plant 
or tree was to be found. " Scottie " was very much 
struck with the beauty of our vegetation awd said 
that when his present engagement terminated he 
wished to settle for some time in the hill countryo f 
Ceylon. — Cor. 
British North Borneo. — Sandakan, 13th June 
1889. — Preparations are in progress for the open- 
ing of a number of tobacco estates, amongst 
them three more on the Kinabatangan and 
one on the Labuk River. Crop prospects con- 
tinue good and the general health of labourers 
considering that so much new forest has been 
felled and virgin soil disturbed, is very satis- 
factory. Accounts from some of the estates, 
however, especially where the managers are far 
away from direct control, are to the effect that 
considerable troubles is being caused with their 
labour force, and on the West Coast the labourers 
have even absconded in gangs of over a hundred, 
which, at $50 for each labourer, is a heavy loss of 
money, in addition to the Iosb of their services. — 
Correspondent to Hongkong Telegraph. 
Tea Planting and Cropping.— It is a recog- 
nised fact that the tea flush in the districts 
exposed to the South-West monsoon in Ceylon will 
always be a poor one, during June, July and August 
— months when there is generally a good market, 
This good market may be partly due to the less 
quantity of tea thus coming forward, and also 
undoubtedly to the better quality of the tea (in 
consequence of less quantity ?). Now, is there not 
in this fact of a short supply from the bulk of 
Ceylon tea districts during, say July and August 
especially, encouragement to the tea planters in 
North-East districts, such as Maturata and Uva 
generally ? True, these are dry months on the 
Eastern side of the mountain ranges ; but in Uva 
there is generally enough of dew to keep the tea 
bush fit for cropping. — We learn that during the 
present planting season in South-West districts, 
planters in many cases with clearings under two 
years, have been busy pulling out inferior jat 
plants and supplying with a better quality. This 
practice of UBing only first-class plants is likely 
to be more and more followed in the future : for 
Ceylon planters have come to understand that 50 
acres with a really good jat are better worth having 
than 100 acres with poor tea. 
