402 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST [December i, 1889. 
a conclusion. To give the name of each estate and its 
acreage separately would trespass too much upon your 
valuable space. I therefore only give the owner's name, 
the number of his estates, and their total acreage : — 
Document fob Signatures on Honour. — "We the 
undersigned proprietors and representatives of pro- 
prietors of cinnamon estates entered opposite to our 
respective names, do hereby bind ourselves upon our word 
of honour on and after the 1st day of November 1889, 
and for a period of two years following, not to 
prepare on the said estates, or permit to be prepared by 
others any cinnamon chips for any purpose whatsoever. 
Nor to permit the removal in a green state of the 
chip sticks cut out in the work of pruning, neither 
to allow the cinnamon leaves of our properties to be 
used for the distilling nf cinnamon leaf oil, on condition 
that the signatures of estate owners representing at 
least one half of the chips now exported shall have been 
obtained : — 
Owners' 
o 
a 
2 S 
Owners' ® 
to 
« 
names. 
ei 51 
names o * 
!s 8 < 
< 
C. H. De Soysa ...14 2313 
Dr S.deM. Aserappal 
50 
Tudor Rajapakse, 
F. Mirando 1 
75 
Mudaliyar 
.7 1020 
59 
M rs. David Smith. 
..1 
703 
Carolis Perera Appu- 
Fred. J. Schrader . 
..3 
770 
49 
J. de S. Rajapakse 
A. S. de Silva Ame- 
156 
60 
Lawrence Stork... 
.1 
72 
J. F. de Foneeka ....2 
20 
1 
100 
Geris Silva 1 
12 
John Abeyesinghe . 
.1 
278 
Agoris de Silva, 
Gabriel de Oroos. . . 
.8 
639 
116 
227 
Abraham de Silva 
J. de Mel & Bros. 
..2 
574 
449 
J eronis Pieris 
.1 
225 
Carolis de Silva Gu- 
H. T. Perera 
..2 
75 
85 
D. D. H. Perera . 
.1 
70 
Oharles W. de Silva 2 
17 
Anna Mirando and 
H. Noiyade Silva ...2 
150 
others 
.1 
117 
Pamanis de Silva ...4 
367 
S. R. de Fonseka . 
.3 
335 
H. Sayanaris de Silva 1 
6 
Francis Beven ... . 
.1 
70 
J. D. Z. Siriwardana2 
60 
Arthur J. Fernando, 
M. A. de Silva Siri- 
brothers and 
50 
100 
Hugo Policarp Fer- 
S. Gunetilleke . . . 
.1 
30 
45 
M. Mattes Perera . 
.3 
130 
W. Migel Fernando 
19 
and W. Ponsiano 
Simon de Silva ... . 
.1 
25 
40 
Santiago Fernando. 
.6 
194 
106 9952 
WILLIAM JARDINB, Secy, of Committee. 
JAPAN TEA BOXES. 
Colombo, November 13th. 
Dear Sir, — I enclose an extract from Messrs. 
Rucker & Bencraft's weekly tea oircular dated 
24th October with reference to Japan cedar boxes; 
and as the matter is of much importance to 
planters you will no doubt find space for the 
same. Up to the present time I have never heard 
any complaint of any kind against Japan momi 
boxes.— Yours faithfully, E. B. CREASY. 
(Extract from I. A. Rucker and Bencraft's Weekly 
Tea Circular, dated London, Thursday evening, Oct. 
24th 1889.) 
Japan Packages. 
We commend the attention of our Ceylon corre- 
spondents to a letter in the Overland Ceylon Observer, 
of Sept. 24th, concerning tea packed for the first 
time for four years in Cedarwood, withdrawn in 
sale, and afterwards sold at considerably less money, 
the lower amount bid being on discovery of " taint." 
This taint from the wood has increased, and this 
tea, sold three months ago, is still on the dealer's 
hands. As the matter is of great importance we quote 
what we said on June 27th : — 
"Take great care that the wood is well seasoned and 
suitable for tea. Until the lead of a Japan package is 
cut, or even for a few day after cutting open for in- 
spection the tea will remain all right, but after being 
sold for a month or two, if the wood is the least 
aromatic or cedary, the scent is certain to affect the 
tea, and then up comes the package from the country 
buyer with the complaint the tea is unsaleable. The 
London dealer pockets the loss and says nothing, but 
becomes prejudiced against what ought to be, and are, 
if carefully chosen, most useful and well made pack- 
ages." 
THE CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE 
OF THE CASTOR PLANT IN CEYLON. 
Colombo, Nov. 16th. 
Sir, — The large import of castor oil, referred 
to by Mr. Le Mesurier in his Administration Re- 
port for last year, is made by our good friend 
Mr. E. B. Creasy, who has since the advent of the 
mail steamers to Colombo imported monthly 
large quantities from Coconada. Some native 
firms in the Pettah also import this oil, and 
the Customs Annual returns will show the proper 
quantity. Very little is locally U6ed for machinery 
&c, and the balance is reshipped for machine 
use on board steamers. 
The castor plant grows almost wild both in 
cheDa and the lowlying land almost all over 
the island, and a small central mill in connec- 
tion with the Wellewatta big mills would I think 
be a remunerative concern, where, no doubt, 
growers (or rather gatherers) of castor seed oan 
send their produce for sale along with the cotton 
that is shortly expected. — Yours truly, 
A. B. C. 
The extent of land under tea is steadily increasing. 
In the Rayigam korale additions were made to to the 
principal estates, and a large acreage of abandoned 
jungle known as Cargill's land' at Ingiriya, where tea 
had not previously beeu started, was cleared and 
planted under European superintendence. In the 
Pasdun korale there was a considerable increase in 
the acreage under cultivation. About 1,000 acres of 
tea and coconut have been added to the cultivated 
area of the District, together with 100 acres of newly 
asweddumised paddy fields and a similar extent of 
cinnamon. — Administration Report for 1889. 
Veyangoda, 29th June. — Speaking of Coconuts 
reminds me that the Mills being erected by the taciturn 
Mr. Millen are fast nearing completion. It is supposed 
that they will be completed by the end of another week. 
The building is a long low-roofed one, covered on the top 
and sides with sheet iron. With more windows in 
it than the historical Black Hole had, I think the 
temperature within it with a bright sun blaziog over- 
head will not be exactly at freezing point. I should 
not wish to he within it during the day. So far 
the Mills have not affected the price for Coconuts, 
nor indeed created a demand eveu for them. Mr. 
Millen and his Manager are as silent as the sphinx, 
but outside reports speak of the demand as likely 
to be at the rate of 40,000 nuts per week. I hope 
this is true. — Local " Examiner." 
Cinnamon Chips. — We call attention to Mr. 
Jardine's letter in another column and beg to 
congratulate this gentleman and his supporters on 
the successful attainment of the very practical 
object they had in view during their recent 
agitation. The exports of oinnamon chips will be 
watched with special interest during the present 
season. For the last ten years, the average ship- 
ments of cinnamon chips have been about 500,000 lb. 
the maximum export of 629,000 lb. having been in 
season 1884-5. It now remains to be seen whether 
the falling-off by one-half will be generally realised. 
If it is, it will show that Mr. Jardine's Syndicate have 
kept their word of honour — otherwise the export 
figures must at once show that there has been a breach 
of compact. However, we trust for the best and that 
the gentlemen who have signed the agreement will 
faithfully hold to it, 
