858 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 2, 1890. 
Sent coastwise under bond) „-,,„„, ,b. 
for Home consumption! &b,6l6,i<dl I 
Exported and Stores 35,779,457 „ 
For the year 1889, total 221,094,628 „ 
Again thanking you for the suggestions, and assuring 
you that they will have our most careful consider- 
ation. — We are, dear sirs, 
GOW, WILSON & .STANTON. 
PLANTING IN THE LOWCOUNTEY. 
Daphne, Udugama, April 21st. 
Dear Sir, — In your issue of the 17th inst. I 
notioe some Planting Notes from the South* which 
call for a protest, as they seem to me to be not 
only verging on a libel on the planting community 
in the lowcountry, but also mischievous, as they 
are calculated to give those of your readers who 
are unacquainted with planting life down here a 
very erroneous idea of our daily routine. 
It would have been better had " Knight of the Tea 
Bush" confined himself to the personal pronoun 
throughout, as he does when informing the general 
public of the amount of liquor he consumes per diem. 
I have been planting in this province for the 
last ten years, and have not yet met the planter 
who could afford to spend his day as "Knight of 
the Tea Bush" desoribes. — I am, dear sir, yours 
faithfully, S. E. B.OUBTIS. 
THE LARGEST TIC POLONGA. 
The Residency, Point Pedro, April 26th. 
Dear Sir, — Could you or any of your readers 
oblige me by mentioning the length of the largest 
Tic Polonga killed in Ceylon. Yesterday the writer 
skinned a Tic Polonga which had killed a man 
near the village of Tunnaillai, measuring 5 feet in 
length : would this be considered a large Tic — 
Truly yours, JAMES PRICE TODD. 
[Tennent in his " Natural History of Ceylon" 
does not give the length of the "tic polonga," 
but Dr. Davy in his Ceylon Book published in 
1821, says that "when full grown the tic polonga is 
from 4 to 5 feet long," so that Mr. Todd's speci- 
men is a large-sized one. No doubt we have had 
reoords of larger speoimens, but we cannot recall 
any at this moment. — Ed. T. A,] 
THE COLOMBO Vs. LONDON TEA MARKETS 
FOR PRICES. 
May 14th, 1890. 
Dear Sir,— As regards the Colombo tea market 
my experience is that while medium and com- 
mon teas may perhaps oommand their value, it 
is difficult to obtain it for the higher classes of 
tea. 
My broken pekoe has averaged Is 3d in London 
since 1st January, while the same tea sold locally 
has only averaged some 61 cents equal (by Ruther- 
ford's table, at Is 6d exchange) to Is Id only : 
A good margin for profit there one would think. 
I notice too that a break intended for shipment 
is usually valued considerably higher than one 
for local sale though not, it is only fair to say, 
* Where did Mr. Curtis get this title ? It is not in the 
contribution he refers to, but •• Planting in the Low- 
country," which may be " Kalutara " or even the 
u Kelani Valley," while anyone can see that " Knight 
of the Tea Bush" was writing with a •' kinder sarkastic" 
pen. However, there is no harm in Mr. Curtis's defend- 
ing his brethren in case anyone should regard the 
Knight" seriously.— Ed. T. A. 
by the same broker. And, as a rule the valuations 
are borne out by results, — Yours truly, 
HAPUTALE PLANTER. 
[The period given by our correspondent — three or 
four months — is far too short to afford a safe test or 
comparison ; and indeed we are aware it came after 
a period during which local buyers of fine teas had 
paid prices on which they lost heavily afterwards 
in London. A year's trial of the two markets is the 
least for a safe comparison. — Ed. T.A.] 
GOOD COFFEE IN THE WALLAHA VALLEY 
Lindula, May 19th. 
Dear Sir,— Maousella estate is not exceptional 
in its bearing qualities in the Wallaha Valley. 
Two other estates have given over 5 cwt. per acre 
last crop, without the aid of manure and high 
cultivation quoted as necessary by Mr. Maclachlan. 
The introduction of tea into the valley has greatly 
benefited the isolated bits of good coffee that have 
been retained and the tea itself is a sight worth 
seeing.— Yours truly, X. 
[This is good news : " good coffee " in most of 
our planting districts alas is a sight to gladden 
the eyes of the visitor as a relief to the generally 
ubiquitous tea-bush. — Ed. T, A.] 
Ripe Figs Grown in Colombo.— Our Parsee friend, 
Mr. Hormusjie Pestoujee has brought us a full 
size ripe fig grown in his Dematagoda garden, on a 
tree 6 months old, from seed brought down from 
Wewessa estate, Uva. This is good work, and Mr. 
Pestonjee is giving cuttings to several friends to 
spread the growth of figs in the Western Provinoe. 
The Experiment of importing Brittany cattle 
into the Simla and Kulu Hill districts has been 
successful, in that the animals have found favour 
with the people; but the casualties from the prevailing 
rinderpest have been great. Three bulls and three 
cows have died. There are now three whole-bred 
and thirty-four half-bred animals in the two districts. 
M. Mail, May 12th. 
The Ceylon Tea Plantations Company, Limited. 
— Another Big Dividend. — We learn that a telegram 
has just beeu received in Ceylon to the effect that the 
Directors of this Company have declared a total dividend 
for the year 1889 of 15 per cent. Considering the large 
capital on which this is paid — larger than that of Indian 
companies with a few exceptions— and the thorough 
state of efficiency to which all the Company's factories 
and properties have been brought, it is we think a 
feather in Ceylon's cap generally, and in that of that 
local Manager and staff in particular. — Local "Times'. 
The Adulteration of Chicory. — The United 
States Consul at Stettin in a recent report calls 
attention to the adulteration of the chicory exported 
from there. From inquiries which he made he 
learned that the larger part of the chicory is made 
from beet roots, dried and burnt or roasted, and 
preared in the same manner as pure chicory. 
The mixture usually sold as chicory is composed 
of one-third of the pure article and two-thirds of 
roasted beet roots. It is invoiced at about ljd 
per lb. a price at which it is quite impossible to get 
genuine chicory. But although he was able to put 
a stop to some extent to this by warning American 
purchasers and consignees, he observes that "it 
is not alone in this branch that we are being 
defrauded, but in many other branches as well. 
A merchant extensively engaged in the hardware 
trade casually remarked to me not long since that 
cutlery, buttons, needles, &c. were manufactured 
in Germany stamped with the trade mark of English 
firms, and exported to the United States as English 
merchandise, he at the same time praising the 
manufacturer for his shrewdness and business abi- 
itly,"— London Times, 
