$4 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [July t) i8g 7< 
into Liverpool was Once as great as the import into 
London. Steadily it gravitated to the Metropolis, one 
or another of the Liverpool dealers removed 
to London till at present the annual import 
of tea to Liverpool is of the most trifling 
quantity. We are always pleased to see new 
markets opened for Indian tea, but we do not regard 
this as at all a new market, for the Glasgow buyers 
buy now in London ; and if they buy in future at 
their own doors it practically amounts to this, that 
whatever the planters may gain in the provinces they 
will lose in London. The carriage from London to 
Glasgow by rail, which is made so much of, is of 
course equal to a farthing a pound, and we can 
believe that Glasgow buyers would be prepared to 
give the extra farthing for such lots as suited their 
tastes, but one or two breaks of unsuitable quality 
which might have to be cleared up twopence per lb. 
under London rates would probably equalise the net 
results. 
+ 
BEOOK TBOUT IN CEYLON. 
Early in the present year, Mr. Le iviesurier, of the 
Ceylon Civil Service, undertook to import the ova of 
the brook trout, salmo fario, into Ceylon, with a view 
of stocking some of the mountain streams. Trie rivers 
of Oeylon seem peculiarly adapted to the requirements 
of brook trout, on account of their perennial streams, 
and there is every probability of the experiment prov- 
ing successful. The ova were imported in two batch- 
es of 15,000, and out of one lot only 500 fry were 
obtained, whilst the other was more fortunate, and 
produoed as many as 7,000 of the young fish. Under 
the most favourable circumstances a large percent- 
age of the ova of fish fail to hatch, Mr. Le Mesuner 
may therefore be congratulated upon having secuied 
so many fish under the circumstances. The cost of 
the importation was £150, half of which sum Mr. Le 
Mesurier provided himself. The other half was sub- 
scribed by Ceylon gentlemen who are interested in 
the experiment. The ova, which resemble deliuate pink 
peas, were packed with the greatest cure, in alter -ate 
layers, between moss, and were protected with a 
covcrii g of musliu which prevented the eggs from 
escaping or being crushed. They were then placed 
on zinc trays, which were enclosed in a box. This 
box vvas put inside a larger box, and was surrounded 
by charcoal. Ice was kept constantly on the package, 
and the temperature was never allowed to rise above 
40°. The hatching progress was thus retarded, or 
suspended, during the journey. As soon as the ova 
arrived at Nuwara Eliya they were placed in hatching 
tanks, and immediately the little fish began to ap- 
pear, all eyes and tail, and none the woise for th ir 
travels in the embryo state. When about two months 
oid tbey were considered capable of beginning life on 
their own account, and little colonies have been turn- 
ed down at Nuwara Eliya, and in the surrounding 
neighbourhood. Two hundred of the little fish were 
intended for Madras, but Mr. H. S. Thomas has al- 
ready described the death of the fry on the journey 
down to Colombo. The failure is much to be regret- 
ted, as all experiments in pisciculture take time, 
trouble, and money. 
The last batch of Mr. Le Mesurier's fry was turned 
down a few day ago in a beautiful stream running 
through Bopatalawa, commonly called the Bopatanas 
— a lovely mountain district near Dimbula. The 
little fish were carried from their nursery in Nuwara 
Eliya in old kerosene tins, slung on a pole, and borne 
by two coolies. Every twenty minutes the water was 
aerated by means of a syringe, a process which the fry 
enjoyed immensely, if one may judge by the way 
in which they clustered under the jet of air. Fresh 
water was not necessary very often, and when it was 
given, the greatest care was observed in the choice 
of a stream. Any water showing traces of iron was 
avoided, and, if possible, a spring was chosen from 
which drinking water was usually taken. Progress was 
naturally very slow, and, in spite of an early start 
the first half of the day only brought the fry as far 
as Dimbula, a journey of fifteen miles. The after- 
noon saw the little fish on the Agra patanas, which 
adjoin the Bopatanas. The hills stretch away in 
grassy undulations, crowned with jungle, and through 
the meadow-like patanas a clear s'ream winds its way 
now tumbling over rocks and now stretching out into 
glassy reaches of quiet water. The first place select- 
ed for a colony was one of these still spots, a few 
yards up a tributary of the main stream. The bot- 
tom of the creek was well furnished with healthy- 
looking weeds which, in their capacity for harbouring 
poochees, gave promise of good feeding ground for 
the young strangers, and excellent cover and pro- 
tection in the rush of freshets and floods. As the 
fry were transferred one by one from their tin to the 
stream, they showed every sign of taking willingly 
and happily to their new home. They struck olf into 
the weeds in good style, without a moment's hesit- 
ation or misgiving, and disappeared in a minute or 
so amongst the weeds. About twenty-five were put 
down here, and the rest were carried higher up to- 
wards a gorge. The next place chosen was another 
tributary stream, that drew its source from the heights 
of one of Ceylon's loftiest hills, a stream which is prob- 
ably the actual fountain head of the beautiful Maha- 
weiliganga, the largest river in Oeylon. This spot 
was selected on account of the low temperature of 
the water which, coming from such a height and flow- 
ing through forest, would probably be especially suit- 
able for fish of a temperate climate. The bottom of 
the stream was clear and gravelly, and the current 
of the water slow, so that the fish would have two or 
three hundred yards ot cold stui water if they de- 
sired it. The third colony was turned off just below 
the gorge where the river winds through high banks, 
overgrown with jungle, a cool shady place bugge.stive 
of flies and caterpillars. Ttie last two score were 
-taited on life's journey in a weedy little stream 
above the rapids of the gorge. 
Brook trout are active fisb, and in their native 
streams they run to about 4 lb. in weight, though in 
ihe suuth of England they sometimes ttain 7 lb. or 
8 lb. Like most other creatures tbey have their en- 
emies to c .utend with, and the little fish will not find 
themselves exempt from danger in the streams of 
the Bopatanas. The otter will prove one of the 
•rout's moit formidable foes, whilst in the wat»-r 
itself a carnivorous lookiug fish, something like the 
stone loach of our English streams, will probably be 
anything but neighbourly in its conduct. The young 
fry vill be fortunate if they escape the water 
piou, a pest whioh infests the streams of some of our 
Indian hills. The greatest enemy of fish is however 
man and if the trout escape the fan^s of the otter 
they will jet have to run the gauntlet of the piscat- 
orial Singhalese. — Madras Mail, June 6th. 
♦ 
COFFEE (ARABIAN AND LIBERIAN), CACAO 
AND TEA ENTERPRISE: OFFIUIAL REPORT ' 
FOR THE CENTKAL PROVINCE OF CEYLON. 
(From Administration Report for 1886, by Hon. 
W. E. T. Sharpe, Government Agent, Central 
Province.) 
The rapid conversion of abandoned coffee estates 
into tea gardens is a notable fact in every 
part of the hill country. Vast expanses of tea 
now meet the eye in every direction. The crop 
was last year, perdaps, less than was expected, owing 
to an exceptionally wet and prolonged south-west 
monsoon. Factories are being rapidly erected every- 
where, giving remunerative employment to large 
numbers of sawyers, carpenters, and masons. New 
bazaars are springing up along the lines of roads, and 
there is every appearance of returning prosperity. 
The yield of tea throughout the province, and the high 
prices realised in the London market, have been most 
encouraging. 
A gentleman in Madulkele writes: — "In three years' 
time the number of tons of produce sent from these 
districts will probably equal that of coffeei in former 
times. Of cinchona, there is probably 000,000 lb. of 
bark, which will be harvested during the next three years." 
A gentleman in Maturata writes : — " It may be anti- 
cipated that a year or two hence will see all the opened 
acreage under tea," 
