THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [August i, 1887 
Fergusons ' Oeylon Handbook-Directory for 1885-86 
estimated area under Cinchona cultivation in Oeylon at 
1881 1882 1883 1885 
Acres 45,000 55,000. 64,000 48,000 
» Showing that in the interval between 1883 and 1885. 
16,000 acres of cinchona have been cleared and planted 
with tea. — Madras Times. 
♦ 
TEA IN TRAVANOORE. 
A short time ago we had the pleasure to place on 
record the shipment of the first break of Ashambo ttta. 
We have now equal pleasure in recording the follow- 
ing in reference to the same shipment which we ex- 
tract from the Mincing Lane jottings of our contemp- 
orary, the Indian Tea Gazette. " A small shipment of 
unassorted Travancore tea from Seafield Estate offered 
this week showed most excellent quality and strength 
and realized the full price of Is 7d per lb. The teas 
from this district will undoubtedly become popular if 
due regard is paid to manufacture. They possess a 
flavour very similar to that of Oeylon tea which is 
often combined with the strength of Assams." We 
have no doubt that this account will be most gratifying 
and encouraging to all who are interested in the develop- 
ment and success of useful industry in our country ; 
and we most cordially congratulate Mr. James Fraser, 
Proprietor of the Seafield Estate, on the excellent testi- 
mony which his tea has obtained iu the London market. 
To him belongs the sole credit of having introduced 
this industry ou our hills since the failure of the coffee 
enterprise and practically proving to our countrymen 
the truth that patient toil which is undaunted by diffic- 
ulties is rewarded with success. Travancore owes a 
debt of gratitude to the presence within its limits of 
such noble-minded gentlemen and hence our Govern- 
ment ought to try to encourage their residence here in 
every reasonable way. But for some reason or "other, 
the contrary is the case. The fall of the revenue from 
the coffee districts seems to have been the signal for the 
partial or total abandonment of the Hill roads, which, 
we hear, are now so far neglected as to be overgrown 
with jungle to the serious disadvantage and danger of 
the hill-faring population. But we trust greater pati- 
ence will be exercised in this direction, and every help 
and encouragement held out of these European gentle- 
men, who are the true pioneers of the development of 
the material resources of our country. We respectfully 
call the attention of our excellent Dewan to the needs 
of the old coffee districts, and issue orders, that they 
may be fully supplied. — Travancore Times, July 1st. 
♦ 
DESCRIPTION BY LADY EGERTON OF A 
VISIT TO A CEYLON TEA PLANTATION. 
The number (June 11th) of the Field, 
which contains a letter written by the Hon. Lady 
Grey Egerton, who recently visited this island, 
cannot fail to be interesting to Ceylon readers, tea 
planters especially and more particularly the first 
paragraph and two concluding ones. The estate 
visited was " Portswood " near Nuwara Eliya, as 
Ceylon readers would readily be able to trace, and 
what has surprized the owner and manager most 
is that Lady Egerton, who did not make a 
note on the estate so far as was seen, carried 
away such an accurate account of all she saw in tea- 
making, &c. The concluding remarks are pointed 
and deserving of particular note, and the opening 
paragraphs cannot be otherwise than gratifying to 
all in Ceylon who met the accomplished lady-writer. 
Sir Philip B. Grey Egerton with Lady Egerton, 
his brother Col. Egerton and his son and daughter 
travelled through India and visited Ceylon twice 
in the early part of the present year. The impressions 
formed of our little island are pleasantly given by 
Lady Egerton in the letter published in the Field, 
which we take over in full : — 
The old story — a winter out of England, complete 
change, was all that was required to make me perfectly 
well and strong again. But the change must be not 
merely to the Riviera, or to any of the usual winter 
resorts, where I should most likely meet again the 
same friends I knew iu England, and live again much 
the same life as before. But it must be a complete 
and entire change from anything I had seen or done 
previously. And that is how I found myself in Oeylon 
and am able to give this account of a visit to a tea 
plantation, and to write with a certain amount of 
authority upon tea, cinchona, coffee, and all the new 
and strange things in this "Enchanted Island" — cert- 
ainly with its beautiful climate, tropical vegetation 
and pure atmosphere, the most radical change con- 
ceivable from poor old England. 
Directly on landing at Colombo we were recom- 
mended to go up to Nuwara Eliya, to refresh our- 
selves after the heat we had undergone in our Indian 
wanderings. This must be pronounced Newralia, and 
having once written it with its full number of letters, 
I shall for the future give its abbreviation. It is the 
hill station of Oeylon, far away up among the highest 
mountains of the island, 6,200ft. above the sea. Here 
we found fresh air indeed ; sometimes perhaps almost 
too much. But it was delightful to us after the heat 
of the low country, as while the sun was hot and bright 
in the middle of the day, the nights were cool, and 
occasionally quite frosty towards the morning. From 
the verandah of our little hotel, which rejoiced in 
the name of Criterion, you can sit and stare at the 
highest peak in Oeylon, Pidurutalgala, to ascend which 
a matter of 2,000ft before ten o'clock breakfast is what 
everyone staying at N. Eliya feels him or herself called 
upon to do before leaving the place. 
Naturally by the time of our arrival at N. Eliya, 
we already knew a good deal about the important 
subject (to Oeylon) of tea, since everyone we had met 
at Colombo and elsewhere talked of nothing else, tea 
tea ; its past, present, and future. So we gladly ac- 
cepted an invitation from the owner of some large 
plantations near to have tiffin at his bungalow, visit 
his plantations of tea and cinchona, and be shown 
the whole process of preparing the leaves of the for- 
mer for use. 
Carriages for hire in N. Eliya are very scarce, and 
as the French say, "leave much to be desired ;" so 
we felt ourselves lucky in securing for the drive a 
fairly good sample of one of the back-to-back car- 
riages, with roof to keep off the sun, very generally 
used in Oeylon; it was provided with two wretched 
looking horses — a big one and a little one — but I must 
allow they went very well, although it was the last 
thing that could have been expected from them. Two 
bare-legged natives came with the carriage, one to 
drive and the other to run along and shout, if neces- 
sary, at the passing bullock carts, and at other times 
to perch himself on the step or anywhere else at our 
feet. Both men were entirely ignorant of English, so 
that conversation with them was impossible, for I need 
hardly add that we were equally ignorant of Sinhal- 
ese or Tamil, one or both of which languages they 
presumably 3poke. It was a lovely drive ; the road 
wound round the steep sides of the hills, following the 
course of the ravines, with dense jungle on both sides. 
Every now and then came a tea or cinchona plantation 
and then sometimes a fresh clearance preparing for 
plantations, with the paths already made, and deep 
trenches dug for draining off the heavy rains, while 
the stems of the old jungle trees were left still stand- 
ing in the ground, three or four feet high with their 
felled trunks bare of boughs, lying at full length 
beside them. These clearances looked desolate in the 
extreme, but still they held a promise of better things 
to come. 
After a drive of about six miles we turned off the 
miin road to our friend's bungalow, a large low one- 
storied building, with verandah running round it, co- 
vered with creepers, and a garden iu front full of 
roses, geraniums, and mignonette, and passion flowers 
hanging from the trees round. Being so high up, 
European flowers do well ; and, after seeing so much 
tropical vegetation, it was delightful to meet old 
friends again. 
Our host, Mr. G., met us on the steps, and the 
6on of the house, with his hair, beard, and eyebrows 
much singed. There had been a great burning o f 
