Octobek i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 277 
Correspondence. 
Jo the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer." 
CULTIVATION OP THE SUNFLOWER 
(HELIANTHU8 ANNUUS). 
Parmer's Cottage, Bandaragama, 1st Sept. 1887. 
Sm, — The composite family to which this use- 
ful plant belongs is the largest in the vegetable 
kingdom, and at the same time ono of the best 
denned and most esily recognized. 
On inquiring into the use made of this plant, 
we were given to understand that it is raised 
ohiefly for the yield of a useful oil, as does the 
fruit of Madia Bativa. But it is also of use for 
many other purposes. In the market places of 
the larger towns we often heard the people eat- 
ing the seeds, which when boiled in water, taste 
like the boiled Indian corn. In some other dis- 
tricts the seeds are employed with great suoccss in 
fattening poultry ; they are also said to increase 
the number of eggs more than any other kind of 
grain. The dried leaves are given to cattle in 
place of straw ; and the withered stalks are said 
to produce a considerable quantity of alkali. 
Jerusalem artichokes are the tubers of a Heli- 
nnthus, allied to the sunflower. These are both 
American herbs, now common everywhere in our 
gardens.— -Yours faithgully 
J. A. Gno. RODRIGO, A. I. 
SYSTEMATIC " PUSHING " OF CEYLON TEA 
AND THE RESULTS : MR. RUTHERFORD'S 
RECOMMENDATION TO PERSEVERE AND 
CONTRIBUTE GENERALLY. 
Nuwara Eliya, 23rd September. 
Dear Sir, — At the risk of being considered too 
importunate in continually urging upon tea planters 
how advantageous it is to their interests to sub- 
scribe to every means of pushing and advertizing 
Ceylon tea, I would desire, with your permission, 
to again bring the matter before them. I do so 
beoause I have met men who are growing and 
manufacturing tea and who tell me they cannot 
afford to be continually subscribing to these Ex- 
hibitions.* 
I am afraid those men have never considered the 
■ubjeel sufficiently, or they would see, that although 
the little wc subscribe is the veritable sprat to 
catch the whale, wo fortunately, however, do catch 
the whale. 
It is admitted by nearly every dealer and broker 
in Ceylon teas in London that there is nothing 
special in our teas that makes them sell at a 
higher average price than Indians, but that we 
maintain a id per lb. advantage, solely on 
account of the way our teas are pushed and 
brought before the notice of tho tea-drinking public. 
To show what has been done in the county of 
Kinross, I quote from a letter received by this 
mail from Mr. David Reid who has been appointed 
to act on the Glasgow Exhibition Committee for 
Ceylon teas: — "As to tho policy of Ceylon tea 
planters spending money in bringing their tea to 
the public notice at such Exhibitions as Liverpool, 
Glasgow, etc., I am much impressed with tho ad- 
vantages of this way of bringing Ceylon tea to the 
notice of the Uritish tea drinker. Ceylon tea 
planters have done fairly woll so far in bringing 
their teas to notice, but they must keep on work- 
ing vigorously in that way if they aro to displace 
tho China t^a and drive it out of tho British Isles. 
* UnluHH luoru aro further lifltd to appear, very 
bouhi to huvo joined ill subscribing to* for Mr. 
J. L. BtUkHtL— -Ed. 
Great results sometimes flow from apparently small 
causes and some of these results are rather puzzling. 
I will give you an example from my own county. 
A few years ago Ceylon tea was absolutely unknown, 
and even in 1885 not a grocer in the place kept it. 
I was told by the largestgroeer here that there was now 
more Ceylon tea sold in the County of Kinross than 
all other kinds put together. I cannot vouch for 
the truth of this, but certainly a great quantity of 
Ceylon tea is sold. Now I attribute a great deal 
of this to the action of Messrs. W. G. Inglis and 
John Tyndall who have sold it here, and yet 
between them they do not sell one per cent of the 
Ceylon tea drunk in this country. When the 
grocers found that good Ceylon tea was being sold 
here at reasonable prices, they had to get Ceylon 
tea to keep their customers. The reason I mention 
this case, which has come under my notice, is that 
I think the exhibiting and selling of good tea at 
these Exhibitions will produce much greater results 
than will show." 
This is only the evidence of one man on the 
subject, but we hear the same story from every 
quarter, viz. that the good done in the interest of 
the Ceylon planter by tho judicious pushing of 
Ceylon tea is incalculable. Now, to those planters 
who are doubtful of the good done by Exhibitions 
and by other means taken to push our teas, 
and who hang back from subscribing, and 
to the Government, who I hold should subscribe 
penny for penny with the planter, I would point 
out wherein we so greatly benefit. If this pushing and 
advertizing of our teas will this year maintain our 
average at Id. above their intrinsic value as com- 
pared with Indian teas, then on the estimated crop 
of the year 1887-8 this means an extra profit of 
£90,000 sterling or Rl,200,000, all of which money 
comes back to the colony. When it is put in 
this light surely everyone interested (both planters 
and the Government) will subscribe liberally to 
all means brought forward, under proper auspices, 
for the representation of our teas. If the planters 
annually subscribed R20,000 for this object and 
Government supplemented this amount, it would 
only be doing what ought to bo done by both 
parties in their own interests. 
It is, I think, a great pity that we are not likely 
to be represented at Melbourne with our teas, as 
it is an opportunity lost and one which may not 
occur again for some time. Glasgow was brought 
forward early in the day, and we have men 
at home ready to begin work whenever they are 
advised that the money will bo forthcoming. Had 
the Association funds at their back to take up 
the work of pushing the representation of Ceylon 
teas whenever opportunity offered, a great deal 
more might be done. It is impossible to know 
even approximately what will be subscribed, and 
I therefore think (as it is fairly certain we will 
get sufficient funds for Glasgow) that it would be 
better to make sure of one Exhibition being done 
well than two badly. The Glasgow Exhibition 
was ohosen, for the reason that Mr. Thos. North 
Christie had made certain arrangements in the 
event of the planters taking it up, and it was 
considered desirable that having dotU London and 
Liverpool wo might as well finish our efforts in 
Great Britain by attacking the northern counties. 
After this Exhibition our tuus should be thoroughly 
well-known over the length and breadth of tho 
land, and we can then afford to leave the work 
ing out of our interests in the hands of the many 
friends of Ceylon who uro pushing tin; sales 
of our leas in every town and villngo in 
the Uritish Isles. 
Next your 1 would suggest that we begin our 
colonial or forci;;n cru-adi. uud jcat after your 
