] October i, 1887. THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
287 
They have now opened up most of tho land in tea, 
which will be in bearing in another eighteen months. 
They have refused £10,000 for tho place, whioh is 
va'ued at present at £15,000. Now, this is not a 
solitary oaae, or a solitary chance. In every one 
of the thirty ooflee districts iro abandoned estates, 
with a climate and rainfall perfect for the growth 
of tho tea plant, with ruined proprietors, and with 
a bad name. Yet no one will buy now; they will 
wait for the rush. WIiph the general public con- 
siders the investment good, then they will follow 
the crowd, and will be oager to buy. But whon 
that time comes tho land will be run up to an ab- 
normal value, which they will perhaps hasten to 
pay, and which may counteract any prolits made for 
a long time. It may be as well to state hern that 
I do not own an acra of land in Ceylon, either 
directly or indirectly, nor am I a mortgagee. After 
a residence of seven years, I have left the island 
for good having business to attend to in England. 
Ceylon tea is a proved success, and is being 
planted by thousands of acres each season. In 
another two years land will be at its full value. 
Any one going out now with even a few thousand 
pounds may very well buy an estate which will 
yield them by no means a contemptible income 
after three or four years' work. The island is at 
present the water-logged ship, and the few inves- 
tors are the men in boats, who are saving what 
little- they can from the wreck. The news will not 
take long to travel, and then will como the tug- 
boat in the shape of the public at large to bid 
for all the available land. Ceylon has been at its 
very lowest ebb, and is now improving rapidly. Its 
climate in the bills 1- well nigh perfection for 
Europeans, and its labor supply and rainfall ex- 
actly what is required for the successful cultiva- 
tion of tea. A man, a littlo ahead of the swarm 
of investors who will follow him, may now buy 
land before it is run up to its full value. Month 
after month the use of Ceylon tea is increasing, 
and its price already beats both Indian and China, 
just as Plantation coffee used always to fetch higher 
prices than cither Mooha or Brazil. 
[{ is su much a cry now-a-days to know what 
young men aro to do after leaving school if they 
have not sufficient brains or application to pass 
successfully through tho ordeal of competitive ex- 
amination-', that any suggestion may be useful. 
Some young men tell their parents honestly and 
plainly that they cannot stand the wear and 
tear of the cramming necessary now oven for 
Woolwich and Sandhurst. Many wish an out- 
door life, and in Ceylon they will have one. 
Work is hard, but in no way derogatory. Up 
before the sun, one has to muster the coolies 
and send them off to their respective works of 
lining, holing, planting, weeding, or pruning, us 
the case may bo. Within half an hour after eating 
a very light meal, called " early tea," one follows 
the labor, and for four hours superintends their 
work or walks round the estate to see that every- 
thing ill in order, that the night's rain has not 
choked drains or niviiieu, and that no Miiall land- 
slip has occurred. Pretu tired and hot after all 
this exorcise, the bath at ten o'clock will bo found 
a luxury which was never equally appreciated in 
Bngjand and after that the appelito one has for a 
solid breakfast would surprise our quiet-going re- 
lations. Tho rounds of tho work must bo done 
again between - and I p. 111.. at which time thu 
coolies cease work for the day, and one's time is 
one's own to spend in shooting snipe or hares, 
visiting no: ■hbuurs' bungalows to play tennis, or in 
some districts (•veil cricket. Dinner at 7 and bed 
at '.» p ni. is tho usual time, for one require- a 
good night's rest after the amount of open air 
exercise taken throughout tho day. 
As there seems to bo some misapprehension about 
the amount of Bport and big game shooting obtain- 
ing in Ceylon, it is as well to say that this has to 
be followed chiefly in the " low-country." In most 
of the higher districts the larg st game are elk 
(Sambhur deer) and red deer, both of which arc 
hunted most enthusiastically by dogs and men 
They are seldom shot for this reason. Wild pig,, 
mouse deer, hares, jungle-fowl, spur-fowl, and snipe 
complete the list, and most excellent sport can be 
onjoyed by those whose legs arc sturdy. 
A. O. W. B. 
The Sao Paolo Biario Mercantil of the 26th 
ult. contains a letter from the new Paranapanema 
district, praising its great advantages, especially 
for coffee cultivation, and giving a partial list of 
the planters who have recently procured largo 
tracts of land for coffee plantations. - Rio News. 
Cinchona Bahk is thus noticod iu the report of a 
meeting of the Wyuaad Planters' Association held on 
Sept. 7th: — In auswor to Mr. Ouard's letter, members 
stated that their experience agreed that in uprooting 
cinchona the root bark was one third of the stem. 
Read Mr. Hooper's analysis of Ledger Bark from 
Erimaculla supplied by Mr. Lamb. Tho following 
figures show the result of shading and covering. 
Renewed not Renewed and 
Natural. 
covered. 
covered. 
5 years 
6 
12 
6 
12 
old 
ninths 
ninths, mnths. 
mnths. 
Quinine* 
. 402 
279 
3'63 
3-97 
5 48 
Oinchonidine .. 
. -79 
■51 
•61 
•67 
•52 
Quinidine 
. -28 
Cinohonino 
. -53 
•25 
•33 
62 
•74 
Amorphus 
Alkaloids 
. 1-08 
•84 
75 
91 
•71 
Total.. 
670 
4-39 
5-3 
017 
7-4.5 
*EquaI to C'ry-~\ 
Su£at ofU'U°/o 375°/ 0 4-82«/ 0 5-34°/ o 7'37°/„ 
Quinine ...) 
Members stated that Ledger trees did not stand 
shaving well and the Honorary Secretary was requested 
to write and request Mr. Lamb to give bis experience 
as to the effect of shaving and the number of troes 
operated on. 
DISTRIBUTION OP CEYLON EXPORTS. 
(From 1st Oct. 
1886 
to -J'Jth Sept. 1887.) 
Countiukm. 
Coffee 
C'chomi ' 
Brunch 
ft Trunk Tea. 
C'cos 
Carda- 
moms. 
cwt. 
lb. | lb. 
cwt. 
To United Kingdom 
i- 
19761801 11397009 
H5ar 
BU748 
,, Marseille!) 
"." 
1:110 
4607 
6"0 
,. Oenoa 
181 
7579H 1 116 
60 
„ Venice 
m> 
ai83M8 330 
... 
„ Trieste 
woo; 
172 
„ Hamburg 
1111 
... | 38680 
"489 
"ia7'> 
,, Antwerp 
111331" 
t| Itp'inen 
"to; 
81660 1J20 
"w 
"l78tf 
„ H.nr. 
MIC 
16509 ... 
l.'.l 
,, Rotterdam 
358 
3335111 :»1 ... 
„ Africa 
... 
,, Mauritius 
BUI 
7S2U 
,, India & Kjintwar,! 
tes/i 
lu056l 
188 
876*1 
.. Australia 
10716 
... 1 26136t> 
67 
73 
America, 
r.,..i L>.»...,.r. nn , (1.., 1 
i;:iu 
89X0871 16787 
634 
1771 
1 mill 1 . » 1 >, 1 1 1 1 1 ,111 , j 
1HJM1 tu Sent. IV, IKS? 
t;ssw 1 i:m;..;a ii*_M-.>iHa.vc 
8W3I < 
Do LB86 do 
l>v- 
W0H3 lAWIM! 1 717"X1 
1.CH7 
Do ivsi do 
IS8.S 
.,1 181 1 
1 !(.,••> ;.v ,1;, 
l.v.'i- ■ 
IV INS3 do 
18M083O41 1141';A>47| SJttttoV 
bOJIY 
