626 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March b, 1888. 
over a similar undulating expanse at a similar 
elevation at Sinagar near Soekaboemi in the 
western portion of the great Dutch colony: "a sea 
of verdure, broken into gentle waves." Sinagar 
had and still has advantages of soil, manure and 
climate, probably equivalent to those which have 
told so much in favour of Mariawatte. But the 
jat of tea cultivated at Sinagar in 1881 was 
China (Indian tea being only in course of introduction), 
and a very bad attack of helopeltis had compelled 
Mr, Kerkhoven to resort to severe pruning. The 
tea bushes, therefore, on the Java estate, could 
not for a moment be compared for size and 
luxuriance with the grand masses of rich vege- 
tation I saw on Monday last at Mariawatte. 
Some of the bushes were still yielding well, al- 
though 18 months and in one case nearly 2 years 
had elapsed since they were pruned, experiments 
being tried as to the best system of plucking and 
pruning. While the big bushes on Mariawatte 
have sufficed in size, foliage and breadth of plucking 
surface to satisfy the most exigent of Indian 
planters, we did not fail to notice that with few 
exceptions they were true to the Ceylnn many- 
stemmed habit of growth. Thick and large as the 
mature trees were, we noticed that " supplies" were 
doing well amongst them. These and the bushes in 
recently planted fields on this estate were, we under- 
stood, allowed to grow at their own sweet will with- 
out even " topping " until they attained the age of 
two years. It seems likely that this system, though 
pacrificing, especially at this elevation, some early 
gatherings of tea, will produce permanently stronger 
and better bearing bushes. The importance of 
th® question of timber and fuel reserves in con- 
nection with tea estates may be realized from 
the fact that out of the 900 acres now possessed 
by the Company in the vale of Gampola, no 
less a proportion than 200 is to be devoted to the 
growth of trees. For fuel mainly I should say, be- 
cause on Mariawatte timber for the flooring of the 
factory and sheets of lead- coated steel for the 
manufacture of tea boxes have been, and, in the 
latter case at least, continue to be imported. But 
my notice of the grandly luxuriant tea-fields of 
Mariawatte has extended to a length so much 
greater than I anticipated, that I must reserve the 
noble factory and splendid machinery for future 
treatment. 
The mariawatte factory— imported timber &c. — 
Andrew's tea boxes— metal vs. wood— jackson's 
victoria drier — the venetian and the sirocco- 
spare parts— beown's desiccator — mr- john beown 
— watee wheeis and turbines — qow's witherer — 
visitors to mariawatte. 
In my former notice of Mariawatte, I mentioned 
that the deal flooring of the withering room and 
a'so metal sheets for tea boxes were imported. So, 
I might add, were all the materials of the factory 
except the brick walls at the ends. It is most 
difficult in Ceylon to season timber properly, and 
the warping of unseasoned or imperfectly seasoned 
t : niber in buildings is a source of much annoyance, 
expanse, and even danger. It was a knowledge of 
these facts, no doubt, which induced the proprie- 
tors of Mariawatte to get the flooring as well as 
the ironwork of their factory (200 feet by 40*) 
from Europe. The deals have been an entire 
success, giving out no odour of turpentine and never 
having shrunk sufficiently to allow of a tea leaf fall- 
* Those, I think, were the dimeusions stated for the 
witheriug loft. The lower story m»y be wider. 
ing between two of them. The iron supports of the 
withering floor and the galvanized iron roof seem equal- 
ly satisfactory, combining as they do the maximum 
of strength with the minimum of lateral space. But 
the chief interest of my visit to the factory 
was connected with the metal sheets for Andrews' 
tea boxes and the simple but effective machines 
by which they are cut, bent and bound together 
in the shape of chests or half chests, no solder 
being employed and the only additions to the metal 
being screw nails to secure the top piece and a 
slab of wood under that piece. Paper is finally 
put over the screw nails to prevent their being 
tampered with, a very necessary precaution, it seems. 
My previous acquaiutance having been with steel 
boxes lined inside with paper, I was much inter- 
ested to find that means have been discovered to 
dispense with any internal lining, except the piece of 
timber beneath the lid. The steel plates are dipped in 
a bath of lead, such as, in the form of sheets, is used 
for lining wooden tea boxes, and the plates being 
thus coated, of course the trouble and expense 
of first making a box and then manufacturing a 
sheet lead lining for it and finally hooping the 
box are saved. The result seems to be that the 
iron boxes, which are said to be perfectly water- 
and air-proof, are, it is added, as economical as 
wooden boxes. They must certainly be of more 
value to purchasers on the other side. What the 
result of the competition between metal tea boxes 
and wooden ones, the latter locally manufactured 
or imported from Japan, may be, remains to be 
seen. I may, however, mention that an American 
missionary, now in Ceylon on his way home from 
long service in Japan, was greatly interested to 
learn that the tea planters of India and Ceylon 
were largely supplied with tea boxes, sawn from 
Japan timber, and prepared for export in shooks 
by American machinery. The missionary first heard 
from us of this enterprize by his countrymen, and 
we were interested to learn from him that very 
considerable attention is paid to forest conservancy 
by the governing authorities in Japan. It was a 
pleasant sensation to pass from the hot outside 
atmosphere into the extensive, clean and cool space 
formed by the lower floor of the factory. As we 
had seen all the machines, or similar ones, at 
work previously, it was no loss to us but the 
reverse that Monday, the day of our visit was a 
comparatively leisure day at Mariawatte, so that 
the genial and courteous superintendent was able 
to devote several hours to showing us and explain- 
ing what was to be seen outside, and in the factory. 
Jackson's Excelsior Boilers being familiar ac- 
quaintances, as were also the Siroccos, which 
are kept as reserves in the factory, our chief 
attention was directed to Jackson's grand Victoria 
Drier, which automatically converts rolled and 
fermented (oxygenated) leaves into marketable 
tea, the moist leaf b ing delivered from the fer- 
menting boxes at the top of the machine, cu - ried 
down over a series of metal webs and delivered 
below in a dried state. Mr. Jamieson was en- 
thusiastic as to the excellence and the capacity 
Of this machine, which has appliances for regula- 
ting the speed with which the leaf is passed down 
trie series of webs and also the temperature to 
which it is expose 1 ; while the rapidity with 
which a large qu mtity oE tea is finally fired pre- 
paratory to packing (what the Indian planters 
call "pucka battying"i was 1he subject of special 
approval. It is only large " concerns " like that 
of Mariawatte, wHjIi can afford one of these 
magnificent and necessarily costly machines. Mr. 
Jamieson understood that the cost as finally erected 
was E7.000, but was not surprised at the figure, 
when, in addition to the vast bulk above the floor 
