March i, i888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
639 
Its a good soaking that they want, they say, and 
they are prepared to wait for it. 
Meanwhile much of the tea is suffering exceed- 
ingly; Cacao, although willing to flush into leaf, 
is at a standstill as far as a spring blossom is 
concerned ; while OoFWBB in any kind of heart at 
all is sticking full of spike : what that spike will 
come to depends on bug and leaf disease more 
than aught else. Peppercorn. 
. +- 
BADULLA PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION". 
From Report of the Annual General Mectiny held 
4th, Ftlnj. 1S88-) 
Coffee. — The ooffoo area has not been reduced ot 
any great extent during the past year: estimates of crop 
were in every case, so far as your Committee can learn, 
realized, and in many cases largely exceeded added to 
which the prioe of coffee has boon more satisfactory 
than for a number of years pist. 
Leaj? Disease and Green Biro.— The past year has 
been one of comparative freedom from leaf disease, 
but your Committee cannot but view with an- 
xiety the coutinued presence of green bug for 
which no remedy appoars to have beeu discovered. 
Cinchona. — Your Committee regret the very low 
prices ruliug for this product during thy past year, the 
price having been quoted at one time as low as 
lid per unit of quinine, the lowest price on re- 
oord. Your Committee, however, are hopeful of the 
future of Ciuchona. Exports from Ceylon have fallen 
off to a very considerable extent, and prices in the 
London market have now improved. Your Committee 
are convinced that the stocks of cinchona bark in 
Ceylon are rapidly becoming exhausted. A large area 
of land once growing this pro luct has been cleared 
out for tea, and, but little cinchona has been planted 
(luring the last few years. Your Committee, there- 
fore, are confident that prices in the future must 
improve ; they would urge upon growers to moderate 
their shipments as far as possible. 
Tea. — Four years have now elapsed since the in- 
troduction of tea into the districts represented by 
your Association; but even so recently as that date, 
although it had beon clearly proved by statistics that 
both soil and climate were eminently adopted for its 
successful growth, the cultivation was still looked upon 
by many with serious doubt. The success however of 
these experimental clearings was so great that con- 
fidence was at once esblishe 1, and the following year 
saw many hundreds of acres of land, which had ceased 
to yield rem lucrative orops of coffee, successfully 
plauted with tea. Sinco that time planting his gone 
on steadily year l>y year, and at the present date there 
ca- 1 nol. be less than I 000 aces under tea ranging from 
thoMo just pbiiited up to those four joirs old. The 
enterprise has now passed far beyond the oxpenni -nt tl 
stage, and some practical results of a most interest- 
ing and encouraging nature are now available in 
tbo shape of yield per aero and prices obtain for 
tho produce in the Loudon markot. Your Committee 
is much gratified in being able to roport that the 
yield from fields now in partial bearing exceeds the 
most favorable opinion formed of them at an earlier 
Btage of their existence. From tea embracing tho 
period twixt one and a half to 24 years old the yield 
over largo areas has averaged from HO to 100 lb. per 
aero ; while tea a yoar older has givon as much as 3:101b. 
made toa per acre in ten months, some estates have 
given from 10,000 to 20,000 lb. of tutus tli-ir maiden 
crop and estimates ranging up to 75.000 lb. of made 
tea are roturnoil for individual estates for the current 
year. Tho quantity of the ft produced an 1 the 
price obtained for it h tvo been highly sithf totory. 
being fully up to tho avorago of tho most favored 
district* in the island. Thuao aro facts which com- 
mend themselves ti the earnest "onsirlerati >n 
of everyone interested iu Uva. The prospect 
with regard to tho prodtUtloK pi tea is in. 
deed bright and promising, yot ono thing 
remains to render tho enterprise a complete financial 
success, that is, cheap, sufo, aud speedy transport, 
such as can only bo afforded by a railway. Until 
such relief is given to Uva at some central point 
to which all or nearly all the traffic would naturally 
converge .your Oommittoo aro of opinion that the 
onterprize will be heavily handicapped in competing 
with other districts enjoying greater facilities for 
transport. 
Cacao. — Cacao cultivation is being extended in 
Monaragala with every prospect of it proving a per- 
manent success. The'older cacao baa now been in bearing 
several years, and notwithstanding tho long drought 
experienced in the past soason, continues thoroughly 
healthy and vigorous. 
Ilelopoltis and othor insect pests have disappeared, 
and your Committee do not think that those need 
give any further causo for alarm. 
4. 
THE SOUTH OF INDIA PLANTING DISTRICTS. 
Coffee estimates generally have fallen short of 
expectation in the Neilgherries and Wynaad, 
but prices ruling last year encouraged planters to 
manure highly, and they will reap their reward in 
due course, but it is in the more northern dis- 
tricts that coffee is " King " in every sense of the 
word. Coorg expectations were great and have 
scarcely been fulfilled, but in Munzerabad 
estimates have been largely exceeded and Koppa 
is not behindhand. Estates aro being worked on 
a very liberal scale, and the demand for manures 
has been great. 
Cinchona. — Large shipments of this produce are 
being made from Beynore and Calicut from 
the Neilgherries and Wynaad and the falling- 
off in Ceylon exports in the article is much 
appreciated. 
Freights are ruling cheaper and planters are 
recognizing the fact their West Coast agents aro 
doing tho boat for tho interests of their constituents. 
Chocho.— Mr. Arnold Dias, of Panadure, living 
close to the seaside got three plants of chocho 
about four months ago and one has produced some 
50 fruit of a very good size, judging by 3 Mr. 
Dias has brought to us, while the other two are in 
flower. Mr. Dias strongly recommends the people 
in the lowcountry to cultivate this vegetable. 
Paper Mills having succeeded in Northern 
India so as to pay in some cases 20 to 30 
per cent in oapital invested, it is now intended 
by enterprising British capitalists to establish 
flour mills on a large scale. We aro surprised, 
talking of mills, that neither Parsce nor Sinha- 
lese capitalists have established a cotton mill in 
Colombo. One such establishment ought to pay 
very well we should think. 
On ii'AN 'f'he botanical origin of the gum resin 
opopanax, as well as that of sugapenum, has long re- 
mained a mystery. In the December uumber of the 
American DruyyUt, the editor poiuts out that Di". J. L. 
Sehlimm'T, in a valuable, work entith-d ■ Term-.nologio 
M.'- lico-l'h irmaeeiitique et Anthrop >l->gique I-'rancaiso- 
l'ei s me,' IS" I, p. 110, states that the Persian name of 
the former is djaw-chirr, and that Dr. I. E. P dak 
gives as tho source of it Diplotatiia cachrydifolta, 
which occurs in high mountains extending northwards 
of Teheran, particularly near Azndbir. Tho plants 
when in bud, or I he young shoots are used by the 
Persians as a culinary vegetable, both fr-'sh and pickle I 
in vinegar. Hut it is uot yet 0 >'r w tether the Opopa- 
win- />a:<i->im, H >iss, which Mr. blotchy has found near 
Ostouhagh an I D -rm-ri in the same in ■untaius, and 
which i< said t > furnish opopanav. is the Mine plant. 
In ativ rase, th'' o'itorofthe American Dtnqgitt is 
mistake 1 in s ipi>oseing ihit tlio npmauax uso I in 
perfumery is the article which until within the last 
few years was knoiv 1 as op >p trnx, arid wV ch unques- 
tionably mav bo ranged among the f ill gun rosins, 
having an odour lik" l>rui>e I ivyl. .t.,-«, but more dis- 
agreeable— I'hai nuwoHlica! Journal. 
