June i, 1888,] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
801 
MOUNTAIN ECHOES: 
CROPS — MR. PINEO AND THE AMERICAN TEA MARKET 
J* AND CBVLON T*AS. 
Uva, 18th April, 1888. 
Pallarn is ripening, toa is flushing, the weather is 
lovely with lots of forcing showers, things in general 
wear a smiling aspect, and altogether, wo arc, having 
a fine time hereabouts. We aro happy for the simple 
reason, that we have no time to be miserable. For 
misery in its pure perfection, you must go to the 
unfortunate individual who lias " got no work to 
do-oo-oo." You won't find him in this corner, so you 
nerd n't look. 
Mr. R. B. Pineo seems to have got hold of the right 
end of the stick this lime. Give him a (inner grip 
of it, and he means to tickle up our American 
brethren to a lively measure. His scheme has, doubt- 
ess, more of the elements of success about it than 
anything yet brought forward. Let it not bo said 
that it died a natural death for lack of support. He 
asks for (5,000 lb. of tea. Out of the united bins 
of the island, this is but :i Ilea bite and will make 
no difference to anybody. Handed over to Mr. Pineo, 
it moans that the members of 48,000 (forty-eight 
thousand — note !) American families will become 
acquainted with the taste of Ceylon tea. If that 
is not something very much to be desired, I am 
sorry I spoke. At present, the Americans who are, 
I believe, the greatest liquid-imbibing people on 
the earth's surface, do not know what good tea is 
like. From a moral, not to speak of any other, 
point of view, it is our duty to bring a good 
healthy beverage within their reach. Lot us, there- 
fore, obey the pleasing call of duty, and if weonce 
got the Americans started on Ceylon tea, the whole 
crop of our island will not satisfy them after a bit. 
Mr. Rutherford's latest scheme is a credit to his 
ingenuity and public spirit. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, if it will meet with the unanimous approval 
accorded to his " Tea-fund." At the first glance, 
there is a one-sided look about the proposal that 
further consideration only tends to intensify. 
Indian planters are to subscribe 1100,000 and Ceylon 
planters R30.00t>, and the united fund is to be spent 
in pushing Indian and Ceylon tea conjointly in 
America, which means, that there is to be 
no distinction made between the two. Ceylon, 
which subscribes one-third of the capital, is to 
stand on the samo footing and have exactly the 
Hamo advantages as India which subrscribes two- 
thirds of the money. I think there will be con- 
siderable difficulty in bringing Indian planters to 
see the exact force of this arrangement. But why 
should wo go and mix ourselves up with India 
anyhow ? Up to date, we havo managed to shove 
along pretty well on our own merits. Is it not 
because our teas have been always regarded as a 
speciality that they have attained their present 
position in the market? I think that is the general 
impression. It is, therefore,, on its own merits 
and as being distinct from other teas, that Ceylon 
tea will command success in America as it has 
done in Groat Britain and Ireland. If in this matter 
the Ceylon Planters' Association goes and joins 
it-elf to all the Planter-;' Association in India, wh >so 
name is legion, it will not be long before our 
identity will be utterly absorbed, and Ceylon toa in- 
stead of havings distinct nnnie and record of its own. 
will simply be rogarded and bought up as a toa 
from somo obscuro district of India. This is n't 
the sort of thing we want, and what 's moro, wo 
won't have it. At any rato, "them's my senti 
munis, " and I think they will be found to bo pretty 
nearly identical with thoso of most of my brethren. 
This American idci is a grand one, and should bo 
entered into heart and squ1 by all who havo thu 
101 
smallest interest in our island, So far as I can 
remember, superintendents (as distinct from pro- 
prietors) have done little or nothing towards pushing 
the sale of our tea. The reason for this, I reckon, 
is that they havo never been specially called upon 
to do anything. Now, thero are none of us so blind 
as not to see that the success of the tea enterprise 
is as vital to the interests of the superintendent 
as to those of the proprietor, and I am certain 
there is not one of us, who would not give his 
quota towards a fund for pushing our teas in 
America. It would be one of the best investments 
going. I would like to make a suggestion, which 
is: — that a fund, to be limited to estate superin- 
tendents and assistants, be started under the aus- 
pices of the Planters' Association, for the special 
purpose of introducing our tea into America. I 
feel certain that such a fund would be a grand 
and glorious success. I do not think thero is 
one of us who would not gladly give, say one per 
cent of his yearly salary, and that simply means 
that a sum running well up among the thousands, 
would be the result. Let proprietors do their duty 
at the same time, and we can afford to do some- 
thing that will mako tho Americans' hair stand 
on end, and simply compel them, through sheer 
admiration, to submit to our advances. We must 
have America on the brain for tho next few j-ears, 
for let our tea be once established on the Western 
Continent, and the future of our island and all 
that is therein will be assured for evermore. 
♦ 
CEYLON UPCOUNTRY PLANTING REPORT. 
GRAFTING IN A NEW LIGHT AND THE " T. A." — WHAT IS 
CINCHONA COMING TO— CACAO— NATIVE COFFEE— TEA 
FLUSH , 
30th April 1888. 
I got " a wrinkle " the other Sunday regarding 
a promising new Held for the circulation of the 
Tropical Agriculturist. The preacher we had been 
listening to had for his text " the engrafted word,'' 
but he "fooled around" very considerably; his 
knowledge of grafting being of the haziest, and 
far from accurate. Yet all he had to say depended 
for its force and point on the correctness of his 
information regarding grading. One who certainly 
desires to see the pulpit a power in the land 
hazarded the remark, when the service was con- 
cluded, that he thought the preacher would do 
well to become a subscriber at once to the Tro- 
pical Agriculturist. Now 1 hardly fancy that when 
summing up your prospects of suocessat the time 
you launched that useful periodical, you calculated 
anything at all from clerical support. And yet if the 
pulpit is to keep up with the times, and go in for 
the expounding of " natural law in the spiritual 
world, " it won't do to bo " all out of it " in such a 
simple matter as grafting. I would commend, there- 
fore, to your thoughtful consideration the pushing of 
the Tropical Agriculturist among the clergy for their 
own sake as well as ours. It is rather hard to have 
your* spiritual pabulum spoiled by an admixture 
of nonsense for tho mere mental act of noting the 
presence of tho worthless matter makes yon feel so 
worldly. However, if you manago to get your oble 
monthly to be taken up and read by the clergy, so that 
in matters horticultural they may spoak with no 
uncertain sound when the explanation of a passage 
oalls for it, then, there will bo boforo tho world 
another proof of tho power of tho pulpit, a sormon 
not preached in vain. • 
» Tim Scottish funnel's ndvu-o to tho now ptdti 
going to see hit plotwhron wnn to M»y "naothing 
tboOt MWfa' Ol re.ipin"; lor that tho ploughman 
would MOD V 8 Inn pastor's ignorance ami would 
theu never after believe twinning else fiom bini !— 
Ed. 
