842 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1888. 
in 90 cases out of 100, such oan be found. 
I note that the late Col. Fyers reckoned Ceylon 
contained some seven million acres of forest of 
different qualities. This is far better news than 
I expected, and I think the question resolves itself 
into, will it pay the tea enterprise of Ceylon 
best to seek means of transporting the necessary 
fuel in some form from these Eldorados of 
forest, or grow fuel on land, which it hopes will 
give a profit of from E30 to R50 per acre ? 
You have named " Abbotsford;" therefore I may 
take the liberty of alluding to it as an example. I 
know the estate well ; I have had the pleasure of 
inspecting most corners of it both in the 
company of my worthy criticiser and that 
of its efficient manager, Mr. John Fraser, 
and my only difficulty in alluding to it as an 
example is, that I consider before many years are 
added to its age, it wi J be considerably above the 
average of tea gardens in Ceylon in quality. I know 
no ridge or corner on Abbotsford, but what I con- 
sider will grow tea to pay, say a profit of R40 per 
acre. Now take any 20 acres of it, and transfer 
it into a forest for f ii el Take the cost of such 
transformation, the R40 per annum per acre the 
tea woul.l have paid you, add on interest and com- 
pound interest, an i see the cost at say the end 
of 10 years of thdt 20 acres of land bearing 20 acres 
of fuel. I fear, Mr. Editor, the result will rather 
surprise you, and you will be inclined to agree with 
me that you mid I and most of us, must try to 
extract from the mines of fuel the island possesses 
(7,000,000 ao e ) fuel to, we will only say, fire 
our tea. Ii such fuel cannot be got, we must all 
plant and reduce our estimates of returns according- 
ly, but I think we will make a big try first. For 
building purposes, we must look to stone and 
iron, supplies of either not being likely to run 
short. For tea boxes, surely we are all safe ; if 
the 7,000,000 acres are not transportable for fuel, 
surely tea boxes will be got out of it. I believe tea 
boxes of pine oould be supplied from England or 
America at lower rates than supplied from 
Japan. I must not trouble you further, and I take 
the consolation in return for the "cutting up!" 
that between us we have shown the public of 
Ceylon, and more especially outsiders, that 1st, 
the estimated quantity of fuel required has been 
modified ; 2nd, that if required, it actually exists 
in the island, and if not available for transport, 
it can be easily and readily grown, thanks to ex- 
periments and proofs positive, as shown the public 
by the worthy editor of the Ceylon Observer, and 
drawn forth by the humble efforts of, yours, 
x. y. z. 
A QUESTION OF QUAILS. 
Dear Sir, — It is difficult to form an opinion as 
to the species of quail seen on Horton Plains by 
your roving editor " On the Hills." In the first 
place, were they quail ? It is very likely they were. 
At the same time it is quite possible, I don't 
say probable, they were not ; for, about the 
time they were seen, the little chicks of jungle- 
fowl and of spur-fowl would be abroad in that 
locality, and I need hardly remark that they might 
closely represent on the wing both small and large 
quail. I merely point to this to show how difficult 
it is to arrive at any conclusion on the subject, 
from just seeing the birds on the wing for 
a minute Had an old jungle-or spur-fowl 
been seen near, it would have been strong 
evidence of the birds in question being chicks 
as suggested ; but not conclusive, as they aot 
in different ways according to the cir- 
cumstances of the case, and in this oase the pa- 
rent might have run off, first giving her chick g 
notice to fly, which they well understand. On the 
other hand they might have been quail, either 
Coturnix climensis or Turn x uigoor: the former 
is a very small pretty bird of dark plumage, which 
I have seen as high as 5,000 feet, and it might 
easily venture up to 7,000 feet especially in the 
fine weather ; but this species delights in damp 
rushy plaoes. Were the birds flushed f fom such a 
place ? And they look so much smaller on the wing 
than the other species, as did the birds in ques- 
tion, this the writer remarks, so they may have 
been this species. Again, as there were several, the 
season points to the bevy being composed of old 
and young — a family party. So it is possible for 
them to have been chicks of the b ack- breasted 
quail, T. tigoor which look darker on the wing 
than theirparents, though quails cannot be common 
at such elevations, or they would oftener be met 
with one would suppose. Yet, as I have flushed 
quail near the church at Nuwara Eliya many years 
ago, there is no reason why they should not be 
found on Horcon Plains, though I have never heard 
of quail being seen there before. It would be in- 
teresmg to have the matter settled; but nothing 
definite can be arrived at on the present inform- 
ation. If any sportsman have shot them on Horton 
Plains, perhaps he would kindly send a note of it 
for publication. S. B. 
[We have seen jungle-fowl chicks, but they were 
lighter-coloured, longer-legged, and longer-necked 
than the covey or bevy (why bevy and not covey ?) 
of little, dark (aimo t b'ack) round birds we 
disturbed on Horton plains, just in such a locality 
as our correspondent describes — o^y instead of 
rushes we should say tufts of tall grass. We are 
pretty familiar with loweoumry quails and their 
habits, and first the short flight, and then the 
run of the little dark (very dark) birds on the 
Plain caused us at once to exclaim " Quails I" 
We have in our own mind no doubt they were 
quails, — of a species oommon lower down probably 
(the same as our corresp indent flushed on the 
JSuwara Eliya Plains), but dwarfed and darkened 
by being bred at an elevation so extreme? But, 
after all, if a bird exists at 6,200 feet, there 
seems no good reason why its range Bhould not 
extend 800 feet higher, — the cover on the edges 
of swamps and streams being undoubtedly better 
in the loftier than in the lower locality ? We now 
recollect that only two or at most three of the 
seven birds took wing, while the rest of the seven 
ran. There was no disparity of size — all were very 
small and very dark in plumage : qaails, we 
firmly believe, and we hope to obtain the credit 
of having made their acquaintance at the highest 
level they have been known to attain in Ceylon. 
They and the patana moths were the only living 
things we saw on the Plains,— for we only heard 
the hawk. By the way, we cannot help thinking 
that if there were fewer hawks in our mountain 
regions, there would be more non-predatory birds ? 
We certainly feel this very strongly. — Ed.] 
GOLD IN CEYLON : PRACTICAL HINTS. 
Dear Sir,— In your article of 4th instant on 
"Gold in Ceylon," your correspondent doubts the 
existence of gold (heavy) in a country so long 
worked for gems, but acknowledges that his reason- 
ing may be confuted by anyone able to do so. 
As I, some years back, had a good deal of practical 
experience in gold-digging, I think I can confute 
his statement, and show that it is quite 
possible that gold, especially heavy gold, may 
exist and not be found by the gem-digger. 
Gold from its specific gravity is always found close 
to or evea imbedded in the " bottom " or primitive 
