January i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
PRODUCTION OF TEA IN MATALE EAST :— 
CHIEFLY ON OLD COFFEE AND 
CINCHONA LAND. 
We and our readers are indebted to the planter 
who has furnished the following figures, which, in 
the faco of moht of the land being old and some 
of the tea of inferior jat, are abundantly encou- 
raging :— 
Estate, Matale East. 
Statement of greeu te* leaf plucked and made tea in 
lb. per acre from 1st Nov. 1837 to ■'.1st Oct. 1888. 
Made tea Made tea 
Fields Acres Acres Green leaf 25-25 lb. 
No. weeded, in tea. lb. percent, per acre. 
1 12 12 13,848 3,492 291a 
2 28 27 20,852 5,258 1916 
8 12 12 0,700 1,091 141c 
4 33 33 33,242 8,382 254c* 
5 41 40 45,395 11,447 286e 
0 22 21 14,li01 3,682 175/ 
7 15 15 10,817 2,728 181^ 
8 34 30 16,853 4,250 142/» 
0 43 40 39,482 9,955 249i 
240 230 201,790 
Young Tea 4,101 
50,885 
1,030 
221 
Total tea despatched 205,900 51,921 
Remarks, 
a New land, all pruned within the year, poor jat. 
/• Old cofleo land, partly pruned, do 
c Old cinchona laud, all pruuedwithin the 
year, poor „ 
d Old coffee laud, not pruned, chieJlygood ,, 
c Do do do 
/' Do clearly all pruned within tho 
year, poor „ 
<j Do all pruned within the year, fair „ 
h Do poor jat, not primed do. 
j Do all good jat. 
Note. — The average age of the tea is 3 to 4 years. 
The weeded acreage includes 10 acres of timber trees 
planted 5' by 5'. The above pretty clearly demonstrated 
the all importance of good jat. The increase in the 
yielded in field No. 5 is accounted for by its having 
all been manured withiu the last 2k months of the 
year. When manuring was commenced Nos. 4, 5 and 
9 were in lb. per acre, within 3 lb. of each other, No. 
5 bciug the lowest. 
The abovo figures are very interesting, but it has 
been remarked to us that the case against poor 
jat was not quite conclusive, the lirst caee of poor 
jat giving the highest return of all. But there 
is no doubt of the superiority of good jat. Only 
if people have a lot of inferior jat (over an ap- 
preciable acreage by itself, and not scattered amon D ^» 
good), experience shows that wonderful results 
can bo obtained by low pruning, down to 0 and 
even 4 inches. This and cattle manure have given 
splendid Hushes from Darjiling China. 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
(//. and C. Mail, Nov. 30th.) 
A Manchester correspondent of Grocer utterB a 
grow) acaiust what he calls tho inequitable system 
of invoicing Indian teas at nv> rage weights, which 
arc not correct. He says :— I believe the system of 
iuvoiciug without giving weight of taro allowed has 
only recently ooruu into force, and therefore tho 
injustice arisiug therefrom 1 it i n »( been felt to auy 
great extent, but there certainly will bo a groat 
outcry erelong it the experience of others ia on a 
par with mine. Last week wo turned out and 
weighed tho contents of tru chests, referriug to 
three noparato lots invoiced at overage weights, and 
though the groan weight of each package wax 1 lb. 
or tuoro over . ribed weight, yot every package con- 
tamed less tea than was charged for, and tho total 
amount absolutely short in tho ten chests wa6 over 
17 lb. Now, there oan be no two opinions as to 
whether that sort of thing will be submitted to, 
and it seems to me that the only way to have 
mutters put on a more satisfactory footing is for 
every buyer of Indian tea to have the contents of 
each package turned out and carefully weighed, 
and where the weight does not correspond with the 
quantity charged for, demand redress from those 
parties by whom the tea is invoiced. I mean, of 
course, where the packages are received in such 
good condition that no claim oan be made against 
curriers. It seems to me that most tea buyers are 
satisfied if they find gross weight correct, and do 
not, trouble to tare the empty packages ; yet that is 
the very thing they oughi to do, unless they are 
prepared to pay for wood or load at tea price ; and 
not many in these days will be so disposed- 
Manufacturers of tea machinery should beep an 
eye on Natal. The American Consul there has 
taken a great interest in the tea-growing experiment 
in that Colony, snd ho has reported to his Government 
thereon. 
As the tea from India and Ceylon is all pure, 
tests are not necessary, but if any one wishes to try 
a test on some inferior China tea, a Russian 
analyst has been kind enough to write to the 
papers giving the following: — Take a piuch of tea 
in a glass, pour upon it a little cold water, and 
well shake it up: pure tea will ouly slightly- 
colour the water, while a strong infusion is quickly 
got from the adulteratod or painted leaf. Now 
boil both sorts separately, and lot them stand till 
cool, and the difference between them will be most 
marked. Tho false tea will become still stronger 
after long standing, but will remain transparent, 
whereas the pure tea will become muddy or milky. 
This last appearance arises from tho tannic acid, which 
is a natural property in pure tea, but which in artificial 
tea is entirely absent. 
DRUG TRADE REPORT. 
London, November 29!.b. 
When the announcement was first made that the 
firm of Messrs. Lemaire & Rivers Hicks, the bark 
importers, was involved in financial difficulties, we 
announced that a satisfactory settlement was likely 
to be arrived at. We are now glad to be able to 
report that Mr. Rivers Hicks, as will be seen from 
page 748, has emerged from his difficulties in a manner 
reflecting great credit on his personal character, it 
being rpecifically stated that misfortune overtook him 
through no fault of his own. It also transpired in 
the course of tho proceedings that Mr. Hicks might 
have --vped, or at auy rate materially lessened, his 
...es by selling a number of shar s held by 
bim in an Indian cinchona estate, but refrained from 
doing so from the honourable motive, that, as chair- 
man of the company, he would bo injuring it by selling 
out his own shares, thought the step might have per- 
sonally benefitted him. 
Annatto, — A small parcel of cake annatto from 
Ceylon was shown today, but no bids were made for 
it. Twenty-six baskets old and dry Brazilian roll 
were again offered and bought in at Is to Is oil per lb. 
Cardamoms were again sparingly represented at the 
auctions, but the 77 packages shown comprised several 
of fair and good quality. Holders were not at all 
anxious to sell their supply, and only a I mall pro- 
portion wa6 thorefore disposed of, which realied an 
advance of fully 3d per lb on good qualities. Coylon- 
Mnlabar, good pile heavy medium round 2s 5d, 
fair palo plump 2s Id j medium to hold pale, long 
and round mixed 2s 3d ; brownish and slightly mouldy 
round In 8d ; very small warty ruuud la 5d per lb. 
Mj <ore, very good palo medium to hold 3s : fair 
medium palo round aud rather shiny Is Us; medium 
specky yellow Is lOd ; brownish Ion,; and plump, 
mixed la 8d; fair email brownish Is 5d; •mall dark 
aud split 9Jd per lb. Good Wild Ceylon were bought 
in at Is Sd per lb nominally. Sfved, ordinary to good 
