55° 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, [February i, 1889. 
Mahaweliganga near its mouth at Trincomalee, I believe 
the system they employed was to plant coconuts on 
the laud they opened and to plant tobacco as a sub- 
sidiary product in much the same way cassava 
sweet potatoes and dry grain are raised on this side 
of the island. After two crops of tobacco the adjoining 
block was opened and planted in the same way. 
It is well worthy of the attention of our legislators 
to o luse the passing of an enactmeUt against the 
alienation of land for the cultivation of tobacco exclu- 
sively. I conclude with the remarks of Mr. Barber, 
put as they are with much force and point, and 
hope thab our legislators and public men will 
give them their best attention : — 
" Talking of chena cultivation and the ruin to 
land, let me pause here to remark en 2 }a ^ sani 
that I fear this will be the fate in reserve for 
the lands taken up extensively for tobacco cultiv- 
ation if it is cultivated here as in Sumatra, and 
if tim e jy measures are not adopted by the For- 
esters nd the Legislative Council to conserve our 
forests for more permanent cultivation. The native 
tobacco planter in Jaffna,* Negombo, and other 
places, with the aid of heavy manuring, keeps his 
land always cultivated. But the planter who asks 
Government for a 1000 aores is likely to take the 
cream of the land from, say, a 50-acre block at a 
time, and pass on to the next block of 50 acres or 
more, and so on, abandoning the previous clearings 
and well he may, after paying Government a nominal 
BIO per acre, and netting the splendid profits that 
tobacco is said to return. 
" But while we congratulate the individal who makes 
the most of his bargain in the shortest space of 
time, no one can regard such a system of cultiva- 
tion as an unmixed blessing to the Colony ; whioh 
has not after all an unlimited extent of land suitable 
for cultivation. 
" A system such as this, while it blesses the re- 
ceiver, who flourishes on the accumulated wealth of 
the forest, hoarded up for him for centuries past, 
can hardly be said to bless the giver — the Colony, 
should acre after acre, tract after tract, and district 
after district be opened up, harvested and abandoned, 
as the chena cultivators did before. The absence 
of that permanence in the cultivation of each and 
every acre of land in the island that is opened out, 
which is a condition essential to its continued well- 
being, cannot fail to tell or its prosperity ultimately. 
Every such clearing will be a blow at the root and 
foundation of its agricultural permanence." 
CEYLON TEA IN AMERICA, 
Planters' Association of Ceylon, 21st Jan. 1889. 
The Editor, Ceylon Observer. 
Sir, — I beg to enclose copy of correspondence 
with Mr. J. McOombie Murray, Philadelphia, Pa., 
with reference to Dr. Duke's scheme for making 
known Ceylon tea in America. — Yours faithfully, 
A. PHILIP, Secretary. . 
Planters' Association of Ceylon, 
Kandy, 23rd Oct. 1888. 
To J. McCombie Murray, Esq., Ceylon Pure Tea and 
Coffee Company, 60 North Thirteenth Street, Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 
Dear Sir, — I duly received your letter of the 17th 
July, which has bebu published in the newspapers for 
general information, and was submitted to the Oom- 
ni'ttee at a recent meeting. The expression of your 
vitjwft has been noted ; meantime I annex copy of re- 
solution passed by the Standing Committee of the 
"Tin Fund" upon a new scheme proposed by Dr. 
Valentine Dulo; of Kandy for making Ceylon tea known 
in America, and I shall be glad to hear from you on 
the subject as soon ass practicable. To enablu you to 
understand matters 1 enclose copy of Dr. Duke's letter 
dated 24th September and editorial comments on the 
scheme that appeared in the (Jeylon Observer and 
• In Jaffna sheep are penned and fed on land culti- 
vated with tobacao.— Ed. 
" Times of Ceylon." It is of course now out of the 
question to give effect to the proposal during the cur- 
rent year, but as future action will doubtless depend 
a good deal upon the nature of your report, it will, I 
feel sure, have your best attention. I do not think 
that there is anything I need add at present, but leave 
you to reply as fully as you can to the inquiries con- 
veyed in the resolution of the Standing Committee 
herewith transmitted. — I am, &c, 
(Signed) A. Philip, Secretary. 
Resolution re/erred to .— " That Dr. Duke's proposal 
be forwarded to Mr. J. McCombie Murray, Philadel- 
phia, and that he be asked for his suggestions as 
to the carrying out of the scheme, and what steps 
he would take to insure the supplying of any demand 
that probably may arise from the proposed distribu- 
tion of tea among the editors of the American news- 
papers ; the Committee of the 'Tea Fund' of the 
Association stipulates that all inquirers for Ceylon 
tea be supplied with pure Ceylon tea and not '*. The 
Kootie Blend.' " 
Philadelphia, 29th November 1888. 
Alexander Philip, Esq., Secretary of the Planters' 
Association of Ceylon, Kandy. 
Dear Sir. — We are in receipt of your esteemed 
favois of 23rd ultimo and have carefully considered 
contents. We look upon the idea of presenting the 
editors of influential newspapers &c. with caddies 
of Ceylon tea as good in the abstract, but a 
scheme, which, if carried out, must be worked 
judiciously. To send small parcels all over "the 
United State*, Canada, and California," as pro- 
posed, droppiug one here and one there without 
any attempt to follow the matter up, would be as a 
few drops of rain in a desert laud. It must be borne 
in mind that not only are editors of influential news- 
papers busymeu and as difficult of access as is the 
President of the United States, but that space in 
their columns is worth just so much muney to them 
all the way from 25 cents to $2 a liue according to 
circulation, and it muet not be taken for granted 
that these gentlemen are all so philanthropic by 
nature as to give much valuable space to extracts 
from a pamphlet on Ceylon tea. But allowing that 
they all show their appreciation of the gift by 
inserting a few extracts — what of that a week 
after? What result could reasonably be expected? 
Inasmuch as spasmodic advertizing is looked upon 
here as money thrown away, we do not advocate any 
scheme whioh cannot be followed up in some way. 
There is without doubt a brilliancy about Dr. Duke's 
proposal which is very attractive, but we would sug- 
gest an amendment to the effect that your efforts be 
confined to a more limited sphere than all America. 
The shot spreads too much, and to our mind the game 
is out of range. Take New York oity and Philadel- 
phia, two of the largest cities in the world. In either 
of these cities we find business firms spending their 
millions of dollars in local advertizing; would both those 
•ities combined prove too limited a field for such a 
scheme*? Before presenting any tea to editors, the 
people ought to be prepared for any notice that might 
be taken of Ceylon tea in tbe local prints. This can 
best be accomplished by the distribution of a well got 
up and very attractive illustrated pamphlet mailed to 
the better class citizeus. We wish to place particular 
emphasis on the word illustrated . Americans " catch 
on" to pictures more than to solid reading matter, 
which must be short, to the point, and expressed in 
an interesting way. 
Whenever the pamphlets are sent out and the people 
have had an opportunity of reading them, then we 
think is the time for Dr. Duke's 5 lb. caddy, and the 
notices which we would look for in the daily news- 
papers, medical publications, &c., &c. Nor should he 
stop ect merely sending the tea with a circular. Every 
person worthy of such attention ought to bepeison- 
allji interviewed. This, as the proposal now stand , is 
of course impossible, and can only be accomplish. U by 
confining atten lion to one or two cities, but we are very 
* We should substitute Chioago, Kansas (Jity and 
Denver, — Ed. 
